Colores de Nuestra Patria

Guatemala is always a colorful place to be, but for the past weeks two colors have dominated over all. The blue and white of the national flag is everywhere right now. Guatemala's independence day is coming up on September 15th, and all the street vendors are making sure you know about it.
I'm looking forward to a day off of work (although not two so I have to go to school on Monday) and perhaps doing some traveling this weekend and further exploration of Coban on Tuesday. Also, I need a new computer charger, so it's a given that I need to make a stop at a city that sells Macs (the capital). It will be my first time leaving the Alta Verapaz since I've arrived here. I have to admit, even though I'm not a native, I feel pride in my little city here. While it might not be the most visited or publicized destination, I have to think in some ways it is a true representative of what Guatemalans think about themselves. Of the 5 official symbols of Guatemala (the flag, the marimba, the quetzal, the monja blanca orchid, and the ceiba tree), those that are living (bird, flower, and tree) can only be found in the Verapaces, the general area here around Coban. I think it is such a neat place and I am so happy to be here.

Cat update and New Accomodations

First an update on the cat I mentioned in the last blog post. As soon as he was returned to the 'wild' the cat decided he wanted to be part of the family. He now roams the open areas of the house looking for people to rub up against and trying to trick them into allowing him into private rooms. It is kind of nice in some respects, I do miss my cats (and Megynn's!) from back home. And it is much more friendly than the family dog, which seems to have taken an extreme dislike to me.

I will not be enjoying these animals for long, though, as my accommodations will shortly be changing. Yes, I am striking out on my own, or something of the sort. I'll be within a block or two of the school, which is a big relief. Especially since they are about to actually start enforcing the dress code for teachers again in the Oxford classes. I'll need to be able to change after working with the kids.

I'll make an attempt to upload my pictures tonight and follow up with a more colorful post.

Pest Control 101

There aren't exactly many precautions or active methods taken to control pests in Guatemala. Cockroaches, millipedes, bugs of all sorts, they just seem to have a live and let live policy most of the time. The exception to this seems to be mice. When a mouse is found in school, there is a huge stir as all the workers arm themselves with brooms and go for the kill. Recently my host mother found mice in the oven (which is not used for cooking but storage). Her response? She went out back and trapped one of the wild cats that hang out behind the house, brought it inside, and stuck it in a cupboard. This cat is extremely confused and very unhappy. It meows incessantly if we open the cupboard door. Hopefully it will scare the bejesus out of those mice soon so we can put it back where it belongs.

A Month's Reflection

As of yesterday I've been here in Guatemala for one month. It hardly seems that long, especially since I don't have a place of my own yet. Although I truly do love living and working here, I figure a little nostalgia is in order. So, without further ado, I present the following lists:

Things Guatemala doesn't have that I wish it did
water heaters, pipes wide enough to carry toilet paper, safe drinking water from the tap, automobile emissions standards, published bus routes and timetables, ovens!(so far I haven't seen one that has worked, only the range top), movie showings beginning after 6 pm, mac computer parts stores, places where a woman can go without getting hit on, public trash cans

Things Guatemala has that I wish it didn't
cockroaches in my personal space (most the standard inch or so, but I saw one about 4 inches long), bedbugs (? not sure about this one, but I have my suspicions), air quality that seems determined to give me a black lung, many delightful food-related diseases that make it imprudent for me to test the delicious-looking street food

I have had a great month here in spite of this. I'll post again soon about some more positive aspects, but I've got a class in 15 min.

Tin Roofs

Here it is, my first pictures from Guatemala uploaded here on my blog. I thought I'd start with the view from my window. The city of Cobán stretches out in the distance, but mostly I have a nice view of the roof of the lower part of the house.
The roofs are really fascinating here. We have a more 'traditional' roof made out of the curved red tiles at the school, but every time it rains we have to worry about leaks. These tin roofs, regardless of the strategically-placed duct tape patches, don't let in a bit of water. Also, if you look carefully you can see lighter-colored fiberglass panels are mixed in. These are our skylights. They work pretty darn well. When I moved in my hosts apologized for the view, but I kind of like looking out on this patchwork of Guatemalan ingenuity.

The Teacher Becomes the Student Becomes the Teacher

So, while my primary function here in Guatemala is to teach, I am also supposed to be learning. The family I am staying with for the moment is very nice about this and doesn't berate me too badly for my odd phrasing and less than perfect pronunciation. However, there is a new arrival in the household. His name is Jordan, he's from California, and he knows probably a few less than 20 words in Spanish. This of course means a new role for me: that of go-between. I'm not saying I'm a translator; he's here to learn, it wouldn't be fair of me to give him the chance to avoid Spanish. But I have to correct any misunderstandings, cultural or otherwise. It should be interesting.

Today a birthday party was celebrated in the school. It took up over half of the day. There were 2 enormous piñatas, cupcakes and sweets of all shapes and sizes, individually handcrafted boxed lunches, oodles of party favors, and a plethora of balloons. For a child's birthday party that he slept through half of. Remember, I'm working at a school where everyone is the rich kid. It was quite an event. And nobody went away empty-handed :) I got my hands on a pretty nice Cars-themed coin bank.

The Showerhead of Doom and Delight

A few days ago the family I'm staying with me gave me a wonderful surprise: my shower now has hot water! Hot water showers in Guatemala are exotic and always a little terrifying. Why, you ask? Because the hot water is not provided by some distant water heater, but by an electrical attachment that goes directly over the shower head. The water is heated by electrification right before it falls on your head. But wait, you say, isn't there some rule about not mixing water and electricity? Why yes, and that's what is in the back of my mind every time I take a shower. We've all seen the warning labels on our hairdryers and radios about what happens when they are exposed to water, and I could recite facts about the electrical conductivity of water. Still, many people use it everyday without incident. And it feels so much better than the alternative.

Here Comes the Rain

Rainy season has officially arrived in Cobán. After a day and a half of perfectly sunny weather when I arrived, the last few days have pretty much followed this pattern: Start out beautifully or with a few sprinkles, cloud up at noon, downpour at 12:30 (right when I get off work), clear up a bit at 2, start raining again at 3:30 and rain throughout the entire night. As a note, my room is also directly under a tin roof. Good thing I'm a sound sleeper!

Today I had my first experience recharging my cellphone minutes, because it was a 'Claro triple saldo', which means I get 3x as many minutes as I pay for. I walked into the store (it sold various knickknacks and clothing; there are almost no dedicated cell service stores), gave my number to the lady, and put my 100Q bill on the counter. The lady punched in the info and sent me a text message, so now I apparently have minutes to use. At least that is what the text message tells me. Bizzare.

I've Arrived

So, at long last I am here in Guatemala. Internet access is still a bit questionable, so these first few updates may be a bit irregular, and there probably won't be pictures for a while.

I've spent the past two days meeting the other teachers, observing classes, and trying to get into the flow of the school. Most of the kids still have no idea why I'm here, so I'm sure Monday will be a blast explaining to them that I am their new English teacher. The format for their classes entirely games and songs, so I'm racking my brain for anything I did along those lines when I was a child. They are very sweet kids and mostly cooperative from what I've seen so far.

I will likely have at least one other class outside of the primary school in which I use more traditional teaching methods and materials. I'll know more after I sit in on that class later this afternoon.

My umbrella has already come in handy, but I wouldn't change a thing. I really do get to live in one of the most beautiful places that I have ever visited.

More updates will be coming soon, hopefully with some pictures as well.

The Countdown... and, Puppy Pictures

Seeing as my journey will actually begin on July 5th, that means today marks the 10 day countdown and I have deemed it appropriate to start my blog. While tasks still remain for me before I leave, they are definitely drawing to a close. My goal for this weekend is to sell my car, which actually seems like it might happen. I likely have two people coming to look at it tomorrow. Things have been going a little bit more slowly because of my twin duties of being my brother's chauffeur and keeping an eye on the new puppy. Not that either is a hardship, but I can't just go into my room and work to the exclusion of all distractions. Never fear, I shall persevere.

The new puppy's name is Chloe, and she is an adorable 8-week-old black lab. I present to you photos.