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.