Karey in Guatemala: One Week

Well, I have been here for a week. It feels like a month. On Wednesday the teachers started meeting every morning for the week and a half before the students come. The first day of classes is Jan. 18. As it turns out, I will be the only English teacher for the 5 elementary schools. There is one person doing junior high, and one doing high school. So the way we have it worked out is I go to one school a day, and teach grade 4-7, 45 minute classes each. I'm excited to finally have a set schedule and get into a routine. To give you a sense of what life is like here, I will describe a day for you from this week.

The roosters are heard around 4:00 in the morning and are in full swing by 5:30. The church bells ring at 6. My alarm goes off at 6:15 but I am fully awake by then. Dogs, car alarms, the guard on the roof, and advertisements via megaphones on vehicles driving by all sound like they are right inside the house since the walls have no insulation and the windows are glass slats that dont seal. All of this is normal life here. Then, I stand under the trickle of hot water. The deal with the shower is that there is an electric current that heats the water. The more water there is, the less heat for the amount of water. So I could have a cold shower with lots of water (gravity fed, so still no water pressure), or a little bit of water that is actually warm. I won't complain about the hot water, though I might complain about my cold hands after washing the dishes in cold water. For breakfast, if there is no food in the house, one of us might run to the bakery and pick up some sweet bread. I'm realizing that people don't shop for more than one or 2 days at a time. I've gone to the market or a store at least 10 times in the 7 days I've been here. Opening the double-locked door and gate to leave, the fog is rising from the mountains. They say if it is foggy in the morning, it will be a sunny day. As I pass people on the way to the school, we say Buenas, Buenos Dias, or Adios. The sidewalks are cracked at best. Many sections are uneven, are crumbled, or just end, so I really have to watch where I'm walking. It is easier to walk on the road, but there is rarely enough room for 2 vehicles and someone walking. If it is a big vehicle coming, they will often honk to let you know to move out of the way, although the old diesel trucks are usually loud enough themselves. Pedestrians have no right of way. Vehicles will also honk if they pull out to pass, if they slow down for a speed bump, or if they see someone they know. This is a little annoying since there is a speed bump outside our house! It's as if cars have signal and break lights, but no one trusts them, and they have different meanings. For example, hazard ligths might mean that the vehicle is really slow, or it might mean they are going to turn soon. Maybe they aren't sure which direction to turn?

At the school, the teachers have a time of devotions, which includes singing songs of praise to God, reading verses from the Bible, and having a discussion about what the verses mean for them, personally. This week, devotions are followed by reading through the teacher's handbook aloud, which is good practice for everyone, and increases my understanding simply by hearing it rather than just reading it. This is followed by "cafe", which means any hot beverage and a snack. For example, tea, coffee, or hot chocolate with cinnamon, with packaged crackers or sweet bread. After this the teachers go to their separate classrooms to plan, prep, and decorate their rooms. Not having a room of my own, I head on home to work. Now that the fog has cleared, I can see the vultures circling in the distance. I can feel the heat of the sun on my head and I wonder why no one wears sunglasses in this town. By now market day is in full swing, the big market days being Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday. After dropping off my things at home, I walk the 2 blocks to the market in search of strawberries. After passing a table covered in unfolded clothes, a table of bras, a blanket on the ground covered in DVDs of movies obviously illegally copied, and a booth of dollar store items, I finally get to the produce. I squeeze between people selling banana leaves, peanuts, and vegetables I have never seen before. Some adults call out what they are selling. People watch me as a I walk through, ducking under the tarps that keep out both the sun and the rain. When I smile at children watching me, many of them smile in return. I try not to look too interested in items unless I am pretty sure I am going to buy them. I leave without strawberries, but with a pound of potatoes, a pound of tomatoes, and 2 humungous carrots, all for $1. I know I probably got ripped off, as a canchi, which is what they call blonde/brunnette/pale people here. Guatemalans would have gotten the same produce for less. I don't even know that what they gave me was actually a pound. As a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure it wasn't. But is my purpose to get the best deal? In the past I've viewed bartering as a challenge or a game. But I came to bless these people. My main purpose may be to teach English, but there is a lot more to life than that. My view of being frugal, generous, and wise in regards to finances has been changing. For people who live on $2.50 a day or less, $1 goes a long ways for a large family. So as I learn to let go of my tight grip on my money, I challenge you to seek out little opportunities to give of yourself in a way that will bless someone else. Something small can go a long ways.

I will likely talk more about the market at a later date, along with pictures of the market. For now I have attached some photos of my house, and the view from it. Oh, and did I mention the circus down the street a couple lots from my house?