random/interesting facts : )

Apart from a really long meeting with Claudia that was super helpful in getting my project and objectives organized and going out to dinner with some people from the office, today was pretty boring. However, this current lack of excitement in my life gives me an opportunity to share some random/interesting facts about Guatemala!

*Coffee: Living in Guatemala should mean that you get to drink rich Guatemalan coffee, right? Wrong. All of the rich, delicious Guatemalan coffee that you hear about is exported to comparatively wealthy Americans and Europeans like you and I. Locals in Guatemala tend to drink weak/lower grade coffee with lots of sugar. Thus, as I’ve acclimated to the chilly weather I’ve stopped drinking coffee because yea, it’s not very good.

*Tu: In the U.S. the Spanish taught in schools is generally geared toward the rules found in Spain. Therefore, most of us have no idea that in Guatemala when a man uses the tu form with another man it has a gay connotation. Instead, guys use usted or vos with each other.

*The Zetas: No not the sorority, the drug cartel in Guatemala. Guess what ma? Members of Zeta have been found in Xela! (minor panic attack for my mom) Luckily, they were found by police while hanging up one of their many signs declaring that they are not at war with the Guatemalan people, etc. The Zetas, whose origins actually lie in Mexico, have been the source of a lot of violence in the North of Guatemala recently and were responsible for the recent massacre in Petan. The Guatemalan government issued a siege allowing the military to move freely throughout the North in order to deal with the situation there.

*Mano Duro: The IRON FIST. This is the campaign slogan for one of the many candidates for Guatemala’s presidential election, which is going to take place this September. Despite the fact that Guatemala is only the size of an average American state, it has 20 or more political parties! There are posters hung almost everywhere, but posters for el mano duro seem to be especially prevalent. Apparently, the man behind the mano duro was also the brain behind many of the military tactics used during the Guatemalan Civil War to raze and kill entire indigenous communities. How do the Guatemalan people feel about this? I’m honestly not positive, but think about it…how many Americans really take the time to do good background research on most of the candidates they vote for?

*Toilet paper: Guatemala has bad pipes, so all toilet paper must go in a trashcan beside the toilet.

*Spanish schools and volunteering: Xela is packed with Spanish language schools and volunteer opportunities. This volunteer hotspot basically exploded during the past ten years though because prior to the end of the civil war in 1996, no one came to Guatemala. I’ve talked to a bunch of foreigners taking classes here and it’s actually pretty amazing how much Spanish they learn in just a few weeks. An average Spanish school here costs $200 a week, which includes four hours of one on one Spanish lessons a day, several activities and excursions with the school and a homestay with a family/three meals a day Monday through Saturday. Pretty sweet deal if you ask me. I’ll probably come back to a different Central American country at some point to spend a few weeks at a Spanish school…any other takers?

Since I have to get up at 5 am tomorrow to help prepare for a team’s arrival, I better head to bed! I’ll give you more random facts later…if you want them. Now that I know people are actually reading this, if you have requests or certain things/topics you want to hear about just let me know!