Alright! I have figured out a way to update this blog. I have to type the entry into word on my computer, then transfer it via USB drive to the house computer and upload it when the internet works. Thus far, the internet has stayed working long enough to let me check one email account. (addendum: this post took more than 24 hours between writing and uploading due to the vagaries of the internet connection. So...I guess they´ll be a little like snail-mail in the sense that 'today' isn´t actually today (or the posted date).)
But life is good. I wish I had very exciting things to report, but I don’t. I don’t actually start working in the hospital until tomorrow. But for now, some observations for you:
1. It’s wet. Very wet. Only after 2 pm though. How is it sunny all morning, then every day at 2 pm for 6 months it pours? Mother nature is a mysterious lady. I belive “winter” (what the rainy season is called) ends at the end of October.
2. Mayan (or whatever you want to call them) women stash cell phones in small pockets sewn into the inside of the neck of their (traditional) shirts.
3. Mayan/indigenous women wear traditional dress consisting of a high-waisted extremely colorful skirt that goes to mid-calf, and a tucked-in blouse. And, often, heels. The men for some reason wear regular old western clothing. Why is this.
4. Guatemala is nowhere near as poor as Nicaragua is. I kind of expected it to be similar (being the only other central American country I’ve been to). Wrong. We went to a shopping mall the other night that was bigger and fancier than most malls I’ve been to in the US. The cars here are all pretty nice and new (whereas the cars in Nicaragua looked like if they went over a big enough pothole they would collapse into a heap of parts). Homes have computers! And cable TV! (Confession: I watched ‘Gossip Girl’ last night. I know, I know, that’s hardly advancing my Spanish or medical knowledge. But lord was it enjoyable.) And washing machines! Obviously there is still exteme poverty here. But there was extreme poverty in Nicaragua, without the obvious displays of wealth right alongside.
I have been lucky enough to land in the middle of an extended family of musicians. The father in my house is trying to teach me how to play American songs on the guitar, which are apparently “classics” but because I was raised on a diet of Mozart and Gilbert & Sullivan (thanks, dad!), I have never heard any of them before (or my strongest recognition is “hmm this part sounds sort of familiar”). I’m amused that he’s teaching me songs from my own culture. And the doctor who’s organizing my entire trip (I’m living with his sister’s family) is a good guitar player and singer, but mostly plays the marimba. Heaven.
Um, so if someone could please locate some information on the Mayans and what exactly happened to them, that would be great. It hurts my eyes to read this computer screen too long, and the bookstores only carry books in Spanish or something. But I’m curious, so if someone could find out a little history there and get back to me, that would be great. Thanks, Nat. :)
Hope everyone’s good! Thanks for reading. :) If you’ve just skipped to the end, well, thanks for visiting anyways.
p.s. Dear Dad,
I have not been trapped beneath a mudslide, fallen into a volcano, had my car hijacked, been kidnapped by rebels, or contracted Dengue fever. I am in fact alive and well, and for the most part feel pretty much like I’m in the US, except for the cold showers and the volcanos.
Love,
Your daughter
Pictures!
This is my new best friend, Chispa. I tried to take her picture sitting upright looking at the camera, but every time I tried to get her attention by calling her name or touching her, she flopped over pathetically on her back.
This is a tree. Um, I forget what it’s called, but it’s the national tree of Guatemala. And…they look cool. (I´m pretty sure I´m going to be able to parlay this eloquent blog into a lucrative book deal.)
This is one building of the main public university in Guatemala; it’s in Guatemala City, and it’s called the Universidad de Juan Carlos. I enjoyed the placement of a centuries-old Mayan sculpture in front of a university named after the leader of the people that invaded and decimated the indigenous culture.
But life is good. I wish I had very exciting things to report, but I don’t. I don’t actually start working in the hospital until tomorrow. But for now, some observations for you:
1. It’s wet. Very wet. Only after 2 pm though. How is it sunny all morning, then every day at 2 pm for 6 months it pours? Mother nature is a mysterious lady. I belive “winter” (what the rainy season is called) ends at the end of October.
2. Mayan (or whatever you want to call them) women stash cell phones in small pockets sewn into the inside of the neck of their (traditional) shirts.
3. Mayan/indigenous women wear traditional dress consisting of a high-waisted extremely colorful skirt that goes to mid-calf, and a tucked-in blouse. And, often, heels. The men for some reason wear regular old western clothing. Why is this.
4. Guatemala is nowhere near as poor as Nicaragua is. I kind of expected it to be similar (being the only other central American country I’ve been to). Wrong. We went to a shopping mall the other night that was bigger and fancier than most malls I’ve been to in the US. The cars here are all pretty nice and new (whereas the cars in Nicaragua looked like if they went over a big enough pothole they would collapse into a heap of parts). Homes have computers! And cable TV! (Confession: I watched ‘Gossip Girl’ last night. I know, I know, that’s hardly advancing my Spanish or medical knowledge. But lord was it enjoyable.) And washing machines! Obviously there is still exteme poverty here. But there was extreme poverty in Nicaragua, without the obvious displays of wealth right alongside.
I have been lucky enough to land in the middle of an extended family of musicians. The father in my house is trying to teach me how to play American songs on the guitar, which are apparently “classics” but because I was raised on a diet of Mozart and Gilbert & Sullivan (thanks, dad!), I have never heard any of them before (or my strongest recognition is “hmm this part sounds sort of familiar”). I’m amused that he’s teaching me songs from my own culture. And the doctor who’s organizing my entire trip (I’m living with his sister’s family) is a good guitar player and singer, but mostly plays the marimba. Heaven.
Um, so if someone could please locate some information on the Mayans and what exactly happened to them, that would be great. It hurts my eyes to read this computer screen too long, and the bookstores only carry books in Spanish or something. But I’m curious, so if someone could find out a little history there and get back to me, that would be great. Thanks, Nat. :)
Hope everyone’s good! Thanks for reading. :) If you’ve just skipped to the end, well, thanks for visiting anyways.
p.s. Dear Dad,
I have not been trapped beneath a mudslide, fallen into a volcano, had my car hijacked, been kidnapped by rebels, or contracted Dengue fever. I am in fact alive and well, and for the most part feel pretty much like I’m in the US, except for the cold showers and the volcanos.
Love,
Your daughter
Pictures!
This is my new best friend, Chispa. I tried to take her picture sitting upright looking at the camera, but every time I tried to get her attention by calling her name or touching her, she flopped over pathetically on her back.This is a tree. Um, I forget what it’s called, but it’s the national tree of Guatemala. And…they look cool. (I´m pretty sure I´m going to be able to parlay this eloquent blog into a lucrative book deal.)This is one building of the main public university in Guatemala; it’s in Guatemala City, and it’s called the Universidad de Juan Carlos. I enjoyed the placement of a centuries-old Mayan sculpture in front of a university named after the leader of the people that invaded and decimated the indigenous culture. 
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