My Back Is Killing Me

Well, we've finally gotten access to wifi. I hope it lasts, but I can't make any promises. For that reason, I'll be writing daily reflections on a Word document and then uploading them when I can. Here's today and yesterday:

DAY ONE

Guatemala City is really not that different from Atlanta in that the traffic is horrible and no one uses their turn signals.

Our flight out went well; we got through security and boarded without incident, and then I think I slept through a fair chunk of the flight, which was only about four or so hours. Customs in Guatemala was a breeze, and we found the cab driver that A Broader View had sent really easily. The only thing that made us hesitate was the abundance  of signs around the airport reminding everyone that it was illegal to have sex with a minor and that it was wrong and you would spend a long time in jail if you did. Why did they need to remind people that? And why did they need to remind people that that many times?

Anyway, we were dropped off at an Alamo station, where we ended up waiting for our bus for about two hours. Today was mostly a day for sitting. 

Then we got on the bus and strapped in for the wildest and most uncomfortable four hours of my life. I know the driver couldn’t help that the roads were windy - we were, after all, going into the mountains - but he didn't need to hit those curves at 100 mph. We were tossed around from side to side for almost the entire time. Some people actually managed to sleep during all this. I need to find out their secret before we have to do this ride again in two weeks. 

Our A Broader View correspondents (here it’s called Go Guatemala) picked us up from the bus station in Xela and took us to our host family. There are four generations of women here, and the matriarch, Griselda, is really kind of “our mom”. She was incredibly nice and welcoming, and she made us eggs and beans for dinner. 

Tomorrow, we’ll be going to the women’s shelter in the morning. Hopefully, I’ll get to work with the teachers and help tutor some of the kids! In the afternoon, I’ve decided to take Spanish classes with Journey; I understand almost everything I’m hearing, but I’m having a little trouble speaking - I’ve always been that way, and now is a good time to try to fix it. I’m exhausted, but very excited for tomorrow!

DAY TWO

We started today off right, and by "right", I mean with banana pancakes and maple syrup. That stuff is good. Even though I feel like I'm not eating as much as I do at home, I'm literally never hungry. Every meal I eat has left me feeling incredibly full for hours and hours. I had to force myself to finish breakfast and dinner today, and couldn't even eat half of what I was given at lunch. The food is good, and it's filling. Griselda has promised to make a little bit of everything Guatemalan for us so that we have a really good feel for the food here before we leave. So far we've had: eggs and beans, banana pancakes, chicken with rice and zucchini, and "tortillas con queso" which is literally just a quesadilla sandwich, but it was still fantastic. 

After breakfast, we walked to the shelter. It's called Hogar Temporal; young girls who have been abused and young moms and their babies all live and learn there. I started the day off by helping a teacher out with some of the girls (maybe 7 or 8 year olds?). They're behind from a developmental stand point, so we did drawing, coloring, and connecting the dots. I really enjoyed it, and I'm looking forward to helping out the teachers again tomorrow. 

Once the teacher was done with me, she sent me off to help Journey and the other volunteers with the babies. Disclaimer: I am not comfortable with children who can't communicate with specifics. I want what they want, what's wrong, etc, and just plain screaming and crying doesn't really do that for me. I always hands down refuse to babysit any kid under the age of 3. I just feel helpless when I don't know what to do to help. So, basically, I spent the rest of the morning uncomfortable and unsure of how to help. I know what I was doing meant a lot and was actually really helpful to the mothers, who can't be distracted by their kids while they learn, and that I'll get used to it in time. It was just really overwhelming today. 

We had Spanish lessons in the afternoon. My teacher's name is Salvador, and, woah, that guy can talk. He talked to me about everything: the schooling system in Central America vs in the US, how interesting he finds the kind of fun tidbits that come up again later as Jeopardy questions, his love of linguistics and how language has changed in Central America over time, where the Irish the settled primarily in the United States, my history as a Spanish student, and how bad drivers in Xela are. Our lesson was almost entirely conversational, which I loved. I had a great time.

One thing I did notice, though: I am completely inept at Spanish basics. I don't know hardly any of the words for fruits or vegetables, I've forgotten the words for most school supplies, and I couldn't remember words I knew I knew and remembered learning in Spanish I. Because we haven't gone over any of those things since Spanish I, if we learned it then. There were seven year olds laughing at me for not knowing the word pineapple in Spanish. (It's piña. I got it now.)

I did, however, perfectly understand a four page essay on the various forms of modern day slavery. So, there's that.

But, yeah, that was my day. I'm exhausted, and as the title of this post says, my back is killing me. I'm gonna go to bed as soon as I post this.

Fun fact to end this with: In Guatemala, if someone sneezes more than once in a row, you change what you say. The first sneeze gets a salud (health). The second gets a dinero (money). The third gets an amor (love). That's a pretty solid blessing if you ask me.