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Published: September 1st 2007
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A Coffee Plant
Never knew what this looked like, but this it We have had a really interesting two weeks here and I would like to reflect on this time with you all, so sit tight and here we go:
Family: Our family was the greatest. We had so much fun with them and laughed through every meal. They even gave us a wedding present of a mayan cloth for the kitchen. We (mostly Liz) learned how to make tortillas, tamalitos, cakes, and salsas from Rosalia and in return we gave her the precious gift of how to make a hot dog and rice krispy treats. We were really excited to learn how to make the Guat dishes, but Rosalia was doubly excited to know how to make a hot dog (we taught her Chicago style!). It was a great experience and if anybody wants to take spanish classes, Rosalia and Juan said they would love to meet our family and friends. They have a house that is full of love.
Politics: The presidential, congressional, gubanatorial, and mayoral elections are coming up here and, boy, things are really starting to heat up! There are 14 candidates running right now for el presidente from as many different parties (no two party system
here). Now, you might be asking yourself...how does one run for el presidente in Guatemala? Im glad you asked...first you come up with a jingle that will be played as loud as possible all day and night from party headquarters in every little town. They all sound like half mariachi, half Prince and have exciting lyrics like...We are friends of Nick, he will lead us like no other. Every party also has catchy logos, so that the illiterate population can vote for their favorite logo or jingle. There are parades and mortars (no kidding mortars) in the streets each night with more jingles and yelling. The final tactic is to paint every rock, lamppost, and wall on every inch of highway and city with party logos. If that doesnt work, it sounds like you just go ahead and murder your opponent. So far this election year 60 politicians or those connected with them have been killed including 8 congressmen. Supposedly the race is between a General and a guy with drug trafficking ties. My personal vote would go to the Mano Dura or Strong Hand party. They dont mess around.
Beer: Three choices here: Victoria (not terrible), Gallo (bad),
Brahva (worst). Gallo owns the government here and it is nearly impossible to bring any other beer into the country.
Dogs: We saw our first leash in Central America the other day. That was the biggest news of the day. There are, I am guessing, about 500 street dogs running around the small town of San Pedro (half of them pregnant with more little street dogs). They run around in packs of 6 or so smelling each other's butts and creating more street dogs. I was a little concerned about the population, so I asked my teacher about what is being done. She said that every once in a while the police throw a bunch of poison into the streets. That probably is not a pleasant day to walk to work. So if any of you dog lovers want a project, there is a big one down here.
Singing: The music scene is a real pleasure aqui. We had a church across the street from us that had church every night with an accordian and zylophone player leading a hundred little kids, who dont so much sing as they do scream. But they were really cute screaming. Our
madre Rosalia also would sing each day while baking cakes in the kitchen. She is the greatest. The real winner though is the radio station that plays english soft rock classics resung in espanol. Liz and I spent an entire bus ride listening to such hits as: Total Eclipse of the Heart, Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On, Bryan Adams Everything I Do, and even a White Snake song...awesome!
Tuk-Tuks: 3 wheeler taxis. We thought you would only see these in Southeast Asia, but they are everywhere here and will run you over and not stop. Some of them must have been featured on Pimp My Tuk Tuk.
Chicken Buses: This is the main mode of transportation in Guatemala and it is the real deal experience (and cheap to at under 5 bucks anywhere in the country). The chicken buses are the old school buses that many of us probably rode on in the last 20 years. When they retire from service after being beaten to pieces by American school kids (I did my share) they are not put in a dump as I believed. Nope, they are shipped down here. Once they arrive they are given
a roof rack and sweet new styled out paint job, most of the time with flames. There are two rules on a chicken bus. 1. The chicken bus is never full. Even if you have 3 adults on every bench designed for 2 school children and the aisles are full there is room for more. 2. They dont stop. These guys are the worst drivers I have ever seen, passing on blind corners and never braking. There is one guy who climbs out the front door to the top of the bus while going full speed to untie the bags so that the bus will not have to stop as it slowly rolls by the stop and you jump out with your bag thrown at you from the top. A true adventure.
Sorry that is a lot of writing and if you made it this far, you must be our parents, so hola padres.
Trev and Liz
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