Meturgeman/Traductor

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You know the Volcano tour is starting on the wrong foot when you get to the base of the Volcano at 8 in the morning, and a guide leans in and says in spanish " Does anyone here speak spanish?" I waited just long enough to hear people say "huh?" and then sais " I speak a litttle". The guide then informed me I was going to be the translator for the next 4 hours. Thank god I learned all those words for "geothermal activity", "jungle canopies" and 34 different species of flora and fauna back in 10th grade spanish (I got a C-, and that was probably a pity grade). Twice the guide said that a certain type of animal liked a certain tree, and I said " Some animal likes this tree. Maybe its a badger?"

Actually, I did ok, because the guide for my trip this morning to Volcàn Pacaya was a guy from a town on the mountain called, aptly enough for me, San Francisco . Town is an exaggeration: this was 15 buildings, 15'x 30', constructed of cinder blocks and corrugated tin roofs. The ride up was 10 miles of dirt road. Our guide pretty much couldn't tell us much more than when the hill slid, where the trail was, and how old the park and latest lava flows were. Don't think Park Ranger, more local dude with a machete. After taking a well maintained trail, I guessed the machete was more for robbers.

The two hour drive from Antigua was neat, but I had a feeling of familiarity. It smelled like burning garbage, the buildings are all cinderblock shacks, chickens dart through the streets and short, brown faced women lug heavy loads on their backs. The country has a history of light colored settlers oppressing and subjugated an indigenous population. And then I realize: its just like the Sh'tachim (settlements/west bank7palestine).

OK, so that last statement may be a little strong. But the acrid smell of exhaust and trash, dirty clothes and sight of poverty gets to me a little. Israel is, in no way, the colonial oppressor that Cortez was. But it started to feel like the thoughts of Howard Zinn's "Peoples History of the United States" and his 'rich white folk subjugate poor brown folk the world over' rap was irrefutable. Name a country where a darker people is richer and more powerful than the the lighter folk. I think Zimbabwe might be it, and even thats in the last 10 years.

The volcano was incredible: we walked across the lava fields that were not 3 months old, and saw flowing orange lava from 5 feet away. The cone of the volcano was 500 feet above us and the path had slid, so we could just seen the top billowing smoke. It was cool enough.
''ll try to upload some photos, but I forgot my usb-digital camera cord, and here I looked in 6 stores with no luck (one says they had it and they ordered more, but Ill keep checking).

I had a brief chat with a dutchman in our group (5 dutch, 2 canucks from Toronto) about politics. Its always a good gauge of the current status of America by asking international backpackers. Admittedly, they are probably a more liberal group, since they speak lots of languages and don't shower much, but the last time I packed around it was always fun to see 'what do the travelers think of Bush'? They hate him. They think our president is an idiot. The dutch on my trip are sensitive to the problems of levys and dikes, being a country underwater. They couldnt believe the incompitence of the govt. regarding katrina. And they think the war in iraq is nothing short of criminal.

Ok, acharon acharon chaviv: my classes in spanish (5 hours a day) are going well. The weather is great: 75 and sunny (but rain this afternoon). My last story is funny. I was learning Masechet Peah in the living room of my host family, familia mendez (more on them next time)- Hilda, El Señor, Jhonatan (pronounced Yonotan), Isai (pron. eessa-ee) and Esaù (pronunced esa-ooo), and Hilda, who I had already told I was a Jew and that I spoke Hebrew, asked lots of questions about the talmud. Then she asked me if i knew any jewish dances: I said "Claro que si!". She pulls out a tape of Israeli music, and asks about the dances andf the worlds, so I go translating 'oseh shalom', 'shir l'shalom', 'yerushalayim shel zahav',''hava nagila', and 10 others for her and telling her a little about Israel and Judaism . My favorite was 'v'haerinenu be'toratecha'. I never thought in a million years I hear the torah service in the home of a family in Guatemala. Apparently, Hilda dances Israeli dance with her church every week. Its a small world after all. And I thought I'd only use my hebrew to daven shoicris and hit on Israeli chicks. So far, its just to God and Hilda, and her kids, the prince, the prophet and the rasha.

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