Guatemala: Day 10

This is the tenth day of my journal for the 2004 trip I took to Guatemala. This is a transcription from the notebook I took, but if there is any additional explanation necessary, I put that information in [brackets]. This is how it reads:

July 5th: Los lunes, ni las gallinas ponen. [On Mondays, not even the hens lay (eggs).] The phrase of the day. Just another manic Monday.

Anyway. Worked a bit on Montículo 5 with Xan, Juan y Haniból. Work got done. The wall (moro) that Chris, Eric, Felíx, and Augosto were working on is now 5 layers deep. It seems to be continuing as well. After work I talked to Diana for a while. Still a pleasure. Some conversations get deep. Well, as deep as my vocab will take me. She's really patient with me. I appreciate it. At dinner tonight she sat with us and was talking in English. [I referenced in Day 7 how there were two tables in the dining area. By chance or comfort the people whose first language was English sat at one table, while all the Spanish-speaking Guatemalans usually sat at the other table. So people crossing boundaries like this was a pretty big statement when it wasn't simply due to the lack of space at a given table. I also mentioned that she was talking English, which was new for me because she always forced me to speak Spanish, which I admired and needed.] Every time she had a question about a word, she'd look to me. Apparently we've bonded, and I have no problems with that. I think Kaplan thought it to be a little odd, but I think he figured it out when he came into the lab with both of us sitting there talking. Diana's a smart woman. I wish I could understand 100% of what she says. Sometimes its a bit much to ask what was said 5x's over.

As for Mayra, I talked to her a bit today. She's moved onto talking to Adam and once again reuniting with Brett. I say let them have their fun and I'll get in a bit of conversation now and then. Mayra, what a sweet girl. Jose keeps motioning for me to walk her home and shit. I don't have the balls to up and do it in front of everyone. Apparently Jose is Doña María's bitch. He works in the kitchen and at her home. I guess that's what you get for having 11 kids. Yeah so I still have Mayra's ring. [Mayra gave me a ring on Day 9.] I don't know how rude it would be to give it back. Maybe I'll just give her some money for it. For education. [I felt bad for literally not having anything to give to her in return.]

Working with Diana tomorrow. Should be fun. Diana Belches Luin: teacher of Spanish, learner of Portuguese, puller of teeth [in a "good" way--dentistry], tagger of [artifact] bags. Thanks for talking to me. El gusto fue mío.

Church of Reality

The Church of Reality totally stole (or independently came up with, whatever) my way of thinking!

I called myself a futurist back in November.
Now they're using the same term, futurist, but defining it with religious jargon terminology.

That is totally not fair!
Now I feel like Darwin when Wallace was all,
"I have this cool idea, wanna hear?".
The Church of Reality totally needed to consult with me.

And now this church is legit as it is seen as a non-profit organization.

I suppose on that legal document they have a fat stamp that predates my blog post by two years. But still. I had that thought milling around in my head for the past few years. I've probably even blogged about it in the past, just not in quite those exact words labeling myself with that term. Futurist.

I suppose I should be grateful that there are others out there that think like me.

Looking at their site, it seems like they're using the mindset of religion and creating a tongue-in-cheek dogma. It's quite brilliant really. For example, see their views on the separation of church and state.

"In the Church of Reality it is a sin to fail to vote in an election."

They're bringing reality to religion. I never thought I'd see the day...

Guatemala: Day 9

This is the ninth day of my journal for the 2004 trip I took to Guatemala. This is a transcription from the notebook I took, but if there is any additional explanation necessary, I put that information in [brackets]. This is how it reads:

What an interesting day. Spent my time talking mostly between three women: Diana, Mayra, y Char. Char I like talking to for a little while, but then it gets boring. [You can only hear so much about corn.] I feel sorry for her cuz the other ladies ditching her is getting a bit more obvious. Mayra gave me this fucking ring today for me to remember her by. Not only does it seem expensive by her standards [and probably by mine but even more so by hers], but I didn't/don't have the vocabulary to gently reject the offer. [I also felt bad because I literally had nothing to give her in return. Everything I had with me I needed. That's how you pack when you go places. If she had given me her address, then I could have remedied this feeling of guilt that still lingers to this day.] Mayra's a sweet kid with a beautiful smile, but we don't have much to talk about. When we run out of things to say, she whips out her cuaderno [notebook] so I can teach her more English. I search for things to talk about with her. I played a little joke on her today. She saw this chic walking by and I guess she likes her brother so she called her cuñada, sister-in-law. I later asked her why she did it and she blushed. She eventually said it was just a joke. Kinda funny after she just got done saying that all men are mentirosos [liars]. Earlier I ran into Juana's friend who has a cute kid named Gabriela. Juana kept calling me the kid's padre. I guess that's just what you do when you want somebody to hook up with you -- call them the name you want them to be. So as I was leaving, I pointed to Gabriela and said "mi'ja" [my daughter]. They got a kick out of that.

As for Diana, I love talking to her. We usually have something to talk about. She's more on my level. I guess she should be at 30. [She also understands more English and could help me out when I'm struggling with Spanish.] I think she's one of those people who are married to their job. She'll talk, but it's usually all work. She has more of an American mentality [maybe I should rephrase that, but I don't know what to substitute it with] and could care less about some soap-opera drama shit. I very much dig her. Intellectuals win out for me. She also has the patience for my horrible Spanish. I feel bad because I can't have the conversations I would like with her because my vocabulary is very limited. I'm sure she realizes it. She's a bright woman from a family of dentistas. She's been in town here and saca muelas [pulls teeth] for only the cost of materials. What a genuinely caring woman. I talked to her a lot today and never grew tired of it nor did we happen to have any large pauses. [Generally I'm horrible at keeping conversations flowing, especially back then.]

Freddy saw that I kinda like her. I do, but then of course, there's only that 4 days left thing. [Reading this to myself now I'm kicking myself for focusing on this rather than the archaeology and possibly other people. I suppose you can only "report" on what you're immersed in.] Que lástima que no puedo regresar a los EEUU con ella. However, her life is in Guatemala with all the ancient sites that make her country great. It's good to see that the country has at least some people like her. Seems that the social hierarchy is very polar though. Quite the difference between a 17 year-old girl from a small town and a 30 year-old woman from la ciudad. Education can definitely make a difference. [Nothing against Mayra of course. She excelled in the English I was teaching her. She was just unfortunate to not have it sooner or from someone who knew what they were doing. At this stage in my journal, I might be questioning why I'm putting all this online.]

Ice Cream

Forget bacon cups! Now I'm thinking bacon in a cone.

Bacon ice cream cones.

Guatemala: Day 8

This is the eighth day of my journal for the 2004 trip I took to Guatemala. This is a transcription from the notebook I took, but if there is any additional explanation necessary, I put that information in [brackets]. This is how it reads:

Saturday. Left Mound 5 behind with Felíx, Augosto, Juan y Haniból to work a half day. Went to Abaj Takalik which was pretty cool. It seems to be the same set up as Chocolá, set between two rivers with many a mound and water canals. It just so happens that Abaj Takalik (Standing Stone) was found in 1888 instead of 2 years ago. Eric Thompson and Tatiana Proukosinoff both worked on the site in the 40s and 50s. I took pictures of features that were skeletons, alligator, toad, etc.

Came back home and talked to Diana. A very sweet girl who looks younger than 30. She's probably somewhat of a nerd like myself. Mayra I also talked to. She thought I was mad at her because I didn't talk to her when I saw her. Seems like a lot of senseless soap-opera drama, or maybe it's just a way to gain reassurance. She saw me talking to Diana, probably got a little jealous. But I talked to her for a while afterward. She had me write down sentences in English for her to remember like, "¿Quieres ser mi novio?" [Would you like to be my boyfiend.] She'd say it [as I wrote it down in English], then I'd say "Sí" [as an affirmation that she was correct in what she said when reading it] and she'd get all excited [obviously as a play on what I was saying yes to]. She did that and I fell for it twice. Doña María gets in on the action too. She asks me if I think both Diana and Mayra are cute/"bonita". Also, she boldly asks if I wanted to be Mayra's novio. I couldn't answer. I don't know how they do things around here, but I can't go about things in that way. Doña María calls me a mentiroso [liar] because she doesn't believe that someone as "guapo" as me is without a novia. I would just tell her that I'm tímido [shy].

We watched the Big Lebowski tonight [in Spanish]. I would have rather talked to either Diana or Mayra instead but it kinda felt like a group thing. I can watch that shit at home. I let Mayra take a couple pics. There's one of me and also José who helps in the kitchen. Mayra maybe comes up to my chest. She's really cute.

Saw a cacao tree with pods about 4"x2". Char's getting into Spanish a bit and trying to teach Freddy some English.

No idea what I'm doing tomorrow. I'll tell you later.

[in the margins:]

putazo = pimp
chichudo = confident man

Guatemala: Day 7

This is the seventh day of my journal for the 2004 trip I took to Guatemala. This is a transcription from the notebook I took, but if there is any additional explanation necessary, I put that information in [brackets]. This is how it reads:

Today was a long day of working. Brett was feeling bad today, so he did less than usual. I asked Haniból what was up with that, but he made up some excuse.

Went to the ladies' place today. Char was tolerable, if not fun. You just have to figure out a way to take her in moderation. Got proper fucked there thanks to some Ron [rum] y SuperCola [their name brand coke]. Had some dinner afterward and ate at the Spanish table. [We had two tables in the dining area. Just by chance we generally segregated ourselves into the Americans versus the Guatemalans. It probably wasn't anything beyond the fact that we found it easier to speak English with those who preferred to speak it, or could only speak it.] I didn't even realize that no one there spoke English, although there was Alvaro y Juan Antonio. [They spoke English rather well, but Spanish was their first language and chose to speak it at the "Spanish table".]

After most everyone left, Doña María's family, at least one hijo y su familia [son and his family]came in and ate. We had a conversación while Mayra sat next to me. We talked for a bit, and then I ended up walking her and her aunt home. Mayra's second name is Laitecia y apellido es [and last name is] Jójxia [That's definitely a Mayan name] or something like that. I'll keep saying it, but she's a very sweet girl with a pleasant smile.

Before I forget, I want to mention the workers Juan Bravo y Haniból. They are the guys I work with the most, but there's also Felíx y Augosto. We found a four-layered wall today which may mean big things. Maybe in the future I can say: yeah, I worked on that site.

A bit drunk tonight. Maybe that's what brought me the chichudo (confidence) to walk Mayra home. I learned that spelling today. Walked her home and got a handshake. Didn't get invited in. Got a lot of jokes at the table for walking her home. I guess simple acquaintances is all that is needed to be "hooked up" with someone here. Anyway, I need to get a good picture of her.

It's time for bed. Goodnight all. Buenas noches.

BLT

Who needs bread for a BLT?

not martha

Guatemala: Day 6

This is the sixth day of my journal for the 2004 trip I took to Guatemala. This is a transcription from the notebook I took, but if there is any additional explanation necessary, I put that information in [brackets]. This is how it reads:

Today was more or less routine. We've somewhat gotten into a groove. Did our job, came home. Still trying to find a way to talk to Mayra. I got nothing, which sucks. Xan seems to do OK but it's probably to just talk about Brett with her. Talked to Diana more, she's cool. Also talked to Margarita who's kinda funny. I guess Anna got her laptop stolen, that blows. [She actually got it stolen at gunpoint while at the airport trying to leave Guatemala. It had most of the information on it that she needed for her thesis.] But I like talking to Diana because she has patience, and sometimes has the knowledge to figure out the word I'm looking for. I think I seek out people with brains... in the long run it gives you something to talk about. Tired tonight, but I think tomorrow's Friday.

Ho't (hought with a glottal stop in there) in Kachiquel means vamos, let's go.

Guatemala: Day 5

This is the fifth day of my journal for the 2004 trip I took to Guatemala. This is a transcription from the notebook I took, but if there is any additional explanation necessary, I put that information in [brackets]. This is how it reads:

I think things are starting to come together. People are getting to know quirks in other people, etc. Char is usually the talk of the group. Ignorant of different ways, relating everything to something in Iowa. [It's not really her fault, that's all she knew up until now.] But I think after her drive today, she finally appreciates other's cultures, at least this one. But today she had a turn-around. She had Alvaro apologize to people for not knowing their language. I've also heard her attempt to use Spanish words, simple basic ones, which is a huge step for her, and better than when she refused when she first got here. [This was also after getting upset at people for not being able to say things without a Spanish accent. Like people would say Char with a heavy CH rather than more of an SH sound.] I've seen much improvement. We moved a shitload of rocks today, from one pile to another. Xan and Adam are good workers, but Brett hardly did shit. It got annoying so Adam and I eventually left and ended up cleaning pottery. It wasn't that bad. It was better than counting rocks, cuz there was the suspense of finding something cool.

I have this internal alarm. Around 5am my gut tells me its going to explode. So since our shitter doesn't work, I go down to the hotel. This time I didn't have to shit in the forest, but Doña María and Mayra offered the bathroom in the kitchen. The last stall has a nice view. Very worth while and enjoyable.

At lunch, Mayra is getting more aggressive. I really wish I could find a good time to talk to her, but I just don't know when that might be. She's a sweet girl.

Talked to Diana at lunch. Got the balls to start a conversation with her. We chatted about school, what we study, about our different languages, and places around the world. Couldn't believe it, but I guess she's 30. She looks 25, if that. I really enjoyed that conversation because she knows how hard it is to learn English so she'd go slowly with me as I talked, kinda reassuring me. She let me express myself without having the fear of messing up becuase she would understand. Also a very nice girl.

Talked to Xiomara. [No picture, she worked at the local bar, but was about the same age as Mayra, 19, and only spoke Spanish.] She's got the hots for Brett. She kept asking me if/what he told me about her. All I could tell her was that he wanted to dance with her and I had nothing else because he only tells that kind of stuff to Xan. She kept trying to get me to hook up with Betty, who's decent-looking, but there's just something about her... Later on I met the owner of Las Almas [the bar Xiomara works at], Betty's aunt. She worked in LA as a housekeeper "guarda llaves" [key keeper, literally] and picked up English there. Chris was talking to her in Spanish, as he actually surprised me at how much he knows, but I think Alma [the bar owner] didn't let on about how much English she knows. I think it's more than she does let on. She could understand us talking in English but humored our attempts to speak Spanish.

Talking to the ladies a bit more. They're fun. Talking to Char some too. Don't know what it is about me that makes me do it... guilt? Or trying to figure out how they tick, or just realize they're misunderstood. Who knows? Xan reminds me of my younger self. Diluted with fear of authority and rule-following. [Sorry Xan, hopefully you've out-grown this by now like I did.] He has to learn some are good to break, but decisions should be made wisely. We went to the cemetario with the moon guiding our path. It was bright enough to easily walk in. It makes for a little amount of stars to poke through with the exception of the planet Venus. [I think I tangented before I could tell the story, but we just hung out in the cemetery and told ghost stories. A lot of the stories were told by the people from Guatemala City in Spanish so I barely got the punchline/climax, let alone anything that led up to it. It was still a spooky experience.]

I think Doña María really wants to talk to me, but just can't get me to open up. She keeps asking me if I speak Spanish. Maybe Mayra tells her about all the smiles I sneak to her. Speaking of which, [I walked Mayra home one night and on the way back] there was a couple standing out in the road conversing about whatever couples do, while to women "hid" a few feet away in the front yard listening. [I put "hid" in quotes because it wasn't exactly like they were hiding from the couple. They obviously gave the two space, but were intently listening in on their conversation as the guy was saying goodnight to the girl.] It reminds me how soap-opera-ridden life is anywhere you go. Watching the stray dog on the street would also be an interesting project. Their role during the day, and their interactions in the empty streets at night. The only cute dog around here is Lela. She's brown and white and looks somewhat cared for. She has a puppy's energy and wants to play with everyone. It's too bad it's iffy on how clean she is or I would play with her. I really don't envy the life that dog has to grow up living. Hard times ahead, poor thing.

Good night.

Day Island Wall

Kathryn went on another run under the surf on down to Day Island Wall. This is near the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.

You should check this quick round of pictures out as this place is known for its Wolf Eels. Enjoy.