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.
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.
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