Sunday, June 29, 2008

Games to Play on a Chicken Bus

I'm now in the process of shifting my Guatemala posts over to this blog. Here are but a few of the fun ideas for games to play on a chicken bus, the omnipresent ancient school buses jam-packed with people and assorted livestock.
1) Buy two newspapers. Race to find the most horrifying story. Double points for catastrophic accidents that recently occurred on your route.
2) Try to cram more foreigners in a seat than deemed humanly possible. First one to get a dropped jaw from blase Guatemalans wins.
3) Convince your seatmate you only speak Chinese. Try to hold a conversation.
4) Persuade the ayudante to let you ride on the roof, as a cure for bus sickness.
5) Speak only in a Texan accent.
6) Pretend to be hard of hearing when your married seatmate hits on you. Break out your fake wedding ring and picture of your "son."

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Return to Guatemala

After a five thirty a.m. flight, a five hour bus ride on winding, pot-hole filled roads, and an awful taxi ride, I am finally in Xela. Wandering down the hill in search of purified water, I have to pause in wonderment at the sunset over the Santa Maria volcano. The sky has this reddish tint that I have seen nowhere else. Walking down the rough cobblestone streets, I contemplate how lucky I am to be back in Guatemala.

The taxi driver might have tried to rip me off because I am, and I quote, "an American"; I may be facing three months of rain and mudslides preventing travel, and I might be working for $2 an hour, but I´m back. I´m back in the land of chicken buses, traditional Mayan dress, and tamalitos. I´m back to a land I can´t even pretend to understand, and it feels great. Every day is a surprise: just why are the sidewalks two feet off the ground? Will there be an earthquake today? Will the neighborhood children set off fireworks at 3 a.m.? What in the world are they celebrating?

I have my nine month supply of Duncan Hines brownie mix, Skippy peanut butter, and a whole shelf of books to pull me through.

Happy trails!

Monday, June 16, 2008

I'm On My Way

I just bought my airline ticket yesterday, and am still in shock. June 22nd, just past five a.m., I will be on my way back to Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. I'll be renting a room in the two story home of a sweet Mayan family. I'll be living with a Mayan priest, his kind wife, their twenty-four year old daughter, and her baby girl.

I now have a working ATM card, a luxury I didn't have on my last trip. Four months and two wire transfers later, I now fully understand the little indulgences that Western society provides us.

I will be volunteering part-time in a daycare for at-risk children. We primarily serve single, working mothers with children between 18 months and five years of age.

To fund my stay, I will be teaching English in a language school, and working in a bookstore. I found this tiny, high-shelved bookstore during my four month study abroad trip, and knew that it was the place for me. I had found my dream job.

I am well stocked with malaria medication, and now just need to leave my travel plans with the US embassy in case of natural disaster or political unrest. Hurricane season lasts through August, so I won't be doing much travelling for a while. The chicken buses are adventure enough on their own; landslides are not needed to throw a little more excitement into the midst.