A Day in the Life

One of the things that people often ask about is what daily life is like here, so I thought I'd share a "Day in the Life" post.

My weekdays usually start when my alarm goes off between 6:00 and 6:10 a.m. (For those of you who know me well, you'll recognize that this is entirely new territory for me, since I am NOT accustomed to being an early riser.) After Mark and/or I get the girls up, they get started on breakfast (cereal most day) and I face the shower. <Insert dramatic music here.>

For the first several weeks that we lived here, the shower was kind of okayish, and put out intermittent pulses of warmish and ice cold water. For some reason, the shower head got more and more temperamental the longer we lived here, and became increasingly obstinate and cold, before finally giving up entirely last week. I'm pleased to say that our new shower head works like a charm, and even has honest-to-goodness hot water, though only at very low water pressure. This forces us to decide each day if we want to shower under a hot dribble, or a warmish gush. Hey - at this point we're just happy to have the option.

After making sure we've got all of our homework, packed lunches, and (often) our dirty clothes and empty, 5 gallon water bottles, we pack into the Jeep and head off to school. Mark was our family's fearless driver for the first 6 weeks here (and still drives most often), but I've been getting braver, and have actually driven a few times. Our commute to school takes between 10 and 25 minutes, depending on traffic, holidays, and protests. (The latter has not yet been a problem for us, but there have been several teachers and students who literally couldn't make it to school because protests closed the only road from their town to Xela)

We generally arrive at school between 7:10 and 7:25. On days when we have laundry to do, we have to stop at the middle school building, which is down a steep hill from the high school building. It has been SUCH a blessing to have access to the school's two washers and dryers. Of course, all of the other staff have access, too. It is somewhat strange to know that your colleagues are probably touching your underwear when they switch loads. But, such is life here.

My day starts with 10th grade Grammar and Composition. Then it's 11th grade American Literature (we just finished reading The Scarlet Letter), 9th grade Grammar and Composition, a prep period, and 12th grade British Literature (we just started reading Hamlet). After lunch, I have an elective that focuses on creative problem solving (except on Wednesdays, when we have high school chapel), and my final hour of the day is either a prep period (T, Th and F) or a class I co-teach for the juniors and seniors to assit them in getting ready for college.

Our day officially ends at 3:00, but I usually stick around the school to finish planning, grading, etc. until 4:00. It is a very rare day indeed when we don't have somewhere we need to go after school - either the store, the money changer, the market, or an a wild goose chace to find school supplies or something we need for our house.

I must admit - our travels out and about often lead us to fast-food restaurants - especially during the week that our refrigerater was broken, and before we got gas for the stove or pots and pans. We will be moving into our new house soon, where (hopefully) everything will work reliably, and we REALLY hope that the frequency of these fast-food feasts will dramatically decrease.

After supper (fast-food or home-cooked) we hurry to finish all of our homework (usually an hour to an hour-and-a-half) and then jockey for position in the shower so we don't all have to get in there in the morning. After everyone has finished their work and packed their lunches for the next day, we brush teeth (careful not to use tap water) and hop into bed. We aim for having the girls tucked in by 8:30, but it's usually more like 9:00 or 9:30. Mark and I are generally able to turn the lights off by 10:00 or so, and are serenaded to sleep by the traffic noise and the barking dogs.

The next morning, the alarm goes off, and we start another blessed day in Quetzaltenango.

Like a Trip to the DMV on Steroids

On Thursday of this past week I got to go to Guatemala City, which people here just call Guate (say: Gwah - Tay). I had to do some official stuff. I'm still not sure what stuff I did. Or still have to do. But, I have it on good authority that I'm well into the process of receiving my two-year Visa.  <whew>

The day started at 5:30 (in the morning!!!) when I had to get up in order to shower (in cold water), get dressed (in the dark) and walk to Parque Central (in fog). Here are some of the things I saw along the way:

Stray Dog. One of ten or so I saw on my walk.

Sunrise on my street in Xela.

Fresh juice, anyone? 

I think the church in the background is called the Transfiguration Church. Don't know for sure. It's old. And pretty. And visible from a distance.. 

The downtown catholic church from a distance.

Security measures are important. You see a lot of razor wire here.

The downtown catholic church, as seen through the overhang of the gas station. :) 

Another dog.

The catholic church up close. The facade in the left of the pic is almost 500 years old.

Right now the city of Xela (and all of Guatemala) is in the throes of celebrating Independence weekend. Apparently Xela is the THE place to be for the Independence Day celebration. There are parades, a fair, tons of people from out of town, and TRAFFIC!!!!! It's always a challenge to get around here, but apparently even more so this weekend. Oh - and there are also flags up everywhere, like these in  the central park.

The light blue and white banners represent Guatemala's flag. The red, white, and blue ones represent the flag of Xela.

After a big of delay in getting everyone and everything situation in the very comfortable van we were blessed to be riding in, we were on our way. The drive from Xela to Guate usuall takes between 3 and 4 hours, depending on traffic. You have to ascend to over 10,000 feet, and then descend again into the city. The views are spectacular. Unfortunatley, my camera skills in a moving vehicle are not. That's why the only pics I got look like this:

See... there's a mountain back there. Honest.

The view just a second before these trees got in the way was really something.
It's too bad you missed it. (Or, that I missed it with the camera.)

There was fog. Or, is it just called clouds at that altitude? 

Our trip went smoothly, and we made good time - only stopping once for a few snacks and a potty break. It was a very typical gas station / convenience store.

Because of *course* the toilet wouldn't have a toilet seat, or TP.

Because of *course* the gas station is going to have a stuffed alpaca out front.

After we arrived in Guate, I became even more grateful for our intrepid driver. You know you're in a bad traffic situation when you hear the navigator calmly say from the front seat, "Remember - you shouldn't honk at them, even if they cut you off. That's a red chicken bus, and they are the ones who always shoot people."

And she meant it.

But there were other interesting things to look at, too. Like this motorcycle, which had deer antlers, even though I don't even think there are any deer in Guatemala.

Thankfully, we arrived in one piece (despite our proximity with red chicken buses) just before 11:00, and plopped down in non-descript seats in a non-descript room in a non-descript government building. And then we waited. For four hours. During that time I got up twice - once to sign a piece of paper, and once to get my picture taken. I'm so grateful for the school's lawyer, who did all the hard work, and for the people I was with. They were awesome, and we managed to have a blast despite the long wait.

The lady with the purse in the background was waiting with us... AND her two young children (who were so well behaved)! The one giving the thumbs up had to spend her BIRTHDAY in a Guate govt. building, and still managed to smile through it all. Like I said - we had a blast together!

Ok, maybe he wasn't having as much fun as we were. But, still... :) 

After 653,000 hours (give or take), we finally headed back to the van, and stopped off for the most delicious McDonalds we'd ever eaten. (Perhaps not having eaten for 12 hours might have had something to do with it as well.)

Thumbs up! We were so happy to be back to the van.

So, here's something interesting... the McCafes in Guatemala sell the most amazing cake and pastries. We bought Mary a piece because it was her birthday. There may or may not have been open flame and some off-key singing in the van as well.

The rest of the ride home was uneventful. The sights were almost as pretty on the way home as they had been on the way there. Somehow my camera skills hadn't improved any, though, which is quite a shame, since we saw a volcano puffing out smoke and ash. You really missed quite a sight! :) 

Sleeping off the cares of the day (and the sugar from the cake).

Resting from all the resting he did at the government office. (I don't blame him, though. If I could sleep while sitting upright I would have done it too!)

One of the bus stops along the way home. Lots of people...

There's a volcano there. On the right. Beyond the blurry red lights It's even erupting a little as this picture is being taken. Not that you could tell, though...

 

We finally arrived back in Xela around 8:30. It was a long day, to say the least, but we're learning to be patient and enjoy the process and the ride (figuratively as well and literally). So, all in all, I'd say Thursday turned out to be a pretty great day!

Visit

What can happen if you decide to visit somewhere truly different?

By the end of September, Andrea and I will be moved into our new home.  The Lord has blessed us by opening up a house that has six bedrooms, though by United States standards the rooms are very small.   This means though that we can have visitors.

So, we want to open this up to every one of our friends.  Come visit us.  Come down - whether for a day or a month.  Call us, email us, let us know what works best for you.

Do you want to come down and learn Spanish? There are a lot of good Spanish teaching schools, or you could work with a private tutor like I do.

Do you like kids?  The school Andrea works at is always looking for substitute teachers to give a break to the regulars. On the days you are not called, you could take time to explore the city or join me at the Bible College. 

If you are a physical labor person, we can find at least a couple of projects for you to work on.

If you want to be a tourist, that is fine too.  There are many buses to take you to sights around Guatemala.  I would also drive you when I had time.  (Though I will not go down the zip lines, I will watch when you do.)

Come and see a different life. Come with an open heart and see the ways in which people need Jesus.

Just come. Everything else will take care of itself.

I'm Not Quite Sure I Understand...

It's kind of important to be able to speak Spanish down here. Even more so to be able to understand it. I know that sounds obvious, but the reality of it hits you in a million different ways everyday - ways that even I really didn't expect.

For example - my Yahoo! email sign in is now in Spanish. As is Yahoo! news. And the ads in my Facebook feed.  The people who pump our gas also speak Spanish to us. Now, this doesn't sound like it would be a big deal, except if you don't know whether they're asking if you want your windshield washed, or telling you that you're leaking extravagent amounts of oil and other important fluids.

Most of the time we manage to get along with our limited understanding, lots of exaggerated hand gestures, and the seemingly infinite patience and kindness of the locals. But, there is one situation where these things really don't help... instruction manuals.

I just bought my first pressure cooker. I know other people who've had them, but have never used on myself, or even seen one used. Apparently they're kind of necessary when you live at 7,500 feet elevation. At least, if you want to eat beans, among other things. So, on the recommendation of - well, everyone - I went out and got one at our local Walmart store.

It's new! It's shiny! It's exciting! And, its instruction manual is entirely in Spanish.

After a bit of panic and dismay, I decided to dive right in and do my best to understand how to work my new piece of kitchenware. A piece of kitchenware, I might add, which can kind of be like a mini bomb filled with superheated steam and bits of scalding beans.

(I really wanted to get this right and understand what I was reading.)

So far, here's what I've got. (Things in caps and bold are also in caps and bold in the instructions. I'm sure this means they're super important, which is all the more disconcerting when I can't understand what they say.):

IMPORTANT SECURITY (safety?) MEASURES:
-Revise (check?) the escape tube, (something, something) that it is free of obstructions before using your Pressure Express Pan (pot?)
- Be sure (?) that the Pan (pot?) is well armed before using. (I'm pretty sure this is a wrong interpretation, but it's all I've got...)
- Never (something?) the pan (pot?) for (??) 2/3 of maximum capacity, as a general rule. (Or a general gift. Those two words are pretty close, and I get confused.)
- EXTREME PRECAUCIONS WHILE USING THE PAN (pot?) CLOSE TO CHILDREN AND MAINTAIN A CAUTIOUS SUPERVISION (I'm beginning to feel pretty cautious about using this thing!)
- The Pressure Express Pan (pot?) is (something. It has an n with a little curvy thing over it) EXCLUSIVELY for domestic use. (Does it count as domestic use if I'm in a country foreign to me, but native to the pan? Pot?)
-ALWAYS USE ORIGINAL (something. Looks like refraction, but it's not). It is INDISPENSIBLE (this has another meaning... I'm almost sure of it) for the perfect and totally safe functioning of the Olla Pressure Express (tm).

<sigh> It's pretty clear I'm going to have to get some help with this. Either that, or we're never going to eat beans again. I can live without chili, right?

I'll keep you posted...