Life in Guatemala: February 2006

The Gang problem

A week ago I hung out with Monica, one of my best Guatemalan friends. She unfortunately told me some bad news which brought me feelings of anger and indignation. Apparently her family has been threatened by local gang members in Guatemala City. As some of you may know, gang activity is a grandiose problem in Guatemala and other Central American countries and these threats are very common. The gangs single out families that may have a small business, like Monica’s sister who owns a small general store. Most of these families are too poor to meet the gangsters’ demands. For example these thugs asked Monica’s family for 10,000 quetzales and it would take them months to come up with that kind of money. If the family doesn’t come up with the money then their lives are in danger. They will kill everyone in the family starting with the women and children. It’s so sad to see how cold hearted and merciless these gangs are. These poor families are put in a very unfortunate predicament because they can’t pay the money nor can they contact the authorities because the police are usually corrupt. Not only that, but if the police aren’t corrupt and actually do something to help the family, there is always the backlash of revenge. These gangs are huge and there is always another angry gang member who will seek revenge for not seeing the money. The solution is to move to a new town or to get a loan to pay the gangsters off. Even though these aren’t perfect solutions, considering the circumstances, they are the only ones to choose from aside from death.

Lost in Guatemala

Ok so I’m a Lost junkie. I just wanted to be honest with that from the beginning. My site mates Carie and Ryan got the first season of Lost sent to them. Those DVD’s have been passed around all the volunteers in Solola and we’re all addicted. I’ve never been big on T.V. I’m more of a movie person and I can’t remember a time when I got so sucked into a show. Well let me back up, I was all into The Apprentice because I love business and that whole chaotic world.
So now we’ve all seen the first season and we are just waiting for the next fix. Carie has already called her brother in law who mailed season 1 to her. She has threatened his life, just in case he decides not to send the next season. I know you guys are in the middle of the second season and I don’t want to know what’s going on. I mean… I do, but I don’t. You can all understand that inner conflict can’t you? Please don’t email me and tell me so and so got killed or that the French chick ran off with Claire’s baby again. I’ve already been tempted to look on the website and the suspense is killing me, but I will take deep breaths, remain calm and wait patiently until we get season 2.

No stamps, no way!

So it was my Dad and niece’s birthday last Sunday, I decided to send them both a birthday card. I figured it was the least I could do since I wasn’t in the states to celebrate with them. I make my way down to the post office in town and little did I know that they ran out of stamps. I said, “No problem, I’ll come back later in the week.” The post office clerk replied in a straight voice, “No you have to wait until the government prints more.” To my great surprise, the entire country is out of stamps. I thought I wasn’t hearing her right, I mean how could the whole country be out of stamps, isn’t that absurd? As I shared my story with others around me I quickly found out that this happens quite frequently. It’s still no excuse, but I was just awe struck and annoyed that something as simple as sending out a birthday card can be so complicated in a country like Guatemala.

Zip lining through Guatemala

My site mates Carie and Ryan, a married couple had their parents in town and they were nice enough to invite me to join them for dinner. At dinner they told me all about their next day’s excursions, they were going to go zip lining. They invited me and I said, “Yes” with a bit of hesitation and fear. I had never gone zip lining before, so I thought why the heck not.
We drove out early the next morning to one of the national parks in Guatemala where another fellow Peace Corps volunteer works. The Park is breathtaking, full of trees, flowers, fresh air and an amazing view of the lake.
We started off by putting on all the gear; helmet, belts, gloves, and all the necessities to make sure we wouldn’t fall to our deaths. I felt really safe and secure, ready to tackle this adventure. We hike up about a half hour to the first zip line and it looks intimidating. It’s high, real high stuck in the middle of a mountain side and the line seems so long. I try to tell myself to stop doing the mental analysis or else I’m never going to do this. I’m all geared up and ready to go, with my heart pumping overtime. I grab on to the metal handles and one of the guides gives me a little push, with that push I’m zipping and it’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever done! The ride was smooth and the view breathtaking. The only thing that startled me was the stop. “How the heck am I going to stop this thing”, I thought. Well on the other side is another guide ready to catch me. I felt like a speeding vehicle going to crash into a 5 ft tall Guatemalan. It was a little tough to stop, but the ride was amazing!