7up

Strange fact: The 7up logo is different here.

Now there may be numerous problems with the corporations these days, but changing the 7up logo is where I draw the line. I used to hold some small hope they still cared. Now that hope has been thrown away, like just so much trash.

How can the world go on, when the very symbol of the 7up industry has been horribly mutilated and disfigured? Who will know, when they buy that Lemon / Lime soda from any Central American store, that it's actually their favorite drink? It a travesty. It's the apocalypse.

And why? What kind of marketing strategy is this sick joke? Is 7up supposed to sell better if it looks like Sprite? All I can say is that 7up has lost my interest, my money, and a valuable market. 7UP CHANGE YOUR LOGO BACK OR I WONT BUY ANYTHING EVER AGAIN.HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT, HUH?!!!1111?!!?!11!!!!/?

(The above speech was written by a random fanatic who appeared and took over my blog post. I apologize and promise I'll have something better next time.)

Conserving in Guatemala

I am amazed at how much people reuse things here.  Instead of just throwing something away  a lot of thought goes into if it could still be used.  It could be used for another purpose or fixed to keep using.  For instance, This week two things happened.  First, the clothes shelves we worked so hard to get, started molding.  Yes, a lesson in furniture manufacture.  If you get lumber straight from the lumber yard here, it's green, therefore wet.  It's rainy season.  This adds up to mold.  A lot of mold.  It took me a couple of weeks to acknowledge my mistake. Finally, a few days ago I went to the secretary at the school, Karin, and asked her if she might be willing to help me get something built for our clothes that was actually dry and treated. That is all going to work out fine, but my point was about reusing things.  The man who is building our new shelves also took away our old, extremely moldy ones to refinish and sell.  He paid us for them.

Then the shower started not draining.  A plummer came and cleaned everything out.  Then he spent some time telling me he was going to take away the drain cover and do something to it and bring it back in 15 minutes.  I had no idea what he was saying, but figured he knew what he was doing.  So I just said Si, Si (yes, yes) and waited for him to return.  He came back and had somehow drilled new holes in the drain and cut the whole bottom lip off of it.  It's working great.  I did feel a bit put to shame though.  I used to feel like I was fairly good at conserving resources.  I am learning from the people of Panajachel that I haven't even begun to know the meaning of conserving.  Jill

From our second week in Panajachel

So, I’m going to try to sum up our first week and a half here in Panajachel.  When we arrived at the airport our luggage arrived with us – yay.  A very nice airport employee helped us get all of our luggage on carts for a small tip.  Once we got the carts outside Hector was there to meet us.  The drive to Panajachel is about three hours.  You round a corner and there it is, the lake, the vocanoes – it’s absolutely beautiful. 

Before we left a very thoughtful family offered to let us stay at their house for a bit here in Pana– until we could find a place to rent.  We have been adjusting to the differences in Guatemala from their home which is in a gated community.  Here are some interesting “differences.”

People are out everywhere.  The store fronts are all open and the stores are small and specific.  One store is plastics others are shoe stores, bakeries, second hand clothing, barbers and many others.  I think there is a barber on every street, but I’ve never seen a woman getting her hair cut.  It’s rainy season now so the streets flow with water in the afternoons.  One of the great things is these little cars called tuc – tucs.  They are always driving everywhere and you just flag them down and they take you anywhere for five Qs (70 cents). 

Laundry has been an adventure and it hasn’t even gotten interesting yet.  There are no dryers as far as I know.  Where we are staying they have a washer – cold water only.  And you hang the clothes to dry – or throw them on the lawn.  In the house we will be renting, like most homes, there is a big concrete wash basin in the yard to wash your clothes in.  Apparently most gringos hire a Guatemalan women to do their laundry for a small fee.  I guess it can be pretty hard on your hands.   We’ll see – I’m not sure what we will do. 

We went to an amazing little town that you can take a boat across the lake to.  San Marcos.  A little girl gave us a tour and Cian played with some kids.  There are some ancient Mayan sites there that we hope to see on another visit.  Also, there is a place you can jump off a cliff into the lake. 

Today we rented an apartment.  We have been looking for a week.  This home only cost 150.00 US dollars a month to rent.  The landlords are a very understanding Guatemalan   couple.  They don’t speak any English and have been patient with my Spanish.  So here, when you rent a home many times it has nothing – no stove, refrigerator – nothing.  Then in a town where most people do not speak any English you have to figure out how to furnish your home. 

Fortunately, a family was moving back to the states so we bought some things from them, but then you have to figure out how to get the stuff across town.  That’s where the fuete comes in.  There is a line of trucks someone told me about, but then everyone just looked at me with a blank took when I said, “donde esta fuete.”  So I asked the librarians who brought a guy to me.  For ten US dollars he moved two loads of furniture for me.  Our landlords are wonderful.  The home is very clean and they have fruit trees and a little fishing boat in the little yard out back.  I hope we will be able to grow a little garden. 

Last night I spoke with a woman a coworker of Brian’s gave me a number for.  She lives on the other side of the lake and wants someone to stay with her elderly husband a couple days of the week.  Cian and I are going to visit with her next Tuesday.  By then we should be settled in to our new home. Addios!

A Month In Pana

As we approach our month anniversary in Guatemala, I am amazed at how much we have done and learned in such a short time.  Here are a few highlights:

(1) We survived getting 5 people and 10 suitcases through customs and out of the Guat City airport and to Panajachel with relative ease.

(2) I started work at Panajachel Colegio Internacional.  Life is not easy for teachers here.  We have hardly any text books, no copier and no real budget to remedy the situation.  Despite lacking these educational tools, my fellow teachers and I are amazed at the level of quality the students have.  Engaging in deep, thoughtful discussion is the norm for the classroom and the young people come to school actually wanting to learn!

(3) Jill found us a house and negotiated the deal.  We moved in with the help of some Guatemalans with a pickup truck.  Jill found a lumber yard and got us some wood to build dressers.  Jill also prepares our meals in a kitchen with no running water, no oven and a two burner, portable stove top.  We sleep under mosquito netting which somehow Jill found and hung one day while I was at work.  Turns out during the rainy season, the mosquitoes see us as Thanksgiving dinner.  What is most amazing about all this is that Jill has done it all (and much more) with little to no Spanish!  It is amazing what can be accomplished with a few improperly used verbs and nouns.

(4) The kids are settling into school but it has been difficult given that they are the only students who are not fluent in Spanish.  All the other kids talk to each other in Spanish between classes and on breaks.  Despite this small barrier, Camden and Atira are adapting well and learning the new language quickly.

(5) Cian has become a celebrity in our neighborhood.  He plays soccer and kick-the-can on the street with all the kids.  He is the youngest but in his mind that does not matter.  The older kids love him and protect him like a little brother.

Those are some of the highlights of this wild adventure.  While there are a lot of things we miss about the States (and Laramie in particular), we are so fortunate to be having this experience of a lifetime.