Dylan's Request

Ok, so Dylan wants to hear more about my daily life...it's not interesting. Here's a day in my life now:

I wake up to my alarm at approximately 7:30am, used to be earlier when I cared if I was on time for breakfast but now I just wait until my mom knocks on my door and says, "kira, vas a desayunar," which means "kira, come eat breakfast." So I roll out of bed and put on some clothes and head to the dining room. Usually I have either corn flakes and a banana to cut up into it or mosh, which is like oatmeal but way soupier, with banana as well, and tea, tea always. I eat it, usually alone or with the family friend, Yomarra. Then I go shower or not, get ready, chat a little with the 4 year old, Camila, who if I'm wearing my backpack she makes sure I leave with the top and bottom straps buckled, she says it's mas seguro (more safe) and not to take it off until I get to school...it's precious. I have to squat for her to buckle me up. Then I say either, "que les vaya bien," or "buen dia," to the mom who is doing camila's hair in front of the television while she draws or eats. Then I walk to school. Usually it smells very strong of exhaust, and often school buses come by and spit out a huge cloud of black exhaust into your face and it's awesome. Kids are being taken to school in their school uniforms, drunks are passed out on corners sometimes or else just sitting there starting into the future they don't have, dogs everywhere. I just walk to school, ignore the things said if they are said cause I don't know what they're saying anyways. Though good thing I actually listened the other day cause the guy was telling me my backpack was open...that would've been bad to yell fuck off in spanish to him! I get to the school and say, "buenos dias" to everyone I see and sometimes ask them how they are...go get tea or coffee depending on the night before. Then I go into the library and use my computer if I have time or I go talk to Paco and give him a little lovin'. Then class begins. We usually talk more than we study, which is was more fun, we talk about love, boys, differences in life here and in the states, gossip, drink more tea or coffee. There is a 15 minutes pause in class where the family has made a snack for us. It ranges, we get tostadas with black beans or guacamole or this red stuff, tortillas, cut up tortillas, vegis, tomales, fruit, hot chocolate...it is all really good. Then back to class for 15 minutes which is retarded and done at 11:30. Then I've got nothing to do until 1:30 when I need to head home for lunch. I usually sit here in the library and chat online or go run errands. Then I walk home, same stuff in the street, go to my room until my mom says, "kira, vas al almuerzo," and eat entirely too much food in silence. Sometimes they talk to me, sometimes I talk to them, but most of the time it's too much effort and I have absolutely nothing to say...and there are 6 others at the table so I get stage fright. Then I have until 3:30 to go to my volunteering. If I didn't shower in the morning I shower then or else I go back to the school to hang out or read or nap. Then I go to my doc's office and wait until 4 for her, don't talk to anyone there really, they all just stare. I've only gone 2 times now in 2 weeks cause twice she wasn't in and twice she didn't have any patients. The 2 times I've gone it's been great though. One mom stared at me and I was kinda like, what in my head, and she said I had really pretty eyes. I suppose it's weird to see blue eyes here cause everything about everyone is brown. Though I have seen a few brownies with blue eyes, pretty rare. After volunteering depends on what day it is. Sometimes we hang out, sometimes we have a conference, sometimes we wait and go out later, sometimes we eat out...In the street I don't really get bothered, I think it's cause I'm huge compared to the guats. I do hear a lot, Hi, or Hello, or I want to be your friend, in english, which is always kinda funny. There really aren't too many interesting interactions with the people. If you see an indigenous woman with a bunch of stuff you try to not look at her or she will try to sell you everything she's got to the point she'll ask you what you want to pay. I think the people here are used to foreigners, a lot come here to study spanish, there are spanish schools everywhere. I've gotten used to the cars, you just have to go for it and cross fast, they won't really hit you but they'll get close so it's best to just stay out of the way, but now if I hear a car I just step up on the sidewalk. Sometimes cars or buses will swerve at you on purpose just to fuck with you, that's really annoying. I don't remember if I told you all this but here, the indigenous women have like 12 babies cause the boyfriend or husband thinks that keeping them preggers will keep other men away so they know their woman isn't with another guy. If they're not preggers they aren't allowed to bathe so that the men stay away also. That's why they all smelllllllllll. So weird, but yet the men have tons of gf's and screw around a lot. Men here are known to not be faithful at all, most of my teachers aren't with their husbands anymore cause they got a new gf or had many. Also, apparently there are men called "Gringo Hunters," whom look for foreign girls in the bars and try to smooze them and they like invite them to hotels but then ask the gringo to pay for it and make the girl pay for everything at the bar and food...weird. I stay away from the men in the bars, they're weird. We have gotten to know a few guys though that are legit, only cause one is the salsa instructor and the other is a student there. We just dance with eachother in the group and not stray away, too dangerous and hard to even converse. This place is just weird. The mountains are more unsafe than the city. Everyone litters and no one cares. Men piss everywhere, I've seen a couple wangs. There is security at the hospital and visiting hours that aren't set and sometimes doors are open and sometimes not, it just depends on the time and whos working. They wash clothes in pilas which are like old fashioned but huge washboards (tried it once and never again, felt like my knuckles were going to break off). There are men with shotguns in front of mcdonalds. If you're loaded, you eat at mcdonalds or places like mcdonalds. There is no fashion. Having parakeets shows economic status. Kids hook up in the streets around sundown cause they can't do it at home. The kids aren't taught about the war here at all. Having bed bugs or fleas is normal. No one is taught about contraception so they all get preggers quick. Everyone is late, always. You can bargain for everything, even hotel rooms. Well, that's all I got for now...any other requests? This weekend we go back to the lake, I think I said that, should be fun, but probably more tranquilo. There's this restaurant here that is sooo good, it's a mediterranean restaurant with awesome tapas, and if you buy a bottle of wine you get a free tapa, we're going there tonight for a goodbye dinner for 2 of the students at the school that we've made friends with. Ok, adios! I still need to write about the weekend working near Huehue...borrring...but here are some pics from it!

My house & Huehuetenango