Second Guatemalan September

Often when one travels to another country, people have many ideas of what the US is like (or what they think it should be like) according to movies and pop culture. And often, Americans abroad encounter anti-Americanism. One thing that one can’t avoid as an American living in Guatemala is the incredible influence that the US has on Guatemala, especially because out of a country of 13 million people, there are an estimated 1 million living in the States. I can’t even describe how huge this is…remittances from abroad (the states) account for a large percentage of the country’s GDP, which in real life terms, means that people have money to build their houses, send their kids to school (or even private school), and live a much more comfortable life than the majority of Guatemalan citizens. There is a stark contrast between normal homes and which houses are built from money from the states. This is especially the case in the rural villages, where you’ll see some nicer, well-constructed homes, in literally the middle of nowhere. I recently attended a photo exhibition in the Spanish embassy in Antigua, which showcased "remittance architecture". On the very front of the all brochures is a photograph of a hotel here in my town in Chiantla called "Chicano’s Hotel". It is the only hotel in my small town and is very obviously remittance money - big, shiny tinted glass windows, four stories high...it definitely stands out next to all the surrounding small homes.

And as for anti-Americanism, that pretty much doesn’t exist here, which is surprising given how the US has an ugly history of meddling in Guatemalan political affairs. I have never once heard a nasty comment about my country here. When I say that I’m from the states, the reaction is usually, "I love the states!", or "I lived in the states!", or "My brother/son/cousin lives in the states!", or "hmm…Philadelphia…is that near Los Angeles?" It also means that I have to be careful when speaking on the phone or to other volunteers in English, because a lot more people here understand and speak English than one would think. And it’s interesting because people’s experiences in the states can lead them to have a lot more opportunity once they’re back in Guatemala. For example, a man who worked in an Italian pizzeria in Portland, Oregon for three years owns a small comedor near my house. His pizza is by far the best pizza I’ve ever had in Guatemala - even better than the fancy pizza places geared towards tourist consumption in Antigua. And then there’s one of the Municipal Policeman who lived in the states for a few years and did mostly construction and repair type work. He worked in the states until he made enough money to build his house, and then he returned to Guatemala. While his job working as a muni traffic cop certainly doesn’t pay too well, he now knows all these handy skills that allow him to do extra small jobs on the side (like fixing my sink when it leaks). One of the current city councilmen worked as a cook in a chain hotel restaurant in Michigan. He told me that there were "a lot of black people" where he worked and that he knows every single word in English related to making waffles and omelettes. It’s so interesting to think about having what seems like a very low class job in one country can lead to having one of the most important jobs on a municipal level in another country.

Being surrounded by so many people who either personally know the states or have family there has been a really interesting experience for me. Most Guatemalans live around the California and LA area, so a lot of people don’t know where Philadelphia is, but I imagine that Guatemalans know a very different picture of the states than if I were a Peace Corps volunteer in most other countries around the world where PCVs serve. I always took a more liberal perspective towards immigration policy, but even more so after living here. It’s so sad that illegal immigrants are treated like criminals when all they are trying to do is improve the lives of their families. I know that sounds really cliché, but for anyone who thinks that argument doesn’t have good reason, come live in the campo and see for yourself…people literally have no other option. But in any case, it can be fun to have people to chat with in basic English now and then, and to learn about their different experiences.

But despite the rapid globalization and influence of the US on Guatemalan life and culture (like the guys walking around in Hollister and Abercrombie shirts, signs on car repair places that say “car wash”, and the growing number of Guatemalan friends on facebook), there are still things that shock my Guatemalan friends in common conversation. For example, my counterpart Rosario was astounded that in the states, nobody goes home for lunch. I told her that the only people who would go home for lunch are those who actually work from home…otherwise, people’s workplaces are usually too far away for them to return home to eat. She asked what my dad does for lunch, and I told her that he doesn’t even work in the same state and that his commute is an hour long drive, so he usually brings his lunch because it gets expensive to go out to eat (at least $8, I told her, and she was shocked. I’m not actually sure she believed me...)

And then emerged the subject of hired help. Here, even people who are not financially well off have hired help, who either lives in the house or comes and does chores and takes care of the children. It is so inexpensive that it’s not even necessarily a status symbol to have babysitters or cleaning ladies, because so many people do. My counterpart, for example, does not have a high paying salary but it only costs 400 quetzales ($50) a month to pay a young woman to live in her house and look after her baby. And for the past few months, I’ve been paying a woman to come wash my laundry every other week…she charges me between 25-40 quetzales ($3-$5), depending on how many clothes and sets of sheets there are. It is insanely cheap, but I am happy to pay the money to someone who needs it, and it saves me about 4 hours of hand washing…plus, I will still probably never figure out how to properly hand wash bed sheets. When Rosario asked me who is in charge of cleaning in my house, I told her that my parents share everything, and that when my brother and I were younger, we’d have assigned chores that rotated according to the day of the week. She really liked this idea and thought it was “muy correcto” and said that she admired my parents for sharing all the work in the house, because here, that probably happens in about 1% of households. And then she said, “So how do they manage all the housework if the both have jobs?…oh wait, you have washing machines over there.” To think that I used to dread laundry day, which came about every two weeks, and consisted of me dragging my clothes hamper into my apartment building basement, throwing some money on my laundry card, waiting for empty machines, running four loads at once, and then spending 45 folding everything when it was all over…seriously, I used to complain about that?! And now, even though I’m no longer washing my own laundry, I still have to worry about everything getting enough drying time in the sun before the downpours come in the afternoons. One of the things I’m most looking forward to about going home (besides eating sushi and Thai, playing with Toro, and drinking water from the tap) is putting my clothes into a washer/dryer and the wonderful smell of downy that I will enjoy afterwards.

On September 15^th, Guatemala celebrated its 189^th day of Independence, which was fun and special. Like the states, it is a very important holiday, filled with parties, fireworks, and parades. Unlike the states, it always falls during the school year, so the kids are busy decorating the schools with their national symbols and practicing for their parades. The muni employees had a parade, which consisted of us walking behind a banner. Pretty simple compared to some of the other parades, but it was really fun because I got to carry the flag. It made my arms really tired by the end, but it was also a really cool experience.

It is cool to be at the point in my service where I can look back and remember exactly what I was doing and how I was feeling a year ago. A year ago at this time, I still had no idea where my site would be and what my life in site would be like. And although the year in country mark makes one reflect on the service thus far, and goals met or goals that have yet to be met, I feel proud of where I am at this point and excited for things that I hope to accomplish in Year Two.

Independence Day pardes
Carrying the Guatemalan flag for the muni parade


My counterpart´s baby´s first birthday party
Baby´s first piñata. I was in charge of buying the piñata, so of course, I opted for the panda

The baby, who now loves walking, taking me for a stroll around his party
Chiantla´s hotel