Domingo, Domingo, Domingo

I am writing to you from Santiago Attitlan, a village on the coast of Lago de Attitlan and near San Lucas. This morning there was a boat tour for volunteers, mostly the groups who come for a week or two weeks, and it is chance for them to see more of the area. I decided to tag along today to use the internet (its cheaper than in San Lucas) and to find a book at one of the English bookstores in Pana.

There was no Futbol game Friday, we ended up working all morning and I was caught in the middle of a somewhat tense situation between Rick, the American who is working on the project and Kush, the Mayan who knows the most about the former Coffee Finca and the structures there. Kush kept telling me how Rick doesn´t understand and keeps asking foolish questions and Rick wasn´t buying the answers Kush was giving. It was really a clash of cultures that made me quite uncomfortable and somewhat embarassed. I tried to make the best out of the situation and joked around with both of them. Kush and I get along great and it is hard because Rick is left out of the loop with the language barrier. I think if he would at least learn Spanish he would have an easier time getting along and getting by with everyone.

The mission is crowded again with groups ranging from high school students to older adults. There is sort of an ongoing joke with people who spend more than a few weeks here how it can be a vacation. In many ways this is certainly true. Guatemala is a lot more affordable for any American or European to splurge in ways that they normally could not afford to do. Many of the economies here seem to thrive on the tourism and the markets. This is hard for me to deal with because I didn´t come down here thinking I was going to be on "vacation" but at times it feels like it. Life in general is just much more laid back and perhaps this is where I am getting that vibe from.

It is difficult to see many people come down here with a "vacation" like mentality and really miss out on a fantastic learning opportunity. This country is a resevoir of knowledge and customs that, if given the chance, can be quite fascinating. Maybe this is one of my critiques about the mission: It spends too many resources on making their volunteers comfortable that it is easy to miss both the struggles and destitution that people live with as well as the natural beauty of the land and its indigenous people. It is something I am constantly trying to keep in my foresight and trying to figure out how to mesh what I am learning with my American heritage...I will let you know how it goes!!! (It seems like I am giving a lot of promises that I have yet to deliver, so if anyone has any questions or what not, please ask and I will do my best).

Well I have about 45 minutes before my boat heads back to San Lucas. I think I am going to go grab a beer and finish reading my newspaper. Lots of news going on here, there are political elections and the world cup takes up most of the paper. After U.S. tying Italia yesterday and Czech losing to Ghana, we still have a chance. Keep those fingers crossed, we play Ghana Thursday morning.

Also, an interesting side note, yesterday was Father´s Day in Guatemala. Whoever invented this holiday did a great job on their international marketing. So Happy Father´s Day out there to all you Dads. You too Dad, thanks for everything and now I am going to go try and call you.

Adios.