It's the peak of the rainy season here in Guatemala and we flew through dark clouds when we landed in Guatemala City with lightning striking just off our wing. From the air Guatemala City looks like a sprawling mess (which it is) with houses stacked on the edge of cliffs. It's easy to see why landslides are so deadly here. Guate, as it's commonly referred to, is the country's capital and largest city. It's overgrown, dirty, and one of the most dangerous cities in Central America, which is really saying something. Not surprisingly Peace Corps advises against spending time in Guate and some of the city's zones are completely off limits. The mere sight of Guate from the air displays the dynamics of life in Latin America which has the largest wealth gap of any region in the world. There are skyscrapers and modern buildings bordered by the slums of the rural poor who flock to the city for potential opportunity but instead find harsh reality. Guatemala's airport is much nicer than I expected and it stands as a testament to Guatemala's number one industry: tourism. Covering the walls are pictures of stereotypical, smiling white families having fun at Tikal and other Mayan ruins.
The Peace Corps met us at the airport and immediately drove us out of the city and into the mountains. It's been difficult not to compare everything to Peace Corps Togo even though I know it's a completely different country, set up and experience. But staring out the bus window at Guatemala City it's was tough to comprehend how life with the Peace Corps in Africa was and how it would be in a country with modern U.S. looking malls. After a short drive into the hills we arrived at the Peace Corps headquarters in Santa Lucia Milpas Altas. Santa Lucia is a small town surrounded by three giant, sometimes-smoking, cone-shaped volcanoes which stand over 13,000 ft tall. The view early in the morning is phenomenal but because of the altitude by the afternoon clouds descend upon Santa Lucia.
We spent our first three days in Guatemala doing more orientation (culture, safety, health, etc.) and learning fun facts like how of the 67 countries around the world in which the Peace Corps currently operates, Guatemala is #1 in theft. They broke down and explained Guatemala's crime problem very clearly and it's pretty fascinating. I won't go into it but a lot of it has to do with remittances and 36 year civil war (1960-1996). There is a lot of impunity with something like 3% of crimes being solved. We lived with a host family for those first three days in Santa Lucia. My family consisted of a grandmother, her daughter, and her three grandchildren: Andrea (13), Allen (9?), and Daniella (1). Like every host family I've lived with they were shocked when I explained how I'm an only child. I mainly spent time playing cards with the kids (UNO is a great and fun way to practice a new language) and watching Mexican soap-operas (telanovelas). If you think the drama in U.S. soap-operas is ridiculously over the top (I´m talking to you James Franco) then you have no idea. I´ve been surprised with my Spanish. I´ve been able to understand almost everything that has been said to me. It´s just the speaking which is difficult for me, but it will come.
Our pack of gringos tramped around tiny Santa Lucia for a little bit and I got involved in a pickup game of hoops in the park. It's so awesome being taller than everyone else. A tall, goofy, white guy I feel like Shawn Bradley sometimes. I'm 6'1'' and so not only do I stick out as a white American but also as the tallest person around. Our last day in Santa Lucia some of us took a hike into the hills which was pretty cool. Saturday the 14th we said goodbye to our families in Santa Lucia and headed to our training sites to live with a new family for the next 3 months.
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