// Guatemala - 01/16/09 thru 01/18/09 - Reflections

We spent the last three days of our trip traveling and sight-seeing. The 16th was spent in Panajachel; the 17th was spent in Antigua; and the 18th was spent on buses and airplanes, traveling home.

Panajachel and Antigua gave us more of a glimpse into the touristy side of Guatemala. There were lots of markets and lots of vacationers, and we welcomed the fact that there were no scorpions/lizards/killer ants in our beds here. The markets were awesome. Locals were selling everything from "hand-made" (ie. made in a big factory by the masses somewhere, but they wouldn't tell you that) scarves and blankets; to "brand name" (ie. not brand name at all) socks and shoes; to fresh fruit, meat, and seafood. Bargaining was the name of the game. In Guatemala, everything runs on the quetzal, which is the rough equivalent of one-seventh of a dollar. If someone was asking 100 quetzales for something, you would automatically offer them 40 or 50 quetzales. They would counter, and you would counter, and so on, until you reached a happy price. Wal-Mart and Hyvee should be run like that.

In Panajachel we took a boat ride across Lake Atitlan. Freakin' awesome. I was nervous that the boat was going to split in half and/or we were going to fly out, but it was honestly really awesome. For those of you slackers who don't know much about Lake Atitlan, it's ridiculous. There's no dam, as it's surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, and the bottom has never been found in certain parts. Apparently there are areas that are over 1000 feet deep.






So what did I take away from Guatemala? What did it do to me? I went into it thinking that it would be a big-time experience, so was it?

I would say that three things changed about me:

1. I became addicted, to the fullest extent, to Germ-X.
2. I developed a particular appreciation for warm, clean water.
3. I learned a whole lot about people.

Let me explain that last one. See, the people - and the kids, especially - aren't what I would consider a fortunate group of people. They don't have a lot. Most of them don't wear shoes. Flies land in their eyes and they don't even notice. They live in houses made of scraps. They don't have clean water. They bathe under a faucet or in a nearby pond or lake. Most of them have a chronic cough due to the constant burning of trash and sugarcane. Health care is hard to come by. There is absolutely no birth control or family planning. There are literally children everywhere. They make their living - from day one - by walking the streets from sunup to sundown selling goods.

But, these are, without a doubt, some of the happiest, most compassionate folks I've met in my entire life.

And I don't even speak their language. Now, understand that I'm not speaking about the entire population of Guatemala as a whole, as I'm sure there are some very wealthy people living in Guatemala doing very well for themselves. I'm referring strictly to the less fortunate people we came into contact with that really opened my eyes. These people literally have nothing, and, oddly enough, they don't NEED anything. They're just fine where they're at. They don't feel badly for themselves, and they sure as the world aren't envious of the next guy who might have a little bit more than them.

It's refreshing to see people who make due with what they have. Simple as that. It's just refreshing, and it gives me a bit of perspective that I'm glad I have now.