Comparing Guatemalan Life to My US Life

A few days ago I saw a small plane, and a few days before that, a helicopter. I realized I haven't seen or heard any other flying machines in quite some time, and that quite a few things about my day-to-day experiences are quite different. Here are a few:

It's been about a month since there's been a day with no rain, though today may prove to be the exception.

I've hardly watched any TV or movies since I've been here. I did watch 90 minutes of excellent soccer today -- Yay Barca!

I never experience hot or cold except to a minimal extent -- it's always pleasant here.

I haven't felt heating or air-conditioning for quite some time. A little when I was in Honduras.

I very rarely travel in motorized vehicles and haven't driven in nearly 2 months. I walk many times as far here as I do in the States.

I no longer think it's strange to travel standing up in the back of a pickup with 10 of 15 other people, almost all of whom are at least a foot shorter than I am.

I no longer think it's uncomfortable to sit 3 people to a seat on a bus, touching the person in the seat across from you except when the guy collecting money has to squeeze down the aisle.

I am not surprised when nine out of ten vehicles I see are tuc-tucs.

I don't work out with weights here. I really miss that.

I haven't been in a large supermarket my whole time here. The only produce section I know is the market.

I never have a bottomless coffee in restaurants or diners any more. I had coffee with breakfast in a comedor a few weeks back. It was lukewarm and barely had any flavor.

I eat fried chicken regularly. I never eat it back home. Here, it's freshly killed and freshly cooked. It's so good! God only knows where it comes from in the states.

Pork is not seen in Santiago. There are some pigs in other towns.

I haven't had flour tortillas since I've been here, with one exception. Geneen bought some at a Gringo Market. They were awful, not the fresh ones we get in Tucson. But the corn tortillas here are fantastic, hot off the plancha!

I think it's odd when I see women in athletic wear. Aside from a few foreigners and people from the city, women wear corte and guipil (traditional dress) here.

It's been months since I believed anyone when they said something would begin at a certain time, or be completed within a certain time frame.

I am fully used to seeing garbage strewn all ove the place, and buying things with mcuh less packaging.

I am no longer amazed when I discover that adults, who work in technical fields, have no idea how much six times seven is.

I don't want to grow insensitive to all the dogs whose flesh is wasting away as they convert what little food they get into milk for their puppies.

It's been a long time since I thought public urination was strange, or seeing topless women washing their laundry in the lake was unusual. I've stopped wondering whether the crap in the streets is doggie-doo...