NOTES FROM GUATEMALA

The following was sent by a peaceloving sister with whom i've had the blessing of traveling the Africa land. Love in action. NOTE: original content. font/style editing only, executed by Peacemaker.

hola,

first off, let me just say that the rain here is ridiculous.
yesterday was actually the first day it didn't pour in the week and a
half since I arrived in Xela. Mornings are usually sunny and warm but
the late afternoons and evenings are monsoon-like. Supposedly it is
not going to rain for the next two weeks (!) and then there will be a
huge storm.

my days usually consist of spanish class in the morning, long meals
with mi familia and hanging out/studying at cafes. hmmm...not all
that different from life in the U.S., except that communication takes
much longer and everything is uber-cheap. my teacher this week is
great, though we do spend much more time talking and sharing stories
than learning grammar and vocabulary, which is a good and bad thing-
I'm gaining a lot of confidence but am speaking incorrectly most of
the time! its pretty amazing how much you can communicate without
knowing each others language very well. or rather, me not knowing
hers as she knows even less english than i do spanish.
my host mother is amazing for many reasons, but one in particular is
that she basically does not allow us to speak english during our
meals. the number of students in our house keeps growing because so
many people request to live with her!
Last weekend we went to hot springs nearby, which actually weren´t
that hot, and walked about halfway down the mountain before hitching a
ride. So so beautiful. We also went to a few small towns nearby and
saw a beautiful church in Zunil.

I was surprised to learn that
evangelical Christians make up about half, or
maybe a little more, of
the religous population here in Guatemala.
there is also a bakery in
town that is owned by Mennonites. i am
fascinated by this and am
going to try to learn more about it.

sunday we went to a huge market in Chichiquestanago, a town a few
hours
away, and also saw a Mayan ritual that consisted of a young
woman being
blessed by her parents for her upcoming marriage. we were
not entirely
sure what is was all about since the ritual was in one of
the many indigenous
languages spoken in Guatemala.
About 60% of the residents of Quetzaltenango
(the full name of Xela),
and I think 60-70% in Guatemala, are indigenous and
about three years
ago, one or two indigenous women dressed in traditional
clothing were
denied entry to a popular bar in Xela because of their
dress. the
case is pending and the owner is currently under house
arrest. sadly,
there are many, many more stories of discrimination
against indigenous
Guatemalans across the country that are overlooked every
day. i just
read an article about indigenous dress and how it is slowly
becoming
extinct because no vale la pena (not worth it) for the women to put
up
with the harrassment. (indigenous men stopped wearing traditional
dress
a long time ago because of colonialism and discrimination)
sadness that
Nathan, my friend from Berkeley, is leaving on Saturday.
but of course it is
easy to make friends here at the school and i
really like the other students
in mi casa, at least the ones who are
there now. it changes practically
every week.
all for now, amigos. miss you much!
amor,
Bethany