Jordan

Jordan, my long time childhood friend who has easily transitioned into my adult bestie, visited this past week. So fun! We hung out in Antigua for a couple of days and then headed to Monterrico, the loved/hated beach on the west coast.

Our travel experience was really typical so I'll tell you about it. We scheduled the shuttle to Monterrico on Thursday. They kindly said they would pick us up outside of the church in San Felipe, which is why we chose this agency. Usually, we have to walk into town which isn't so fun with baggage. We woke up early, made our way to the church at 7:45 and waited for the shuttle. At 8:35, we called the "emergency number" to find out where the heck they were, but the phone was disconnected. We waited another 15 minutes and then took a tuk tuk into town. We got to the agency at 9 where they told us that the shuttle was not running. But not to worry, they could take us the following day at the same time. No, we said. We're packed and ready to go now, we don't have that kind of time, so just refund our money and we'll be on our way. Well, they didn't have the money because they deposited it already. "So, let me get this straight. I paid yesterday to go on your shuttle, you decided it isn't going to go but you don't have the money?" Yes. That is what happened. So Jordan and I decided I would deal with it later and then we would look for another agency. We found one that left at 1, so we dropped off our bags and had some fabulous crepes from Luna de Miel. We made it to the beach late, but with time to enjoy the sunset. We swam as much as possible on Saturday and Sunday, fried our back sides and read great books. A couple of Guatemalan friends met us at the beach on Saturday, so we went dancing that night. We had a great time.

Okay, so on our way back to Antigua, we booked the last shuttle at 4 pm. When we got in, they had too many passengers, so they ask us to sit on the laps of the guys who were accompanying us. It was so hot and the drive is three hours, so we really didn't want to. Jordan tried to protest, but the lap she was going to sit on, said okay. So we piled in the car, all 21 of us, Jordan and I on laps of two guys we barely know. Sweating. Jordan gave the driver a dirty look which he mistook as a sultry one and lifted his eyebrows to say "call me". In the end, the ride wasn't that bad, at some point I was able to squeeze in between the guys and Jordan sat on my lap.

When she left on Monday, we took the chicken bus into the city because all the agencies were booked. I found this odd, because they usually let everyone squeeze in. But it worked out because the chicken busses are an experience in and of themselves. The chicken busses are old American school busses painted bright colors. They all have an sticker outline of this naked woman pasted on the front window. Then in cursive some sort of prayer to God to watch over the trip. Everyone piles in, no one is turned away. Three to a seat and in the aisles as well. Our bus wasn't packed so we had our own seats. We reminisced about riding the bus to Exeter early in the mornings in high school and what a treat it was when one of our parents would take us (rare). It is way more fun here with all the vendors who come on and sell delicious treats and random booklets. Every so often someone will get on the bus and make a five minute speech about a skin cream or a math book. Then everyone buys what is offered. Nuts are a favorite. I buy fruit. We got off at the mall, walked around a bit and then Jordan took a cab to the airport. Total cost, de ida and vuelta $8.50 for the both of us. So we saved $1.50. And we got to spend more time together.

Education Reforms

The education system in Guatemala is lacking, that's for sure. Yet, there seems to be some good changes recently. According to UNESCO; 92% of girls and 96% of boys were in elementary in 2006, in high school 37% of girls and 40% of boys. Part of the problem with lack of enrollment in secondary education is that the students have to work to help support the family and school isn't free. There are two types of schools here, private and public. The private schools are expensive and the public schools cost as well. It isn't much, but it is per child, so for the large families, the money is signficant. I couldn't find exact figures, but my Spanish teacher thought around $30 (210Qs) per kid, plus shots to attend and mandatory uniforms. According to BBC, most Guatemalan families live on $2/day.

With the new president, Alvaro Colom (2008-2012), one of his main platforms is education reform. He has authorized the government to pay for the registration fee as well as the shots for each child. And I love this part, to weed out those who can afford to pay for the shots, they have decided to only give free shots to 40 people a day. This means that those who want it are at the hospital early in the morning, often before 6 waiting to get a number. It isn't vale la pena for the families who can afford to pay it, so they don't come. If you don't get a number today, you can return tomorrow. The government is also footing the bill for supplies like pencils and paper. To make sure that the school year begins with the students ready, they have postponed the school year until Feb 1. Usually summer break ends Jan 15, the two weeks will be added to the end of the year. To combat children working instead of attending school, a program is in the works to give each family in need $40/month. But brick by brick, my citizen.

Prense Libre, a Latin American newspaper wrote that last year, about 50,000 were in school for the year, this year 350,000 are expected to enroll. I wasn't able to verify the number because the articles I need are in Spanish, but even assuming the margin of error is really high, it seems education is more accessible under Colom. I haven't read any articles though about hiring more teachers or opening more schools, but maybe they'll address that problem once it arises (...in February?). According to UNESCO, the student-teacher ratio in 2007 was 31 to 1, so if the new numbers are correct, many more teachers will be needed.

Kilo, 16, dropped out of school to make money as a shoe shiner. Every time I see him, I teach him something in English, the first thing he wanted to know how to say: "Lend me 10 Quetzales"