Guatemala - 2012

Day 11 - Sat, July 7 - Pastores

Kira, the family's cat.

Here I am befuddling everyone. I put my thumb of one hand on my pinky and the other thumb of the other hand on my index finger. Then I move them finger to finger at the same time, which is in opposite directions. Most people can't do it because they are thinking of the exact finger. I just simply move to the next open finger which just happens to be in opposite directions.

OK - this picture proves this should actually be Fri night, since Conchita only comes by in the evenings after work.

Here I am befuddling them with a pencil trick I learned in high school. They are still struggling with it.

The other funny thing I do with them is ask them to say "the squirrel needs a towel". They can't say either squirrel nor towel. It is hilarious to watch. I have a video I will try to link up. O - and Conchita is fixated (for some reason) on the word "cheap". She practices saying it over and over and sounds like a bird. She has more trouble with the word "chip", since the vowel sound isn't in Spanish.

Hugo and I decided to go to the left down the road to Belen's park, since it is quieter (no vendors bugging you all the time). Here we found students studying together on a Saturday. They are studying mathematics and (get this) ACTUALLY STUDYING!!!! No kidding.

Since Hugo and I are spending most of my limited time with listening, we took this opportunity to discuss the education system here. Turns out to be a lot like the US: in poor schools the poorest students struggle and have behaviour problems. In rich private schools the rich kids try to run the show. And the lowly teacher is always stuck in the middle.

One is a pigeon (background) and the other a dove, but they are both called Paloma here. Later I heard a name for the dove, but don't remember it.

After a while the girls united and one of the smarter students helped them with the answers, I think.

Indigenous girls from the Belen Catholic school going out on a Saturday.

We went to get the "parilla" grill from the shop. When they told me it would be Q200 ($25) for the repair, I was thinking that was a big high for just a soldering job, but WOW! they did this well. They bypassed the switch, covered and glued shut the access hole with plastic, added a thermostat knob (from a stove), AND put the know securely into the plastic on the opposite side of the grill. What a great job!

Now not only does Maria Elsa have working grill, but she has temperature control!!!

At lunch we found Manuel working on the bishop painting and almost done.

Don't know where we were when I got this picture, but here is a car going into a house, right thru the front double doors.

Hugo is taking us students to Pastores and Maria is hitching a ride to the Mercado for her Saturday buying. We will come back and help her haul it back, a great help to her, since the bags are always filled with 40 to 50 pounds of fresh produce.

Pastores is where they make and sell cowboy boots: lots and lots of cowboy boots. The girls have horses and were very interested in boots.

There are probably 20 shops here (or more) that sell boots, belts, and wallets (mostly boots). Unfortunately for the girls the boots aren't as comfortable as they are used to in the US and they are more tejano (hispanic) styles: showy, long pointed toes. Juanito (John) did buy a belt, since he recently lost a lot of weight. I was just there to look.

Another "dog on the roof". The owner is down below and this dog REALLY wants down. I was so cute.

Later that night I was in my room working or checking email and I heard a flute and a drum. From San Pedro I recognized the sound as a church procession. Here's what I found. A truck with huge speakers blaring music and people dancing in costumes with masks. This group is men (I think) in dresses and masks) I was SOOOOO confused.

Second group with various costumes. Turns out this IS a church group advertising a festival in one of the small villages around Antigua. Go figure.