A Guatemalan girl in a traditional Mayan traje peeps in through a door.
One of the best things about Spanish school is that it’s not just about Spanish.
Coming in, I’d envisioned the teacher I currently have, who spends most of our time practicing grammar forms. God knows I need it, but my previous teacher (the school swaps instructors each week, so you can experience different styles) followed a different mold. Our lessons consisted of drawn-out conversations, ostensibly focusing on a language point but not really.
In these talks I learned heaps about the history of Guatemala. And what I learned – man, it’s not pretty.
I had no idea that the country’s civil war consumed possibly 100,000 lives. That there’s a dark history of abuses of indigenous people. That, in large part because of those massive problems, the country’s main economic driver is Guatemalans who’d moved to the States and send money back. Only hearing about these things made me sad.
The good part, then, is seeing how relatively content most Guatemalans seem to be. I asked a driver in Guatemala City if, after the country was battered by tropical storm Agatha, earthquakes, and a giant sinkhole, the attitude in the city was down. He said no, not really; people just went about and did things. My roommate here in Xela had a point on this; she suggested it’s possible Guatemalans have been raised not to expect as much as we do, so they’re more happy with what they have.
It’s not to say Guatemalans don’t want to improve their lot or that they don’t want to root out government corruption. They do. They’ve just been saddled with a lot of baggage to overcome, and they’re not about to have that stop them from enjoying life.
Living here, I’ve continually been stunned by how much has happened in Central American nations, places I’d up til now considered generally insignificant. And, I’ve continually been wowed by the quality of people I’ve met, people I’d up til now never even considered.
Thinking about that boggles my mind. I realize how much more is out there to know about. And how many more teachers I’m gonna need to do it.
Kent most recently left his post as an English teacher in Puerto Jimenez, Costa Rica and is currently traveling. To see what he’s up to, check out his blog or follow him on Twitter.
Latest posts by kentgreen
- The Centries: Handing Out Awards to Central America - August 9th, 2010
- Sub-juncting Myself to a Test of Generosity - August 4th, 2010
- Oh No, Ojos! (or, Why Gringos Don't Make Eye Contact) - July 28th, 2010
- We Dance If We Want To (so why don't we?) - July 26th, 2010
- Getting Schooled in Spanish Schools - July 21st, 2010
- Guatemala's REAL Danger: Not Wanting to Leave - July 19th, 2010
- Living the High Life (and not even knowing it) - July 14th, 2010
- The Devils of Panama City - July 7th, 2010
- Paging Maintenance, We Have a Crisis in Aisle 4 - July 5th, 2010
- Bye, Bye, Bias - June 30th, 2010
