Conversely, Guatemalans will ask how much your left shoe cost you without a second of hesitation. Living in such a money-obsessed, impoverished community has been difficult and bitter, and at the increased exposure to the question "How much?", I find myself fretting for my personal financial future.[...]
Archive for the ‘Guatemala’ Category
August 19th, 2010 - 7:49 am § in Around Town, Culture, Good Ideas, Guatemala, In the Field, Volunteer
Lessons in Purchasing Power and Investment
I have tried my hardest over the past few years to bury the key concepts and bold lettering that were force fed in business school, a process heavily aided by the acquisition of two new languages and ether-like Chinese rice wine. Last week, however, I was reminded of the purchasing power of American[...]
The Centries: Handing Out Awards to Central America
While you read this, I should be on a plane back to the States. As this Latin American production wraps up, I’d like to present the Centries, which honor the highlights of my Central American experience (the marketing department’s working on the name). Best special effects: The Friday me[...]
Sub-juncting Myself to a Test of Generosity
The subjunctive mood in Spanish twists the mind like overwet taffy. Rarely used in English, it’s a different set of conjugations used to express wishes, doubts or uncertainty. According to my Spanish teacher, Latin America is the best place to learn it: ”La vida aqui es muy duro,”[...]
Nobody (At Least Not Me) Knows the Trouble Guatemala’s Seen
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[...]
Marketing Techniques
How do you interest someone in becoming a sponsor for a child in your program? How do you make your program more interesting to this potential sponsor than the tens of hundreds of other child-sponsor programs? How do you convince someone that the needs of your kids are great enough to warrant thei[...]
We Dance If We Want To (so why don’t we?)
Having been immersed in Latin culture, I’ve realized just how fantastic the skill of dance is. What’s great about it here is that regular people, not those with training or extensive practice, often break out into dances with style, with form, like the merengue or salsa. As it was explai[...]
How to Learn a Language
Immersion, immersion, immersion! Sadly, I never learned the amount of Spanish I had hoped to while volunteering in Chile but now in Guatemala, I’m more than making up for it. Staying with a Spanish speaking family is the best possible immersion you could hope for and great fun, too. My Spanish[...]
