Some days are like this...

How to begin today? I think you have to experience the desperation of the tangled mess of third world traffic first-hand to really appreciate it. Imagine leaving at 5:00am to try to beat the crowds only to get stuck behind busses belching black smoke and angry honking motorists. Lines of cars constantly wedge into every conceivable space, and your if lane looks clear, you better be prepared for trucks, busses, cars and motorcycles to start flowing right towards you, in the wrong lane. The result for us in the past week has been three minor wrecks and a lot of hand wringing...Some days I wish I was working some kind of project in a forgotten valley somewhere instead of in the heart of the monster that is Guatemala City...

Aside from the traffic, I've downed an entire bottle of Pepto Bismol in the last three days with no end in sight. Fortunately, Teresa and Halle have been spared.

On the bright side, we went to the beach on Saturday, and other than the detail above, it was a fabulous trip.

Again, looking to the positive, the funds that we received prior to the trip have been well utilized. They were used to buy desks for two different classrooms and a whiteboard. This will make a big difference for the children. The faculty and staff are very grateful. Look for pictures soon! (I forgot my camera today). Despite the challenges, it really is wonderful to be here.

11 days...

We've now been here 11 days. Slowly we're working out a routine. I go to the school 3 days each week and stay home (at Berly and Oscar's house in Palencia) the other two. Fortunately I've been able to keep my job as a research assistant so the days I'm home I try to get as much done as possible. Teresa and Halle are home every day, which is comfortable, but at times a bit boring for Teresa. Hopefully she'll get to know some more of the neighbors soon to build more of a social network. But she is a trooper and doesn't complain.

The work with the school is going well. It has been a great opportunity for me to apply the organizational consulting skills I learned in the MBA program. The school is a classic case of an organization suffering from its own success. Berly, the director, has created a school that is much admired for its quality. Under her direction the school has grown from 100 students to 284 and is recognized as one of the best in the area. She is an incredibly gifted educator. But as the school has grown, there are new challenges, especially concerning the best way to manage the organization. Currently Berly runs around focusing entirely on the educational aspects and putting out fires, but never looking at the system as a whole. My job is to examine the system and try to figure out how to make the whole thing run smoother. So far we've made small but important steps in terms of teamwork and the decision making process. It's going to be a great learning experience for me; I'm really enjoying the challenge. Hopefully this eventually translates into better education at lower cost for more students...

It's interesting to be here in Guatemala. It's such a beautiful country with such wonderful people. At the same time there is a strong and dangerous undercurrent of violence and fear. We're constantly bombarded with terrifying stories--the grandfather that didn't pay off the gangs and was kidnapped and then his body sent to his family piece at a time, the kidnap and rape of a young girl, the murder of a father by the police because he turned them in for stealing his car...and the list goes on. And these stories aren't urban legends, they are friends and acquantances of our friends here. This fear taints what would otherwise be an idyllic picture...And yet our experience has been completely the opposite: the love of friends, the kindness of strangers, meals shared by those who can't afford to feed themselves. Strange and sad, but such is life.

Safe and Sound in Guatemala

Well, we all made it here is one piece. We have been in Guatemala almost 1 week. Things are going well and we are settling into somewhat of a routine. We are living in a small town called Palencia, about 1/2 hour outside of Guatemala city. Several days a week Chris will be at the school working on organizational consulting stuff. I will let him write about that. Halle and I will be home most days, but will occasionally accompany Chris to the school. We are lucky to be staying in a nice house with a beautiful little yard. Halle is loving all these new surroundings she has to explore.

During our week here there have been a couple of experiences that have caused me some reflection that I would like to share. The other day we went to eat at a little place (you can't really call it a restaurant-it was just an eating place). A dirty, barefoot little boy that appeared to be around 6 years old approached us asking for money. Berly (the director of the school and also the mother of the family we are staying with) offered him her meal. His face fell, however, when she told himto stay right there and eat it. (so that we could return the dishes when he was done). He said his little brother (maybe four years old) was across the way also asking for money and he wanted to share with him. Berly had the food put in a bag and the little boy ran off, a huge smile on his face, anxious to share his spoils with his brother.

Later that day we went to the store. We needed some "American" things so we went to Guatemala's equivalent of Wal-Mart. We bought a play pen, some diapers and formula, some toiletries and snacks. Our total came to about 1,400 Quetzales, and Chris and I commented to each other that that is comparable to what many people make here in a month.

I tell Chris whenever I start getting materialistic, just take me to an underdeveloped country.It seems to cure me for a while. We truly have so much for which to be grateful.