Going to Guatemala

In three days I will be in Guatemala with a professor and a small group of students.  We will travel the country for two weeks with our teacher as our guide.  The purpose of the trip is to experience a part of our world that I have not yet seen, and to learn something about human nature and our connection to the geography and the past.

My intention is to learn all I can in two weeks about one of our neighbors in Central America. After all, the United States and Guatemala have a long and confused history. (Do you like bananas?) I have read about Guatemala, I have seen pictures of the country and her people.  I know about poverty and warfare and colonialism as I have learned from books written by English-speaking journalists and field workers.

In just two weeks, I will observe the outcomes of pre-Columbian and colonial decisions.  I will see how people have lived after their Independence and subsequent neo-colonialism imposed by dictatorships (sponsored by the corporate us).  I wonder how they will perceive me: an overweight American woman with a camera, butchering Spanish while buying up as many hand-embroidered textiles as will fit in my bag.

This will be a great opportunity to practice my Spanish skills.  In a classroom setting, we are tested on our reading and writing abilities.  I have put little effort in hearing and speaking the language, and I expect these two weeks in Guatemala will test these skills and allow me to hear the dialects of a mostly indigenous people who speak Spanish, like I do, as their 2nd language.  I suspect the only difference between us is that my people are the imperialists and their people are the imperialized.

How much can I learn about a country in two weeks?  As much as I can!