One Day???

Yesterday (Friday) I took another early morning walk along the lake and around part of San Marcos, the part not accessible by car. It was lovely to walk along the cobblestone paths, accompanied by the sounds of birds and the delicious smell of flowers and plants and one of the ubiquitous dogs who seemed to ignore me but stayed close. Then I began to notice that all the signs were in English, advertizing reflexology, meditation, past life regressions, lucid dreaming, massage, saunas, ad nauseum. I had known that San Marcos was a haven for alternative healing and new age enterprises, but the reality was beginning to hit me. This was beginning to feel like a smaller version San Miguel de Allende, AKA, Gringolandia, where the tourists and expats come to stretch their dollars, create a cozy English speaking community, and have a “foreign” experience. It also started to dawn on me that most of the locals seemed to be in positions of service – doing laundry, selling crafts, working in kitchens and stores-and that all the clients were gringos. We struck up a conversation with a woman from Yugoslavia who was practicing her first Spanish lesson, then telling us about her various trips to Mexico, Central and South America. Her first Spanish lesson?? Along came a realtor, again an expat, who earnestly explained to us (in English) that having foreigners move here and buy local property benefits the Guatemaltecos.
Later in the morning, Ramón, came to my “house” to talk. He is the director of San Pedro Spanish School in San Pedro, several villages down the lake, and we have been communicating via e-mail for several months about an intercambio (exchange)-my giving English classes to his teachers in exchange for Spanish classes. We had a wonderful talk, the first part in Spanish and the second in English. I agreed to teach a class Monday for the intermediate speakers before I go to Antigua Tuesday for the conference but made it clear I would have to talk with people at La Universidad about my role in the teacher training there (the reason that brought me here in the first place) before I made more commitments to him. Other ideas we discussed were my having individual conversations with the advanced speakers and also offering a teacher training for the public school teachers in San Pedro. I was a little taken aback and asked how quickly he could organize such a venture. He pretty much said that if I committed, he could organize a program almost immediately. I was impressed with his demeanor, his grasp of social issues, and his commitment to empowering Guatemaltecos. He struck me as a no nonsense, sincere, focused person of integrity.
Later in the day, Daniel and I went to San Pedro. It is dirty, noisy, gritty, and crowded, and I loved it. The tourists were a minority presence there, and it was refreshing to see Guateltecos going about their business. There I bought a cell phone with a flashlight, games, internet access, and 225 minutes for $150 quetzales, or about $22. An extra 400+ minutes will cost about $2. In relation to this, a man told us the other night that Starbucks pays about $.65/lb for coffee from Guatemala.
Doing the phone transaction following coffee and changing money was a little too much to fit in, and we missed the last lancha back to San Marcos. Daniel found us a private van for $20, so we decided to stick around for a couple more hours to visit the Spanish school and have dinner. We had already visited the satellite school in San Marcos and got the same response in both place when I identified myself: Ah, you’re the English teacher!” They are all so excited about the opportunity to study English and are shy but very gracious and warm people. I have been gently urging them to speak English so I can assess their levels, and there is quite a range of abilities. While we were at the school, I asked about housing. I was told I could find a room in a hotel with kitchen privileges for $3/night or a small house for about $60/month within walking distance of the school. Having gotten used to walking to school in St Cloud, I would value this proximity. I have tentatively decided that I will enjoy my expensive ($11/night) tree house until I go to Antigua Tuesday and then move to San Pedro.
After dinner we headed back to San Marcos along the lake through three other villages and had a wonderful time teaching the driver and his companion a little English (It seems this week that every time I tell someone I am an English teacher, I get another offer to teach.). We got back about 8:30, feeling as though we lived several days in one.