Almost 4 months have already passed since I arrived here,
and more and more I feel like a local… I have been getting used to the
different lifestyle, the different pace of my days here in Guatemala.
But now,
a certain anxiousness about my future, my next steps, starts to kick in. Though
I am still in an early phase, I can’t help it … and often catch myself bouncing
ideas back and forth… hmmmm
It’s somehow complicated to have left a great job and a
career and a lifestyle that you had liked (for the most part) and then you need
to figure out what else to do.
Now that I have the opportunity, I want to give
myself the freedom to explore all sorts of possibilities … and one of them is (surprisingly?) going back into a similar job in a similar environment. After all, I liked my job before. Or would that be
disappointing?
On the other hand, do I have to do something completely
different just because I have the opportunity to do so? hmmmmm
These mind games will keep me busy for a while…
Anyway….
They say that after 3-4 months you start to let go of
your sub-conscious tourist attitude and start to realize that you actually live
in this new place. And that’s when some of the things that are difficult for
you to get used to are starting to bother you just a little more… Well, for me
I have been very lucky not to encounter too many things that really bother me.
Some initial things have been discussed in an earlier post.
As you could hopefully read in my lasts (though not very frequent) posts, I am quite
happy about how things have turned out so far. I have met the right people at
the right time and somehow, everybody has been very nice to me. I have established
a good flow for all my activities (which include sleeeeeeeeping, going to the gym very regularly,
working with Ventanas Abiertas as well as worldpossible.org, salsa classes with
Nancy, and just enjoying Guatemala).
Here are a few more observations that I have picked up
over the last few months. And again, I am not judging, just observing &
comparing… ;-)
USTED (formally addressing people)
One thing that has struck me from the very beginning here
was how ultra-formal this country is in certain ways of communication.
Many languages know a formal and an informal way of addressing
someone. Grammar usually gives a few ideas on how and when to use it, but – as
with any language – its use is also depending on where you are and what the
social / cultural context is.
Here in Guatemala, the basic understanding is: the formal
way to address someone (ie. ‘Usted’) is used, when you want to show respect. So
far, so good.
Now, I am used to formally address people I don’t know
(both male and female, especially senior people), until the more senior of us
offers to move to the informal way of addressing each other. This usually
happens pretty quickly and this respect ‘thing’ works in both ways, unless one
of the two is a non-adult.
Here in Guate, it is very, VERY common to use the formal
‘usted’ within the family and friends circles as well, for example to show
respect to your parents, brothers and sisters, and also children.
So, I have seen married couples that use ‘usted’ between
themselves (after 40 years of being a married couple, they are still addressing
each other with the formal ‘usted’!!), to their children, grandchildren and the
other way around. A 60-year old is easily going to use ‘usted’ to address
his/her sister or brother, even after a whole life of being family, but also to address his/her grandchild.
Imagine this: It’s very ‘normal’ here that someone will
use the informal ‘vos’ (oh, that's a whole other story... :) ) to address the ‘same-sex’ best friend, but will be using
‘usted’ to address his/her husband/boyfriend/wife/girlfriend. If I meet Nancy’s
‘female’ cousin, she will use ‘usted’ to address me. If I meet Nancy’s best
friend, she will use ‘usted’ to address me, but her husband, who is addressing
Nancy with ‘usted’ too, is addressing me with ‘vos’/’tu’. Complicated. :)
Then again, I have seen (male) teachers address me with
‘tu’ and expecting me to address them with ‘usted’, because they were older,
but at the project I work at, if I give math classes
to a 7 year old kid, I will address him/her with ‘usted’ just as well. You
basically use ‘usted’ with everyone except with your best (same sex) friends,
and more so in rural areas! More liberal city families are already using ‘vos’
(‘tu’ is practically not used here) between themselves, but I don’t think I
will ever address Nancy’s parents in an informal way like that, even though they
certainly address me with ‘vos’. :)
Bottom line is: in Guatemala the use of ‘formal vs
informal’ follows a completely different concept. I feel like it has been
replaced with some sense of needing to show respect to people and especially so
to people within the family. It’s certainly different than how the formal
address is used in Europe.
So I have had some very interesting situations, here.
Buses / ‘camionetas’
Lots and lots of people need to travel every day to go to
work/school/allsortsofplaces. That’s nothing new and it’s the same here in
Guate. Guatemala is actually famous for its ‘chicken buses’, which basically
are old North-American school buses that are used here until they ‘die’. And
they are definitely they absolutely cheapest way to travel…
that's a regular one in the street
And guess what, I have to travel with one of those
chicken buses every day, twice. It’s an experience – ie. an adventure – every time
:) for two reasons:
The drivers drive like crazy chicken drivers, as if they
were running away from Police or something like that… way too fast, wayyyyy too
aggressive. It’s because they don’t really run on a schedule and they can
potentially make more money if they get to do a round more.
Having said that, they load as many people as humanly
possible into the bus. If a bench usually fits 2 people, they can fit 3 or 4.
If a row fits 5 people, they can sure fit 7, too. All age groups, all
professions, all sorts of things to take along. It’s a fun experience, that’s
for sure… but I do feel lucky that my way to ‘work’ is a rather quiet road with
little traffic.
(I once took a picture of the usual rush hour mess, but can't seem to find it right now.. :( )
Traditional
clothes
I have been very surprised / impressed by the amount of
people (though mostly women) that are wearing traditional clothes in Guatemala.
Very, very beautifully handmade with nice colors.. the diversity is really
amazing.
Here’s a source for more information: http://www.rutahsa.com/traje.html
Food
I love the fact that my host mom is a passionate cook and
she loves to cook typical local food... so I have been able to try many different typical dishes. Really tasty and nice.
One thing, I haven't grown fond of, and probably won't, is the amount of tortillas people eat here with every meal. I would say, an average Guatemalan will eat between 4 and 8 tortillas accompanying every meal... and I mean EVERY meal. If you don't know what tortillas are, it's a type of flat bread, similar to the Indian Naan, etc. It's really amazing.
I suppose it's a really good filler, so people that don't have enough food can still feel well fed and they are fairly cheap. Maybe that's where this habit comes from.
As a consequence, you can find tortilla selling families at every corner... it's quite fascinating. :)
OK, that's it for now.
Take care and be good... I'll keep you in the loop. haha
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