Classes Cancelled

I think I was the first snitch in Guatemala to find out that they were going to cancel classes. I felt it coming over a month ago. The rumors, indirect and general comments from directors, teachers and the radio. Because it wasn't enough to have at least one day off each week for protests, emergency meetings, workshops and influenza scare. May was good, despite all those cancellations. Students were behaving well. Activities were realizadas. I was able to get some things done despite my directors. When talking to Maggie, another Youth Development volunteer and my licuado drinking partner, and I'm complaining about one of my directors she'll say, "The lazy? Or the crazy?" Generally, I'm complaining about the Crazy. But I don't want to pass on the grief that the man gives me every time I see him. Every so often he mentions that during the 90s he worked for the Naciones Unidas in the Cuchumatanes. Is that supposed to impress me? Well actually, in general, it does impress me if I didn't know how he is. I find it very hard to believe that he contributed to anything productive in any of the projects they did. Ok, enough shit talking. May, thank you for bringing me up.

June, bring peace to this heart and creativity and stability to this brain of mine. I have two weeks to put them both to work so that July will be even better than May. Almost every day during the rest of June, my friend, Edna, and I are going to go walking at six in the morning, because we are cool like that. Edna is cool. Her name makes me think of an old lady but she's only 26. She's married with three small children. She's a good mom. She's got good ideas and gives me good advice. She's very sensitive just like Rab so she kind of reminds me of you. Same age too. Her birthday is in July.

So that is June. Our feria is cancelled for July. Sad. It actually wouldn't have mattered much as I was going to be home during that time anyway but now, seems like I am going home in August. I'm thinking, should I just wait and go home for Christmas. What do you guys say?

I love you guys.

Poastie Toastie

For Potato.
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Whats all going on?

I shouldn´t but I am counting down the days until I come home. I was talking to my friend about the strange, strange feeling of getting on a plane in one place and entering into something entirely new. Im looking forward to that weirdness. I will probably only go home for two weeks. I do not have sufficient days to be galavanting in los estados divididos. As much as Id like to stay for a month or more. Impossible. The midyear vacation for the public schools is supposed to be the week after my birthday, which also coincides with the Dia del Maestro; however, they haven´t announced anything. Everything is rumos here. Rumors floating through the air, circiling into peoples´ ears and out of peoples´mouths. This same friend and I went walking yesterday in the morning. She´s been living in our little town for at least 6 years but she still hasn´t been through all the paths that have been dug from the edge of the highway. This makes me feel better. I´ve explored more than her. But she has three kids so maybe I shouldn´t feel so great. Don´t listen to what anyone has to say here, about other people anyway. She told me that some guy had her that I was dating the director of one of my schools. I couldn´t stop laughing. I must have looked foolish walking down the highway saying, ¨En serio?¨while laughing and slapping my knee. Precisely she said. You can´t believe these people she said. Oh, and the 40 year old man that kept harrasing me so that he could let me borrow a book on the ladino slave or some shit like that, apparently broke his father´s feet so that he would stop drinking because he was an alcoholic. Way to support. Shudder.

Another good anecdote for you. There is a chofer in my town who all the girls have a crush on. I admit, me too. Or I had at least. A few weeks back he fled to Guate because someone got on his bus and told him that if he drove to the next stop that he wouldn´t live. Dramatic huh? He comes back a week or two later. What happen, baby? I thought you got a death threat. So this is what went down. Prepare to be amazed by the creativity of those who surround me. So one day the chofer decides hes going to use the bathroom while on his shift. By the last parada there is a parqueo where people sell, chips, arracheras, en fin, bastantes cosas. He goes to use the bathroom in the parqueo but the bathroom didnt flush so he went to ask the girl (teenager or maybe around my age) if she could get him a bucket or bowl to throw water to make it all go away. She says sure just wait right here. She takes a long time, in the time he waits, the owner of the parqueo, father of the girl comes up. He says I need a palangana to flush the toilet. Man´s like, sure, they go towards the bathroom but the door on the bathroom is somehow locked. They open the door and his daughter is in there, naked. Man starts yelling at the chofer saying that he was going to take advantage of her and blah blah blah and if he didnt give him 10,000 Q he was going to kill him. He freaks out and goes to Guate only to soon find out that this owner of the parqueo has done the exact same thing with at least one other chofer. How the hell did he devise something so freaking weird and distasteful to ¨earn¨money?

That is all.

I love you guys. I am making a list of all the stuff I want to eat when I get home. Be prepared.

Mwere

Random smallness going through my mind. Zipping in and out.

Mwere. Me voy a ir. Said really fast by my primero students. They think its hilarious that me voy a ir sounds like were. So when they see me they either shout mwere or good morning.

My brain is bouncing up and down fro m that ride up and down that hill. Mountain, really.

I´m still thinking about that tiger riding that horse.

Bebes is so cute. I cut his hair so hes got all these bald spots by his belly because I suck. He looks like a little lamb. A little black sheep. Speaking of, there were so many lambs on that mountain today, all I could think about is that Mediterranean place that Chris and I would go to in Chicago.

Pollo Campero has good coffee.

May was or has been a freakeashly good month. June, dont fail me. You gotta be even better than May. Still...F U February for sucking so much. How could you when two great people were born that month? Phil and Michael Jordan. Ok, so Jordan is a douche cus he cheated on his wife. One amazing person was born this month.

I got new books to read. Thanks, Maggie.

Send me books, people. I need books.

Send me face paint. And board games.

I was missing good food so badly yesterday. Profe Juan and I were talking about what we´d have as our last meal. I listed cheese empanadas, sushi, 31st and canal burgers and a thai iced tea.

I went up to El Mirador for the one billionth time.

I missed my students today. Why do I love the instituto that is way more messed up.

I need to wash my dishes and clean my house.

The neighbor that died in the states was finally brought back after over three weeks for his burial. My goodness.

No protests YET this week. Hoooray. All quiet on the western front!

Art Club starts tomorrow????

I love you guys.

My birthday is coming up!!!

Querida mami, lejos de usted, le deseo los mejores de los dias, aunque ya esta por terminar. Usted sabe que no necesita un dia en especial para que le digamos que la amamos. Espero que sepa que todo los dias del año usted es alguien sumamente importante para nosotros. Estando aqui, siempre me vienen visiones de cosas, lugares o experiencias que tuve alla con ustedes. Puede ser en los mas extraños de momentos, pero usted siempre viene a mi mente. Cosas como cuando usted y yo nos sentabamos a comer quesadillas y tomar cafe y usted siempre me decia que como le podia poner tanto cafe. Que me iba a adictar. O, cuando ibamos de compras juntas. O cuando ibamos a caminar al rio. Extraño todo esto pero este segura que cuando regrese estos momentos continuaran y crearemos muchos mas.

La quiero mucho mami, por ser fuerte, por ser chistoza, por bailar conmigo, por no juzgarme tanto, por amar a papi y a mis hermanos, por ser una mujer de Dios, por enseñarme que la educacion es importante, por ser sensible y por ser mi mamita.