Fair and Balanced

So, I could easily go to parts of Los Angeles, Detroit, or Sheridan, Michigan, take some pictures and tell you that I’m in a third world country. I showed some pictures the other day showing living conditions in Xela, but to be fair there are parts of Xela that are quite nice and “American.” Like, the mall.
 

There is a healthy middle-class in Xela, as it hosts several universities and hospitals. However, the disproportion of poor families to families that can afford to go to the mall is the biggest difference compared to back home. While there are certainly pockets of poverty in the US, here there are only pockets of prosperity. And even most of the middle class folks here drive smokin’ (not in the hot way) cars on the terrible streets.

One thing I’m very happy about is that there are enough middle-class people here to support a water park. Xocomil is about an hour away from Xela by bus, in a warmer/sunnier valley, and a couple of people from my school said it’s awesome. Oh, and it only costs $13 to get in. A group of us are going on Saturday and though it’s not part of my mission here, I’m looking forward to a day of divertido, especially after fighting my stomach all week.

The medicine that the doctors gave me for this study I’m participating in has helped me feel much better, but I continue to have stomach issues and can’t ever be too far from the baño. They think I have amoebas, which the medicine from the study doesn’t affect, so now I have a new medicine to take. Still, I am back to eating Maria de Xela’s delicious food and also the serious goodness that is chocobananos. They’re everywhere here: frozen bananas dipped into dark or white chocolate or BOTH, plus nuts. It’s basically a banana split on a stick. This new addiction is currently bumping helado out of the top of Pepe’s food chain, believe it or not. Call it temporary insanity. Unless you’ve tried one.

I’m now thoroughly off topic and yearn to run out and get a chocobanano. I’ll leave you with a picture of the little-used sports complex and Santa Maria, the gorgeous volcano that overlooks the city.

Oh! Not quite done. Also, I was reading Guatemalan newspaper and was happy to be able to check out the baseball standings back home.

Sorry, I couldn’t get a clearer picture. I know it’s a long shot, but I sure hope the Tigres can catch the Medias Blancas  and Mellizos in the last 40-something games of the season!