I'm Home...Now What?

I guess I'm not quite done here. I like writing about my life occasionally, so I'll probably keep this up. Thanks to everyone who kept up with my Guatemalan adventure. It was really good for my soul and I feel like it's given me some great perspective. I'm not done with adventures!
I'm a list maker, so here's today's "Pepe's Transition" list:

• One of the first things I did when I got home was take a shower. A nice, long, hot, shower. I think the world would be a perfect place if everyone on the planet could afford this luxury.
• I went and played some basketball today, or at least some shooting around and running up and down the court. I really love that sport and had missed it. I haven't done anything aerobic in months, so it was fantastic to be out in the sun and to sweat. When I got home, I took a cold shower. It sure is great to have alternatives.
• I really need to stop converting prices here into Quetzals or I'll go crazy thinking about how expensive everything is.
• I've been loving my milk and cereal and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches every day. But I am actually starting to miss beans. Not to worry--I'm going to a Mexican restaurant tonight with friends.
• I feel like I'm losing my Spanish already. So I've been keeping the Spanish-language channels on in the background, hoping for some osmosis at least. MUST KEEP WORKING ON IT!
• I now find US money to be boring. The bills are all the same colors and the coins are tiny. I don't have the other Quetzal bills with me, but they're different colors and the Quetzal coin is nice and big and lets you know where it is when you need it. The other coins are fairly worthless, but so is the penny.

That's today's "Pepe's Transition" list. If I may jump on my soapbox though, I'll jump to a "Pepe's Hopes for the Planet" list. These aren't breakthrough ideas, but my time in Guatemala has made these thoughts stronger for me:

• Water for everyone. Like I said before, a planet where everyone can enjoy a hot shower would be ideal. For now, let's just try to get free, clean drinking water to places that don't have it. The privatization of water is a bad idea, allowing for corporate greed to control something that everyone should have access to. Watch the documentary Blue Gold for more perspective. And ease up on bottled water--enjoy your tap water while you've got it!
• We need to stop producing so many humans. Hey, I'm gay so I'm doing my part! But overpopulation contributes greatly to poverty. There's a guy in Thailand, known a Mr. Condom, who has helped reduce birth rates in that country dramatically. Also, we need to get religions on board with this idea if it's really going to work, because of its influence in this world.
• Close the gap between the rich and the poor. I'm convinced that people try to make the best of the life they're given. Our actual needs are small--food, water, shelter. After that, it's the little things, ya know? So I would never say that rich=happy and poor=sad. But when there are such huge discrepancies in countries, when a hard day's work means a mansion for one person and barely a meal for another, the idea of fairness should start kicking in. Another documentary recommendation for you: The End of Poverty? Greed is a strong human emotion. We need corporations with a conscious. At some point, we have to realize that maximizing profits ultimately only helps the people at the top and sacrifices people at the bottom.
• Get off oil. We're going to have to harness the power of the Sun. Somehow, some way. As places like Guatemala become more developed, energy becomes even more important. Oil isn't going to cut it for much longer.
• Free education for all. There are too many kids in the world that don't go to school at all. There are too many kids that don't get to have much of a childhood because they do nothing but work, particularly girls. Education is the best equalizer around.
• Women's/gay/human rights. There are still a lot of the places in the world where being a straight male automatically gives you power. We're only as good as how we treat other people.

Okay, I'm off my soap box. Did I mention that I'm looking for a job? I need to find one just so I can take a break from watching depressing documentaries. But it's important to know the world!

The Home Stretch

Things have been pretty tranquilo the last couple of weeks. It’s my last week in Guatemala and it’s funny, because I wish I had a stronger sense of sadness about it. But the truth is, I can’t wait to get home. In a poorly timed twist of fate, Scott gets on a plane for Switzerland at the same time I get on my plane back to LA. In spite of missing him for two extra weeks, I look forward to the small things: a bowl of cereal (oh how I miss milk and real ice cream), my couch (I’m sure it’s missed me too), my television (though I am vowing to spend half of my television watching time on the Spanish-language channels), my car (I grew up in Michigan; cars are an integral part of my existence!) I’m also starting to get preoccupied with my future existence. I came to Guatemala to work on my Spanish and to experience another culture. Check and check. But it’s also felt a lot like a long vacation and it’s time to get back to work. Of course, I need to find a job and also figure out if I’m going back to grad school.

I’ve also started to reflect on my time here and a question I’ve been asking folks here is: Is Guatemala a “Third World” country? I guess that’s not really the correct term though. I think nowadays, it’s more appropriate to label it a developing country. It certainly has a lot of developing to do. Last week, I got to see one of the public middle schools here, and it’s in a pretty sad state.
My friend Mike volunteered to teach English at the school for a month. You can’t see it in this picture, but the room is pretty decrepit. There’s graffiti all over the walls and desks, the lights barely work, the students don’t have books, and it’s generally pretty dirty.
The kids were very amable, but the school seems to be pretty loose with its rules and regulations. There were 35 kids on the roll for this class, but only about 20 were actually in the room. My teacher tells me that the private schools are much better, but frankly not very many people can afford them.

I’m going to do one more “reflections” post when I get home next week, but this is all I’ve got for now. This is my last day in Xela, so tonight is going to be a big fiesta with my amigos. Tomorrow morning I head to Guatemala City to check that out a bit, then I fly to my Home, Sweet Home Saturday night. Count your blessings, y’all!