It’ll do all your hearts good to know I’m almost completely well from my little bout with Montezuma’s Revenge. Interestingly, as soon as I started to get better, the sun came out all day for 2 days straight. I was craving it. One of my fellow students became violently ill a couple of days ago due to a hot chocolate that we both had tried, and she had to go to the hospital in Xela for treatment. Luckily, I was still on antibiotics from my first infection, so it didn’t affect me. I figured hot chocolate would be OK because they boil the water to make it. Hmm. That’s the last time I eat ANYTHING non-pre-packaged off the street! I know, I know... call me crazy... I’m just not a big fan of dysentery...

Things are moving along with my project. As it turns out, my topic is a pretty big issue right now in the community. Parental involvement in education doesn’t exist formally, and there is a bit of tension between teachers and parents. I’ve been able to interview a few people so far and am anxious to talk to more. We’ve been going over the ethics of this type of research in our Monday class, and I guess it’s not real great to talk about my project publicly, so I can’t go into detail. But things are going well. And I am learning all the joys of ethnographic research, including the uber-joy of transcribing interviews. For anyone who hasn’t tried it, a 1-hour interview can take around 6 hours to transcribe. Huzzah for the shorter route of summary indexes! They only take 2 or 3 hours per hour on tape.

Every other weekend, we give our host families (and the rest of the community) a break by skipping town. This weekend we’re in Xela (or Quetzaltenango for short). It’s the same place I went when I got sick, but this time I get to enjoy it. There are a lot of things I’m looking forward to doing in Xela. Using the internet... using indoor plumbing... buying things you can’t usually find in Nueva... Like several sweaters. It’s amazing how far one jacket DOESN’T go when it rains every day...

Nueva Ixtahuacán is a small community with a market of 4 stores, no internet, and really temperamental weather, but I really am starting to love it here. I got a bit homesick for several days while I was under the weather, but my appreciation for this community is growing. I really enjoy talking with my host mom. She is quiet most of the time like me, but she has a great sense of humor and a smile that transforms her whole face. Xoqlin likes to make fun of my language skills, but she laughs at my jokes, too, so there you go... The air is pure (albeit thin at 9300 feet), the corn farms all around are a beautiful green, and you really can’t beat the view from the top of the mountain. And I get great cell phone reception. Yes, folks, I have a cell phone. And you can call it. My number is 502-5126-1146. I hear you can find phone cards with great rates for Guatemala at your local Latino store, or even online. The time is the same here as it is in Utah. Yes, that is a hint for you, Mochi-chan...

All my love,
AlPop