picking (coffee) beans in guatemala
Another beautiful day has passed in San Lucas and the language barrier that we were so worried about earlier in the week isn´t such a big deal anymore. I guess we both knew we´d learn, but it sure didn´t seem like we would on Sunday night when we got here. We can actually understand some of the conversations and can even hold our own, albeit simple, ones.
This morning, we went to a small piece of land that Ana owns and picked coffee. It was fun. We cleared the bushes completely, even though there were lots of green ones, because Ana said that once she left, there would be no one else to pick them. We finished clearing her little square of land by about 1 pm, and then her nephew brought the coffee down to a man at the bottom of the hill who buys coffee from people and resells it (at a profit, of course) to people from other towns. Ana listened to what he offered, and was not impressed. He gave us a low bid because of the green fruit and because he probably figured that we had no where else to sell it. Instead, we brought the coffee back to Bartola´s house and sorted out the green ones. When they sold it sorted, they got a much better price.
Not much else to say about today. We spent the rest of it in typical Guatemala fashion; relaxed, in no hurry, eating when the food is ready and sleeping when it is dark. This country is wonderful, and it makes me sad that there is so much social injustice and that the political situation is so messed up. I was reading more about it today, and the dictator who seized power in 1982 in a military coup is still in power today, in practice, if not in name. I guess there is a joke about that here that says that in conversations between the current president and the former dictator, the president always gets the last word: ¨Yes, General.¨
The party he is a part of, the FRG, is a conservative party that represents the elite, the business interests and generally defends the status quo. Guatemala has had a heavily stratified society since the Spanish conquistadors invaded in the 1500´s and the FRG defends this: the Spanish descendents on top, the mixed blood in the middle and the ethnic Mayans on the bottom. It seems like, just like in the US, the indigenous people really get shit on here. Half the country is all about it, because they´re on top, taking an unfair share of the country´s wealth. The other half, the Mayans, do what they can, but money is, always has been and always will be a very powerful weapon. Without it, the Mayans don´t have a lot of options. Is it fair? No. But capitalism isn´t about fairness, now is it?
Enough.
Goodnight.
Tags: Travel
awrichner
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