Living La Vida Loca-Or Not?
So for some time, I´ve been wanting to write about time-Guatemalan time-and how it is affecting every aspect of my life.
Time here is relative-nothing is ¨on time¨at least not by my standards at home. In the past , when I first arrived, I would spènd entire days frustrated that I couldn´t seem to get anywhere or get anything done…but lately…I think I´m liking this ¨Guatemaltecan tiempo¨-and I´ve got no choice, anyway, but to go with the flow!
I´m just trying to have a sense of humor about it all-after all, there is no other choice!
For example:
I needed photocopies one day, for my art class. In my mind I had the enormous photocopy shops of the USA in my brain…but such effieciency was not to be… I was eating lunch with a Guatemalan friend, and had mentioned before the meal that I needed photocopies. She said this would not be a problem, and she had a friend nearby who had a copy machine in her pharmacy shop ( I should mention that most little shops have a multitude of businesses under one roof-for example, right now I´m in an ¨internet cafe¨ that also sells containers of gas, helgados(ice cream) and religious music, which is blasting so loud it´s hard to focus on my words and not write the lyrics!).
So, after lunch, off we went to the friend´s shop. It was 12 noon. My class was all the way across town, at 3:00. We entered the shop, and my Guatemalan friend explained what I needed-30 copies total, or 15 booklets of two pages each.
No problem, says her friend. I looked at the ancient photocopy machine in the corner and thought to myself that it didn´t look up the task, but decided to go with the situation. My friend reassured me that it will only be about 15 or 20 minutes…so we went a walked around for about half an hour, and when we returned…only two copies were made. This didn´t look good to me, so I suggested we find a different shop. But the woman reasssured me, it was no problem, really! Apparently someone needed some legal copies right away, so she had done those instead…. so off we went again.
When we returned, in about half an hour, it was grim. Only 8 copies made! The photocopier had run out of ink, and her husband was unhappy and wanted her to close for lunch. He was very grumpy( It would seem men here don´t cook.) and she was close to tears…still, when I decided to go somewhere else-she wouldn´t give me my originals! So I was stuck there, waiting. Since she was upset, we were trying to be nice about it all. Meanwhile, people were coming into the pharmacy for medicine and candy and so on….she was the only person helping all these people. At this point it was 2:00, and still not many copies.
We decided she needed another half an hour, so we walked around some more. When we returned..total chaos! People had come into the shop, and all of them were helping this woman assemble the booklets. She was in tears, and when she saw me she said, my husband needs his lunch right NOW!
So three hours later..I had my 30 photocopies. I literally never walked so fast in my life to get to my class on time. I had to walk all the way across town-since taking the bus and expecting it to actually get there rapidly would be ridiculous!
Which gets me to the topic of the buses…when you want one, to go to a particular location-it´s rare one actually shows up. If it does it is so crammed with people that I prefer to walk!
Here´s another example of Guatemalan time: I asked for my windows of my house to be repaired.(I´m the only one with a few broken windows..). This has proved incredibly complicated. I asked for them to be reapired about two weeks ago-and here´s what happened:
There is a guy that repairs windows in my area, so my family called him and he said he would come-two weeks ago! So after it was pretty obvious he had forgotten or something, we called again. Turns out he hadn´t forgotten-he just hadn´t gotten around to it yet.
Okay, I told myself, they will get repaired, he will come. Meanwhile I am freezing, due to the fact that it is the coldest month here of the year. Okay, I told myself, as I could see my breath at night and every morning. Okay, I told myself, as I developed a desire to sleep in ALL of my clothes that I brought with me.
So, nothing happened..he never showed up. I mentioned this fact to my family, and they decided to take it upon themselves to repair the windows. It turns out the glass is sitting by the front door of a house on the property, and all they needed to do was cut it and glue it into place. (So why didn´t they do that before? I have no idea!). Of copurse , there is a glitch-they have no glass cutter, and no putty to glue it into place. Someone goes to Xela to find a glass cutter, buys it, and then somehow one of the jkids plays with it and it is lost. A different person says they will buy the putty, but apparently this proves very impossible for some mysterious reason.
Everyday I go off and hike in the bosque, visit friends etc. Everyday I give them the key to my house. Everyday they say that this is the day that either the repair guy will show up, or that they will do it themselves. Everyday I come home to no windows. When I ask why, everyone just shrugs..other stuff came up, I guess.
Finally, I used the duct tape I brought and cut up a bunch of cardboard. Now I have cardboard windows-and I am not so cold at night.
Why did you do that, they ask me. We were going to fix it. Really.
I said, that´s okay..I´m sure it will get fixed..eventually. Like in June.
Everyone laughed and said, Well, now you are becoming Guatemaltecan!
It is kind of nice to not rush around everyday, just relax. Having experiences like those above gives me a clearer picture of the difficulties of life here. It is diffficult to get to work on time, for example. The bus may not show up, or whatever. It´s difficult to make set plans or say you are going to be anywhere at any particular hour-anything could happen. You could be online and the power goes out(happens to me alot here); you could be walking down the street and get attacked by a dog(has happened to me); you could take three buses and walk loads to meet someone, but be stuck in the hot sun in the street waiting for them for two hours (has happened more than once to me).
The only solution is to smile and buy some ice cream from the street vendor walking by..and wait.
gigi
It is La Vida Loca!
Tags: 1
illuminate.gigi
facebook dating site https://allaboutdatingsites.com/
Truly quite a lot of useful info.
https://ouressays.com/ essays services
zoosk dating sitef https://freedatinglive.com/
dating sites without registering https://freewebdating.net/
Actual trends of drug. Medscape Drugs & Diseases.
how can i get mobic without insurance
Comprehensive side effect and adverse reaction information. Best and news about drug.
self-directed study college essay which of the following is not an element of critical thinking? temple college foundation scholarship essay grace marshall
Get warning information here. Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe.
lisinopril 20 mg uk
safe and effective drugs are available. Commonly Used Drugs Charts.
Read information now. Top 100 Searched Drugs.
get mobic online
Definitive journal of drugs and therapeutics. Everything information about medication.
Generic Name. Drugs information sheet.
https://levaquin.science/# where can i buy levaquin price
Some trends of drugs. earch our drug database.
You said it adequately..
https://essaywritingservicelinked.com/ writing the research report
Some trends of drugs. earch our drug database. can i order avodart without a prescription
earch our drug database. Cautions.
Best and news about drug. Cautions.
https://lisinopril.science/# lisinopril 20mg daily
Commonly Used Drugs Charts. Long-Term Effects.
metoclopramide uk how to buy metoclopramide metoclopramide united states
Best and news about drug. Read now. how to get generic avodart
Medscape Drugs & Diseases. Comprehensive side effect and adverse reaction information.
Everything what you want to know about pills. Drug information.
https://levaquin.science/# how to get cheap levaquin prices
Everything information about medication. Read here.
Best and news about drug. Drugs information sheet.
where to buy lisinopril online
What side effects can this medication cause? Best and news about drug.
college essay tip https://essayservicekosm.com/ good persuasive essay college topics
zeven heuvels vrouwengezondheid
benefits of service learning essay http://www.mythesisstatement.com service to others essay
Everything information about medication. Everything information about medication. how to get amoxicillin over the counter
earch our drug database. Some trends of drugs.
Everything about medicine. Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe.
where can i buy generic clomid now
Comprehensive side effect and adverse reaction information. Best and news about drug.
What side effects can this medication cause? Generic Name.
can i order clomid
Read now. Comprehensive side effect and adverse reaction information.
Hello it’s me, I am also visiting this web site daily, this site is in fact pleasant and the visitors are truly sharing fastidious thoughts.
essaywritingservicebbc.com
Get here. Learn about the side effects, dosages, and interactions.
https://clomiphenes.online cost of cheap clomid no prescription
Read now. Actual trends of drug.
cozaar uk cost of cozaar 25 mg cozaar cheap
Get here. Get information now.
https://azithromycins.com/ where can i get zithromax over the counter
Get here. Learn about the side effects, dosages, and interactions.
Comprehensive side effect and adverse reaction information. earch our drug database. https://amoxicillins.com/ amoxicillin 750 mg price
Everything what you want to know about pills. Everything about medicine.
All trends of medicament. Get warning information here.
can i purchase propecia
Prescription Drug Information, Interactions & Side. Everything what you want to know about pills.
Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe. Drug information.
get generic propecia without dr prescription
Long-Term Effects. Long-Term Effects.
Definitive journal of drugs and therapeutics. Everything what you want to know about pills.
where to get propecia no prescription
Read now. Learn about the side effects, dosages, and interactions.
Get information now. Drug information.
zithromax 500mg price
Prescription Drug Information, Interactions & Side. Long-Term Effects.
Generic Name. Best and news about drug.
where to get zithromax
Some trends of drugs. Everything about medicine.
п»їMedicament prescribing information. Read information now.
buying cheap clomid without insurance
Actual trends of drug. Get warning information here.
Everything information about medication. Read information now.
where can i buy propecia without a prescription
safe and effective drugs are available. Get here.
czy demencja to choroba psychiczna
Drugs information sheet. Read information now.
buy zithromax without presc
Everything about medicine. Actual trends of drug.
Read here. Comprehensive side effect and adverse reaction information.
https://azithromycins.com/ buy azithromycin zithromax
Commonly Used Drugs Charts. Everything information about medication.
zofran pharmacy zofran 8mg online zofran pharmacy
Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe. All trends of medicament.
how can i get generic clomid online
Get warning information here. drug information and news for professionals and consumers.
Read now. Get warning information here. amoxicillin buy canada
Definitive journal of drugs and therapeutics. Drug information.
Medscape Drugs & Diseases. Comprehensive side effect and adverse reaction information.
https://finasteridest.online how to buy cheap propecia pill
Get information now. Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe.
Commonly Used Drugs Charts. Drugs information sheet.
ed pills that work
Get warning information here. Get information now.
how to write song lyrics in an essay writing an argumentative essay how do i write a thesis statement for an essay?
Drugs information sheet. Get information now.
https://edonlinefast.com best medication for ed
Learn about the side effects, dosages, and interactions. All trends of medicament.
safe and effective drugs are available. drug information and news for professionals and consumers.
buying ed pills online
Medscape Drugs & Diseases. Generic Name.
Everything about medicine. All trends of medicament.
where buy cheap clomid without dr prescription
Get warning information here. Long-Term Effects.
vardenafil cost vardenafil 20mg online levitra
п»їMedicament prescribing information. Drug information.
ed treatment drugs
Medscape Drugs & Diseases. Actual trends of drug.
how to purchase toprol toprol over the counter toprol 50 mg no prescription
สล็อต xo เว็บไซต์ตรง ไม่ผ่านเอเย่น สมัครสล็อต ใช้เวลาไม่ถึง 5 นาที พร้อมรับยูสเซอร์จากการสมัคร สล็อต ได้ทันที ท่านจะได้พบกับเกมที่น่าเล่นเพลิดเพลินทั้งได้เงินและความสนุก