‘Primero Dios’ is a saying Guatemalans use frequently. Someone will say 'primero Dios we meet next week' or primero Dios we will have enough water to last through the dry season. What does it mean…literally it means God first. It translates as ‘if God wills it’…so if God wills it we will have enough water or if God wills it we will meet next week. Faith in God is a huge part of Guatemalan culture, even through significant adversity Guatemalans keep their faith and understand that plans can be made, but nothing is guaranteed. I have found myself often using this saying. Primero Dios I will make it through these two years.
Growing up in Boca Raton, FL and now living in a third world country has definitely been an adjustment. The sounds, smells, and sights are so completely different. Living here has definitely made me more aware of my surroundings and has heightened my senses. I’ve been at my site in Cubulco for 3 months now and have experienced things that I would have never had the opportunity to experience living in Boca Raton, FL. Guatemala held its national elections in September. The elections were on a presidential as well as mayoral level. There are 14 different political parties with 14 different candidates for president. Since one candidate cannot obtain at least 30% of the votes, there is a second election in November with the two candidates that received the highest percentage of votes in the first election. The two parties left are ‘Partido Patriota’ using the slogan ‘Mano Dura’ which literally translates into ‘Hard Hand’ and ‘UNE’ which is an acronym for something but literally means ‘United’. The two parties are pretty close in the races and the November election should be an interesting event. For the most part the elections went smoothly with some isolated cases of civil unrest, usually caused by mayoral elections. In my town of Cubulco an unfortunate case of civil unrest occurred and as a consequence the mayors house was burned down and two townspeople were killed. I was fortunate to not be in town that day, but was forced to stay in a different town for a week until things died down. I was a refugee for a week. Things are definitely ‘tranquilo’ or calm now and primero Dios that the presidential elections next month will not cause any more violence.
I experienced my first mosquito transmitted illness called Dengue fever…let me tell you it was not a picnic. Dengue fever is also know as break-bone fever or bonecrusher disease…which I think is pretty funny now…not during though. It was like a really bad fever, but strange because I didn’t have any of the normal symptoms like sneezing, sore throat, or runny nose. I did have the worst muscle and bone aches that I’ve ever felt. It was as if someone was constantly beating me. I also had times where I felt extremely hot and my face and neck turned bright red. And the last couple of days I had an itch rash all over my chest arms and feet. Needless to say it was not a fun experience. There isn’t a treatment for Dengue, you just take Tylenol for the pain. I was thankful though that I contracted it about a week before my parents arrived in Guatemala. When they came the muscle and bone aches were not bad I was only dealing with the rash. I just thought I would share my Dengue experience with you all…if you want to learn more about Dengue…check it out on Wikipedia. Primero Dios none of you ever get Dengue.
So I had my first visit from the states. It was great having my parents come all the way to Guatemala to celebrate my Birthday…now that’s love. Not only did they come but their Guatemalan friends from the states came to help show them around. We traveled all around Guatemala going to places that I’ve never been to. I fell in love with the country of Guatemala over and over. The places we visited were beautiful…here is a link to the pictures of when my family was here.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=9pierbn.6rewa61b&Uy=-grro5c&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=1&UV=374778608800_482306886207
Growing up in Boca Raton, FL and now living in a third world country has definitely been an adjustment. The sounds, smells, and sights are so completely different. Living here has definitely made me more aware of my surroundings and has heightened my senses. I’ve been at my site in Cubulco for 3 months now and have experienced things that I would have never had the opportunity to experience living in Boca Raton, FL. Guatemala held its national elections in September. The elections were on a presidential as well as mayoral level. There are 14 different political parties with 14 different candidates for president. Since one candidate cannot obtain at least 30% of the votes, there is a second election in November with the two candidates that received the highest percentage of votes in the first election. The two parties left are ‘Partido Patriota’ using the slogan ‘Mano Dura’ which literally translates into ‘Hard Hand’ and ‘UNE’ which is an acronym for something but literally means ‘United’. The two parties are pretty close in the races and the November election should be an interesting event. For the most part the elections went smoothly with some isolated cases of civil unrest, usually caused by mayoral elections. In my town of Cubulco an unfortunate case of civil unrest occurred and as a consequence the mayors house was burned down and two townspeople were killed. I was fortunate to not be in town that day, but was forced to stay in a different town for a week until things died down. I was a refugee for a week. Things are definitely ‘tranquilo’ or calm now and primero Dios that the presidential elections next month will not cause any more violence.
I experienced my first mosquito transmitted illness called Dengue fever…let me tell you it was not a picnic. Dengue fever is also know as break-bone fever or bonecrusher disease…which I think is pretty funny now…not during though. It was like a really bad fever, but strange because I didn’t have any of the normal symptoms like sneezing, sore throat, or runny nose. I did have the worst muscle and bone aches that I’ve ever felt. It was as if someone was constantly beating me. I also had times where I felt extremely hot and my face and neck turned bright red. And the last couple of days I had an itch rash all over my chest arms and feet. Needless to say it was not a fun experience. There isn’t a treatment for Dengue, you just take Tylenol for the pain. I was thankful though that I contracted it about a week before my parents arrived in Guatemala. When they came the muscle and bone aches were not bad I was only dealing with the rash. I just thought I would share my Dengue experience with you all…if you want to learn more about Dengue…check it out on Wikipedia. Primero Dios none of you ever get Dengue.
So I had my first visit from the states. It was great having my parents come all the way to Guatemala to celebrate my Birthday…now that’s love. Not only did they come but their Guatemalan friends from the states came to help show them around. We traveled all around Guatemala going to places that I’ve never been to. I fell in love with the country of Guatemala over and over. The places we visited were beautiful…here is a link to the pictures of when my family was here.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=9pierbn.6rewa61b&Uy=-grro5c&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=1&UV=374778608800_482306886207
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