Dear Friends,

The other day I was just thinking that it’s not so bad here in Guatemala. And then as if to respond to myself, I thought "nothing has changed!" There are still crippled on the sidewalks and passed-out drunks or comatose diabetics lying in the streets. There are barefoot indigenous women with deep-cracked, dirty feet walking in the filthy streets. I think some of them don’t wear the jellies (plastic sandals) because their feet are swollen and have sores and the shoes

hurt. The street children are still wandering the city and not receiving any education at all. The poor still do not have any social services or opportunities for education. Public education is "free," you know, if you can afford the uniforms, supplies, books, and….

Last week, Roger, a visiting friend from the U.S., a few Kekchi, and I visited a "private" school for the poor kids in Chisec who can’t afford to attend the public schools. There was only one teacher and she taught 48 children in grades one and two (the only grades they have). She is pregnant and hasn’t been paid so far this year, but she loves the children, believes in what she is doing, and hopes she’ll be paid. The poor children come as they are, some without shoes, etc., and none able to pay for the educational materials. Those are scraped together any way possible by the school director who likewise is not paid.

This "private" school is "approved" by the government, which means these kids must march in the parades, of which there are many in Guatemala. All of the school children are distinguished by their plaid uniforms, except for the poor kids who are noted by their tattered clothes. They feel the difference.

Nothing has changed, except me perhaps. And I need to change back so I don’t lose sight of why I`m here.

Love,

Gloria