This was my first day at "work". In the morning I was asked to help Genesey with her numbers. Assignment: write "1" about 25 times on one page and "0" and "1" 25 times on another page. I gathered Genesey had talked back to the maestra and was sent out of class. I asked if we could do it in colored pencils and the answer from the top was no. Black lead only. Note to self: don´t refer the la directora as "la policia".
Genesey did the drawing (above). We did the numbers for about an hour and I made a best friend for the rest of the day. And a friend of her younger sister. The younger sister was about 4 years old and was real friendly but when I asked her name, her face would go from a smile to no expression. I asked her if her name was "sin nombre". Both are being raised by their Grandmother.
Magda took me to look at the swimming pool for my future use. It is in the nearby town San Felipe. It is a private pool but don´t let that fool you. I have learned some Spanish I did not know before, "no es aclimado" means, it is not heated. It is outside and even though it was closed today, they let us in and I stuck my hand in the water and it was ok temperature wise. Magda´s son offerred to lend me his mountain bike so I can ride. Of course, Americanos no usan bicicletas sin guantes. I will have to by some biking gloves.
In the afternoon I mixed a little cement with the worker who was making a small brick addition to a wall. I had to sift the sand and mix the cement. Fortunately, there were some young boys who thought this was "play" and not work and I got them to help me sift the sand and mix the cement.
Walking back from the pool I had a chance to ask Magda about the local culture and customs. Magda and people like myself are not Latinos but Ladinos. I may not even be considered a Ladino myself. The Mayans are not Mayans, they are "ethnicos" (ethnics) or "indiginos". To call them "Indios" is a racial slur. Apparently, the Landinos are in the habbit of saying things like, "Usted limpio su cuarto como un Indio" and they know that it is now politically incorrect and they have to change. Ethnico men are macho macho macho. There is something that goes with that but I could not read between the lines of what Magda was telling me. I will have to ask her more directly next time. Some of the Ethnico women marry French men, Italians, Americans, etc. and live part time in Guatemala and live part time in, for example, Italy. There is something between the lines of that statement that I did not catch either. Finally, the question you have all wondered, why don´t Ethnico (or Landino) women wear wedding bands when they are married? The number one answer is....they can´t offord the rings....the number two answer is...the rings are uncomfortable....
This weekend I plan to go on a long planned trip to Todos Santos up north near the Mexican border.
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