Monday, August 20, 2007
Antigua
What the Lonely Planet says:
Nestled between three volcanoes, Antigue Guatemala is almost imposibly cute....cobbled streets, mustard and ochrecolored houses with colonial fittings......etc. you get the picture.
What the dark-side says:
I was in the central park and some guy started talking to me. I'm always suspicious especially when I've heard so many bad things about Guatemala. He turned out to be a teacher and started telling me this tale about this guy on the other side of the park. The guy had bought this woman (she was with her daughter) some fire-wood one day, to help her out, the next day he paid for some shopping for her Q200 not much by our standards but a lot over here. Later in the week he met her and her daughter in the park and asked if he could take her daughter for a cofe and teach her some English. The mother was too trusting/nieve and said ok. The girl came back with tears in her eyes and said to her mother that she didn't want to do it. Do what? Sleep with the man for Q300. The man is 53 years old and the girl is 13 years old.
So here's the question? I've heard lots of things about Guatemala and how I should be scared to come here. But what about the guatemalans should they not be scared of us?
What can we do?
Well it's a small thing but I feel I need to write this to tell at least some people another side to the story.
We have the choice to come here, they don't have the choice to leave.
Nestled between three volcanoes, Antigue Guatemala is almost imposibly cute....cobbled streets, mustard and ochrecolored houses with colonial fittings......etc. you get the picture.
What the dark-side says:
I was in the central park and some guy started talking to me. I'm always suspicious especially when I've heard so many bad things about Guatemala. He turned out to be a teacher and started telling me this tale about this guy on the other side of the park. The guy had bought this woman (she was with her daughter) some fire-wood one day, to help her out, the next day he paid for some shopping for her Q200 not much by our standards but a lot over here. Later in the week he met her and her daughter in the park and asked if he could take her daughter for a cofe and teach her some English. The mother was too trusting/nieve and said ok. The girl came back with tears in her eyes and said to her mother that she didn't want to do it. Do what? Sleep with the man for Q300. The man is 53 years old and the girl is 13 years old.
So here's the question? I've heard lots of things about Guatemala and how I should be scared to come here. But what about the guatemalans should they not be scared of us?
What can we do?
Well it's a small thing but I feel I need to write this to tell at least some people another side to the story.
We have the choice to come here, they don't have the choice to leave.
