Last three days in Guatemala, a LOOOOONNGGG bus trip and my first day in Chiapas, Mexico!

I picked up my parents from the Guatemala City airport on Wednesday night. Their plane was late and did not arrive until about 11:45pm which means we did not make it back to our hotel in Antigua until 1am.

Thursday morning I turned my parents loose in Antigua as I drove to the Healing Waters/Aguas de Unidad Guatemala office. Thursday was another full, but very fulfilling day. I arrived at the office and got caught up on e-mail, staying in touch with the Denver office of Healing Waters. Then Juan, Dani and I piled into the car and drove to Comalapa, a city of 15,000 that is about 1 hour from the office. Along the way we shared the road with a man herding his cow as you can see in the photo below.



We are installing a new water system in Comalapa this year, so I got the chance to see where the water system is being installed and learn a little bit more about the community. I am really excited about this water system because it is being installed in a Christian school that has representation from various churches in town, including Catholic and Protestant. The school is run by an interdenominational organization with a strong version for serving their community.

This is a photo of me standing in front of the school with a teacher

After visiting the school where the water system will be installed and meeting with some people from the school, Juan, Dani and I toured the local market where I got to take some great photos.

A Catholic church, a brightly painted bus and a "tuk-tuk" (three wheeled motorcycle taxi)

Three boys in the market who wanted me to take their photo

An indigenous woman selling tomatos and potatos

A beautiful indigenous woman selling flowers

On our way back to the office we stopped by a roadside stand where they sell roasted corn on the cob. You rub lime and salt on the corn and it is DELICIOUS!

The woman preparing the corn and cutting the limes

Me enjoying some roasted corn on the cob

We got back to the office in time to finalize our schedule for the next day, which included a morning meeting with a couple of my staff members, and visits with three church partners all over Guatemala city. Friday morning dawned early once again, as I had to meet with Ben, our tech and maintenance manager to help him with contracting an assistant. Then we hopped in the car and headed into Guatemala city. I met with the pastor a two church elders from a church that is really involved in their community. We met on the campus of a seminary where the pastor teaches classes.

The pastor and elders of the church, note a slight difference in height.

After that meeting, we headed to a famous Chinese restaurant in Guatemala city (I know, Chinese food it Guatemala? Right?) The food was mediocre but the meeting with the pastor went well. He had some good feedback and suggestions and really enjoyed getting to know him and hear about his church. Guatemala is a country of contrasts, and this man is the co-pastor of a church. He is well-educated and from a middle class family. His co-pastor at the church is a carpenter with a 6th grade education. It was amazing to learn how well these two men complement each other and can do such a great job leading a church.

Important Healing Waters/Aguas de Unidad and church business over Guatemalan Chinese food!

My final meeting of the day was in the Santa Fe neighborhood which is literally a stones-throw away from the runway of the Guatemala City International Airport. This neighborhood is famous because every few years a pilot doesn't stick the landing at the airport, or the brakes don't work on the plane and the planes end up crashing into this neighborhood. (I guess that is not something you want to be famous for.) The pastor of the church had a great sense of humor and a huge heart for serving his community. It was very clear that he was using the Healing Waters system to reach out to his community and provide them a source of safe drinking water. . . and hope for a better future.

Another substantial height difference. Next to me is Daniela Rosales, a Healing Waters/Aguas de Unidad staff member in Guatemala

We finally made it back to the office at about 5pm and celebrated the birthday of Cristobal, one of the employees at the Aguas de Unidad Guatemala office. Our Guatemalan accountant, Letty, has a one year old son that joined us for the party. After some delicious cake, I took the time to say goodbye and pray with the employees. It was a long but very fulfilling work-week.

Gregorio and Juan Orlando

Cristobal blowing out his candles

I drove back to Antigua exhausted but very content. My parents were waiting for me and we all went to dinner at Mono Loco and had their famous nachos! On Saturday morning my parents and I drove to Lake Atitlan. It is a beautiful lake in the Guatemalan highlands surrounded by two huge volcanoes. We walked through the market and I started to buy dresses for my daughter (who will be born on December 20th.) I went a little crazy and ended up getting 7 different dresses, but it was fun!

Then we took a boat ride out on the lake to a small village. We returned to Panajachel (the major city on the lake) and had a delicious lunch of Mojarra, a fish that is caught in Lake Atitlan.

My Dad and I at the Mirador overlooking Lake Atitlan and Panajachel

Dad after finishing his Mojarra. I told him to eat the eyes, he wasn't interested.

We drove back to Antigua and then met Juan Colmenares (a Guatemala Aguas de Unidad employee) and his family for our final dinner in Guatemala.

On Sunday morning we left our hotel in Antigua at 6:00am to be at the bus terminal in Guatemala city at 7am. Our bus left for Tapachula at 7:30am and arrived in Tapachula at 2:00pm. Tapachula is just across the Mexican border in southern Chiapas.

The border crossing was a little bit chaotic. The bus dropped us off on the Guatemalan side of the border where we had to wade through money changers and people offering to "help us" with the immigration process. Once we got up to the window for Guatemalan immigration, they looked at our passports and told us we had to pay 10 Quetzales each (the equivalent of $1.25.) I was suspicious of that as I didn't think there was an "exit tax" to leave the country so I asked the agent if she could produce a receipt for me. Surprise, Surprise, their machine was broken so she couldn't give me a receipt. But if I wanted to go to the bank a block away and make the payment there, they would give me a receipt. The bank had a line out the door and I decided it would be easier to just pay and get across the border. After that you physically walk across a bridge that is the Guatemala-Mexico border. On the other side the bus is waiting. You take your bags from underneath the bus and then go through Mexican immigration and customs. We put the bags back on the bus, borded and off we went.

From the border to Tapachula it is about 30 minutes and we got stopped at police/military checkpoints twice looking for drugs and illegal immigrants.

We got the bus station in Tapachula which was surprisingly clean and calm for a Latin American bus station. We had to wait for an hour and a half to get our bus to Tuxtla so I ran out and bought some sandwiches, chips and soda.

We boarded the bus to Tuxtla at 3:30pm and finally made it to Tuxtla at 9:30pm. Once again there were at least 4 military/police checkpoints looking for drugs and illegal immigrants.

We checked into our hotel and then went over to Mario's house. He is the National Director of Healing Waters/Aguas de Unidad Mexico. Mario's wife, Kim, is an INCREDIBLE cook and she had made some typical dishes for us. In typical fashion, dinner lasted until midnight and we finally made it back to the hotel and crashed.

Now I am Mexico for the week and will try to post updates a little more frequently. My schedule will slow down a bit, so I hope to be sharing a bit more. Thanks for reading and LET THE CLEAN WATERS FLOW!

The Latino Invasion

I am sitting in the Spanish class that I teach at the University of Denver right now. My students are all taking a quiz, so I thought I would post to the blog while I am waiting for them to finish.

I have been teaching Spanish at different universities since my return from Ecuador in 2002. This is my seventh year as a part-time Spanish professor, and I love teaching.

Those of you that look at my profile picture may be scratching your heads right now. How could that tall, germanic, viking-looking guy be a Spanish professor. I like to joke that I am the "Tallest, Whitest, Blondest" Spanish professor you will ever meet. Students who come in to my class the first day and are expecting an Antonio Banderas looking character are sorely disappointed, but asi es la vida (se la vi, or such is life.)

So I am this tall, blond white guy who has spent nearly 10% of my life in a Spanish-speaking country. I am constantly "invading" Latin America, leaving a little bit of myself there and bringing back some of the culture with me on each trip.

Two customs that I have adopted and made my own are spicy salsas and micheladas. As it turns out, I am not alone any more in my taste preferences for these things.

A few years ago, I read an article that salsa has surpassed ketchup (or is it catsup or catchup) as the number one selling condiment in the United States! This is in terms of total dollars sold, and not total volume, yet. Some excerpts from an article in the Wall Street Journal are below:

I’ve come across the salsa claim several times, as a factoid trotted out to
illustrate the impact of Latinos on the U.S. Tidbits like this often gain
credence simply by being repeated over and over, and this one has already had a
long life: Back in 1992, NPR’s Weekend Edition trotted it out, prefaced by the
comment, “Here’s a fact about American life that may illustrate as much as any
census finding.” That same year, the New York Times reported it in a piece
headlined, “New Mainstream: Hot Dogs, Apple Pie and Salsa.” More recently, the
claim has appeared in an article on marketing on the Web site of the University of
Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, and in a story on ABCNews.com.

So we have had a "Latin Invasion" but really it has been for the better. Now we actually have more choice when it comes to our condiments. I remember growing up there were only one or two selections of salsa in the grocery store. Today we have a lot more choice.

The other one of my favorite things from Latin America that I stumbled on here in the US and that really caught me off-guard this past weekend was the Michelada. For those of you that don't know, Micheladas are a peculiar drink that are particular to Mexico and Guatemala. Take your favorite beer and mix it with lime juice, salt and your own special mixture of spices. Depending on the region you can also throw in a splash or tomato juice or Clamato. Finally, serve this delicious concoction over ice.

Now, when I tried to explain this drink and serve it to my father-in-law, he said "why would you do that to a perfectly good beer." I respect his opinion, but have to tell you that on a hot day, there is not much better then a well-prepared Michelada.

Finding the elusive Michelada in the United States can be difficult. If you go to an authentic Mexican restuarant, you can usually order one, although the waiters always chuckle at the big, blonde gringo ordering a uniquely Mexican drink.

All of this changed this year, when Budweiser started marketing the drink as a pre-mixed drink you can buy in a can. And I stumbled upon this amazing drink in the strangest of places, at the mid-mountain lodge at Breckenridge ski area! I was so excited, that as soon as I got back home, I had to figure out everything I could about this. So I went to Budweiser's website and found this great article and press-release (which I have cut excerpts out below):

¡La Combinación Perfecta!
Budweiser & Clamato Chelada and Bud Light & Clamata Chelada Arrive
Nationwide
Anheuser-Busch and Cadbury Schweppes Team Up on Latin-Inspired
ST. LOUIS (Jan. 14, 2008) – As one of the hottest new products to hit
markets in California and Texas cities, followed by tremendous success in
Arizona, Colorado and Nebraska, Budweiser & Clamato Chelada and Bud Light
& Clamato Chelada will arrive in convenience stores, supermarkets and
grocery stores nationwide today. Latinos, specifically those of Mexican descent,
have been mixing beer with Clamato for decades. Budweiser & Clamato Chelada
and Bud Light & Clamato Chelada honor that tradition by combining
Anheuser-Busch’s classic American-style lagers with the spicy, invigorating
taste of Clamato Tomato Cocktail, made by Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages
(CSAB). . . “This is a recipe that combines cultures and flavors,” said Ana
Vitrano, product manager, Anheuser-Busch, Inc. “Budweiser, Bud Light and Clamato are all highly respected brands that, when combined, produce the
authentic-tasting recipe many Latinos love. It’s la combinación perfecta!” . . .
The name Chelada is a shortened form of the Spanish word michelada which loosely
translates to ‘my cold beer.’ To order Budweiser or Bud Light & Clamato
Chelada, one might say: “Una michelada con clamato, por favor.” To shorten that
but still keep the beer recognizable as the traditional recipe, Anheuser-Busch
focused on the name Chelada.

This is so cool! I love this drink and have been mixing them up for myself for years. Now it is available as a pre-mixed drink.

All of this is to say that there have been some very positive impacts from the immigration of Latinos to the United States. The next time you go out to get some Mexican food and enjoy that basket of chips and salsa, be thankful for the "Latino Invasion."