Chicken Buses and Internet Cafes

People are especially proud of a few things in Guatemala - their churches and their buses. The 'chicken buses' as they are often called provide transporation from main city areas to the rural pueblos. They are essentially old school buses retired here from the United States. Each driver takes special pride in decorating their bus. Yesterday, we took one of these public buses to San Juan - a small rural pueblo in the mountains. As is typical, the interior had a huge crucifix, along wtih some 'pimped out' stickers and a small electric transformer character that lit up when the driver hit the breaks (funny how they prioritize their electricity here...). As expected, the bus quickly packed with people, three to a seat during the rush hour!

One of the most interesting things about the rural pueblos in Guatemala is that no matter how poor they are, they all seem to have an internet cafe where local youth 'jovenes' can connect to the world. Almost directly across from a communal washing area (photo below) where people have washed their clothes in the open the same way for hundreds of years was an unmarked internet cafe. Go figure....

We spent the day visiting local artisans and learning about their efforts to bring a higher quality of life to their families. I was especially touched by a man who makes wine from nispero (a local fruit here - I don´t think it exists in the US...). He invited us into his two room house. He and his wife sleep with both of their children in one room. The kitchen is used for his craft of wine-making and he has invested any small amount of money he has made from wine back into improving his equipment (he was proud to show us a new refrigerator to keep the beverages) and making official labels. He was so honored to have us in his home that he had set up a small display using his best glasses for us to tast the wine. He strains the juice from the fruit and funnels it through a small plastic coke bottle into another plastic bin to ferment for two years (you can see this contraption in the back of the photo below).

During his explanation of wine-making, his wife was sewing some clothing and we could hear the local neighborhood kids laughing as they played outside. They explained to me that they were playing with a small pinata they had made from a plastic bag and some candies (see it suspended in the tree in the photo above). Notice how happy they all are! There is something to the simplicity of their lives....