Back! Crossing the border.

Dear readers, I have been gone for two weeks from Guatemala and now I am back with so many topics to blog about. ( The Latin America Heritage Camp and our road trip through Mexico).
Today our main objective is getting across the border. I can see my beautiful Guatemala but we can't get in until we get all the stamps, payments and scrutinizing of our van, while that happens I am enjoying again my Black Berry connectivity.
We left Colorado on Tuesday and a week later we are almost home, 5 more hour to go....but we might have to stop on a restaurant along the road to watch the Uruguay vs Netherlands World Cup game.
Picture: Border crossing Talisman, MX - El Carmen, GT.
Sent from my mobile. CIAV, Cambiando Vidas

Hiper Paiz is literally a zoo!

I've said it and now I have the picture to prove it. HIPERPAIZ is a zoo!!!

Vernon Smith, Economics Nobel Prize in Guatemala.

It is a good thing for Guatemala to have universities such as Universidad Francisco Marroquin bring to us the opportunity to be first hand with academia of this caliber.
Sent from my mobile. CIAV, Cambiando Vidas

Beautiful Gourd Shaped Avocados.

These came from my friend Claudia grandmother's backyard avocado tree in Santa Lucia Cotzumalguapa, Escuintla. Yum!
Sent from my mobile. CIAV, Cambiando Vidas

GUATEMALAN REFEREE CARLOS BATRES

Guatemala will be at the World Cup tomorrow, June 13th 2010, when Carlos Batres referees the match Algeria-Slovenia at 5.30 am MT.

The information on Batres as it appear in the FIFA website is as follows:

BATRES Carlos

Role: Referee Country:Guatemala Date of Birth: 02.04.1968 Height: 178 cm Place of residence: GUATEMALA CITY Occupation: Scientist Mother tongue: Spanish Other languages: English International since: 1996 First international: Panama-Canada (27.10.1996) Hobbies: Sport, reading, time with family Fondest memory: 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan: Germany v. Paraguay

UNIVERSIDAD DE SAN CARLOS GRADUATION

Graduating from Universidad de San Carlos one gets invested with robe and colors by chosen professionals in this case father and brothers.
"Id y enseñad a todos" is the University motto.

GRADUATION OF MY AHIJADA.

The same ahijada I blogged about in January, getting married is now gratuading as a Psycologist. She is the third from left to right.
Sent from my mobile. CIAV, Cambiando Vidas

THE INFAMOUS SINKHOLE

Responding to Gils petition here is a map with the exact location of the sinkhole
View Larger Map

If you scroll south you will run into the airport as a point of reference. The contingency now is was this negligence or not? The mayor says no... Will they do preventive work? Can preventive work be done? The mayor implied no...

IT IS ALL ABOUT THE WORLD CUP

The world cup starts Friday! In Guatemala it is all about the World Cup: who are you going for, were are you watching the games, who is playing, who is not, etc. Productivity goes down but the numbers of TV`s sold go way up, as I am sure the consumption of beer, chips, sodas, chicharrones (pork rinds), etc.

Last world cup (2006) generated a worldwide audience of 26.29 billion for the whole month sporting event and 715.1 million viewers of the final game (Superbowl 2010 115 million).

Guatemala is not going, and hasn't ever gone to the Mundial, which makes it really easy for me to then go full heartedly for the US! I do have to say I am not in a big group, the US is not a classic team, almost everyone in Guatemala goes for Brasil or Argentina.

On the other hand everyone does agree that the US has everything but one thing to become a soccer power, that is passion! Tom agrees, his comment is "Americans are interested in soccer not passionate about it"

For Guatemalans the first part of the World Cup is summarized into two main things that need to happen. We want to see our favorite team or teams advance, that is half the fun and the other half is to see Mexico eliminated (I had no remorse on this until I made Mexican friends while living in the US - sorry!-).

Any case I am proudly showing my US colors with a sticker on car. First game for the US is Saturday at 2.30pm MT against England. See you there!

The picture is the sticker I put on my car and says I am going for the USA (EEUU= Estados Unidos you double the initial to because it is plural) with Prensa Libre (that is PR for the local Newspaper)

Buscando Visa para un sueno. Looking for a visa for a dream.

Buscando Visa para un sueno is the title of a song by Juan Luis Guerra (c. 1990). It goes "Eran las 5 de la manana, y uno por uno al matadero..." (It was 5am one by one to the slutter house).
With the tourist visa price at $140.00 and no guarantee of getting it, it does feel like a slutter house.
Familes in line with plans to go to Disney and other with plans of staying in the US, the counsel officers have to guess which one is which, of course they don't always guess so if you pay close attention you will see little boys and girls coming out crying with their Disney dreams shattered...
To apply for a tourist visa, one has to go to a bank to pay the $140.00. You will get a phone card to call to get an appointment assigned about a month out. You get to the embassy the day of your appointment and pack any evidence that you can that will show you have enough ties in Guatemala to not want to stay in the US once you are in. Say a prayer before going in!