This last week was an eventful one. On Sunday, September 11, as the United States remembered the events that took place 10 years ago, Guatemalans headed to the polls to cast their votes in the national elections. Elections take place every 4 years for all positions- there are no interim elections like in the United States. They were voting for the president, representations, mayors, etc. Campaigning has been going on for months (really since I got here, although they had to pay a fine if it began before March), and I tried my best to familiarize myself with the positions of many of the candidates. I watched a debate, talked to Guatemalan friends, read local and international news covering the election, and tried to develop my own opinion. Many of the candidates have children or grandchildren who attend the school where I work, so there were many influences to think about there as well. One candidate was disqualified because she was the ex-wife of the current president, another candidate has been accused of many war crimes and crimes against human rights (but has promised a huge crack down on security in the country), another has won a Nobel Peace Prize, another is a nationally known evangelical pastor, and another looks exactly like the guy from the Verizon Wireless commercials (think: Can you hear me now?). I have seen their faces, their party names, and their hand signals on posters across the country. The questions remains as to who is the right choice for the future of Guatemala. There is so much corruption and deception here, that it is hard to choose who would best serve the people and help to alleviate some of the problems here. I have come to love this country so much, and I want to see it progress. I am not sure that any of them has what it takes to fully address many of the issues, but I pray that whoever is elected will work to protect the people of Guatemala in a democratic and safe manner. There was no majority winner in the first election, so there will be a run-off in November to see who will become Guatemala's next leader.
Also this week, Guatemala celebrated the 190th anniversary of its independence from Spain. We have the day off of school to celebrate this, and I spent it laying in bed recovering from the flu. One of the traditions surrounding this day is for people from all over the country to come to the city (or a nearby bigger city) and run a torch make to their hometown. We have a mini-version of this torch run that takes place at our school. They celebrate with marching bands and parades and lots of Guatemalan flags. Hopefully next year I can attend some of the celebrations in the city center. Google even gave Guatemala a shout-out last Thursday with a picture of a quetzal on the search engine's homepage!
Tomorrow begins my first of five Master's Courses this year; I will be finished with the program in March. I am the coordinator this year, so I am in charge of hosting the professor. I attended a baby shower yesterday morning, and then proceeded to lock my keys in my car at the airport while I was waiting to pick him up. Long story short, I tried to have a security guard pick the lock with wire, but eventually ended up calling my insurance company to have a locksmith come. I guess I should be happy to know that my car is difficult to break into, considering car thievery is a big problem here! This week also begins our clubs/ sports program at the school, so I will have my first practices as one of the two elementary school cheerleading coaches. This will surely add a fun element to the school year!
The next two weeks will be busy with teaching, going to class, and celebrating my birthday. I am looking forward to spending a day in Antigua next weekend and hopefully going to the beach once our class is over. Maybe some warm weather outside of the city will help me to get rid of my lingering cold!
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