Communication pt. 2

I just had the most incredible conversation with Emanuel, the five-year-old.  He came into my room and sat next to me on my bed as I was writing something on the computer, and proceeded to pick up scraps of paper from my floor (left from an origami ball he enjoyed dismantling yesterday) and fold them into various shapes.  Then I told him I knew how to make a bird and folded a crane for him, which he thought was super cool.  Thus began our long discussion of animals.  He was telling me what birds eat (gusanos) and then we just started to talk about all different kinds of animals and I was googling pictures.  I have never heard him say more than a few words to me let alone an entire conversation.  He has the most adorable big dark eyes and they were focused on me, speaking Spanish with his sweet little kid accent.  Normally the boys are goofy and while we talk to each other they’re normally not interested in conversation.  But I guess Emanuel likes animals, and I sure loved our talk.

Both brothers just adore their sister.  This is Emanuel.

Learning to communicate in a different culture has been interesting.  The language is only the beginning—there’s so much more to understand.  As a gringa (white person) with freckles and super short red hair in Guatemala, I stick out.  And Guatemalans like to look at people who stick out, especially Americans.  It’s not unusual for guys to stare when I (or any girl) walk by, and they sometimes seem to think that catcalling or attempting to speak English is going to attract positive attention.  This may sound negative and I definitely don’t want to portray a negative image of this beautiful culture.  Men are just different, and I pass lots of guys every day who are perfectly genial and courteous.  But because of what I had heard about the supposedly over-zealous men here before I came, as well as the necessity for caution to avoid getting mugged, it took me several weeks to develop appropriate interaction with the males that I see in the streets on a daily basis. 

Most of the streets in Antigua don't have this much green, but I love this road because it reminds me of France and it's just so pretty.

Here in Antigua, we walk everywhere and people are abundant, so I pass a lot of people on the narrow sidewalks lining the cobblestone streets.  At first, I just ignored everyone I passed because I didn’t want to give guys the wrong idea.  But I didn’t like this because I not only did I want to portray America in a positive fashion, I wanted to be kind and friendly.  Now I’ve developed a good balance as I’ve learned that it’s perfectly fine and safe to greet people as we cross paths, and I’m not afraid to say hola or exchange a few words.  It’s also been interesting trying to be polite when I interact with people other than my family because often I’m concentrating so hard on trying to speak correctly and intelligibly that I forget to say please.  I try to compensate by saying thank you a lot.

Speaking of passing people on the streets, the other day I was walking with a friend and a little girl passed us with her mom who was carrying lots of trinkets to sell.  The little girl called out to us, “We have good price for you ladies!”  Automatically we replied with, “no, gracias” but then silence fell as the weight of the situation sank in.  The girl probably wasn’t more than 10 or 12 and she had already begun the life of vending souvenirs to tourists and gringos—and she knew the right English words to say.  That kind of thing would not fly in the US and I wish it didn't here either.