Tecpan

On Saturday we left the tourist town of Antigua for the highland town of Tecpan (60,000 people).  As we left Antigua and began our ascent through the mountains, I could see the contrast almost immediately.  Unlike the brightly painted buildings with red adobe tiled roofs, the buildings and homes were small and made out of scrap tin.  The landscape changed from a bustling city to acres of farmland planted by hand.  About an hour later, we arrived in Tecpan at a hotel recommended to us by one of the interns at the clinic Thomas is partnering with.  I’m hoping that the branch of the hotel the intern stayed at is different from the one we entered because I’m fairly certain this hotel could double as a brothel.   The room we entered was poorly lit, darkly painted, and the two large beds were covered with dark pink silk comforters with fabric roses popping out of the center of a heart, not to mention the door to the room was about as strong as a door to a bedroom.  Needless to say, Thomas and I did not feel comfortable in this hotel and promptly began the search for a new hotel.  Luckily, there was a hotel that felt much more secure just down the road and as a bonus they did NOT have the brothel linens.  

After securing our belongings in out new hotel room, we decided to take a walk around the center of the town. Although the city still showed some signs of damage from the earthquakes, and the buildings lacked the rustic elegance of Antigua, Tecpan felt normal.  The people were not putting on a show for us, they were going about their daily lives. Children played tag on the side streets and the women in their traditional clothes walked in groups with their babies on their backs. Hardly anyone approached us to buy something from them; in fact, we were warmly greeted with a “buenas” by many people passing us by. I’m very excited to be staying here in Tecpan despite it being off the beaten path.

For those of you back home, I thought I would entertain you with some things I am still getting used to about Guatemala and Tecpan…

1. The large number of emaciated dogs roaming the streets-  It’s not so much the dogs that take getting used to, but the fact that none of the locals here seem to notice the dogs.
2. With the dogs comes having to watch where you step when you walk down the street.  Not only does there tend to be garbage you can step in but dog poop as well. 
3. The number of children.  It seems as though every women of child-bearing age has a baby- not a toddler, but a baby- majority of whom are carried on their backs.  There are also a lot of children roaming the streets at odd hours of the day.  The worst are the young shoe-shine boys that are way too young to be working the street.
4.  Women breast-feeding- I understand that the babies have to eat, but I’m used to women in the U.S. being slightly more discreet.
5. Cold Showers- well actually, our shower isn’t cold.  There is a water heater; but in order for the heater to effectively heat the water, almost no water can come out.  So it’s a choice: cold shower or hot shower with barely any water (I chose the latter).  

… I’ll add more as I think of them.