Random Thoughts

While in Belize, I hung out with 8 fluent Spanish speaking people from Mexico, Spain, Brazil, Guatemala, France and Italy. For the most part, I could follow the conversation and hold my own. However, I have a funny way of using the language. When I don´t know a word, I improvise with analogies. For example, I wanted to say that the moon was full tonight, but I didn´t know the word for "full" and so instead I said, ¨la luna esta satisfecha porque es muy gorda¨. However, normally, the word ¨satisfecha¨is used to indicate that you are full from eating. So, I said that the moon is full from eating and therefore is fat. I got my point across in the end. I missed speaking Spanish with the locals in Belize and so I´m glad to be back in Guatemala.

There is something completely endearing and charming about Guatemala and its people and not to mention that it is cheaper than most. I realize that what I didn´t like about Caye Caulker in Belize were the tourist stalking locals who just hung out on the side of the road all day in order to interact with the tourists. I found them overly aggressive, especially the men at night. Thankfully, when I took a 7 hour bus ride down Belize, I had a chance to meet the non-touristy locals who were genuinely friendly. They wanted to help without any expectations and they ultimately changed my view of Belize. I suppose in any touristy area, there will be those who look to take advantage of the tourists. The countries that have not been invaded by tourists are the ones I find the most special. Rwanda is one of my favorite countries for that reason; it is not touristy and therefore the crime is low, and the locals friendly. I look forward to going to Colombia where tourism is low, however, I´m not so sure about the crime.