MY THOUGHTS ON LEAVING GUATEMALA.....

Of all the countries I have visited, and there have been many, I think that Guatemala is the one that will always tug the most at my heartstrings. After a terrible start, it turned into an experience that reached me to the very core.

I spoke of the young school girls who were collecting donations at a roadstop in Mexico. They were obviously from a good school. and were acting kind of shy and kind of silly at the same time. When I threw a whole pocketful of money into the cup, they went into a sort of half song-half poem.  The girl who had taken my money was about a foot away from my window.  Her smile was as broad as her face, her eyes were bright, and she was chanting in this beautiful young voice. A flashbulb went off in my head, and that darling little face will always be there engraved into my memory. It seemed the very essence of the Mexican Spirit.

A few days later, I was leaving Guatemala City. The traffic was slow and I was behind a big sort of flat bed straked truck. There were about 15 people in the back of the truck. They looked like refugees, very ragged clothing, some without shoes. they were all ages. The truck was old and dirty The weather was blustery. In the very back of the truck, dead center there was a little girl, I would guess 11 years old. She was sitting crosswise, but her head was turned and she was looking directly at me, staring.  There was no emotion whatsoever in that face. She had on a head shawl or some sort of blanket. Her eyes seemed vacant but focused directly onto me. She looked at me that way for at least 5 minutes.  Neither of us looked away. I couldn't help but wonder, "What is this girls future?"  "Can she have a real chance in life?"  "Why can't I do something to help?" That look also burned it's way into my memory in a way that I will always be able to visualize it. I imagined that she was thinking, "Why is just this one person able to drive around in this big beautiful car?"

A simular experience, but very different. Opposites ,actually

You see those scenes in Guatemala, but you find the people have a kindness and a friendlinessthat you can find nowhere else. In their lack of material comforts, there is a sort of nobility that comes out. You can't explain it. You can only sense it. The little time that I spent in Guatemala would make my whole trip worthwhile. I believe it really is "Gods Country".

Next Blog: yet another border crossing nightrmare, but a pleasant ending to the day