With two days of Spanish school remaining, I´m capable of conversing at a very basic level. The person I speak with however, must use very short words, in very short sentences. He or/she must also be prepared from time to time for a response that is unrelated to the actual topic of conversation. I´ve entered a learning curve with far too many twists and turns. It´s been fun, but the hair that I haven´t pulled out of my head has turned completely gray. This p...

It seems that if you have a business in Guatemala with any value to it at all you´ll need people with guns to guard it for you. Banks of course, are businesses that have value. Some banks have as many as five guards. Some guards carry big shotguns. Some guards carry small shotguns. Some guards carry machine guns. The other day it took me over 40 minutes to cash $100.00 worth of traveller´s cheques. I was the only customer in the bank. Just me, ten or so bank of...