We’ve returned to Quixabaj for our third visit, this time with Elke of StoveTeam International and a few of our coworkers from the Ministry of Health, Aurelio and Antonio Ramirez. As usual, we were late leaving Santa Eulalia. We didn’t get rolling until 11:00am, and we stopped on the outskirts of Santa Eulalia to pick up Victorina, the nurse who was traveling with us. While we were waiting for her, Emily saw a sign for a 3-for-1 cell phone credit sale, so she hopped out of the pickup to buy some airtime. She paid the guy 100q and got 300q for her phone. Then she paid the guy 50q to get me 150q. But the salesman processed the transaction wrong, and we got nothing. Then, he refused to give Emily her money back. He claimed that she must have told him the wrong phone number for the credit, but she countered that he had read it himself directly from her phone’s screen, so the fault couldn’t be hers. Witnesses standing by agreed with her, but the salesman still refused to refund the money. This turned into a 15-minute arguement, and eventually Aurelio and I got dragged into it. At one point, we even called him a thief and a liar, and warned other customers to leave the store lest they get robbed too. Some left, others didn’t. Aurelio tried to help, but got no results. I asked (rhetorically) if there were any police in this town, and Aurelio just laughed and said, “Yeah, he was just standing here a minute ago when this all started.” Nice. I considered grabbing the 50q bill from under the counter, as encouraged by one of the younger customers, but came to my senses. What would our Peace Corps bosses say if we started a fight in our hometown over about $6 US? I’d feel pretty dumb. We were both burning mad over the injustice, stupidity, complacence… but it was a lost battle. You just have to learn what you can (e.g., don’t hand over the cash until the credit is displayed on your phone) and move on. We got back in the pickup, the driver spent about 10 minutes trying to start it, then we were off for real. 12:00 noon.

We arrived in Quixabaj in record time (3 hours) after a standing in the back of the pickup under beautiful skies and a cool, fresh breeze. During our absence, the health center got a makeover! The fence was replaced, the debris in the yard removed, the broken window pnaes fixed, and everything repainted. Very nice. Inside, we discovered the waiting room filled with new institutional furniture still wrapped in plastic: exam tables, medicine lockers, doctors’ desks, swivel chairs. There were also boxes of medical supplies like stethescopes, kidney basins, and an autoclave. Aurelio explained that the gear was all donated by “Enel,” an Italian business that wants to install a hydroelectric power station in the valley below. I’m not sure how I feel about that: on one hand, it’s an obvious bribe to win the goodwill of the people But maybe it’s more of a thank-you? I don’t know if this power station is a good thing or not Will it destroy habitat? Will it create jobs? Will it offset carbon emissions? I don’t have enough info. In the past, Canadian mining interests used these same tactics, then basically robbed Guatemala of its mineral resources becaue the people weren’t sophisticated enough to realize what was going on until it was too late.

So, here I am at 9:30 pm, everyone in bed because it’s after dark. About an hour ago, Aurelio came by wondering aloud how we’re gong to arrange sleeping. I can never tell in these situations if Guatemalans are incapable of planning, or are so tough and flexible that a plan is not needed. All 3 Guatemalans got into the pickup this morning with a knapsack or nothing at all, and I didn’t even stop to think that they would be “camping” just like us. Aurelio returned moments later with an armload of blankets from a nearby house. We shoved some furniture aside to make room, unwrapped a few exam tables and desks to use as makeshift beds, and threw down the blankets for the Guatemalans. The three of us Americans busted out our Therma-Rests and sleeping bags. You can never deny your culture for long, I guess. And it’s likely that we will all sleep well.