Guatemla gripped by mania

Now, those of you that know me, will also know that I am nowhere near what could be described as a football fan. Not a little bit, not even a micro scrap of interest in that hideous game hides within me. However, here all is different. Tonight Guatemala plays Canada at football. And if they win, it will be the first time in the whole of history that Guatemala will ever have qualified for the world cup. My interest in the game feels somewhat maternal, like a devoted mother watching her child play every Saturday. I have developed a fondness for this crazy country, and want her to do well.

Not having any knowledge of football I don´t know at all what kind of competition Canada will put up. All around Xela screens are being erected, and the game will even be shown at the cinema. I am interested to see what the atmosphere in the streets will be like after the game, and how it will compare to back home. One of the things that makes me hate football so much is the ramifications of the score on how safe the city centres are, and sometimes, to be honest I feel that win or lose, Saturday night in Leeds is not the place to be after a big game.

Tonight I´m going to a benefit dinner at Quetzaltrekkers, the organisation I am planning to work for when I finish my studies. So when I come home I will see what the atmosphere is like on the streets! Quetzaltrekkers run hikes around the Guatemalan highlands and use the money they make to fund escuela de la calle - a school for street children. At the moment in Guatemala it is the Summer holidays! All the children have November and December off school, which is another reason why I can´t start working until after Christmas. Yesterday however, I went to one of the local orphanages to play with the children and generally have fun. Another new experience to add to my many - reading a story book to loads of wide-eyed children without having a clue what I was reading about!!! It was quite surreal.

Orphanages are quite common here as there is no social care system as such that would organise things such as adoptions or foster care. The orphanages are set up instead by altruistic individuals, or church groups. This orphanage was a small house on the outskirts of Xela, down a dirt track. It was home to 18 children and 2 staff. Where they all slept I couldn´t fathom. It was quite a moving experience, and I know it will sound corny, but they were the grooviest, happiest kids I have seen in a long time. There is so much potential for that place. Just an hour or 2 spent planning some activities, and preparing some materials would work wonders. And I guess that´s exactly what the volunteers that go there do. I hope to go there again, and be slightly more useful next week.

Well, yoga, Quetzaltrekkers, and the football all await this evening. I will report again soon!