My Spanish class consists of conversation for about 3 hours. My teacher is Mayan & has lived in the U.S., so I get a unique perspective. Some things he´s shared & I´ve gotten from our film nights.
- San Pedro is almost totally indigenous. The largest group is Tzutujil, pronounced zooteheel. Accent on the heel. The people treat you very well, always a buenos dias, buenas trades etc., a ready sense of humor and warmth. They work very hard. My host, Juan, is a teacher. No on vacation. so he & his 18 year old son go to the mountains several times a week to pick coffee. When not doing that he assists his wife, Rosalia, in baking and decorating the large postres (cakes) they sell.
- Zack is the two year nieto (grandson) of the school director, Marta. He is very cute & readily relates to the students. The school property is a narrow strip of land that goes from the street to the lake, about a football field + a little more in length. The last 1/3 has small cabanas for individual classes. Yesterday as Zack was going to the beach with his abuela (grandmother) he said good bye to each student cabana by cabana. Right now he is sitting in this room avidly watching a cartoon. Well for a bit, then he was off to play, but not before coming back to say hola!
- Los Perros, the dogs A travel blog on San Pedro commented on the dogs & concern about rabies. So I wondered if I should get the shot in advance. (Recommended for anyone who is going to be in country for several months.) Good thing I didn´t! There are lots of dogs, but they just stand & watch your progress as you walk by.
- Marriage The indigenous, at least Tzutujil, tradition is that the young man takes his soon to be bride into his house for the night. He is then married. The next morning the son´s father takes a plate of bread to the girl´s father to say, " I am sorry my son stole your daughter." Then together they plan the boda, wedding!
- Security in San Pedro I have had the pleasure to go to school &/or visit about 15 places in Central America & Mexico. San Pedro is by far the safest. Why? The locals say it´s because of religion. Great emphasis is placed on not doing harm to people in both the Evangelical & Catholic Churches.
- Religion is very big here. All through the village, there are sayings neatly painted on the walls from the Bible as well as common wisdom seen in many countires. The older Mayan religion has blended with Christianity.
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