Author: Brendan Scott

Just this last week my host family bought me real milk.  100% leche de vaca.  Making my breakfasts 100% more enjoyable.  Cereal and Milk are like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, together until the end.  I could consume a gallon of milk a day and eat cereal every meal.  So for the last month-and-a-half I had a difficult time downing cornflakes with dried milk, which I thought was just one of the small hardships of living in another country.  But now I am back to pure cow milk!  I have, however, found that most everything else about the food down here is not a hardship.  It is more like a blessing.  I still haven’t tried everything down here, but I’ve eaten almost everything that is “worth” eating and have made a list of my favorite foods.  Buen pervecho (Enjoy)

-Flour tortillas made by Naomi, my host mom.  These aren’t your regular home-made tortillas that look like Africa.  They’re a treat all by themselves.  She puts a bit of sugar into her dough, which makes them extremely delicious.  At the size of my head I can eat them as a stand-alone meal.  

-Chocobananas are a mix of banana and chocolate and heaven.  Naomi sells them to make a little extra money, but about twice a week she sends me to school with a couple of bananas that have been dipped in chocolate and frozen like a Popsicle, a true Guatemalan treat.

-Pache is a meal made with either rice or potatoes; I prefer potato.  It is muy rico with a texture that is soft and pleasing similar to mashed potatoes.  They wrap the rice in am oha leaf, which is a large green leaf and very similar to the leaves that Elves used to wrap lambus in, and then serve it hot with a slice of chicken in the middle.   It is great for a snack or a full meal.  

-Pancakes, okay these aren’t a local anything, but my host mom makes great flapjacks.  Again, I am sure she puts about a pound of sugar into her batter.  My host mom makes these for breakfast about once a week and when she is cooking them in the kitchen directly bellow my room the sweet aroma lifts me out of bed.

-Scrambled eggs with refried beans are more common down here than beautiful women with dark eyes.  I’ve had this dish for both breakfast and dinner.  If you add a little picamas hot sauce to the eggs you get a nice spicy meal.  Sometimes my host mom adds peppers and cut up hotdogs to the eggs, which makes me happy.  When I am served eggs for dinner, I typically make an egg sandwich with pan and a paste of refried beans.  It fills me up and is good and cheap.

-Tacos are good down here.  Can you believe that?  As I mentioned last week, I had a great taco at the fair the other week.  I’ve also ventured out into the street for a tasty taco.  And I’ve been treated to a taco or two at home.  All three have been different and delicious.  I’ve eaten crunchy, soft, and amazingly soft and crunchy together.  (I know your thinking of taco bell, but stop this isn’t the four for a dollar Rockies special, this is the real thing.)  The best thing about the tacos is the flavor of the meat, simply a miracle, which cures all of the taste buds in my mouth.  I’d eat a taco any day if I could.

-Chevres are cheap hotdogs sold on the streets.  They’re served with mustard, a sourcrout like mix, ketchup, and mayo.  I don’t like mayo so I make sure the street vendors don’t ruin my chevre with it.  I think the best part of the chevres are the silver stand they are sold from.  They’re similar to ice cream stands you’d find rolling down the beach down the beach on a hot day.  I walk by a set of stands every day after I leave the gym.  The aroma is intoxicating.  It’s all I can do to walk all the way home with out buying a dog and ruining my workout.

-Home cooked chicken with rice and beans is another typical meal I’ve been served for dinner and lunch.  Everyone jokes about how much Latin American’s eat rice and beans, but honestly I’ve only had this dish a few times and I’ve enjoyed it each time.  Today I had fried chicken with rice and corn off the cob.  It was delicious, but probably not healthy.  

         You can tell that I am eating very well down here.  I didn’t list all of my favorites here, because I already listed a few last week when I talked about all of the food I ate at the fair.  My older sister, Katie, predicted that I would lose weight when I came down here.  Her prediction was based off of the change in diet.  Well, I have lost weight but that is only because I’ve been running and lifting weights almost every day at the gym.  I’ll need to keep my gym membership if I plan on eating as well as I am right now.

Independence in Guatemala means two things, the fair and the grito.  La feria, as the locals call it, is a mix of rides that would never pass safety standards in the states and food, which easily pass my standards, as well as make other things pass through my standards.  The fair lasts for a little over a week and is extremely fun.  The grito, which is Spanish for the shout, is like our fireworks celebration on the 4^th of July.  Except they throw a concert into the mix and give a shout out at midnight.  Both of these events are something a person living in Guatemala must experience.  I started salivating for the food at the fair about the moment I first heard about it, which happened August 1sth (the day I arrived in Xela).  Can you blame me?  All the greasy Guatemalan grub a guy could grab and crazy rides.

  Guatemalan’s official Independence day was last Monday, the 15^th, which was celebrated with a gigantic party lasting from Sunday night until early Monday morning.  This was definitely one of my most enjoyable nights in Xela, even though no one gave a shout out at midnight.  The best part of the grito (just a little spanglish here) was hanging out with the crazy Guats, which was highlighted by convincing a friend to kick a sign because she was mad at someone.  She asked me to hold her drink, which I accepted and she preceded to kick around the sign and knock the drink into my face. Yuk, about as bad as crazy corn.

  The grito was a blast and something no one should miss if they are in Guatemala, but wasn’t the food fest that I had been looking forward to for a month and a half.  I’d say it was a good appetizer to the main feast.  On Wednesday night, the 17^th, the main course finally was served.  Oh what a dish!

  I shall start with the rides first, because if you eat first you will throw-up, heck even if you don’t eat first you will throw-up.  I rode two rides and cut my self off.  I was way too dizzy and sore.  The first ride, the tagada, which is Spanish for ride of death, or ride at your own risk, was insane.  Even some of the Guatemalan’s won’t ride this one.  More people watch this ride than actually tempt their fates by getting on the ride. 

The tagada looks like a large upside down frizbee.  A bench sits along the outer rim with only a couple of bars behind it for “safety.”  Riders sit on this bench and hold onto the bars as the ride spins and tilts up to a 35-degree angle, riders have to hold on because there aren’t any seat belts.  Then it starts to bounce up and down in an attempt to throw the riders off the bench.  At all points on this ride death is a possibility.

  At about half past six I tempted my fate.  It was starting to get dark out, lights were bursting to life. I sat down on the hard red bench, no seat bets, remember.  I grabbed the “safety” rail behind me with my right hand, my other hand was blocked by Tony, who sat down next to me, pinning me neatly in the middle of himself and Josh.  Not a safe place.  The ride started to spin, tilted up a little making my butt slide off the seat.  Josh started kicking my legs, trying to make me slip off the seat.  I resisted.  The ride started to spin faster; then it stopped.  No time to relax.  At this stage the real danger started.  Still at a tilt the ride started to bounce me up and down.  I flew up out of my seat, or jumped as one of my students recalled who was watching from the crowd.  Fate would’ve taken my life if not for my iron grip.  I landed back on the hard bench with a thud and quickly readjusted my body so I could fend off both Josh and Tony.  This worked beautifully.  With my body turned to the side so my back was facing Tony and both feet up on the bench next to Josh’s butt.  I started pushing with all my might and nearly pushed Josh, who is about twice my size, off the bench.  The ride continued to spin and bump, but as a cowboy masters the bull, I mastered the ride.   Bruised, but satisfied I excited the victor. 

  The next ride conquered me.  It spun me up, down, inside out, and upside down.  If there was a way to spin a rider this ride spun me that way.  When the ride ended I nearly puked.  Puking would have ended my night, before the main event, which meant no more rides for me.

  Around 7 p.m. we moved into the food tent, not a moment too soon.  The clear night quickly turned into a flood.  Perfect time to eat.  My first dish was a Burrito con pollo.  Amazing! During the burrito feast I tried a bite of crazy corn.  Let me just say, yuk.  Although the Guatemalan’s don’t agree.

Next, I walked through the maze of eateries to the taco booth.  I ordered my new favorite dish, a taco on a soft flour tortilla with beef, hot sauce, and a lime. This taco was the highlight of the night, at least food wise.  My stomach was starting to feel full, but I still had so much more to try.  After a small break I grabbed a plate of pizza.  The crust was light and fluffy, but enough to make me full.  There was so much more I wanted to try, but alas I only had room for one bag of churros.  Unfortunately the consuming of the churro meant saying ciao to the Guatemalans.  I had to get to bed so I could teach the next day.

  I wanted to stay and continue to eat with the Guatemalans, but I had to be responsible, and buy a churro on my way out.  Churros are fried bread with sugar dumped on top.  This desert was fabulous.  I scarfed down my churro and was surprised to find about a cup full of sugar at the bottom of my bag.  Quickly I dumped the sugar into my mouth and called it a night.  To anyone living in Guatemala this is a must.

J.K. Rowling is a genius. Not because her books are so entertaining (which they are), but because she describes school life so well. I’m sure she must have taught at some point in her life. During my month of teaching I have found that I may be actually teaching at a Guatemalan Hogwarts. There are some very interesting similarities between the schools. And yes that means magic. Actually, no that doesn’t mean magic, but I wish it did. But there are similarities between Christianity and magic so I’ll substitute there.

Here in Xela at the Inter American School we have everyone from the Weasly clan, families that have five or more students at our school, to Harry, the orphaned child. Rowling nailed the private/boarding school sibling atmosphere. There are so many brothers, sisters, and even cousins at this school that the assemblies must feel like big family reunions. Rowling’s depiction of middle schoolers also rings true. I could probably name at least one Neville here at IAS and probably even a Draco. I have a Hermoine or two, life is fun teaching over achievers, but then I also have the under achieving Ron or Harry.

I don’t have a kid that is the chosen one, just a couple that think they are. A couple of my students enjoy bending the rules, but I don’t think they really mean any harm. The other day I noticed that a couple of my kids had written their names on their desk with white out. Clearly damaging school property. Very disrespectful. I gave them all a middle school detention. Filch would have strung them up their toes, but we don’t work that way here. I think it’s stupid that they did that. The kicker was their reason for doing it. One of the guys, a squirrelly little sixth grader, told me he wrote his name on his desk so he would know where he sits. Sadly he was telling the truth. I mean didn’t we all learn from Harry and Ron that some rules are meant to be broken? I mean who really cares if the students don’t listen in class or do a lazy job on their homework? Wait a second what kind of example was Harry setting? I mean he did save the world, but does that really make him so great when he was constantly breaking the rules in school?

The students aren’t the only ones that have Hogwarts counterparts. The teachers also share some similarities. I think if I were to relate myself to a Hogwarts teacher I’d probably have to say I’m Hagrid, mostly because I have a full beard, no wait not true. I mean because I have no teaching experience. I’m learning how to handle a class. Two weeks ago I wouldn’t have known what to do about the white out incident, so I hope to move up to the level of Madame Pomfrey soon, or even Gilderoy Lockart. But that might be asking a little too much.

With all these similarities between the two schools I have noticed some differences. I think the one thing where IAS is not at all similar to Hogwarts, besides the fact that our students can’t perform any type of magical incantation, is the fact that we don’t have any school sports team. They all like soccer, probably as much as Harry liked Quittage, but we don’t have any inner school competitions on the soccer field, nor do we have any games between other schools. As the PE coach this kind of makes me sad.

Our focus is elsewhere. We work hard on teaching the kids how to speak and read English. This is kind of like their magical power. Sounds lame, but it will help them get into better schools and open up all kinds of opportunities for them around the world. The fact that we are teaching English in Guatemala is one of the biggest similarities to Harry Potter for me. It is like we are set apart from the rest of the community. The school is set apart even more because we are a Christian school. I think the struggle of how to live a Christian life in a non-Christian world is one of the hidden themes in Harry Potter. As a Christian we are different and set apart from the world. IAS isn’t perfect but neither was Hogwarts. What matters is that our end goal is to honor Christ and I think we are doing that.

I came down to Guatemala with the blessing from my friends and church family. And I’ve taken the responsibility seriously. I think it is very important to share my love for Christ with all of my students. I don’t preach in my classroom, but I’m forming relationships. This is what matters.

I need to go back and read Harry Potter again so I can become a better teacher. It has been my reference point to teaching so far and I believe if I had a better working knowledge of the books I might actually start to become a great something or other. I am truly enjoying my time down here and I hope that this blog has encouraged at least all of you to go read Harry Potter.

Food Review Blog coming soon!

I feel a little disoriented.

Early June 2007 the Rockies were mired in another season of futility.  Their record was somewhere around 25-30 and they looked to be going no where.  That summer I went to Disney land with my family to celebrate a bunch of graduations inside the family.  My dad just received his Doctorate from Fuller Seminary, my older sister Katie had just graduated from NMSU after seven grueling years with her bachelors degree, and I was just about to graduate from the University of Colorado.  Emmy had just conntinueated (the spelling dictionary doesn’t even know this word), but I don’t think this really counted for anything and I’m still not sure what it really means.  All I know is she was in the 8th grade and she was on summer break before she started High School.  My mom and my Brother-in-law Michael were allowed to come on the trip even though they weren’t graduating from anything.  I guess we let them come because we love them.  Well, anyway we were in Southern California and going to Disneyland as a family for the first time.  This was a not a first for my parents nor was it a first for Michael, but as a 23 year old it was a first time for me.  I don’t think I was to old to go, but I sure wouldn’t have minded being able to ride all of the amazing rides at a younger age too.

I would like to say a big thank you to all of the teachers that took time out of their lives to help educate me.  This includes my mom and my dad.  They are great people and great friends.  After teaching for a week I now realize how much work this profession takes.  I am learning that I must dedicate myself to my work so that my students receive the best education possible.  This means I can only check espn.com twice an hour instead of four times.  This is going to be very difficult to do since I just joined a fantasy football league (I’ll explain more about this later).  I will still need time to see how the Broncos are doing.  I know they lost this weekend, but by half time when the starting offense left the field they were winning so that is good enough for me.  I am still concerned with their defense.  Hopefully they can turn it around by the time the season starts.  The way the Rockies are playing baseball season will be over soon, which kills me to say, but that will clear up more time for me to work on my lesson plans.  Or as I call them, my game plans.  Another thing that will give me more time to get my work done is the closing of the Olympics.  I am very proud that the United States did so well.  I am still a little bitter over them losing the Gymnastics team Gold to the Chinese.  They should not have lost considering they won Gold on all of the individual events except one or two, not to mention the cheating commies (sorry had to say it).  I have been spending way to much time reading about that controversy.  I have also been reading about the U.S. men’s basketball team.  I didn’t get to watch any of the games because of the time differences and such, but I am very relieved they won gold.  I really expect nothing less.  I mean we invented the game.  So now that most of these things are wrapping up I’ll have plenty of time to game plan.  I’ll just have to learn how to work the Broncos, CU Buff’s (cool story I was walking around town the first weekend and I saw a CU Buff sticker on the back of one of the cars!), the Rockies (threw September at least!), and fantasy football into my busy teaching schedule.

Word around the street is that Michael Phelps is a beast, but is scared to compete against me in the 100 meeter splash and flail.  I own that event.  Everyone here in Guatemala, or at least my host family and all the teachers at school are enamored with his abilities.  I just wish I could swim normally let alone set world records every time I get wet.  I’m also very pleased to see that the Broncos dominated Dallas.  The starters won the game 14-0 and the second string played a solid game as well leading to a 23-13 game!  The Rockies have won three in a row, which wont get them back into contention, but it’s a start.  I am loving that I have been able to stay on top of my sports teams.  I also found out that We get ESPN Thursday night college football, which means I will get to watch CU play at least once this year!  Things are on the up and up.

I would like to start off by making it clear that I still do not like soccer or futball as they call it here in Guatemala.  I’m still a God fearing football loving American.  I am upset that the Broncos lost their preseason opener last night, but the starters scored a TD so I can count that as a win.  I hope Boss Bailey is alright.  I really want a healthy team for this season.  Someone has to pick up the slack that the Rockies have been making.  I have enjoyed watching the Olympics with my host family. 

I have been sitting around for most of the day trying to figure out email addresses and skype accounts.  I guess sitting around on your computer is an acceptable thing to do when it is raining out.  I’m living with a host family that consists of a mom and dad, three daughters, a son and a grandson .  Two of the daughters speak English, but they are married and live with their husbands.  I’m actually glad that there aren’t any English speakers in the house besides me because it’ll force me to use Spanish.  It’s weird being in a setting where I have to work to understand everything that is said.  This must be what a young child feels like when they are first learning to speak.  I’m very glad that I have a group of people where I can speak English and understand everything that they say.  I know that if I want to really improve my spanish I’m going to need to stop relying on my English, but for now it is nice to have a little break.