I spent the morning at Rainbow Café, sending emails, and preparing for my upcoming wedding, hounding people for their addresses and researching some places to stay in the upcoming week in Guatemala. I want to see my grandpa in Chiquimula, find a place for Brian to surf, head to Semuc Champey to swim with a candle in my mouth, and see my cousin Kikix again. I don’t know how it’s all going to happen though. Guatemala is a small country but it takes so long to get everywhere because of all the mountains and volcanoes. I’m excited though to see Brian, Ana, Vin, and Andrea on Sunday. I really can’t wait.
We were supposed to watch Kelly from our research group give a lecture to the staff at Fray Rodrigo, but they had to cancel because someone died. So I had more time to research, plan, and most of all to relax, which was very welcomed after our busy weekend.
During the afternoon we interviewed Ana Lydia, the owner of Casa Maria for the second time. Devva and Erika from Disability Studies came and asked some interesting questions about the laws that govern senior care facilities here in Guatemala. Interestingly enough, there are many laws that Ana Lydia told us about, most of which she doesn’t follow. Her reasoning for not following them was this: The government doesn’t help her, so why should she follow the laws? They can’t shut her down because there’s nowhere to put all the residents, so Casa Maria gets to exist. It’s interesting to see that the government not providing help is reason enough not to follow the laws. I wonder what the US would be like if we all adopted that attitude. However, as astonished as I was at the things Ana Lydia said, Erika and Devva said that it’s a common thing they’ve heard in their many interviews here.
