"Yo manejo, Dios me guia"

The driver of the Campur line today had that quote hanging on his rearview mirror, over a crucifix. "I drive, God guides me." Honestly, I can't think of anything more appropriate to be hanging from a Guatemalan micro driver's rearview mirror. Often on Chicken buses I see people cross themselves when they get on, and again when they get off at their destination. My host mother is a big advocate of this practice. I don't blame them. I don't think I've taken a road trip here in country during which I didn't feel close to death at least once. Road rules don't exist here. Passing blindly is commonplace, and chuchos act as orange cones that one is expected to dodge around obstacle-course style. Those yellow lane lines? Merely decoration, it seems. The fact that I'm alive does say something. While to me Guatemalans are the worst drivers in the entire world, they do somehow create order out of chaos. The majority continue to make it to their destinations alive. But man, "yo manejo, Dios me guia" pretty much says it all.

At the end of the tearful goodbyes with my host family this morning, I told my host mom that I would call her when I arrived in Campur. She responded, naturally, "Only if God wills it." Not "Okay, have a safe trip." But instead, "if you die en route and don't call me, it'll be because God willed it. Bye!" I drive, God guides me…can't put it much better than that.

But here I am, in one piece, safe and sound in my site. It was indeed an exhausting journey. The private shuttle bus driver was an hour late, and some hungover guy from Orange County was puking out the back window. Ugh. I understand the precautions that we have to take after the bus station bomb scare a few weeks ago, but it seems so ridiculous to me to pay more than double what the Monja Blanca coach bus would have cost to ride in a crappy, cramped, vomit-scented tourist shuttle.

Nevertheless, I'm here, and ready to start. This week I'm going to focus on getting my house together and visit each of my schools. Next week I'll hope to meet with my directors and nail down some kind of plan. Until market day on Wednesday, I have no food. It looks like I'll be eating at Dona Ines' comedor this week.

Goodnight all!
Hannah