Saturday, October 30, 2010

My trip to Guatemala - Day 17

September 28, 2010

More of the same today: class and drinking. God, I could get used to this. If only I had an endless cash flow (P.S. Any potential sugar parents out there want to help me in that department?).

I stuck around after class to watch Voces Inocentes. The film tells the story of a little boy in El Salvador who tries to escape life as a child soldier. While there were no subtitles, so I didn't understand what exactly was being said half the time, the acting was superb and I was blown away by the injustice suffered by so many child soldiers. What's even sadder is that the film points out that many of the forces training child soldiers were from the United States. It never ceases to sadden or amaze me what a government that's supposedly based on freedom is capable of doing.

After watching the film, I called Spirit Airlines to book another free flight (How awesome is Spirit? Seriously, if Jesus had an airline, I think it would be Spirit). I received an email two days ago saying that if I didn't use some of my miles by the end of the month, I was going to lose them. So I looked at where Spirit flies, and decided that Costa Rica will be my next vacation destination. Bring on the zip-lining! On a very strained Skype call that took way longer than it should have, I booked my trip for May. As I hung up the phone after receiving my confirmation number, I grinned from ear to ear. Yay traveling! I know relatively nothing about Costa Rica, so if you have any tips/advice for what to do, I would love to hear from you.

In the evening, I headed out to Ladies Night at Monoloco. On ladies night, women drink for virtually nothing. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm against sexism and gender division. However, when it costs less than fifty cents (US) to get a mixed drink, I sometimes (shamefully) make exceptions. And that's exactly what I did tonight. Annie, Linda and I parked ourselves at one of the upstairs picnic tables and partook in the cheap, sexist beverages.

At one point, a man walked up to our table. He could barely speak English or Spanish, but somehow we managed to find out that he's from Korea and, like us, he's here taking Spanish lessons. He explained that he had two friends with him, and then asked us if we would like to buy him and his friends some drinks.

Holy presumption, Batman! Uh, thanks, but no thanks.

So we declined, and he went back to the picnic table where his friends were waiting.

After about five minutes, he came back again! This time, it seems like he had rehearsed what he was about to say (much like an Oscar-acceptance speech). He once again communicated that he had two friends. And since there were three of us and three in his group, we should all sit together. He then corrected himself and said that it would be him who would buy the drinks.

What I'm making sound like easy conversation was anything but. We easily said, "what?" at least 20 times, and our communication was a mix of broken English and Spanish. Finally, after shaking our heads "no" repeatedly for quite some time, he wandered back to his table. I couldn't help but laugh as I pondered how he, with his little English or Spanish abilities, was nominated to be the representative from the group to approach us.

After several drinks, we headed home. On our way home, we stopped at the equivalent of a party store, and got approached by a woman named Casey. It's not uncommon for strangers to approach in Antigua, but this just seemed odd. She kept asking if we wanted to hang out, and told us stories of how she had immigrated to the United States without papers and had to work as a stripper as that was her only option for money. She told us she was from El Salvador and that she was just in Guatemala for an extended vacation. I thought that sounded somewhat strange, and I recalled the time when my teacher told me that a lot of people from El Salvador come to Guatemala (seeking under-the-table jobs) without documentation as El Salvador is even poorer than Guatemala.

While we were talking, a large, older man called her name. She looked in his direction, and appeared to be fearful. She quickly told us she had to go, and walked in the other direction. He then pursued her as he repeatedly called her name. As not to cause a scene, she slowed down and he grabbed her arm and walked her back in our direction. I'm sure he knew that we were catching onto the situation (that he was her pimp), and casually tried to make conversation with us. He told us that he had been a teacher at one point, and that Casey was just his friend. He even went so far as to ask us how our vacations were going before they left. After quickly slipping around a street corner, they were out of eyeshot.

I don't remember how we parted ways, but I couldn't help but feeling this awful sinking in my stomach. My heart went out to her as I imagined what her life must be like. I envisioned how bad or destitute her home-life must have been to make her think that escaping to other countries to work as a sex worker was a better life. I then began to think that perhaps she didn't even make that choice. Perhaps she was kidnapped and trafficked and had no idea how to return home even if she wanted to. Perhaps her "wanting to hang out" was a way of reaching out, a way of plotting her potential escape. I just hate the way our society can make people so expendable. Just the way child soldiers were used and thrown away (and continue to be today in certain parts of the world) in the film I watched, so are sex workers. I felt so helpless as I saw Casey and the large man (who was still clutching her arm) escape into the darkness. I'm not sure what life will bring her, but I certainly hope she finds a safe way out.

To view some pictures of my trip, go check out my album on facebook.

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