EST. 2011

On May 6th 2011, my host sister Daudy Mariela Alvarado Villatoro graduated from University in Xela with a degree as a social worker.She did her final thesis women's participation in Malacas regarding municipal projects. It was a big day for the family. Megan and I accompanied at least 30 members of the family to her graduation and after the ceremony we took this picture. She can now be referred to as a Licenciada, which warrants respect throughout the country. I hope that her newly acquired title will allow her to get a well paying job and maybe even move out of her parent's house. It was a very happy day for the entire family and I've never seen her parent's look more proud. Daudy now joins a small percent of people who have the opportunity to graduate from University in Guatemala and I hope she uses her new title to better not only better our community but the country as a whole.

So, where should I begin? Before coming to Guatemala, I was convinced, due to the state department’s website and overall hearsay, that the country was laden with crime, violence, drug trafficking, and more violence. However, after spending considerable time traveling through the various departments of Guatemala, I came to realize that the country wasn’t as dangerous, on the whole, as the international reputation often lauded. I’ve now been in country for almost 17 months and due to the events of the last two weeks I can say that my previously stated opinion about the overall atmosphere of safety and security in Guatemala has changed. It was just days ago that 27 people were rounded up, tortured, and beheaded with a chainsaw in the country’s most northern department (Peten). While there are currently no PCV’s in Peten, I was still shocked that an atrocity of such horrific proportions could’ve have happened in my country of PC service. It was this breaking story ,Wolf Blitzer’s recen