EST. 2011

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-metzker-peace-corps-in-central-america-20120116,0,5317022.story

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/22/world/americas/peace-corps-cuts-back-in-honduras-guatemala-and-el-salvador.html?_r=2&scp=2&sq=guatemala&st=cse

I t was December 1 st and I had rolled over to my alarm promptly at 2:30 AM. I was to meet my host brother, Juan Fernando Alvarado Villatoro, outside at 3 AM. He had assured me in the upcoming days that we would leave promptly at 3 AM on the dot. However, I, having now lived two years in Guatemala, knew that he would be late. It’s as if Guatemalans strive to be on time but for some reason always end up late. In my time in Guatemala, I’ve waited for up to two and a half hours for a teacher to come to a Healthy Schools workshop. Thus, only having to wait 30 minutes was like Juan Fernanado arriving early. It was a cold brisk morning in the western highlands of Guatemala and Juan Fernando and I were headed to the nations capital. We were headed to the US embassy to be exact. About a month earlier Juan Fernando had set up a cita or appointment with the US Immigration services in hopes that they would finally grant him a B1/B2 tourist visa. This would be his 4 th time applying to get a vi

After a long radio silence, I thought I’d touch on what it’s like to be a volunteer or a United States citizen in Guatemala. Other than the Dominican Republic and Mexico, Guatemala is the closest PC site to the continental United States of America. This proximity to the US has its obvious cultural influences that can be seen in Hannah Montana backpacks, Justin Bieber posters, and people still listening to Nelly’s first studio album – Country Grammar. However, as I’ve come to find out in my 2 years of living in the western highlands of Guatemala, the US for many is a land offering opportunity and a way to advance one’s financial standing. Every week men and women leave for the border of the US with hopes of making a better life not just for themselves but, more often than not, their children. In 9 out of 10 cases men are the ones who attempt this grueling and dangerous trek through Mexico up to the border of the US. It often falls on the males of the household to try for “el norte”