The Tiki Hut

In small town Guatemala, there are many limits to the activities in which women may partake: no drinking, no smoking, no attending soccer games, among other things. The smoking part doesn’t bother me, but the other two do. The local soccer league had its first games this weekend and I asked my host mom if the family goes to the games. No, she said, Orlando (the dad) doesn’t like to do anything on the weekends. Then she said that women don’t go. I figured, though, that an exception could be made for gringas, so Katie and I went with the boys. We received a few looks, but were left alone. She was right though, there was only one other female at the game.

Also according to my host mom, in Magdalena there are three women who drink. (Four including me, but we won´t be telling her that.) The town is pretty evangelical and thus anti-drinking. Catholic men drink, but that’s about it, and that’s similar to any small town. But, back at Santa Lucia where the training center is, they are so accustomed to us crazy gringos that a local opened a Tiki Hut awhile back just across the street to cater to PC volunteers that need a beer. Yesterday evening after our day at the center, a group of us went and had a bunch of liters of Brahvo: 17 Quetzales each, which is the equivalent of $2.23.

Living with families under the somewhat strict rules of the Peace Corps has made many of us feel like we’ve gone back about 5 or 10 years in our lives. For example, at the Tiki Hut, I had to call my mom to check in because it was after dark (7pm) and I was late for my curfew. I lied to her and told her I was doing some work late at the center with Chris. Then before I got home, I popped in some gum … I don’t want her to start gossiping that there are four women in town who drink. The Brahvo, though, did help with my conversational skills at dinner.