compras=matemáticas mental

Today I am tired. It is raining again and I am a little burnt out on blogging from yesterday´s epic post. However, because I care about you- my faithful readers- I will do a quick post. Today´s topic is money.

In Guatemala the currency is the Quetzal. The US dollar to Quetzales ratio is aproxamately 1 to 8. This makes spending money a constant game of mental math for me. For instance, I currently have 192 Quetzales on me. Sounds like a lot right? However it is really only about $25 dollars. Similarly everything sounds expensive. Drinks range from Q15-Q50, meals from Q30-Q150, and when shopping in the market I always balk at the price. Q80 for a shirt??? Q500 for a painting??? In actuality most things are pretty cheap here. The good thing is that it makes me a good haggler because the shock on my face at the price is genuine. It also means I haven´t spent a ton of money here. My meals are provided with exception of Sundays and so my expenses have been mostly trips, drinks and the few presents I have bought for people (mostly me...).

At my school the other day someone was saying how many of the locals make only Q15 a day. Later that night Tom, a man who eats meals with us and has lived in the area for three years, informed us that most houses in the area of downtown Antigua sell for 1,000,000 US dollars. Just another reminder of the tragic discripency that exists between the native Guatamalens and the culture of tourists, students and foreigners. It´s symbiotic since the economy seems to teeter precariously on the tourist trade, however it is sad to see people being nosed out of their own town.

I won´t even pretend to understand economics. However in a world where worth is set by a seemingly arbutrary monatary number it is interesting to see how that shapes the social dynamics and allows such a vast difference in human livelyhood.

Well that is all for now. Time to pay my Q12 and go eat my free dinner.