$6.00 for 100 Pounds of Coffee is Too Much to Pay!!!

Well, Miguel and I survived our first week! We've been quite busy, which is why I haven't had time to update the blog.

I should begin by correcting a misconception that I've noticed in a couple of e-mails I've received. There are at least two places in the world known as Antigua. One is an island in the Caribbean full of white sand beaches, crystal clear waters, and beautiful, nearly-naked vacationers running around. The other is a small city in Guatemala; one of the poorest countries in Central America. It is located in the middle of one of the world's major earthquake zones, surrounded by volcanoes, and has half-starving dogs running around its streets.

Miguel and I are in that SECOND place named Antigua.

Not that I'm complaining! The people here are fantastic! It seems like everywhere we go, people are excited that we're here and are more than willing to help with our Spanish...

Several days ago, we welcomed a new house mate named Dana. He's from Texas, and has been coming here for the last five or six years to volunteer at an orphanage in the mountains. His Spanish is excellent, though even I can detect a VERY strong Texas twang when he speaks it.

Dana wasn't particularly happy to learn that I've lived on a sailboat for the past 15 years and that I proudly advertise my lifestyle. He explained that he has a daughter who mentioned a few weeks ago that she's been thinking about moving on board a boat, and he' afraid that I might be a bad influence on her. Like any good father, he doesn't want his daughter hanging out with the wrong types!

His daughter, Kimberly, arrived in Antigua on Friday. She and I have spent a lot of time talking about boats and how dangerous they are to live aboard. I explained how they sink in storms, catch fire easily, and often run aground (especially if the captain is Italian). They're noisy, filthy, cesspools of floating sin that no self-respecting woman should ever consider visiting...much less living on board!

I hope all that was enough to appease Dana, who had threatened me with bodily harm if I made my lifestyle appear even remotely appealing to his daughter.

On Saturday, the four of us went to a coffee plantation just a few miles from our home. It was an enjoyable day as we walked through a museum of musical instruments, watched a movie about the indigenous Guatemalans, and saw massive amounts of coffee being dried in the sun. I learned that the plantation participates in the Fair Trade program, and pays their field workers about 40% more than competing plantations. Even still, the workers only earn about $6.00 for picking 100 pounds of coffee beans.

You'll notice in the video that we later buy coffee from a shop just down the street from our house. We could have bought coffee from the plantation we'd visited that morning...but it cost about 8 cents more per pound than the Non-Fair Trade shops, and we're not about to pay those outrageous prices!

Our house mom (Guatemom?) doesn't cook on Sundays...not for her own family, and certainly not for us. She works very hard, and she deserves this day off. Since I like to cook, I decided to prepare an American-style steak dinner for the entire family. I bought the meat from a local butcher, the bread from a local bakery, and the fresh vegetables from the supermarket. Miguel baked a cake in his room. I used the grill on the roof of the house to cook the steaks, and the gas oven in the kitchen to prepare all the sides. Much to my surprise, the entire meal turned out well and everybody seemed to really enjoy it. Even Dana and Kimberly liked the dinner...which is amazing as they're both vegetarians and didn't even eat the best part!