Querido “elite” young man,

Have we met before? Yes I’ve seen you at the clubs in Antigua, at your fancy beach houses in Monterrico, at the resorts in Tikal, and of course at the airport jetting off to far away places.

What do you do for fun? Yes I too like to party, I love playing golf, going to concerts, skydiving and driving around in my multiple fancy cars.

What do you do for work? Yes my parents work too but I also have a job – well part time anyway – and I guess they do pay for my gas, my grocery bill, my cell phone bill and they do help me with the cost of my schooling.

Are you from Antigua, where do you live? I’ve been to the city but I thought it was dangerous? Oh, I understand you live in the “rich zone” where the roads are nicely paved, lined with beautiful trees and shrubbery. Where the houses are built from stone and brick, not cinderblock or tin. You have a house in Antigua as well – why would you need two houses? Well I suppose I have a cottage, but that’s just for vacation and we share it with my aunts and uncles a couple of weeks each summer – surely you can’t compare the two.

What are you goals in life? To get a good job, live comfortably, have a family, have fun… me too. Well it was nice to meet you but its almost time for me to go back to Canada where I too live in comfort and luxury.

Sincerely,

A Girl Who Has Far Too Much in Common With the Elite of Guatemala for Her Own Liking

** Amy Kipp, estudiante de la Universidad de Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canadá.

Cada dos años, la Universidad de Guelph en Canadá envía un grupo de estudiantes a Guatemala. La mayoría de ellos están estudiando desarrollo internacional, ciencias políticas, y estudios de género. En este semestre tuvimos la oportunidad de aprender mucho acerca de la historia y los desafíos contemporáneos de Guatemala, así como conocer diferentes partes del país. Aunque fuimos testigos de mucho dolor y sufrimiento, y siempre estuvimos incómodos con la profundidad de desigualdad que encontramos por todos lados, todos los estudiantes se enamoraron de Guatemala.  La asignación final de la experiencia era una carta para Guatemala, para describir sus pensamientos, sentimientos y las preguntas que quedaron pendientes.   Se seleccionaron algunas de las cartas para poder publicarlas en Brújula, proyecto que conocieron los estudiantes durante su estadía en Guatemala.  Candance Johnson – Associate Professor, Departemnt of Political Science.

Fotografía: www.visitvisalia.org