What to read.

I’m trying to read up on Guatemala as much as I can without “spoiling” the experience with expectations. It probably won’t matter. There is no way to prepare myself for what I’m about to experience (and do I really want to). There are a wealth of good books out there. Heavily skimming the Rough Guide to Guatemala was a good start. I’m a sucker for a good travel guide. Margarita: a Guatemalan Peace Corps Experience did a great job a giving me a holistic view of the experience from a lady who was a volunteer in the late 1980’s. Guatemala: A Cry from the Heart was an intensely personal book by a businessman who has traveled extensively in Guatemala. He covers a wide array of social issues. Although a bit tough to slog through, Voices from Exile: Violence and Survival in Modern Maya History covered the issues of refugees during the civil war, a topic I’m still trying to wrap my brain around. I’m just starting In Focus Guatemala: A Guide to the People, Politics and Culture. You can get a pretty good idea of what it’s about from the title. In Focus is a great series an has titles covering quite a few countries. I’ve got to get all this reading done now since I only plan on bringing a couple of books with me (I should have decent access to English language books while I’m down there). Books are a lot of weight to lug when you’ve only got 80lbs (see last post). I would like to think that when I return I’ll be reading some more books, but in Spanish this time.