Dont be decieved by the beauty of this fruit- it is SO DIRTY HERE!

I kinda woke up in a bad mood this morning and have stayed that way. Its so frustrating sometimes being where things are so different. And now that Ive been here almost 3 months, Im no longer in the midset where I will eat or do anything just to be polite. Of course, there are still plenty of instances where I do that, but when Im at home, I just want to have things my way occaisionally and not have to be compromising and doing things I dont like 24/7.... What tipped me off this morning was being served macaroni and cheese for BREAKFAST that I had made 17 hours earlier and left in a pot to be thrown out or eaten by the cook. It had set out on the counter all night and I honestly wanted to give a lecture on the effects of heat on milk and butter to my family this morning. Realizing that would be going overboard, I just waited for them to all finish eating and then fed it to the dog instead. I hope he didnt get sick!! P.S. My dad sent me 11 BOXES of Kraft Mac&Cheese though, which has been GREATLY appreciated!

Another food complaint I have includes cleanliness. First of all, there is no soap in our kitchen, which means no one washes their hands before cooking. Believe me when I tell you that they touch EVERYTHING you eat, too. And bleach? I’m not sure it exists here. Also, could we please not wash the dishes with dirty water that we also use to wash dirty children, our hands, toys, and clothes in? Even the clean dishes are unsafe, as I saw a chicken rummaging around in the bucket that they were drying in. AHHH!!!!.... The pinnacle of my disgust occurred one morning when I came to breakfast to find chicken waste all over the kitchen floor. It’s going to sound bratty, but I went back to my room and waited for it to be cleaned up before I would eat. Farm animals and the kitchen just don’t mix! GET THEM OUT OF HERE!!!!

It would be really mean of me to say these things if they had no alternative way to clean things or couldnt afford to use a little extra water or buy soap or something, but I assure you that is not the case. I honestly feel like a lot of times, it is a lack of knowledge about the effects of germs in the kitchen, and the whole house for that matter. I’ve decided maybe I should do a workshop here on cleanliness. Maybe I could prevent some illnesses or something (my own included)….. Seriously, I know the problem in my particular house may not seem extremely serious, but Ive seen other houses right down my street that are HORRIBLY dirty and unsafe. Ive also seen countless children who are filthy and covered in rashes and such, and Dina (my hostmom) tells me its because their parents dont know any better. Kids DIE from diseases here all the time that could be prevented by simple prevention of germs!! Its really frustrating!

....So I intended to write something intelligent today, but instead I decided to complain. To make up for it, Im including this nice, pretty picture of vegitables in the market in Xela. That way you can see some of the yummy things that I DO get to eat here and that make me very happy!....And now Im going to go home and watch movies and pretend Im not in Guatemala and STILL being eaten alive by mosquitoes for a couple of hours. I hope everyone is doing great and I will try to write something informative or cheerful soon!!