In between spoonfuls of spinach soup and the ever present maize I inquire about the local school system. While the government calls it 'free', after one factors in uniforms, books, supplies, etc. the cost is out of reach for many Guatemaltecos. This could account for the 37% rate of illiteracy.
Through deeper probing I discover Mariah could attend a private school for about the price of one lift ticket per month. Obviously a very good student, it is painful to contemplate the dead end road awaiting her high-school graduation. Though I think I may have stumbled upon a solution. Develop a foreign exchange program that takes all the lazy punks in America schools and swaps them with the likes of Mariah. The Americans would return a bit more inspired and the Guatemalans would get a chance at a quality education.
Once again though, you reach a difficult fork in the road. Send up a nice prayer and be on your way or get into the nitty gritty stuff. Though when traveling you must somewhat insulate yourself from the vastness of need or you'll never make it past the first malnourished toddler. Yet to sterilize and whitewash the local problems into mere statistics relegates you to the role of professor, always observing, never acting. ---J.M