Changing Lanes & the Price of Rice

Time in Guatemala: 6 1/2 weeks
Weather: No rain today, but at least 41 people were killed in midslides this weekend. Today is a national day of mourning.
Occupation Status: Taught my first English class at Oxford on Saturday!  
Living Situation: Los Jardines del Acueducto- mi apartamento
Mental Status: Ready for a busy (relatively speaking) week
Misc: kitchen table and couch coming this week?

This post is all about the US/Guatemala differences and the things I've seen in Guatemala that would get someone sued or killed in the US.

DMV Nightmare
Traffic here is quite bad and there is little or no pollution/emission control so the buses and many cars spew black clouds from their exhaust pipes constantly. The most common public transportation for locals is the "chicken bus." These are old school buses from the US that have been sent here. Locals buy them and charge around 3Q (45 cents) to ride. They are privately owned, so they're all painted and decorated with stickers and lights and all sorts of interesting things by the driver/owner.
Following a chicken bus down the street is entertaining. There are 2 people operating the bus: the driver and the man who stands on the steps at the door and acts as a lookout for people flagging the bus down to stop (since there aren't really "bus stops") and he also waves at cars next to the bus when it needs to change lanes to make a "stop." However, if people need to get off the bus, they just wait for it to slow down enough that they can jump out, regardless of what lane or location the bus is in. Its not uncommon to see a chicken bus turning a corner, and suddenly the back door (what US folks would call the emergency exit) flies open and a handful of Guatemalans jump out while the bus is still driving. Then, if the bus wasn't in the lane next to the sidewalk, comes the task of playing frogger among the cars. This is also quite common. Crosswalk? What's that? We don't have those here. You just run when you see a chance. 4 lanes? Well, just take it one lane at a time. You can wait in between lanes until you see another gap. Don't worry, no car will hit you. But you better watch out for motorcycles.
Many people drive motorcycles because traffic is so congested. The most common manner of riding a motorcycle is with one foot on the ground to balance yourself as you weave in and out and between lanes and cars, on and off of sidewalks...you get the idea. If you're on a motorcyle no traffic rules apply to you. You have just one thing to focus on: don't die.
Let's talk about personal space in the traffic world. There is none. If you want to change lanes, you look for a 2 ft space between cars where you can stick your nose and make the car behind you choose between hitting your fender or "letting" you in. I nearly had a heart attack on every car ride the first 3 weeks I was here, but now I'm used to it. The impressive thing is that I have only seen one accident.
What about the police, you say? Aren't they citing anyone for traffic violations? The best way I can think to explain it is to use a sports analogy. Its like the difference between a basketball game with a referee vs. a pick-up game where the players are responsible to call fouls and keep each other in line. But the definition of "in-line" becomes much more loose. That's how it is here on the roads.
Safety & Social Norms
I walked into the grocery store to see one associate standing next to a pallet full of boxes and another associate standing 10 feet above him on the storage area above the aisle. The associate on the ground was throwing boxes up to the other, who would catch and stack them.
If you're waiting in line to check out at the store and remember you needed eggs, not to worry! Just leave your cart or basket in line to hold your place and you can go do some more shopping. Every time someone does that I think of what would happen if someone tried that in the US. And I laugh.

Yes we have it, but it'll cost ya...
I've been here long enough to visit a variety of grocery stores, restaurants, etc. Below is a list of standard items and prices, for anyone who's interested.

Triscuits $6.50
Fresh Green Beans 1 lb $0.73
Twix $1.25
Brown Rice 1 lb $0.65
Bottled water 20 oz $0.23
Ground Turkey 1 lb $3.50
Quaker Squares cereal $3.25
Reese's Puffs cereal (only available at ONE store) $8.50
Blue Diamond Almond Milk $4
Pine Nuts 1 lb $20
Gala Apples 1 lb $1
Almonds 1lb bag $8
Stawberries 1/2 flat $5, 1 pint $1
Bag of Spinach $1.40
Feta Cheese 8 oz $3
Blackberries 6 oz $0.85
Ice Cream Cone (like Baskin Robbins) $1.50
Cappucino 12 oz soy $2.50
Bag of rice 12 oz $0.40
Carrots 1 lb $0.30
Windex $1.50
Powdered Sugar (sm bag) $0.80
Shredded Coconut (sm bag) $0.90
Natural Yogurt 1 liter $0.75 
Whole Wheat Flour 5 lb $4.75
Non-hydrogenated Peanut butter $8
Avocado 1 lb $0.55
Butter 1 stick $1
Gasoline $3.50/gallon
Taxi to Grocery store, Mall or University $3
Movie theater tickets $3
Meals at restaurants at priced similar to the states $7-10 average, $18-30 high-end

As you can see, some things are very cheap, some things are very expensive, some things are just not available (that I know of yet) but for the most part, I feel happy with what we have. The high prices or lack of availability of some items have led me to just make them myself. Jam and granola are very expensive, and healthy whole grain bread is hard to find & expensive, as is almond butter, so I just made them myself. I've always wanted to make more things at home. Its a good habit to be in, but this was the push I needed to finally motivate myself to do it. And things I can't make at home, I will just do without, and I like the idea of doing without. Its the nemesis of US marketing, and so we rarely do it, but its so refreshing and raw. I don't want Guatemala to be the same as the US. I'm happy its not.