Fire on the Mountain.

This will be brief, as I am in the middle of writing my comprehensive exam, but it was worth noting, so here goes:

I'm finally settled in and in rhythm again, and that feels good.  Grad work took over and forced me back into a schedule that I do not love, but that I can deal with.  Today, I was just thinking about how quickly things can become mundane, even living in the wild that is Guatemala.  The work day was normal, the kids are selling Val-o-grams, and we had a staff meeting, as always with the first Wednesday of the month.  And then on my way out, was the scene above.  The neighbors were burning their land, and all of a sudden, its our land, and the mountain is on fire.  And then nothing feels mundane anymore, and its all wild again.

On my way home, I saw someone get pistol whipped as I was stuck at a red light.  There are guys here who run around at lights and wash windshields for a quetzal or two, but this afternoon, instead of washing windows, they were having a water fight.  I had just pulled out my  phone to get a photo, because it was a sweet moment of silliness in the middle of the city, when a driver got out of his BMW, and shoved one of the kids.  They must have splashed his car?  And then he took his gun and hit the boy in the face.  And then the light switched to green and he was back in his car, making a left turn like nothing happened.  The boy, holding his broken face, was helped off the road by his friends.  It was horrifying, but it wasn't shocking, and I hate that.  I hate that violence is now routine.  It has been bothering me all night.

So, I've snapped out my complacency.  Nothing feels mundane anymore.