Reality.

I feel that in my blog I have not really talked about how corrupt Guatemala is. What reality is for people here.

There is corruption in all aspects of life here. In the government, in the police force, in universities, in jobs, in families, in everything! NZ is placed at no.1 or 2 in the list of honest countries. Guatemala on the other hand is waaaay down the list.

I found out on Friday via (ironically) the NZ Herald online that a Guatemalan congressman had been shot dead. He was looking at switching political parties to the newly elected party. Then he gets shot.

The last presidents wife is not a popular woman here. The things are I hear about her are crazy. She stole a whole lot of money from the government, money that should have fixed some of the crazy roads I drove along during my road trip. She then divorced her husband because she wanted to run for presidency and you can't if you are married to the president.

I hear countless stories that are full of such corruption its ridiculous. Of students in university who take a lot longer to get their degree because other students have paid the professor so they will pass their exam. These stories make me wonder how a country can operate at such a level of corruption.

Just last week literally 2 blocks from my house 2 people were shot in a taxi.

ALL of my friends at somestage have been robbed at gunpoint. A lot of the time this has been on buses. Many people have 2 cellphones so that when they are held at gunpoint and asked to hand over their phone they hand the cheaper of the 2 over.

You do not walk along the streets with a cellphone visible. That is asking for trouble!

I am not writing these things to shock you that I am living in a place this unsafe. I have never once felt in danger. I am writing these things to make you aware of what life is like for Guatemalans.

A new president was sworn in on Saturday and he said things like how change is going to start now. He even talked about the past corrupt government. Lets hope he accompanies his words with actions.

It makes me sad to hear these stories. I didn't realise how blessed I am to live in a country like NZ. We don't choose where we are born or raised do we? Maybe its about what we do with what we have.

Children waving to the cars as they pass by