Lisa goes South

a few days ago, when i was returning from the market i realized something. vacationing is synonymous with committing (almost) all of the seven deadly sins at once. a good five out of seven at the very least. what do we have: lust, greed, wrath, gluttony, sloth, pride, yeah there´s one more but i can never remember it. it´s really quite clear: the majority of tourists come to consume whatever is possible (lust, gluttony, greed), all the while holding on tightly to their national identity (pride), sometimes to the point of disparaging the vacation country for not having this or that aspect of ¨home¨ (wrath) and of course vacationers don´t work (sloth). i´m sure the elusive number seven fits in somewhere there. now maybe you´ve caught on already, but i too have succumbed to the unwholesome life style of the vacationer. i tell you, if you were here in san pedro, you would be doing exactly what i´ve been doing for the past two weeks...relaxing and enjoying the hell out of life. my hammock is my best friend! i never would have thought that it would be so easy to pleasantly pass time, doing absolutely nothing of consequence. maybe that´s a bit harsh. ok, i am doing something--i´m ¨processing¨. here in san pedro, lago de atitlan, guatemala, it has become abundantly clear that i could stay away from the united states for a very, very long time. if i get a job once in a while. i´ve met people here that have been traveling for years. and they live well. most of these career travelers sell their handicrafts on the street. and they just move around from here to there and settle for a while, then pick up and leave again. there´s about 7 people living at my hostel right now that have traveled for years, doing exactly that. hmm. it´s intriguing to me. i´ve met traveling artisans before, but i never lived with them. so the little wheels are turning in my head, and yep, i´m going to look for a job here in san pedro. in a bar, because all the bars want english speaking staff. it is a tourist town afterall. don´t worry, i haven´t abandoned my high minded aspirations to volunteer. i´m thinking if i get a night job, my days are free to do anything. there´s a children´s hospital nearby that i want to check out. and i was thinking about giving free english classes to whoever wants them. but i´m curious to see what will happen if i stay here for a few months. the place is amazing. yeah the lake is dirty, but the mountains and the sky...everyday i wake up and there they are. yeah, i´m stuck for a little bit. hopefully in a good way. more to come lovies, pray for my soul lisa