Happy Holidays 2022!

Much to the surprise of the former embassy employee turned visa consultant we were successful in the pursuit of a US visa for Diego. We used his volunteer time with Mundo Posible to justify requesting an emergency appointment so that he might do some hands on training with World Possible in southern California. That visa made it possible for both of us to return from a university research trip to Spain via Washington, DC using my United Airlines travel benefits. It also means that Diego will be able to travel back and forth to Spain for university for free. And yes, two weeks in Spain convinced him that is where he would like to go for university. His first choice is IE University in Madrid, an international business school. Here is a link to the video he made as part of the application process.  https://youtu.be/kUJ4IuTmLAY

Before Spain I went to London to visit friends where I was on hand for the death of Queen Elizabeth. 

Buckingham Palace

Then I flew to Barcelona where I met Diego who had flown solo from Guatemala City to Panama then onto Madrid and Barcelona. This flight was booked before he acquired the US visa thus he had to circumvent the United States. We spent a week in Barcelona and a week in Madrid with a side trip to Pamplona visiting four different universities with a little tourism thrown in along with three days in Washington, DC.

Diego at a Mexican restaurant in Madrid.

Shortly after our return it was off to the west coast for the two weeks promised to the embassy in the visa application. Diego did spend a few days working in the World Possible office in southern California. 

Diego earning his visa at the offices of World Possible.

Astrid has finished her first (of five years) of law school with remarkably high grades and a "diploma for excellence." She works full-time for a call center, attends university classes all day on Saturdays and looks after her son, Beyker, who is now six. 

Beyker (l) and Liam (r) reading their fortunes at Panda Express

Jackie's son, Liam, is nine. Hard to believe. Jackie is finishing up her university studies and will graduate as a secondary school teacher early next year. She has applied to several private schools in their village of San Antonio Aguas Calientes and hopes to be gainfully employed soon. 

Denis who is almost twenty-four remains somewhat elusive. He works full-time for an architect and when he is not working he parents his nephews and goes to the gym. My wish is that he would realize that he could be an architect and not just do menial work for one. 

Cristofer is back playing soccer after after losing almost two years due to the pandemic. He will start the tenth grade in January and has expressed a wish to play professional soccer. He is quite good. We are searching for contacts in the world of professional soccer and he has been showing off his skills in a couple of different venues. 

Cristofer and his winning soccer shoes.

Mishell is fourteen. 

Diego, Cris and Mishell continue to live with me as their mother is unable or unwilling to provide for them. They do spend time with the rest of the family which gives me some occasional moments of solitude which I treasure. 

Mishell and Cristofer (the wine is mine) at a Thanksgiving dinner

But there are two more. Isaac is Beyker's best friend. His mom works in the school cafeteria. Isaac used to accompany her to work and she would cry when she saw Beyker attending classes which she could not afford for her son. "So, what is one more?" I said to myself. Isaac and his (intact) family live in a rural village about thirty minutes by car or forty-five minutes by chicken bus from Antigua. Isaac loves cornflakes which I give him now and then along with powdered milk as the family does not have a refrigerator. 

Beyker and his pal, Isaac.

Carlitos, also known as Charlie, lives in a lamina house with a dirt floor behind the horse barn at the coffee farm where I keep my miniature horse and goat. He is the youngest of six kids and has two lovely parents. Carlitos is ten and is being sponsored (not by me) to attend the Green School with all the other kids and he just loves it. He is determined to master English, which is how he became known as Charlie, and spends his spare time on Duolingo. He loves the Cuban musical group, Buena Fe, and intends to become a surgeon. I sponsor him for chess, swimming classes and Buena Fe concerts. 

Charlie at a Buena Fe concert

My brother and his wife came for Christmas and thirteen of us spent a few days at the beach in a rather idyllic spot.

Charlie taking in the ocean for the first time.

Then it was back to Antigua and Guatemalan Christmas. While visiting a toy store a few weeks back I had asked Beyker to show me what he wanted Santa to bring so that I could relay the message. He asked me, "how are you going to do that?' I told him, "I have his WhatsApp." "Oh, OK," was the response. When Santa did show up Beyker wanted to know where he had left his sleigh. Mrs. Claus was quick to say that he had left his sleigh at central park. 

Christmas chaos.

And then of course we took the annual photo in front of the Christmas tree. In the interest in seeing how things change I am including the photo from 2014.

2014

2022

Diego and I are off to Cuba for New Years' Eve along with some friends. We will attend a Buena Fe concert in Matanzas on December 30th and will spend New Years' Eve in Havana. Happy Holidays to all and let's hope the world gains a measure of sanity in 2023.

Passports, Visas and more

Given Diego's history with test taking and his disinclination to knock himself out studying I made the decision to cancel the plan for him to take the Cambridge A-level exams. They are very difficult and expensive but if one gets a passing grade it is possible to get a degree in Europe in only three years. So, Diego has effectively finished high school and is looking at the best way to pass a gap year. His hope is to attend university in Spain starting in September, 2023. 

Our first challenge was to get Diego's passport renewed. Perhaps because of the pandemic, probably there are other factors as well but one needs to wait months to get a passport renewed. Diego's appointment for renewal was in December. However, if one has travel plans it is possible to go forty-eight hours before the planned travel and get a new passport. At the last minute (think: refund) I bought Diego a round trip ticket to Costa Rica which is the closest place one can go from here that doesn't require a visa for Guatemala citizens. He went the next morning to the passport office and was successful in getting his passport renewed. 

Passport renewed!

My plan was to apply for a refund for the airline ticket within the first 24 hours but Diego decided that it would be a good experience for him to go to Costa Rica by himself. I booked him a bed in a hostel at one of the more popular beaches and off he went. The hostel was four hours from the airport so he had to figure out the transportation. He had a debit card on his on bank account and some US dollars in case his card didn't work. Which was the case though it might have been operator error. He changed some dollars and took a taxi to the bus station where he caught a local bus for the four-hour trip to the beach. He sat with a young man from Germany who was staying nearby at the same beach. The next day he toured the national park complete with monkeys and sloths and the following day he got quite sunburned surfing with all of his new friends, from Guatemala, Colombia, Holland and Germany.The following day he splurged on a shuttle back to the airport and he made it safely back to Guatemala transformed by his first solo venture out into the world. 

Off he goes to Costa Rica.

In April Diego and I accompanied some friends for a week in Medellin, Colombia. We visited Comuna 13 which is a one-time red zone that has been transformed into a major tourist attraction. The transformation started when young people traded their guns for paint and started using mural art as a way to change the culture of the area. The mural artist, Chota, is given most of the credit for the transformation. Chota has visited Antigua twice and is coaching a group of young people in nearby Jocotenango who are trying to emulate his success in their community. 

Cristofer and Chota

Some of Chota's mural art in Comuna 13, Medellin

Emboldened by our success in renewing Diego's passport I decided to pursue getting passports for Cristofer and Mishell in the hope that, in another year or so, they would be able to participate in a student exchange. I engaged an attorney with immigration experience in Guatemala City. As Diego is no longer a minor a power of attorney was signed by both his mother and also by the kids' father, Alex, who as you might remember, resides in the Big House. Off we all went with a folder full of powers of attorney and other documents. After four hours in line they were told that the passports were approved pending the delivery of a statement from the prison confirming that their father was a resident. 

The attorney and the three kids went again the following morning with the document from the prison fully expecting to get the passports. The immigration department in Guatemala is famous for being the most corrupt agency in the country and I was reminded of the struggle I had some eight years ago getting a passport for the then minor Astrid. The attorney called and said that the games had started and that the immigration people were clearly hoping for some money which we both decided that they were not going to get. Since we had provided proof that Alex was in prison they stated that he had lost all of his rights as a condemned person, including the right to sign a power of attorney. One would logically think then that the passports could be issued with the mother's power of attorney. But no. They told the lawyer that she would have to go to the family court and ask the judge to issue an order for the passports. So, there we are. 

The attorney will go back to immigration this week to confirm what other requirements they might dream up and then she will go to the family court. She told me that she won't give up until we get the passports. I hope she is right. It might require a road trip to another part of the country where the passport offices are considered to be a bit less compromised.

The next step in launching Diego as a global citizen is to try and get him a visa for the United States. Not only does such a visa allow him to visit the US it also allows him to enter other countries such as Mexico without a visa. And more to the point it will allow him to utilize my United travel benefits which require that he transit the United States. Next week Diego has an appointment with a visa consultant who will help him with the application and counsel him about the interview process. World Possible will confirm that he has an internship for his gap year and needs to participate in training in Los Angeles. Fingers crossed as it is almost impossible to obtain US visas here though it has eased a bit under Biden's presidency. 

Astrid has finished her first semester in law school with amazing grades. She is majoring in criminology and political crime. And she loves it. I have encouraged her to renew her passport and her US visa lest she has to flee the country as have most of the honest judges in Guatemala. 

Beyker and Liam are biding time during the school vacation. Beyker, who would like to go to school all day every day, doesn't understand why there have to be vacations. He also doesn't understand why he couldn't go in an airplane to the United States like his friends for the vacation. He turned six recently and wanted Chinese food for his birthday.

Beyker and his birthday lunch of Chinese food

Their vacation has been about swimming, horses and goats. Not all bad.

Beyker and Liam making the best of their summer vacation.

The cute little three and half pound puppy has turned into a fifty pound handful. Her favorite activities are chewing anything she can find, counter surfing in the kitchen, eating avocados off of the tree and barking her brains out. Thanks to my veterinarian and a prescription for doggie Prozac I have not (yet) driven her down the road and dropped her off. I had Luna DNA tested to see what she is and the answer that came back was "American Village Dog," with traces of about fifteen different breeds ranging from Great Dane (her size) to Chihuahua (the barking). 

The counter surfing American Village Dog.

Next week everyone, except Diego, goes back to school for the second half of the school year. I have a one-way ticket to the UK on August 30th and Diego is scheduled to meet me in Barcelona on September 12th where we will meet up with my family and visit some universities. Hopefully, by then he will have a plan to stay in Spain for 2-3 months doing volunteer work. I will come back to Guatemala at some point after Diego is settled somewhere.