This week I was alone at home with a new room being built and the handyman working with me on a new vegetable garden. Men in Guatemala and especially in such small villages are macho and it is hard to get listened to as a woman. On the first day, the handyman disappeared on his motorcycle for a couple of hours. When he came back he lied to me saying he just went home, then he confessed he went to the bank to cash his father’s check for the bowls field he built for us. Where was his father? Working on other projects. So I was paying his salary to go queue at the bank while his father was busy making money elsewhere! I was furious but he got that and the rest of the week he worked harder.
- garden patch
The restful week I had hoped for was pretty busy, overseeing the workers, mainly so they don’t make building materials magically disappear, and treat the water pump kindly to mix all that concrete. They didn’t like very much that the gringa was on top of them either, but I pay their wages and expect to get what they say they will deliver.
They laid the foundations of the room, and integrated the iron skeleton of the walls, then stopped the works until BF comes back to supervise how they build the stone walls, something they have little experience doing.
- the room’s foundations
With the handyman we did what seemed like the 100th deep cleaning of the house, to remove lime and concrete, it now looks fresh and ready to welcome our Christmas guests.
I went to town on the handyman’s motorcycle, I own an 800cc and it was weird to ride a 125cc at 40mph, with no helmet or license plate of course. What did you say? Insurance? Nope.
I was able to do my Christmas shopping, with only one recipient it was easy, and I took advantage of the shop’s free wrapping to get a lovely box.
2 parts gift, actually
I met with an architect to plan the development of the 90 acres land behind my little plot, and he came the next day to see it but quoted me much higher than what he initially said, probably because he realized the potential of the place and wanted his share. Need to find another one.
I also had the handyman prepare a garden patch, where I planted different seeds, I separated each kind with stones and left a little path to walk on for watering. There should be basil, parsley, potatoes, jalapeños, bell peppers, melons, spinach and more pretty soon. I also have a couple of avocado seeds being bred inside until they are ready for a transplant.
- separated crops
We had a delivery of 2000 wooden sticks that will be used to reinforce the ceiling of the new room while the concrete roof terrace is being poured, and will also make a nice ceiling on the guest room. You know ”mikado”, the pick-up sticks game? Well, we have a giant one in the garden!
- giant pick-up sticks game
The handyman’s father had quote us 50 cents per stick, which was quite high, but an employee from the ranch my cattle is said he would do it for 12.5 cents. The delivery brought the price to $350 instead of $1000. I hope this guy realizes that by quoting us so high he is constantly losing out on opportunities to earn money. He already lost the contract to re-thatch the deck roof and the one to bring 3500 stones to build the new room. I guess he doesn’t learn.
Christmas is getting closer and we are talking about having a convivio, a little get together for the workers to celebrate. I am not sure I want to prepare food and attend those men who consider me worthless and can barely make eye contact, but I guess I’ll have to oblige in order to keep our relations good with the community. Hopefully they will bring their wives and kids so I have people to talk with. They wouldn’t talk to me under torture… December is also a month when you get an extra pay here, not the contract workers but the handyman, and I guess we will have a tense conversation when it comes to him not getting most of it because he needs to pay back his motorcycle.
The end of the world is only three days away and there are many Mayan gatherings, the area is filled with tourists and most hotels are booked. We have visitors so I can’t try to rent the extra room, if not I would have liked to give it a test run during that peak season. I don’t have plans to be somewhere specific on the 21st, maybe around a Mayan ruin to see all the festivities, there is also an end of the world party in the nearby village.
doesn’t look like Christmas
It doesn’t really feel like Christmas under the sun, so I Skyped home to get a feel, my little niece had just received a letter from Santa, that I asked Santa to send when I visited him at his home in Finland this summer. It was such a cute place, albeit commercial, with a post office staffed by little elves, and you could ask for your letters to be sent around Christmas or Santa to write a bespoke letter to the child. My niece was over the moon when she got it, although now she is more obsessed with presents, since we have a first round on December 6th for Saint Nicholas, the ancestor of Santa Claus, she already got a few. I put a letter on the mail for her with some Guatemala handicrafts I hope she will like.
Finally, the little sneaky creature of the week award goes to
so cute and so poisonous
Such a cute lizard will you say? Me too! It breaks my heart to have to kill something so cute, and perfect, with little hands and head. BUT, this race is called lisas here, or sleepy child, because when they bite you, you get sleepy for a full day.
Have a lovely, insect-free day!
Free wrapping is always a nice bonus :0) I didn’t know Santa lived in Finland, or maybe he only goes there for his summer vacations 😉 I can’t believe it’s almost 2 months since you’ve moved to Guatemala. Seems like not that long ago though. End of the world party sounds like fun. Although I’m not sure a post apocalyptic world is something to celebrate for, lol.
Yes, almost two months already, I hope all this hard work was not so the world ends on Friday!
Great progress! I’m sure your Christmas guest will love what you’ve done with the place so far. =)
thank you! Are you hosting or visiting for the holidays?
That’s pretty frustrating the men don’t respect women at all. Seeing that I’ve been in the U.S. for 99% of my life that’s hard to think about. I realize it’s common in other cultures, but it’d still be difficult to see it first-hand.
That lizard is pretty cute too. What’s wrong with sleeping for a full day anyway?
It is really annoying, but I blame the women too for not raising men to respect them. This time I had to make it clear that I paid half his wage and he really didn’t want to mess with me, but most times I really don’t have most influence over macho men (honking as I walk by the side of the road, what a delight).
Nothing wrong with a full day of sleep, but I’d rather decide when!
I didn’t even think about how many people would flock down there for the “End of the world.” It’s funny really what people will do.
They should be stocking up on gas and food and building a shelter if they believe it is the end!
Love the pictures as always Pauline! I can imagine that dealing with the way the men are treating you can be very maddening (to say the least) as a woman. We have a family member that can tend to be the same way and it’s always infuriating to see them act that way.
I think my wife would love to spend Christmas your way…they’re calling for a foot of snow tomorrow.
I am not the most diplomatic person when it comes to dealing with that kind of situation, and it is infuriating to have to shut it up because I don’t want the whole village turning against me after only two months. When the house is finished I can stop relying on them but for now I have to keep a low profile. I think this guy respects me more now that we have spent a whole week just the two of us and he has seen me work and sweat on projects. There are advantages too, ”the lady can’t carry heavy things” is not something I will fight when they empty my car full of groceries for me 🙂
Cold Christmas has its perks! Hot chocolate, snowmen, fireplaces, invigorating walks… enjoy!
I love hearing your stories but I am super creeped out by that lizard! I don’t blame you for killing it!
I liked them at first… until I heard what they do!
That’s crazy how the workers have so much trouble taking orders from a woman, even though you are the one that is paying them. So different from the culture in the US where people really only care that they are getting paid, not what gender is paying them!
I hope your Christmas goes well and the Christmas Dinner for the workers is not as painful as it sounds like it could be. It’s really cool to see things come together, like the garden and the foundation of the extra bedroom.
I hope you continue these weekly posts, I definitely am enjoying them!
Thank you! I am reconsidering the workers party, and usually when you don’t feel like doing something, you shouldn’t!
Wow that would be a cool place to be for December 21st, that’s a very unique situation in the PF world! I hope your Christmas dinner goes well, I know I wouldn’t be very happy to have to deal with that kind of sexism.
I’m really enjoying these updates, keep em coming!
oops you ended up in spam! It should be fun around the 21st here. The newspaper said THE END should actually be the 20th afternoon, so let’s see tomorrow :). Glad you like the updates, thank you for saying so, it is nice to get positive feedback. Enjoy the holidays!
It’s understandable that you would get upset at him taking off to take care of personal stuff, but at the end of the day, who hasn’t taken a personal call at work or something similar?
I am certainly guilty of that. But disappearing for a couple of hours on what is already a half day’s work it taking it a step too far. He does spend a lot of time texting and receiving phone calls (I guess his brand new motorcycle made him popular!) but this I don’t mind.
Okay, if he is only working half a day, he should have plenty of time to take care of things afterward. I was thinking more like during the summers when I work 12 hour days and everything is closed by the time I get off. On slower days, we will run into town during work to get things like banking or the post office done.
Well it was Saturday so the bank was closed in the afternoon. But it was his father’s paycheck and his father was working on his own projects instead of going to the bank… plus he didn’t run it by me first. Well, that’s done, and I am glad it happened because it allowed me to get all the frustration I had with him off my chest and now we are good.
I haven’t had anywhere near your level of chauvinism, but I have found that some people do take instruction from men much better. I’ve found this out when the male doctors in our practice have given an order. I seem to get argued or debated with more. I’m paying, so doesn’t that make me right? Luckily we got a good snowstorm this week, so all the bugs and lizards are gone until spring. I love warm weather, but that would be a down side.
Nice! Are you off skiing this weekend? Of course the one who pay is right!! Ok, we may have overdosed on PF a little. The first thing I thought was ”I am paying you to go queue at the bank” and not ”you took me for a fool”. I need a break.
Seems like your home is coming along nicely! I’m a little jealous of all the land you have to work with and plenty of sun to grow things. Currently, it snows in Vancouver 😛
Tough business with your contractors, but hey, you’re paying their wages. They’ll come around in time – money is a good motivator.
I hope so. Enjoy the snow! It is not so nice in big cities when it gets all muddy and wet but in a nearby park it should be awesome!
I would not do well in that situation! It sucks to live in such an area that you have to sort of turn your back on something so wrong just to please people. You’re a stringer woman than I! Have a great week prepping for Christmas!
I hate it too, but I need my house built. We already made clear that we wouldn’t hire two men who were out of line and also quoted abusive price for their work because we’re not locals, and it looks like other people understood they need to treat us well. Are you having family over next week?
Nope- we don’t host- we go to hubbys grandparents for Christmas, there will be about 20 of us!
Oh crap, I didn’t realize the end of the world was so close! *Bites nails* What to do, what to do…
Have you gotten yourself a leather outfit and a whip yet? If you’re going to be the evil gringa, you might as well look the part 🙂
grrrrrrrr!!! Not sure they’ll like the whip. And they have machetes, they could revolt. For the end of the world, we are ready with cattle, chickens and a garden, bring it on, Mayan calendar!
Great update and sorry about the situation with the workers: it is hard to take. It would have been easier if you had your own network but in a new country, and culture, this is hard. Good luck and you will have to think of doing something that would impress these men.
Actually for gringo prices, I benefit from the ranch that my cattle is in, about two hours drive from there, where the cow boy has been working for my BF for years. He sold us some hens, the wooden sticks 75% cheaper, and is a good reference to run prices by. On the macho side, he is civil to me but has a hard time making eye contact and doesn’t talk to me if I don’t engage a conversation. It helps me balance the attitude at the house, seeing that it is the norm and not a personal vendetta against me.
Hey Pauline, is this guy a mathematician? I am not being rude so please, guys, don’t accuse me of anything like that. I just happen to talk to many mathematicians and eye contact is a bit of a problem; so is starting a conversation for that matter :).
He could be classified at socially awkward, but from the look at his debt situation, he is surely not good with math!
Ah the joys of male-dominated societies! You are in a tricky situation, having to ensure the village doesn’t hate you!
Can you make a little drawing of a motorcycle and fill it in, like a thermometer type fundraiser meter? I know that’s dumbing things down and being patronizing, but it sounds like this kid kind of needs it. Personally, I would probably give him his bonus with the same percentages he gets each month. ie if he currently gets to keep 40% of his earnings, do the same with his bonus. If it was me, I would be putting it all to debt anyway and want you to keep 100%… but I think I have my finances more organized than your handyman!
Good idea about the drawing! Something visual could help. We thought about doing the 2/3 proportion we usually do, but since he has worked on contract for a while, he has been employed for only 7 weeks, and now I just made the calculation, his bonus should be about $20 so I’ll let that slide and stay in his good grace.
It must be frustrating at times dealing with the male workers and if you weren’t constantly monitoring the work on your home, I don’t think it would be turning out nearly as well!
Isn’t Skype a blessing for those of us away from the majority of our family!
It is frustrating, but needed like you said. my neighbor has a toilet inside her bathroom that she has to climb 5 stairs to get to! looks like a real throne. I don’t know which worker came out with this idea, I hope he isn’t on my payroll!
I so remember the pick up sticks game and you have a giant one in front of you.
I think that is so cool that you had Santa write to your niece. I bet she loved it.
It will be very interesting to see how your 90 acre plan works out. That is very exciting.
The lizard reminds me of the ghekos that were in the grass at the resort I once stayed at in Cuba.
When we would walk around at night we would here crunch and we knew that we had just stepped on and killed another one.
that sounds disgusting! I am careful not to walk on frogs lately, wouldn’t like to clean that mess! and they are kind of cute and don’t bite.
I would love free wrapping… something I am NOT looking forward to 😛
there must be shops that offer free wrapping, although they probably sell stuff at a premium..
I love these updates on the property. Is the rift between the sexes common in Central America, or is it more localized to where you are in Guatemala? As others have said, its pretty strange to comprehend having lived entirely in American/European societies.
It is pretty common in all Latin America, unfortunately, and hard to understand at first, some behaviors just don’t make sense.
Must be nice to having that kind of weather, this time of year. Here in the northern US, things are getting cold. Saw snowflakes outside today, and the only lizards that exist are in pet shops!
Yes it is very nice! Although I do appreciate the seasons, it gives me some kind of rhythm, the cycles going around.
Ha! Sleepy Child! and here I thought lizards were harmless. I’ll think twice about picking one up again on vacation. Your place is really coming together. Every time I read your Guatemala series, it looks nicer and nicer. Way to go!
Also, I like the new design on Genesis. I run Thesis, but sometimes wonder about Genesis, as I know it is a high quality framework.
OK now that’s a cute critter I can handle. When do you expect everything will be all finished? I love these updates!
It is too cute to be true! I hope the other room will be finished by March, leaving the two rooms inside the house to rent for Easter.
Nice little garden. Envious that you can grow peppers year round.
When it is as cold as it is at the moment, I wish I could live in Guatemala!
it is certainly a nice place to be!