Actually, I've been here for over a week now... or has it been two?

What's bad is that the house (and more importantly, the Internet connection) that were promised to us turned out not be available. So meanwhile I'm on a DirecWay (yuck!) connection and a CDMA (interesting) connection. Both are slow. Both have high ping times. The CDMA connection is better than DirecWay, but it's still lacking. The cool thing is that a simple USB/PCMCIA card can connect at 128k to 2Mbps almost anywhere in the country, for only $50 a month!

Coming to Guatemala now seems a lot different than it did the first time I got here (Almost 7 years ago). More correctly, Guatemala hasn't changed much (OK, widespread Internet and cell phone access apart), but I've changed a lot. Living in Atlanta for 6 months really got me comfy on some things (like high speeds, or being able to actually order stuff online). Other things I had gotten so used to in Guatemala and then Atlanta, I've just noticed them more. Here are some random items:

-Driving. I don't have a driver's license, so I only drove once or twice while in Atlanta. Even then, it was only for a few minutes, and rather nervously. (My brother insists that you don't need a license or insurance to drive in the states, but I'm pretty sure they'd arrest you.) In Guatemala, I can use my own printed license or a few dollars. A few years ago I was stopped with no license or registration at all. After indignantly claiming I didn't need a license, the six cops settled for about $7, and even offered me change. I have a friend here who has used his university student ID card as a drivers license and it works fine. Of course, driving again just reminds me how much I hate driving (well, more specifically, traffic).

-Slow pace/bureaucratic . The USA, being quite consumer-oriented, seems to move quite fast for many products and services. Call Comcast, give them your address/phone number, and they're there in a few days installing your Internet connection (OK, YMMV :) ). Down here, it just takes longer for everything. DSL? Fill out 5 pages of paperwork, sign a 1 year contract, etc. etc. Then they might install in a month. For the Bellsouth CDMA access we have they wanted 3 bank statements, legal ownership papers and a whole slew of other stuff -- all this for a $50/month service and about $100 in hardware. Just a different pace to adjust to -- probably better for your health.

-Different freedom. While Guatemala's laws are complex and strict on some things (for instance, making an invoice requires the government to approve the design of your invoice), they are usually marginalized because of lack of enforcement or corruption (the oil of bureaucracy). I drive a 89 Jeep Korando, which wouldn't pass any inspection of anything, yet it's not a problem. I'll leave my Internet connection on (when I get a real one) eMule 24/7 and never worry about the MPAA/RIAA suing me. Of course, there's downsides to this (i.e., don't make strong enemies, since the police aren't gonna do much about it). The interesting thing is the odd things that might be enforced. For instance, broadcast on an unlicensed frequency (and almost all frequencies are licensed here), and the telecommunications agency will triangulate you and fine you quite quickly. Also, you can get stopped and fined for driving while talking on a cell phone (however driving a vehicle with no doors, exhaust like a burning oil field, and no headlights, will hardly get you noticed).

-Homogeneous environment/culture. In the states, you find all sorts of people. Companies and people must be somewhat politically correct in some areas. It's harder to make assumptions about people in the states (say, which holidays they celebrate). In Guatemala, you have essentially two groups: the Mayans and the Latinos. Inside the two groups, a lot of common thought is shared. Nothing surprising really, it's just that you don't see this as much in the states since there's quite a bit more of a mixture, and here there's a lot less diversity: I've seen perhaps 10 black people in Guatemala city and the surrounding areas (go towards Belize and of course this changes) in the years I've been here. Once I saw a company van (a photo company) driving around with loudspeakers playing a common anti-gay song at full volume. I highly doubt they got any complains.

-Radio/TV suck. Oh wait, that's not differnet. They suck in the states too. Although, I'm able to get Korean TV included in the cheap ($10) cable package (unlike Comcast, who wants $15/mo for *one* channel more).

-Money. Basic living costs are much cheaper (rent, food, etc.). However, go above that, and you get gouged. The big electronics store down here (related to Sony) sells the same equipment for about double or triple the cost of what'd you'd in the states. Telgua wants $150 for a 128K ADSL line with a public IP ($50 a month if you want private). MS Office 2002 retails for $500+ at Office Depot here. Also, good luck on finding a GeForce 6800. Yet, you could get an Oracle DBA with 8 years of experience for probably $2000 or $3000 a month.

-Armed guards. Something I'm so used to I almost forgot: armed guards. Everywhere. At the bank in Atlanta, I think the guard had a pointy stick and a .22. Here, the guard at the postal office had some mean-looking automatic assault rifle. Pretty much any mall, store or any place with anything of any value will have really-armed guards. After a bit they just start to blend in. And in reality, I doubt they help that much. I worked on restoring bank robbery footage, and the poor bank guard in one attack couldn't even pull his pistol out in time. Also, the thieves are similarly (or more -- in one video, they came in with some machine gun type thing that was around 150cm long), and have the element of surprise. In fact, I'm not even sure how a guard would use an assault rifle in a mall or a bank. Police are armed like that too (once I got stopped on foot by police -- by having their uzi stuck into my back), but they've got some training at least.

-Security. Since the police force is not an effective deterrent (since the response is not that great), a lot of focus is put on prevention. This is directly in constrast to the states, where prevention is hardly anything, and everything is based on detection and response. Almost all houses will have a wall around them, some with razor wire or perhaps broken glass on top. Driving around in Atlanta's suburbs seemed so strange, since you could look, or walk, right into people's houses. Also, I've yet to see many residential windows that don't have iron bars across them. Having homes be like mini-fortresses just seems natural after a while.

Those are just some differences, some nice, some not-so-nice, that I've noticed. I'll try to remember some others.