OCR Text |
Show Seely Youth Describes Contrasts In Central American Civilization Editor's Note: This is the first of what we hope will be a series of letters from North Sanpete young people who are serving missions fc: the L.D.S. church in the United States and in foreign lands. It was written by Elder Edwin M.G. Seely, a son of Mr. and Mrs'. J. Leo Seely. Now a veteran with more than a year in the field,' Elder Seely has served in Old Mexico and is presently stationed in Guatemala, C. A. Elder Seely's report on the people of Guatemala Guate-mala will be published in two installments. This is the first. 3a Calle Oriente 2 B Guatemala, C.A. February 20, 19-19 Here in Guatemala the sun is shining and there is just a bit of wind that I can hear whistling whist-ling through the trees that form part of a park in front of a large Catholic church just across the street. Here in the "Country of Eternal Spring" we are in the month that is known as "el mes loco" or the loco month of the year which is characterized by a bit of rain, wind, heat, and some chilly nights now and again comparatively. Three light blankets suffice to keep us warm through the coldest nights down here with all the 7"" windows open. Here with us at the present time we have a family fam-ily from Idaho and it is so hard to imagine the severity of the winter back there although they describe it with all the details The lowest temperature ever recorded here is 41 degrees on a night in February some year? ago. But the climate is not the only on-ly distinguishing feature corn-Dared corn-Dared with the life back home Here live a different people with a different culture and differ ent customs. Guatemala City is modern. In the streets are an abundance of new passenge. cars and trucks and buses and many jeeps and an overabundance overabun-dance of motorcycles and bicycles, bi-cycles, the majority of the latte; coming from England, France Italy and Germany. American - built bicycles do not have a reputation for durability here. But moving slowly through the streets carrying heavy loads o gravel or sand or maybe just r few sticks of wood. Somewha lighterbuilt wagons and buggies are propelled by horses or mules. The servants and poorer poor-er people usually ride thes large old fashioned carriages pulled by two horses consistir of skin and bune and not much Ul bMU cuiu uunt; ClIIU I1UL II1ULI else. ' But the majority of the deliveries of milk, groceries hardware, collection of garbage etc., is made with small twr wheel carts much the same as those used by the pioneers who came across the plains in the handcart companies, the differ ence being that these are morr durable. Strings of pack ant mals pass through the business cnitinnc rf tnmn loHovi m'' cffarcofilSwood and vegetable-and vegetable-and fruits of all classes. And then in the streets are thousand: of human cargo carriers. The ' men carry the loads on thei backs, bound there by a leathe-thong leathe-thong that passes over the for head. The women go sa through the streets with their cargoes in huge baskets on the head, and they move just as smoothly and majestically as a ship on the sea. The posture generally speaking is the best I have ever seen among the fairer sex. Here in Guatemala we are six Elders and two Sisters and between the six Elders we have four English made bicycles with the regular front and rear hand brakes that are so common and effective here. The bicycles enable en-able us to make three or four extra visits a day besides the monev we save as tha hnmt coi dom exceed ten miles an hour here in the city it seems. Coming Com-ing into one of the main intersections inter-sections this is what we see: a steady flow of traffic coming in from all directions with one or two policemen watching they never seem to do anything but stand and watch. Coming . around one corner is a little barefoot Mayan man pulling or pushing his two wheel cart and - - frantically ringing the bell attached at-tached to cart by wielding a little hand gong. Dashing in front of him is a little Indian woman with a basket three fegt in diameter filled with live chickens balanced on her head a baby tied to her hack and a big bundle of pots in each hand Behind the two wheeled carl might be a pair of oxen and their wagon or a Packard automobile, auto-mobile, and then coming from ' -iL directions are the motor -- cycles and bicycles, all blowing their horns or ringing their bells as the law says one must do at each intersection. Then of course there are the trucks and buses, jeeps and passenge cars and making frantic dashe through it all the Indians just in from the country who just don't know how to take it all. (to be continued) . |