Antonio

I´m taken aback at just how progressive my Spanish instructors beliefs are, which, I assume, are pretty unconventional in Guatemala. This is an old fashioned, socially conservative country, for sure. You´re Christian and you go to church. You´re generally married with kids no later than your late 20s. If you´re a man, you control the household and society at large. If you´re a woman, well, you´re SOL. Antonio, however, doesn´t buy into any of this. He´s church-going, but he does it out of respect for his family and heritage, as well as the solidarity it creates in the community. He thinks Bush was disgusting, and has tempered hope for Obama, especially as far a immigration is concerned. He beleives children and, especially, woman need to be treated with more respect, equally, in his culture; that his government should spend more on education and healthcare. He´s visited Cuba and is a fan.

And yet... We meet at a table in the back corner of an open-air cafe everyday, me as student, him as instructor. I sit facing a back hallway, away from the cafe so I¨m not distracted. He faces the the opening of doorway, the entire cafe in view. This is so he can get a good look at all the chicas that come in. For all his unconventional progressiveness, he is as easily distracted by a pretty girl as anyone I´ve ever met. And I can´t help but chuckle and be completely charmed by him.