I missed the bus....

..... and I'm never ever ever gonna do it again. At least if I can help it. I parted ways with Blaire and David this morning around 6 30 to catch the funky chicken bus to GC. It's supposed to take about an hour to get to GC from Antigua, so I figured it'd be enough time for me to get to the bus station to catch the 8 AM direct bus to Xela. Unfortunately, we got caught up in rush hour traffic, so I got to the bus station around 8 15. Again, I was hoping that the stereotype of Latin American countries as being very loose with time held true, but again, I waiting a few more hours until the next bus pulls out at 3 PM. I'm really glad I brought several books on this trip.

After my first couple of days in Guate, I think I've developed enough of a sense of it to tell you my first impressions. Guatemala makes Ecuador look like a first-world country. Sure, there's some beautiful historic buildings and new developments being made, but this internet cafe in zone 1 of GC is basically in the middle of a slum. This morning on the chicken bus, I got a good view of most of GC as well as the areas between here and Antigua, and it feels nothing like Ecuador.

I remember in Ecuador, my teacher kept telling me that Ecuador was probably the most corrupt or second most corrupt country in South America. But for all of their corruption, it's actually a pretty nice country from what I saw. And the corruption there seemed to be more at the upper levels of the government, not the petty corruption of local police that I encountered in my first night here. If you think about it, the same could almost be said of the states. Certain industries and interest groups lobbying politicians and donating funds in exchange for political support. Really, what's the difference? It seems to me that corruption is just part of the equation when it comes to the government. Whereas in these third world countries it may be everywhere, it's hard to deny that industrialized nations are immune from its effects, they only cover it up better.