it's just a balancing act

I like to people watch. It's great if you're a student of human behavior, like I like to think I am. It's always surprising the amount of information you can get from simple observation.

Being the tourist that I am, it's not hard to pick out the little things that make Guatemala and the Guatemaltecos so unique. One thing that has always struck me is the hard manual work that is endured by their bodies, by in large. Women balance ridiculously heavy loads on the tops of their heads, which seem to become part of their bodies; men strap bags of beans, firewood, livestock (!!) or other heavy objects on to their backs, and these are held in place by a forehead strap, so their back/neck muscles do most of the work when they trudge up and down the infernally omnipresent hills. It's awe inspiring, humbling, and ridiculously simple. What it is not, is ergonomic, comfortable, or easy. (Have you ever tried walking with a book on your head? What about a bucket of water on a cobblestone road? Yes, I have seen that, and even more impressive feats!)

I go to school with mostly American/Canadian medical students learning medical Spanish, while volunteering at the area hospitals and clinics (which are woefully understaffed sometimes). They tell me their patients come in, hesitantly and humbly describing back discomfort/neck problems. Sometimes when asked how long the symptoms have persisted, the answer is "I don't know. As long as I can remember", or "maybe about 5-10 years". Makes me feel like a total whinging, lazy, coddled loser. Sometimes you don't realize how soft you are until you see how the rest of the world lives, and that can't be good.