i don't even know where to begin. it's only been two days, but i have already seen a lot. it's all heavy, maybe a bit too heavy. i wish i could post pictures, but i haven't taken any. i can't get myself to. i visited communities of affluence today. $1,800 USD apartment complexes with extravagant patios. security guards. spas. fine dining. jaguars. twenty minutes later, i was in abject poverty. i visited a school that is situated next to a city dump. literally, right next to the city dump. i could hear the trucks. smell the fumes. saw children sorting garbage. the school is next to the city dump with the goal of educating children who work in the dump. the logic being, if children are going to work in the city dump, at least they can get an education on their down time. so far, the program has been working, but with limited success. guatemala city is big, and one program can only do so much. a few people can only do so much. the social worker of the program is a short guatemalan woman, about 50 years of age, with strong brown eyes. she possessed a motherly tenderness, one that is needed, given the circumstances. but she also spoke with conviction, with the air of someone who has witnessed their fair share of life. but i don't mean to focus on the negative stories. i don't want to victimize guatemala. cause pity. it's just that this is all very heavy right now and i've never been face to face with this before. in the same day, i listened to a story of hope. a story told by a man who lost his dad, his brothers and a sister to torture. to war. the story is of a 13 year old boy named enrique. enrique is a member of the ms-13. the central american gang with a vicious reputation. enrique was in his colonia, he was looking out of his window, when he noticed that the police had arrived. the police headed to the home of two individuals, dona mari and don jose. the couple was arrested and taken away. the police locked the door so no one could get in. i don't know if the police knew this or not, but a two month old was now locked in the building. alone. the son of dona mari and don jose. but enrique knew this and he came up with a plan. he'd break into the building through the roof. and so he did. during the day, enrique would go out and extort money from local businesses. threatening with death those who would resist to pay. enrique would set aside some of the money and would buy milk for the baby. enrique fed the baby, comforted the baby, slept next to the baby. for six months, enrique was a father. dona mari was eventually released. she hurried home, expecting to find her dead baby. instead, she found enrique holding the baby. he was burping him.