B.J. Murrey - World Orphans, Central America

(continued from the post below...)

So yesterday I asked my roomie, who is Guatemalan, if Hiper-Paiz would take back my broken office chair which had collapsed under my weight the night before, sending me unexpectedly downward onto my back-side while watching a video at my desk. Once he finished laughing at me (I was kind of disappointed no one was nearby to witness the fall... I would have laughed too!) he said if I had the receipt there is a possibility they might take it back.

What you may not know is that a few months ago I bought a new sink faucet at a hardware store and came home to install it. Mistakenly I had bought the wrong part and went back to the store to exchange it for the right one, where I was promptly told that because I wasn't a business I wasn't allowed returns OR EXCHANGES. Mind you, the item was never installed, never opened and the ink on the receipt was still wet from printing and I wanted a more expensive part! It took me a good 45 minutes to convince them to take my money and explain why their policy might not be a good one for business.

So my roomie told me to be tough with the customers service at Hiper-Paiz, to stutter a lot in broken Spanish and to claim that it never worked right. Armed with this knowledge I went to the store, carrying in my broken office chair, purchased 7 days prior. It was a floor model, the last one, so I figured that armed with my receipt I had a fighting chance. And without hesistation they handed me my money back. Simple. Easy. Quickly. I was kind of let down to be honest...

Upon arriving home, my roomie asked me how it went. I told him it was easy and they gave me my money back. Quickly he exclaimed "The next time I need to return ANYTHING you are coming with me!!" Turns out, no one takes anything back here without a fight. My roomie suggested that as a 6ft. tall American with tattoos who speaks Spanish, I intimidate people. (I know I am kind of pale, but really!?) He says I look serious and I am American and Guatemalans think all Americans will be mean & rude if they don't comply quickly. I was taken back by this remark - especially since I consider myself quite friendly and helpful - frequently smiling and waving to people, holding the doors for strangers, etc.. but he wasn't referring to me specifically in this stereotype.

There are a lot of Americans here in Guatemala adopting, from secular and Christian organizations and from international corporations. It just hit me today that not only am I an ambassador of Christ sent through World Orphans by my being here, but I am an ambassador of the United States of America. (Reminds me of Stephen Colbert's book "I Am America & So Can You!) I am YOUR representative here. People here are much more passive and reserved in general than Americans. No lawsuits. No confrontation. Family oriented. Take your time. Americans get incensed by it.

Recently I realized how idiotic many Americans are - and especially how oblivious they are to this fact - when a person I met through facebook contacted me about coming to Guatemala. He was planning on coming here for a mission trip for an extended (1-2 years?) time, representing the Catholic church. I connected him with my roomie, giving them both phone number and email of the other, so that my roomie could help navigate and coordinate this person's trip while he was here for an "acquaintance" trip. I was going to be out of the country, so unavailable. 

It turns out that the plans didn't work out between the American and my Guatemalan roomie. My roomie had phone and internet problems and was not able to contact the American in sufficient time. This American, to my great embarrassment, sent a hateful email to my roomie shaming him and his "irresponsible culture" for messing up his plans. Never have I been so ashamed to be an American. I was certainly glad that my roomie is a strong Christian, because there was no redeeming value to this man's email. My room mate is one of the kindest and most helpful people I have ever met in my life, anywhere in the world.

Though I am not a Catholic, I have nothing against them as people, but never have I met someone who defamed the Catholic tradition the entire time he was in this country, than this man did. Not just with my roomie, but I found out later, to many others, typifying the already broken international perception of Americans in general, and followers of Christ specifically. I take comfort knowing that he won't last here and will soon return to the "my way right away" American way of life that so many currently occupy.

The point of all this is to remind you - YOU ARE NOT YOUR OWN. YOU NEVER ACT ALONE. SOMEONE IS ALWAYS WATCHING. YOU ARE AN AMBASSADOR.