Have had 2 job interviews- one yesterday, one today. Was offered the one today- unfortunately it's very temporary- and I'm still not sure but I think I'll take it and if I don't get another by the end of the assignment, hopefully they'll let me continue to interpret. By that time Rose will have moved to Japan and in the meantime a couple of other interpreters can get more hours if I do something else for 3-6 weeks. I'm hoping to hear from the interview yesterday soon- it went well (I thought!)- so- pray for me- that God is leading me into the right job- even when I interviewed for it, it seemed right- but even if they offer it to me I have to discuss pay, etc. I'm not hugely picky but I also won't give people slave labor. Anyway right before that interview there was a Guatemalan man trying to fill out an ap to work in production, and he was having difficulty with his ap, so I helped him- MY job would involve lots of interpreting and translating- and the person I interviewed with has mentioned the Guatemalan and Mexican communities are his huge untapped resource- they are quickly becoming integral to the community here. If all the Guatemalans picked up and left right now there'd be a lot of industry up a creek. I hate to see some of the places exploit them- there are places that know some folks are illegal and therefore take advantage of them every way possible- but the good and reputable companies check all paperwork for legality and over-verify everything, even though sometimes I don't think they pay them (or other workers) enough.
Hard to get legal when you can't jump the hoops because you're functionally illiterate, which many Guatemalans are. Maybe half are pretty good at reading Spanish. Maybe 5% can read both Spanish and Mam. I've seen the illiteracy in both men and women but more women seem to be affected. Would love to see a literacy program get started. Su Casa has some good programs. They need to be able to at least read in Spanish even if they never learn English. It would help them immensely. I've seen women act quietly ashamed that they don't know how to read- and it's nothing to be ashamed of- not even a measure of intelligence- just a measure of the opportunities you've been given.