Music of Life Taken for Granted

I have only been in Guatemala for five days and I can already list pages of things I took for granted in the States. The element in my daily life that has changed the most is sound. It is NEVER quiet in Guatemala. There is music playing everywhere. Listening to the music of the streets, children, buses, cars, and pedestrians, I am often overwhelmed by the consistent presence of people. Windows and doors stay open to keep a breeze through the insides of hotels, homes, and stores. Coming in with the breeze is the sound of the trash truck and the neighboring hostel's radio or the restaurant's background music. The melting pot of sounds really emphasizes the way in which community is so highly valued in this country. It has hit me that I am entirely out of a comfort zone. And it is wonderful. Observing the physical differences that cause the change in this Music of Guatemalan life, has amazed me. Cars flying over cobbled streets, huge colorfully painted school buses as transportation overwhelm all of my senses. As I had hoped, I am completely removed from my standard way of life. Nothing resembles it. The closest I have been to something from home was in church this morning singing "How Great is Our God" in Spanish. It has been a wonderful five days and I look forward to more sensory overload and further adaptation.