Coffee. It's been a part of my morning ritual for quite some time now, usually the first task of the day. In every city I've lived finding the good coffee shop nearby is on of the first steps to integration. It was an easy pick in Saskatoon, The Roastery is some what of a Saskatoon institution. A place where you meet friends, swap stories of the night before and spend time making music and making the world a better place through conversation. My favourite blend of coffee at the Roastery was the Guatemalan Fair Trade Organic. It would brighten my day when I looked at the specials board to be greeted by it's name. So needless to say, I was pretty excited to visit the birthplace of such a fine bean. In my naivety I thought that great coffee would be as easy to find in Guatemala as snow in Saskatchewan in the winter. Boy, was I wrong.

After a few days being around Guatemala you soon realize that the majority of what's being served as coffee is in fact the instant variety. The majority of which is Nescafe. Why at the heart of Coffee Country would they drink such an imbominaton as instant coffee. Surely they must realize how much it pales in comparison to the real thing, freshly roasted, ground and served steaming hot. Why you could probably drive for twenty minutes and be in the very field that The Roastery gets it's coffee beans from. Why in every restaurant and household would they resort to supporting a multinational company like Nestle to fulfill their coffee needs. I'll tell you why.

It's too expensive for Guatemalans to drink their own coffee. What they grow is for export only, solely to supply the Starbucks & Roasteries of the world. The sweat and hard labour of these people is getting flown away to find markets elsewhere, profits they're not likely to see. Sure there are a few places around town that serve up a great cup of coffee, but they are hard to find. Not like walking down the streets of Vancouver or Seattle where Starbucks surround you like a bad dream. I just want everyone to think about that a little when they have their cup of morning coffee. I'm not saying to feel guilty, not at all. Just make intelligent and compassionate consumer desicions and take a moment with your coffee in the morning and think of the many people who worked long and hard to get it into your cup on that frosty morning. The people I'm sharing the roads and streets with today, the people that are teaching me spanish and the people that make Freja and Eir smile and giggle daily. Just think of them.

Other than my coffee diatribe we had a lovely weekend. I played my little show on Friday to a very receptive audience mad up of mostly people from La Escuela. Went to the market on Saturday and got some grocery shopping done. It's quite the affair to go into the Mercado with two babies in tow. I'll get some photo's next time we go so you can see the craziness in action. It's crazy, but there is some sort of unsaid way about the Chaos. It's almost as if because no one is following the rules it works. Like if you're driving and try and follow the rules you're more likely to get into an accident than if you give into the anarchy of it all. Sunday we went to a beautiful hotspring called "Fuentes Georgina" you can see pictures here.

That's it, time to make some lunch for these girls and go to school where there is a decent cup of coffee. Adios Mi Amigos.

Matty P.