Tips and advice to thrive in Guatemala

In my personal experience, adaptation is largely contingent on an individual's personality. Some people are less open to new experiences than others and there is nothing particularly wrong with that, it is just a personality factor. It becomes a problem, however, when a person has to adjust to many different things at the same time: language, foods, work ethics, understandings of time and punctuality, climate, etc.  and has a hard time processing too many changes and too much difference.

I was used to travel since I was very young and I although I am a very private person, I am also sociable. I enjoy trying new foods and learning about other people. From all that I have read, seen, experienced, and so on, I think most people around the world, regardless of culture, basically want the same things in life: to have a good life, for their children to thrive, to have a decent job, to be treated with respect, to own a house, to be safe, and so on. The differences are cultural, just as the differences in the foods we eat are probably in the seasonings, being that most people everywhere eat the same kinds of meat (beef, poultry, etc.) and assortments of grains and/or vegetables (leafy veggies, root veggies).  So it is an adventure to learn about the foods, for instance. I love it myself. But I am the type that when I was in Mexico, I even tried the famous fried chapulines (crickets).  And I adore the assortment of fruit one can have here that does not even exist back home in the U.S. 

On the other hand, I have expat friends who are uninterested in all that.  Nothing wrong with it, but they do have a hard time because they find the food deplorable. And food is important for most people. In any case, there are some restaurants around that cater to American tastes, such as U.S. style barbeque joints and some vegetarian and vegan places around. 

To me, exploring new places is always an adventure. I won't lie and say I don't hate some things, such as the huge inequality, the horrid traffic jams, the pollution, how difficult or just cumbersome many things can be here, including simple bank transactions. Overall, however, one just rolls with the punches and if one is Zen about it, life is good.  And I am lucky, because we have jobs we enjoy and we enjoy the city.  We work and live in the same central zone. Restaurants, pharmacies, neighborhood grocery stores and even the U.S. Embassy are a walk away, so I can avoid traffic. I have a job I enjoy, I am a professor and head a graduate school department. So I get to deal with interesting people from abroad and locals as well: journalists, academics, business people, artists, and so on. However, I think that if I had to live in the rural areas, I would adapt too, even though life would definitely be slower-paced and I'd have to be more creative about entertaining myself. It's a good thing that we live in an era in which mobile technology, wi-fi, cable tv and other such advances are available even in some very rural regions.

A recommendation I would give is to find a good doctor that makes you feel comfortable.  Eventually you will get sick and it makes a hell of a difference to have access to reliable medical services and a doctor one can trust and feel comfortable with.  We have health issues, so access to good medical services is important to us. However, having somebody trustworthy you can go to can never hurt. Also, frequent the same bank and make friends with the people there. It can make a big difference in expediting cumbersome transactions if there are already relationships established with the staff. Be prudent about where to go alone and about safety in general, without falling into paranoia. The best way to do this is to be informed. And lastly, focus on the advantages as opposed to fixating on the disadvantages, especially if they are issues you cannot fix.  For instance, you cannot beat the quality of life one can enjoy here for a small portion of the cost in other countries, such as the U.S.   And it is a beautiful country with an interesting history and much to do for people with an exploratory nature.