Reality Check!

As you all know everything is going well except for my roadblock with Spanish. I try not to be out past 9 p.m. and if I am I have someone walk me home. However, some have you have emailed me about stories you've heard recently. On Friday, a lawyer working in an office a block away from my school was gunned down. I heard the pops, but figured it was probably fireworks, but thought it was odd since it was midday. Well, I walked home from school an hour later and saw ambulance, people, police crowded around. Two men zoomed up next to the lawyer as he was pulling away from his office and shot him 8 times. The pics in the newspaper actually showed the lawyer slumped over in his seat, blood and brains oozing from his head. They have a different kind of journalism hear. I ran home and told Josefina about it. The next day she bought the papers for me to read about it. The family next door to use knew the lawyer well and the american student in the family's house saw the aftermath, the lawyer dying, and the family rushing to the scene. He told me the police did absolutely nothing and weren't going to investigate anything. The government is incredibly corrupt here. Usually, murders don't happen Xela. On Friday evening, a newly arrived American student left a bar with a fellow classmate 1a.m. He was walking her home and a group of men with guns forced them into the car and drove them 40 mins outside of Xela. They raped the girl and made the boy watch. They drove them back to Xela and the girl immediately called the US Embassy and they weren't very helpful. She went to Guate (Guatemala City) on Saturday to get checked out and then flew out today. My friend found me at a coffee shop with another friend and told us the story. It was about 10 p.m. last night she and her host brother escorted me home. I always carry my pepper spray! I couldn't fall asleep last night for a while. I told my host mom I'm going to always take a cab or walk home with friends. However, I'm always home by 8-9 the latest. The streets are really unsafe and the gangs come out. The rape was gang related.