My Bus Ride with a Coyote

One thing that I found extremely interesting was how honestly and openly many Guatemalans whom I met shared their past experiences in the U.S. with me (both legal and illegal). Host family members, counterparts, and even sometimes strangers would tell me about their time in the U.S. and if they went there "wet" (illegally) or not. The first time I heard this term used I couldn't believe it. Where I grew up it is incredibly offensive to say that. But in Guatemala the saying I went there"wet" was used instead of illegally. This might have something to do with the fact that the Guatemalan version of the saying: "under the table" is "bajo del agua" or "under the water." Whatever it is they use this term matter-of-factly.

So, back to the Coyote on the bus. I know I've written about Camionetas, American school busses that are driven down through Mexico, given a killer paint job, and used as public transportation in Guatemala and about how there are all kinds of animals on these busses but, have no fear, Coyotes are not one of them. The Coyotes I am talking about are the people who take people illegally to the United States. One day coming back from taking my laundry to the laundromat in Xela I get on a PACKED bus back home (a common occurrence). I'm talking an American school bus with three people sitting in each row and then as many people as can fit packed into the aisles.

So I was standing in the aisles packed among everyone when this guy says hello and starts speaking to me in Spanish. I believe that in either the first or second sentence he said to me he told me that he was a Coyote and was banned from the U.S. for life because he was caught bringing people illegally to the U.S.. He asked me what I knew about those laws and I told him honestly, nothing. Somehow his having two wives was worked into the conversation. He wanted to know if I thought he would ever be able to go back to the U.S.. I told him I had no idea, but that if he was banned for life then probably not. You never know what will happen on a Camioneta.

Sorry this picture is a little blurry, but it gives an idea of how crowded 

the busses can get.