Hello, from Guatemala! My family and I have been traveling through Guatemala for the past week and have several more days to go. One town we visited was Chi-Chi Castenango, which is a wonderful town with lots of street shopping. This gave my kids a great opportunity to learn about money and bargaining. They had their own money--once it was gone, it was gone. And they negotiated their own purchases with the vendors. Several interesting leasons were learned, and I want to share one of them with you now.
My daughter found negotiating very difficult. She wanted to get the best price she could, because she had a limited amount of money. At the same time, she wanted to be fair to the vendors, many of whom were very young children (even 7 and 8 years old!) She found herself paying a little more than should could have bargained for, all the time trying to find a balance between her limited money and fairness. Some would say this is silly--always negotiate the best price regardless of the circumstances. My daughter took a more balanced approach, and it was great to see her considering the needs of others.
Adios for now.
