I arrive in Guatemala on The Day of the Dead, November 1st.

I’m curious
about this holiday, so I go

to the cemetery to see what’s happening. What I find is quite interesting.

The atmosphere is like a party. There are people everywhere. Families are
sitting around the

graves of their dead ancestors. They clean the graves and add fresh flowers. I
walk through the

cemetery and admire the beauty of all the colorful flowers.

There is also color in the sky, because many kids are flying kites. Some families
are having a picnic

next to the graves. They eat, drink, and chat together. People laugh and smile.

In the Unites States, cemeteries are always somber. We certainly never have
festivals or parties

next to graves. We don’t laugh or play music or fly kites in cemeteries either.

I find that I prefer the Guatemalan approach. I like the way they remember and
celebrate those

who have passed away. I like that they acknowledge death, instead of denying it
the way

Americans do. I like that there is life, as well as death, in their cemeteries.

Guatemalans call it “The Day of the Dead”, but it is also a day to appreciate life.

OFFICER:         _____ _____. What can I do for you?

LOUISE:           I want to ____ a theft. I had some things ____
___ __ my bag yesterday.
OFFICER:         I’m sorry to hear that. Right, so I’ll need to ____
__ ___ _____. Can I start with your name?
LOUISE:           Louise Taylor
OFFICER:         OK, thank you. And are you ______ __ the
UK?
LOUISE:           No, I’m actually Canadian .Though my mother
was British.
OFFICER:         And your date of birth?
LOUISE:           December 14th, 1977.
OFFICER:         So you’re just visiting this country?
LOUISE:           That’s right. I come over most summers __
_____. I’m an interior designer and I come over to buy
old ______ (1), antiques you know. There are some really ____
____ ____ here, but you need to ____(2)to the small towns. I’ve
had a really good trip this year, until this happened.
OFFICER:         OK. So you’ve been here quite a while?
LOUISE:           Yes, I’m here for two months. I go back next
week.
OFFICER:         So may I ask where you’re staying now?      
LOUISE:           Well at present I’ve got a place at _____ (3)
Apartments, that’s on King Street. I was staying at the Riverside
Apartments on the same street, but the apartment there was
only ______(4) for six weeks so I had to find another one.
OFFICER:         OK. And the apartment number?
LOUISE:           ______(5).
LOUISE:           Right.
OFFICER:         Now, I need to take some details of the theft.
So you said you had some things stolen out of your _____(6)?
LOUISE:           That’s right.
OFFICER:         And were you actually carrying the bag when
the theft took place?
LOUISE:           Yes, I really can’t understand it. I had my
backpack on. And I went into a ______(7) to buy a few things
and when I opened it up my ____ ___ ____.
OFFICER:         And what did your wallet have in it?
LOUISE:           Well, fortunately I don’t keep my credit cards in
that wallet – I keep them with my _____(8) in an inside
compartment in my backpack. But there was quite a bit of cash
there … about £_____ (9) sterling, I should think. I withdrew £300
from my account yesterday, but I did _ __ __ ______, so I must
have already spent about £50 of that.
OFFICER:         OK.
LOUISE:           At first I thought, oh I must have left the wallet
back in the apartment, but then I realised my ______ (10) had
gone as well. It was only _ ____ ___, and that’s when I realised
I’d been robbed. Anyway at least they didn’t take the keys to my
rental car.