As I had feared, my reflections have gotten far too few and far between since i stopped working and dont have constant access to a computer!
But, I do what I can to get out a few more in the...5 days and counting that I have in this country.
Know what I was reflecting on today??¿
The fact that I have..whats the word..molded¿? Meshed¿ into this culture, and its going to be difficult to take up some of the Us culture habits again.
Will I start greeting everybody on the streets? Good morning, good afternoon, and goodnight to random strangers? (is that normal?!)
Will I get offended by people who whiz by me on the streets, on a mission, and dont glance up and nod buenas tardes?
Will I expect every man, boy, and elderly man to stare and make eye contact everytime they pass? (Some, of course, are more polite than others,) It will actually be nice to be able to walk down the streets in shorts and not hear whistles or shouts or under the breath comments. Actually, it will be nice to just wear shorts! I have adapted a much more conservative dress style here, if I go out in shorts in my neighborhood, I feel much too indecent. It will be so great to wear shorts without feeling indecent.. so Excited!!
What else. I feel like the LOUDNess of the American culture will shock me. Everything here is so quiet and nobody complains. Nobody complains if the bus to Xela is waaay too hot and the driver has not opened the windows yet, people just wait, sweating, until he does it. They are just a very polite people.
Another thing. Will I have naturally more-alert instincts? Or however you say that in english? Here, I dont walk alone ANYWHERE after 9pm. EVER. I remember last time, coming home, and walking in the streets of St. Joe coming home from Sals, it was like, WHAT!? We can actually do this!? We dont need to call a taxi!?
Being here has hightened my senses to potential danger, and has made me a lot more careful. I never ever open the door to my house without looking out the window first. Is that normal?
I cant keep my door open during the day. My windows have metal bars on the outsides.
It all feels so normal.
But I really think Ivè just adjusted.
It will be very interesting to see what cultural aspects I retain from Guatemala, and which ones about the states seem SO WEIRD to me.
That will make for some interesting reflection later, I think.
See you in 5 days.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Monday, June 6, 2011
Reflection #4
I have learned how to cut fruit.
Hahahaha.
But seriously. I have.
I am now an expert at cutting tropical fruit. You know how in Minnesota, on those rare occasiones that one buys a pineapple or mango, its like, ¨wow, this is kind of a struggle, how do I do this again?¨ or ¨What is the best way to go about it this time?¨
(Well, at least to me that happened, cause I rarely cut watermelon, pineapple, or mango!)
But now? I cut fruit like a regular Guatemalan fruit vendor.
I am an expert at cutting papaya. I even know that the secret to making it REAL good is to puncture the skin with knife slices as soon as you buy it, to make sure the acid can escape and the fruit is not too bitter by the time you want to cut it.
(Yes, I know. Professional, right?)
I mean, how many people can say they cut papaya on the regular?
Also, piña and mangos are now my specialties. I can cut a mean mango. Lets see. Papaya, mango, watermelon, pineapple, those are the basics.
Never cut up so much tropical fruit before in my LIFE!
And then of course, there´s the ¨Guatemalan¨ fruit. Jocotes, nisparos, etc. And then those weird red spiky looking fruits. Fruits that I´m pretty sure don´t even have a NAME in English! They are just too plain tropical! I mean, seriously. Nisparo? I had never even heard of that! Just one of those things that doesn´t exist in the states. Or, Minnesota at least.
Wow. Can´t wait to get back to the states and eat apples, bananas and oranges.
(Sarcasm)
I am going to miss my cheap, fresh, tropical fruit WAAY TOO MUCH.
But, that is my reflection for the day. I cut fruit like you could never imagine.
Thank you.
:)
Hahahaha.
But seriously. I have.
I am now an expert at cutting tropical fruit. You know how in Minnesota, on those rare occasiones that one buys a pineapple or mango, its like, ¨wow, this is kind of a struggle, how do I do this again?¨ or ¨What is the best way to go about it this time?¨
(Well, at least to me that happened, cause I rarely cut watermelon, pineapple, or mango!)
But now? I cut fruit like a regular Guatemalan fruit vendor.
I am an expert at cutting papaya. I even know that the secret to making it REAL good is to puncture the skin with knife slices as soon as you buy it, to make sure the acid can escape and the fruit is not too bitter by the time you want to cut it.
(Yes, I know. Professional, right?)
I mean, how many people can say they cut papaya on the regular?
Also, piña and mangos are now my specialties. I can cut a mean mango. Lets see. Papaya, mango, watermelon, pineapple, those are the basics.
Never cut up so much tropical fruit before in my LIFE!
And then of course, there´s the ¨Guatemalan¨ fruit. Jocotes, nisparos, etc. And then those weird red spiky looking fruits. Fruits that I´m pretty sure don´t even have a NAME in English! They are just too plain tropical! I mean, seriously. Nisparo? I had never even heard of that! Just one of those things that doesn´t exist in the states. Or, Minnesota at least.
Wow. Can´t wait to get back to the states and eat apples, bananas and oranges.
(Sarcasm)
I am going to miss my cheap, fresh, tropical fruit WAAY TOO MUCH.
But, that is my reflection for the day. I cut fruit like you could never imagine.
Thank you.
:)
Reflection # 3
Living simply.
I really do.
When I first moved into my Santa Ana apartment, (un-furnished, which contained literally a bed, a fridge, a Coleman stove, a small table, and 2 plastic chairs,) the first thing I did was make a long list of things I needed to buy.
I no longer remember exactly what was on that list, but let me tell you, it was long. Area rugs, lamps, pictures, art for the walls, pillows, plastic cabinets, plastic storage, chairs, furniture, shoe rack, cooking utensils, etc.
Know what I bought from that list?
A pillow and two small pictures to hang on the walls.
That´s it.
Hahaha. I told myself that each month, I would treat myself to buying something new and exciting for the house. (Lamps, chairs, etc.) And then as the months passed, I realized how much I really didn´t need any of those things.
Yes, they are things that we have and demand in our U.S. homes and lives, but somehow, one does just fine without all these things! (Stange how that is..)
Yes, my living room is bare, (to the point where a couple of people have asked, ¨oh, do you teach salsa lessons here!?¨, because my living room literally is a bare tile floor with a mirror) HAHA. No, I do not, thank you very much. I just don´t have a lot of furniture. To the point where my living room resembles a dance studio :)
But I haven´t felt at all uncomfortable in my simple house and living style.
Granted, there are a few sacrifices.
I would really love an oven sometimes! But, like anything else, I have adapted. I have searched Betty Crocker online for endless ¨stovetop¨ and ¨skillet¨ recipes, and have made a lot of soups and etc. Haha.
You do what you gotta do, right??
A lot of people also ask, ¨WHAT?! YOU DON´T HAVE A TV! DON´T YOU GET BORED!?!?!¨
Nope. Not me.
Perhaps it is thanks to my lax upbringing (and when I say lax I am definitely joking) of watching one TV show a week.
Or, perhaps it was my adjusting to not having TV (other than the local Brainerd channel) whatsoever during my high school years...
Or watching only one show, Grey´s Anatomy, all through college...(oh, and can´t forget those Twins games)
But whatever it was, I am totally not accustomed to having Tv, so it was never a big deal. The best part is that I still was able to watch Grey´s Anatomy, (Monday nights at 8!) At Shelly´s house :)
I also am accustomed to not having a dish washer. Or a washer and dryer. Or a microwave. Or a toaster. Or an oven. Or a freezer that works. All of these things, folks, they really aren´t necessities. They are luxuries. (I have discovered the beauty of the double boiler, for example, for reheating foods!)
And I really don´t feel like I have been living ¨the simple life¨--I just feel like normal old me, just doing things a little more old-fashioned! (Handwashing clothes on a ridged washboard sink, etc.) Its been really good for me to realize that even without all these luxury appliances that we have in the states, I still have so much more than a lot of people who live in Guatemala.
But we--(those of us who live on less, and those in the world who live on a LOT less) aren´t different people--we just work a lot harder to obtain the same results.
Below: A picture of my pila, the sink with the ridged washboard, where I wash some clothes. Here, we have a kitchen towel in mid-wash. hahaha.
I really do.
When I first moved into my Santa Ana apartment, (un-furnished, which contained literally a bed, a fridge, a Coleman stove, a small table, and 2 plastic chairs,) the first thing I did was make a long list of things I needed to buy.
I no longer remember exactly what was on that list, but let me tell you, it was long. Area rugs, lamps, pictures, art for the walls, pillows, plastic cabinets, plastic storage, chairs, furniture, shoe rack, cooking utensils, etc.
Know what I bought from that list?
A pillow and two small pictures to hang on the walls.
That´s it.
Hahaha. I told myself that each month, I would treat myself to buying something new and exciting for the house. (Lamps, chairs, etc.) And then as the months passed, I realized how much I really didn´t need any of those things.
Yes, they are things that we have and demand in our U.S. homes and lives, but somehow, one does just fine without all these things! (Stange how that is..)
Yes, my living room is bare, (to the point where a couple of people have asked, ¨oh, do you teach salsa lessons here!?¨, because my living room literally is a bare tile floor with a mirror) HAHA. No, I do not, thank you very much. I just don´t have a lot of furniture. To the point where my living room resembles a dance studio :)
But I haven´t felt at all uncomfortable in my simple house and living style.
Granted, there are a few sacrifices.
I would really love an oven sometimes! But, like anything else, I have adapted. I have searched Betty Crocker online for endless ¨stovetop¨ and ¨skillet¨ recipes, and have made a lot of soups and etc. Haha.
You do what you gotta do, right??
A lot of people also ask, ¨WHAT?! YOU DON´T HAVE A TV! DON´T YOU GET BORED!?!?!¨
Nope. Not me.
Perhaps it is thanks to my lax upbringing (and when I say lax I am definitely joking) of watching one TV show a week.
Or, perhaps it was my adjusting to not having TV (other than the local Brainerd channel) whatsoever during my high school years...
Or watching only one show, Grey´s Anatomy, all through college...(oh, and can´t forget those Twins games)
But whatever it was, I am totally not accustomed to having Tv, so it was never a big deal. The best part is that I still was able to watch Grey´s Anatomy, (Monday nights at 8!) At Shelly´s house :)
I also am accustomed to not having a dish washer. Or a washer and dryer. Or a microwave. Or a toaster. Or an oven. Or a freezer that works. All of these things, folks, they really aren´t necessities. They are luxuries. (I have discovered the beauty of the double boiler, for example, for reheating foods!)
And I really don´t feel like I have been living ¨the simple life¨--I just feel like normal old me, just doing things a little more old-fashioned! (Handwashing clothes on a ridged washboard sink, etc.) Its been really good for me to realize that even without all these luxury appliances that we have in the states, I still have so much more than a lot of people who live in Guatemala.
But we--(those of us who live on less, and those in the world who live on a LOT less) aren´t different people--we just work a lot harder to obtain the same results.
Below: A picture of my pila, the sink with the ridged washboard, where I wash some clothes. Here, we have a kitchen towel in mid-wash. hahaha.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Reflection #2
We´re doing good! Two days in a row so far! (We´ll see how this keeps up haha)
Going off of my first reflection--which really wasn´t all that long or reflection-y--
Being here for a whole year has changed me in many ways. The biggest change?
I´ve grown up. A lot. In just one years time.
I imagine this happens to a lot of people when they graduate from college and join the ¨real-people¨ world; growing-up generally happens pretty quickly.
Down here, however, not only have I joined the ¨real-people¨ world, with a Monday-Friday 8-5 job, but I have done so in a third-world country. That makes for real quick maturing, let me tell you that much!
I have learned how to have a full-time job--how to interact with a boss, coworkers, have departmental bi-monthly meetings, how to be tactful when other coworkers´opinions are not the same as mine, (so, in other words, when they´re wrong) and of course how to lead my teams.
I have developed as a leader--I enjoyed being a leader before I came, but I think being the ¨mother¨ of a bunch of adults in Guatemala, sometimes twice my age if not more, really solidified that role and that part of my personality. (Eat this, don´t eat this, drink lots of water, but not from the faucet, you go here, you go there, LISTEN UP, don´t throw your toilet paper in the toilet unless on CH grounds, do what I say at all times, etc.)
It is fun, really!
So anyways, I have developed professionally.
How else have I matured?
Well, I have my own house. I am responsible for cleaning my own house, buying my own groceries, paying my own rent, etc. Instead of waking up on Saturday mornings and heading straight out to the deck like I do in Brainerd, I first wake up and start sweeping the floors and washing the sink. Washing clothes in the pila. Cleaning the bathroom. (Then, of course, after all that, I make time to go up to the terrace and tan!) But, I usually wake up Saturday mornings ready to clean. And it doesnt bother me! Weird, I know. But I think its because its my own house, my own mess, and when I keep it clean, its never too much work.
So how do I know I have matured? I wake up on Saturday mornings (sometimes at 7:30, 8, whenever I wake up,) and clean. Hahaha I am an old lady.
Besides that how do I know?
I make lentil soup on Saturday nights with classical music blaring. ( I literally did this last week; I am turning into my mother!) Which is not a bad thing! Like mother, like daugheter :) Or however the saying goes. But Mom I seriously didn´t realize how much I was acting like you, and then all of a sudden it hit me, (mid-Mozart symphony,) and I burst out laughing, because I am turning into YOU! (It was quite a lovely Saturday night, by the way, and the soup turned out great, despite the fact that I had to use fresh EVERYTHING, including make my own broth, because they dont have canned tomatoes or canned chicken broth here.)
Anyways.
I cook more. I water my plants. I pay bills. I live on a BUDGET. (This is a first for me, and has taught me important skills!) I buy expensive groceries only when I have ¨a little extra¨ that month. I don´t go shopping all the time. (This, folks, is saying a lot.) I have probably bought about... 4 items of clothing for myself in the past year. Seriously. Not exaggerating. (Wow. How is that possible??) Which brings me to a good stopping place for my rambling and a good next reflection topic...how I have learned to live simply.
Love to all! See you in 17 days :(
Going off of my first reflection--which really wasn´t all that long or reflection-y--
Being here for a whole year has changed me in many ways. The biggest change?
I´ve grown up. A lot. In just one years time.
I imagine this happens to a lot of people when they graduate from college and join the ¨real-people¨ world; growing-up generally happens pretty quickly.
Down here, however, not only have I joined the ¨real-people¨ world, with a Monday-Friday 8-5 job, but I have done so in a third-world country. That makes for real quick maturing, let me tell you that much!
I have learned how to have a full-time job--how to interact with a boss, coworkers, have departmental bi-monthly meetings, how to be tactful when other coworkers´opinions are not the same as mine, (so, in other words, when they´re wrong) and of course how to lead my teams.
I have developed as a leader--I enjoyed being a leader before I came, but I think being the ¨mother¨ of a bunch of adults in Guatemala, sometimes twice my age if not more, really solidified that role and that part of my personality. (Eat this, don´t eat this, drink lots of water, but not from the faucet, you go here, you go there, LISTEN UP, don´t throw your toilet paper in the toilet unless on CH grounds, do what I say at all times, etc.)
It is fun, really!
So anyways, I have developed professionally.
How else have I matured?
Well, I have my own house. I am responsible for cleaning my own house, buying my own groceries, paying my own rent, etc. Instead of waking up on Saturday mornings and heading straight out to the deck like I do in Brainerd, I first wake up and start sweeping the floors and washing the sink. Washing clothes in the pila. Cleaning the bathroom. (Then, of course, after all that, I make time to go up to the terrace and tan!) But, I usually wake up Saturday mornings ready to clean. And it doesnt bother me! Weird, I know. But I think its because its my own house, my own mess, and when I keep it clean, its never too much work.
So how do I know I have matured? I wake up on Saturday mornings (sometimes at 7:30, 8, whenever I wake up,) and clean. Hahaha I am an old lady.
Besides that how do I know?
I make lentil soup on Saturday nights with classical music blaring. ( I literally did this last week; I am turning into my mother!) Which is not a bad thing! Like mother, like daugheter :) Or however the saying goes. But Mom I seriously didn´t realize how much I was acting like you, and then all of a sudden it hit me, (mid-Mozart symphony,) and I burst out laughing, because I am turning into YOU! (It was quite a lovely Saturday night, by the way, and the soup turned out great, despite the fact that I had to use fresh EVERYTHING, including make my own broth, because they dont have canned tomatoes or canned chicken broth here.)
Anyways.
I cook more. I water my plants. I pay bills. I live on a BUDGET. (This is a first for me, and has taught me important skills!) I buy expensive groceries only when I have ¨a little extra¨ that month. I don´t go shopping all the time. (This, folks, is saying a lot.) I have probably bought about... 4 items of clothing for myself in the past year. Seriously. Not exaggerating. (Wow. How is that possible??) Which brings me to a good stopping place for my rambling and a good next reflection topic...how I have learned to live simply.
Love to all! See you in 17 days :(
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Reflection #1
When one´s time winds down in a country in which they´ve lived for a year, a lot of reflection takes place. Also, when one doesn´t have a boyfriend who´s around all the time, a lot more SELF-reflection takes place. Haha. Which is wonderful! I love it. I really do enjoy my alone time.
(Sidenote. One also loses 15 pounds when said boyfriend is no longer around all the time! I think because there´s no man shoving food in one´s face!)
But anyways! I´ve decided that I need to start getting some of these reflections that just randomly come to my mind down on paper. And then, while I was doing that, I figured, why don´t I share some of these self-reflections with my friends and family? And instead of scribbling them all down at once, I am going to try to do one a day, from now until the time I leave. (Which is, sadly, 20 days from today.)
Which brings me to my first reflective topic. I have 20 days left in this country. (When I wrote this. Now, publishing it, its actually 18 days)
Last week was my one-year anniversary in Guatemala. 365 days ago, May 24th, 2010, (two weeks after college graduation,) I came to Guatemala.
I knew what I was getting into, I knew the language, the culture, the country, the bus system, the politics, the violence, the amoebas, etc. I knew it all.
What I wasn´t prepared for was how time would fly. How much I would literally became a part of this culture. How I would change as a person throughout a years time. A year is a long time, folks. It´s not only an entire SCHOOL year, (September to May,) it´s an entire YEAR. A year. That is a long time. Especially when I think of it in light of my college years--a college year seemed SO LONG. But a whole entire YEAR year? I hardly ever measured my life in year years before, because it was always measured in school years. Now, for the first time ever, I am measuring my life in year years.
And I cannot believe how fast this one flew by. When I think about the version of myself who arrived in Guatemala a year ago--with my too-short hair-cut, my college-girl tendencies, (which were quickly forced to disappear,with a lack of 6 Blarneystone roomates and Joe-town) and my good-but-not-great Spanish, I really can´t believe how much I´ve changed. And I don´t know if trying to explain it here will even do it justice. I guess that is the purpose of all these reflections I want to get out, to describe my personal journey little by little.
So, for now, I´ll leave you with the first of reflections--a year has passed. A whole year. I have matured in more ways than you know. Beyond my years. Which, actually, I think will be my next reflection.
Peace and love from Guatemala. ¡Que disfruten la vida!, porque todo se puede cambiar en cualquier momento.
(Sidenote. One also loses 15 pounds when said boyfriend is no longer around all the time! I think because there´s no man shoving food in one´s face!)
But anyways! I´ve decided that I need to start getting some of these reflections that just randomly come to my mind down on paper. And then, while I was doing that, I figured, why don´t I share some of these self-reflections with my friends and family? And instead of scribbling them all down at once, I am going to try to do one a day, from now until the time I leave. (Which is, sadly, 20 days from today.)
Which brings me to my first reflective topic. I have 20 days left in this country. (When I wrote this. Now, publishing it, its actually 18 days)
Last week was my one-year anniversary in Guatemala. 365 days ago, May 24th, 2010, (two weeks after college graduation,) I came to Guatemala.
I knew what I was getting into, I knew the language, the culture, the country, the bus system, the politics, the violence, the amoebas, etc. I knew it all.
What I wasn´t prepared for was how time would fly. How much I would literally became a part of this culture. How I would change as a person throughout a years time. A year is a long time, folks. It´s not only an entire SCHOOL year, (September to May,) it´s an entire YEAR. A year. That is a long time. Especially when I think of it in light of my college years--a college year seemed SO LONG. But a whole entire YEAR year? I hardly ever measured my life in year years before, because it was always measured in school years. Now, for the first time ever, I am measuring my life in year years.
And I cannot believe how fast this one flew by. When I think about the version of myself who arrived in Guatemala a year ago--with my too-short hair-cut, my college-girl tendencies, (which were quickly forced to disappear,with a lack of 6 Blarneystone roomates and Joe-town) and my good-but-not-great Spanish, I really can´t believe how much I´ve changed. And I don´t know if trying to explain it here will even do it justice. I guess that is the purpose of all these reflections I want to get out, to describe my personal journey little by little.
So, for now, I´ll leave you with the first of reflections--a year has passed. A whole year. I have matured in more ways than you know. Beyond my years. Which, actually, I think will be my next reflection.
Peace and love from Guatemala. ¡Que disfruten la vida!, porque todo se puede cambiar en cualquier momento.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Semana Santa--Holy Week Pictures
Here are just a few pictures to capture the wonder of Holy Week in Antigua, Guatemala. These were taken on Good Friday, between 7-10p.m. when there were tons of people out in the streets, waiting to see processions.They literally had every station of the cross--and then some. It was way cool.
There were some points when you actually felt like you were witnessing the reenactment of Jesus dying on the cross.
The pictures don´t nearly do justice.
You can see the incense in the air....and the thousands of people outside the Cathedral in Central Park, waiting for the processions to pass by.
An alfombra, or carpet, that is set out deliberately for the procession to walk through. It is a great honor to make a carpet, and to have the procession walk through it. They are so beautiful.
Update
Finally catching up on blogging.
Nothing like being sick at home, stuck in bed, to make you catch up on blogging! Haha. I wish I was kidding, but unfortunately I am not. But on the bright side, being sick at home finally gives me some time to breath. (Along with time to run to the toilet every half an hour!) Thank you, Guatemala. Not sure what it was that made me sick this time, I think I just got lazy and didn’t wash my cilantro in purified water. (I mean, it just gets picked from a plant, right? How could it be THAT dirty?) (My thought process while quickly rinsing my cilantro)
DANG. Note to self (and readers): WASH YOUR HERBS.
(Well, at least I learned something, right.) Luckily, my stomach IS accustomed enough that I wasn’t actually vomiting with food poisioning, just cleansing out my system pretty well through uh, other forms. Also the cilantro deposited some sort of bug in my stomach that has made me bloated and bubbly and gas-y. Wonderful. Bugs in my stomach.
Haha but never fear, I am already doing better (day 2) and hopefully tomorrow (Friday) I’ll be able to go to work! I’m sure ready to get out of bed, that’s for sure. It has given me WAAY too much time to reflect on the fact that I only have 1 month left in Guatemala.
I mean, reflecting time is good, but too much of it is just sad. I don’t want to leave Guatemala! (What, I have already started the bittersweet sadness?)
I think seeing Jenna go on Monday really hit home, as she had to say good-bye to all of our favorite people and places in Xela. And she was only here for a couple months. How am I ever going to say good-bye to a people and country that I have lived with for the past YEAR? That I have established a life in? Right now, home for me is Antigua. Coming back from Xela, it was like, sigh of relief, I am home. I know my way around the whole town, little as it is, and I can walk blindfolded to my neighborhood to my house. Truth be told, Antigua is as much “home” right now as any other place. I have a home here, I pay rent on my apartment, electricity, buy groceries, have a Monday through Friday job, etc.
There have been some months that I was ready to go home, ready to adjust back to my life in MN, but now, with the end in sight, it seems like there’s just no win-win. The grass will always be greener on the other side of the hill. (Or fence, as people like to pretend the saying is, GIRLS) I know that the second I arrive back to MN, I will be missing so many things about Guatemala. I guess that’s the price I pay for having two countries and cultures that I am so attached to.
There are so many things that I love about the Guatemalan culture. One, their enormous love for each other. Families are so united and caring in Guatemala. (I have never seen so much spectacle for Mother’s Day, EVER. Flowers everywhere. People don’t go to work. You wish a happy mothers day to anyone who appears to be over the age of 40, because its just assumed they have children. So people walk down the street, wishing strangers happy mothers day. You also have to call everyone in your family who is a mother, whether it be YOUR mother, or not. It is quite beautiful to see the care these people have). Also I quite enjoy the Guatemalan custom of greeting everybody you know when you walk into a room, and despedir-ing them before you leave. And when you are walking with a Guatemalan on the street, and they run into someone they know, you are expected to give said person a kiss on the cheek like you are best friends and so pleased to meet. It sounds ridiculous, but there’s this large sense of respect and politeness in their culture that I just love.
But I will stop ranting about Guatemalan manners for now, as I am sure it is much more interesting to me than to my readers. More later!
Nothing like being sick at home, stuck in bed, to make you catch up on blogging! Haha. I wish I was kidding, but unfortunately I am not. But on the bright side, being sick at home finally gives me some time to breath. (Along with time to run to the toilet every half an hour!) Thank you, Guatemala. Not sure what it was that made me sick this time, I think I just got lazy and didn’t wash my cilantro in purified water. (I mean, it just gets picked from a plant, right? How could it be THAT dirty?) (My thought process while quickly rinsing my cilantro)
DANG. Note to self (and readers): WASH YOUR HERBS.
(Well, at least I learned something, right.) Luckily, my stomach IS accustomed enough that I wasn’t actually vomiting with food poisioning, just cleansing out my system pretty well through uh, other forms. Also the cilantro deposited some sort of bug in my stomach that has made me bloated and bubbly and gas-y. Wonderful. Bugs in my stomach.
Haha but never fear, I am already doing better (day 2) and hopefully tomorrow (Friday) I’ll be able to go to work! I’m sure ready to get out of bed, that’s for sure. It has given me WAAY too much time to reflect on the fact that I only have 1 month left in Guatemala.
I mean, reflecting time is good, but too much of it is just sad. I don’t want to leave Guatemala! (What, I have already started the bittersweet sadness?)
I think seeing Jenna go on Monday really hit home, as she had to say good-bye to all of our favorite people and places in Xela. And she was only here for a couple months. How am I ever going to say good-bye to a people and country that I have lived with for the past YEAR? That I have established a life in? Right now, home for me is Antigua. Coming back from Xela, it was like, sigh of relief, I am home. I know my way around the whole town, little as it is, and I can walk blindfolded to my neighborhood to my house. Truth be told, Antigua is as much “home” right now as any other place. I have a home here, I pay rent on my apartment, electricity, buy groceries, have a Monday through Friday job, etc.
There have been some months that I was ready to go home, ready to adjust back to my life in MN, but now, with the end in sight, it seems like there’s just no win-win. The grass will always be greener on the other side of the hill. (Or fence, as people like to pretend the saying is, GIRLS) I know that the second I arrive back to MN, I will be missing so many things about Guatemala. I guess that’s the price I pay for having two countries and cultures that I am so attached to.
There are so many things that I love about the Guatemalan culture. One, their enormous love for each other. Families are so united and caring in Guatemala. (I have never seen so much spectacle for Mother’s Day, EVER. Flowers everywhere. People don’t go to work. You wish a happy mothers day to anyone who appears to be over the age of 40, because its just assumed they have children. So people walk down the street, wishing strangers happy mothers day. You also have to call everyone in your family who is a mother, whether it be YOUR mother, or not. It is quite beautiful to see the care these people have). Also I quite enjoy the Guatemalan custom of greeting everybody you know when you walk into a room, and despedir-ing them before you leave. And when you are walking with a Guatemalan on the street, and they run into someone they know, you are expected to give said person a kiss on the cheek like you are best friends and so pleased to meet. It sounds ridiculous, but there’s this large sense of respect and politeness in their culture that I just love.
But I will stop ranting about Guatemalan manners for now, as I am sure it is much more interesting to me than to my readers. More later!
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