First Person Foreign

La Noche Cultural | The Second Part

June 22, 2018 First Person ForeignCultural Difference

Check-out the first part first! It is past dark and the program begins. I must say, Seño Graciela looks beautiful. She is wearing the traje típico of Santa Clara, the classic pattern with a simple[…]

La Noche Cultural | The First Part

June 22, 2018June 22, 2018 First Person ForeignCultural Difference

I got to Paquip at 4:45pm on a Thursday in April. Seño Juana, the school principal, was running past me out of the gym. When I saw her that morning at another school where I[…]

Three ‘As: Pilas, Aguas y Ganas | Foreigner Alphabet

June 14, 2018June 14, 2018 First Person ForeignForeigner Alphabet

These are three terms that are purely Chapín/Guatemalan phrases. These are just my observations on a language that isn’t mine. That must be considered as I opine on these words! Learning a new language in[…]

De Tal Palo, De Tal Astilla 3 | My Parents’ Visit

June 10, 2018June 10, 2018 First Person ForeignBeauty

Be sure to read 1 and 2 first! DAY SEVEN: Panajachel is the biggest tourist hub on Lake Atitlán. Lake Atitlán is a popular Guatemalan destination, it’s stunningly beautiful, and it’s got “lake towns” scattered[…]

De Tal Palo, De Tal Astilla 2 | My Parents’ Visit

June 10, 2018June 10, 2018 First Person ForeignBeauty

Continuing, my parents visit, the first post here. DAY FOUR: In the morning on Thursday, March 29th, I woke up on fabulously comfortable mattress in Antigua to find my parents had already eaten breakfast. Hostel[…]

De Tal Palo, De Tal Astilla 1 | My Parents’ Visit

June 3, 2018June 10, 2018 First Person ForeignChanges

Del tal palo, de tal astilla: of such a stick, of such a splinter (kinda like: the apple doesn’t fall from the tree). This post is about my parents’ visit to Guatemala, which I’ll split[…]

Touring vs. Foreigning | Encountering Tourists while in Peace Corps

June 3, 2018 First Person ForeignGuatemala

I’m a long-term foreigner with an expiration date. The following terms don’t quite apply: transplant, resident or visitor. Each of those has a defining set of circumstances that doesn’t fit that of a Peace Corps[…]

Love Letter to Before

April 30, 2018 First Person ForeignBeauty

I am breaking through the surface of this experience to write you a love letter. You, someone I knew since before Peace Corps. It is almost May and I have (por lo menos/at least) 7[…]

‘ito | Foreigner Alphabet

April 30, 2018April 30, 2018 First Person ForeignCultural Difference

‘I’ is not a letter that starts a lot of words in Spanish. Iglesia, sure, izquierda, iniciar, inauguración.. but I can’t think of a ton of Guatemalan expressions that start with the ‘I.’ But when[…]

P is for Pisto, Probando y Picante | Foreigner Alphabet

April 7, 2018 First Person ForeignForeigner Alphabet

Foreigner Alphabet is a series of posts inspired by The 75 Palabras in Guatemala Series. It is not a real alphabet, it’s a series of words organized by their first letter and inspired by the[…]