Now I have heard of some strange things in my life, but tonight when my host mom told me we were going to eat breakfast with “the difuntos” in the morning and I googled “difuntos”[…]
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Category: 75 Words in Guatemala
Canche | 75 Palabras in Guatemala
Canche means “blonde” but it has expanded its scope to simply mean “white folk.” And don’t confuse canche with cancha, because cancha is “soccer field.” Even though I’m not blonde, I’m a lot closer to a canche[…]
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Pica | 75 Palabras in Guatemala
You know “pica” because you know “picante,” right? The first time I heard “pica” was actually in regards to a mosquito bite. My host mom and I just found each other in the courtyard. The[…]
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La Chiflada | 75 Palabras in Guatemala
Amanda is my first CBT friend. CBT is culture-based training, it just means the 9 weeks we live in a community and learn Guatemala. They have acronyms for everything because government. I am very lucky because[…]
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Machista | 75 Palabras in Guatemala
La cultura machista has come up several times, with my host mom and my first Profe Eduardo. Our Training Director doesn’t ever use that term, she only says that there are defined gender roles and[…]
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Dar a Luz | 75 Palabras in Guatemala
One day I asked my host family over lunch what the phrase is for “Give birth.” My mom responded with: “Dar la luz.” I almost lost my mind. “Dar la luz?” Well first of all,[…]
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¡Ánimo! | 75 Palabras in Guatemala
Amanda and I went running for the first time together on my second week here. It was like two gringas were released from captivity and everyone was watching us run to freedom. I felt like[…]
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La Mera Mera | 75 Palabras in Guatemala
La Mera Mera is slang for “Big Boss Lady.” My first ‘Profe,’ Eduardo, taught us this word. I knew instantly that my host mom is La Mera Mera. I knew my host family wouldn’t be expecting[…]
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Dinámicas | 75 Palabras in Guatemala
What is a dinámica? I can’t define it, but I know it when I see it. -Henry Ford. A dinámica is an activity that get’s people moving. It can be a warm-up, wrap-up, icebreaker.. It’s[…]
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La Refa/Refacción | 75 Palabras in Guatemala
La Refacción (Refa for short) is a Guatemalteco Spanish word for “Snack.” But it’s not something you do casually. When you want a snack, you don’t walk into the kitchen any old time for a[…]
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