Cultural Difference

Guatemala, Mi Amor (Day Two): Knocking on the Door

March 31, 2024April 5, 2024 First Person ForeignAbuelita

I hadn’t made it to my house when I saw a familiar face on the corner. She was holding a young hand, the eldest of Doña Cecilia and I couldn’t remember the father’s name. “Y mi[…]

Guatemala, Mi Amor: Day Two (The Return)

March 30, 2024March 30, 2024 First Person ForeignCultural Difference

I watched the driver reach for the machete with his free hand as we careened across the InterAmerican Highway. With his hand clasping the wheel, he used the machete to push something unstuck. There we were, all[…]

Las montañas: Returning to Guatemala, 1

February 26, 2024 First Person ForeignBeauty

So, I booked a trip. I’ve been lucky to book so many before, but this one took some plotting. All of the layovers on the US dollar looked egregious: red eyes on opposite coasts, or[…]

Airplane Mode (1): Back to Myself

July 1, 2021July 2, 2021 First Person ForeignBeauty

June 30, 2021, 7:26am: The voice of Natalia LaFourcade pulsed through my mind as the puddle-jumper soared into the desert sky. If you are able, please listen to this song while you read: It honors[…]

Tempering the Tension | Life after Peace Corps

June 25, 2019June 25, 2019 First Person ForeignArizona

Good News: when I wrote this post, I was fresh to grad school, Tucson, the USA, my house, modern appliances… I have settled into some kind of rhythm here. Yes, I still feel lost at[…]

What I Miss (Bonus Post): Buen Provecho

May 28, 2019May 28, 2019 First Person ForeignBlank Slate

I sat at a bar graduation party on a patio, my new roommate’s graduation party, and I didn’t know what to do with my hands. My new roommate has tattoos and a septum ring and[…]

Ready or not, USA (2)

May 5, 2019May 5, 2019 First Person ForeignChanges

You want to know how I’m doing, right? Well, I’m exactly three weeks back yesterday and I’ll disband the suspense: I’m doing fine. The people who love me have been asking this question, how are[…]

Ready or not, USA (1)

April 26, 2019April 28, 2019 First Person ForeignChanges

Now, I imagined this day a million ways (my departure) and none of them could have prepared me for what it actually was. Dropped off by friends, then up ’til the last second in the[…]

T-minus Guatemala (Peace Corps Ending): La(s) Despedida(s) in Santa Clara

April 2, 2019April 2, 2019 First Person ForeignBeauty

Sunday and Monday were despedida days. Despedir means: To say goodbye. What I love about the Spanish language is that there are verbs that sum-up an action in one word, like aprovechar, to take advantage,[…]

T-minus Guatemala (Peace Corps Ending): The Wednesday Takes It All

March 24, 2019March 26, 2019 First Person ForeignChanges

On Tuesday night, I couldn’t sleep. A mac track of tasks hit me: packing for a travel day the next day, packing for leaving forever, plus all the work I had to do tomorrow. All[…]