Exploration – Page 3

T-Minus Guatemala (Peace Corps Ending): Taking My Chances on the Border of Guatemala at the Border of Service (2)

March 15, 2019March 18, 2019 First Person Foreigncoffee

I stepped out onto the patio with a toothbrush and retainers in hand, still in my pajamas at 10am, in a place I am just getting to know: a coffee farm in Huehuetenango. What did[…]

T-Minus Guatemala (Peace Corps Ending): Sunday is for Sweaty San Juan Subidas

March 5, 2019March 5, 2019 First Person ForeignAbuelita

For the third time in 2019, I planned to hike Volcán San Pedro and for the third time, I hiked the Mayan Nose instead. Probably for the best because the internet says San Pedro full[…]

T-Minus Guatemala (Peace Corps Ending): Saturday is for San Marcos, Sleuth Shopping and Sleepovers

March 4, 2019March 4, 2019 First Person ForeignBeauty

Listen, I’m proud to say, I’ve never been to San Marcos La Laguna. I’ve heard it’s a hippie nightmare (not a nightmare for hippies, a nightmare of hippies) and, if I had gone there looking[…]

T-Minus Guatemala (Peace Corps Ending): Waterfront Wednesday

March 2, 2019March 3, 2019 First Person ForeignBeauty

Our day trip to San Juan La Laguna, Sololá

Hi-Lo 5: Pascuas

December 22, 2018December 22, 2018 First Person ForeignAbuelita

This morning I woke up, for some reason, at 8. In Guatemala there is a thing called Madrugada. It means the hour you wake up in the morning. We don’t have a word for this[…]

Hi-Lo 3: Holding Hands and Africa

October 26, 2018October 26, 2018 First Person ForeignCompany

The weekend was ending. I was excited to get back to Santa Clara, to my bed, to my home. We bid Ryan goodbye, Sabrina and I, and got on a bus. The first of many.[…]

Maestra de Inglés

September 15, 2018September 15, 2018 First Person ForeignBeauty

Maestra de Inglés, English teacher. I’ve always wondered if the word Maestra and Master are related. Either way, I’ve never had such a title. When I gave a diplomado in early 2018, I wanted to[…]

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[…]

Extravío | 75 Palabras in Guatemala

September 5, 2017September 5, 2017 First Person Foreign75 Words in Guatemala

Shortcut. I’d never heard the word. I think I looked it up one other time, but like imperfecto de subjunctivo, it didn’t stick. And the term I found wasn’t extravío, it was something else. In[…]

Mujeron | 75 Palabras in Guatemala

May 20, 2017 First Person Foreign75 Words in Guatemala

I’m a new woman! Actually, I’m exactly the same. But I’ve had a Mayan makeover (I couldn’t resist the alliteration). I finally acquired a complete set of traje típico: güipil, corte and faja. A Güipil[…]