Sunday in Manhattan titles my 3rd day on US soil after 9 months out of the country in Peace Corps Guatemala. Monday is my 4th day and on the 4th of July (Tuesday), I leave.[…]
Category: Hard Thing
“Vaya” le dije yo | 75 Palabras in Guatemala
It’s hard to isolate single words and explain them, mejor usar frases o cuentas completas, because in this culture when I refer to something I learned I remember it in story form. Responses, answers and[…]
Machismo | 75 Palabras in Guatemala
This is about gender roles/roles de género as I see it. My writing shares my opinion, experience and reflections. I can’t speak for the whole country of Guatemala, in fact I don’t speak for Guatemala[…]
Bolo | 75 Palabras in Guatemala
A Very Important Advisory: I must recognize that one could easily read this post and believe that I am painting a picture of the customs of this culture. This is not at all the case. I’m[…]
Animar | 75 Palabras in Guatemala
Amenazas are threats. Whenever I don’t like the way something sounds I just say “Amenazas!” and it’s always worked for me. Like a charm because I like making people laugh and the translation of the[…]
Jalón | 75 Palabras in Guatemala
I wore a black dress that ends a bit above my knees. It’s a dress by Athleta with thumb holes in the sleeves and a hoodie-style middle pocket. It fits me like most dresses don’t:[…]
Aguacate | 75 Palabras in Guatemala
So many beautiful things happened yesterday. And then something hit my back as I walked home from the outskirts. And I saw red. The day started with a 6:40 alarm (early by my standard). I[…]
Póngase de Pie | 75 Palabras in Guatemala
On February 12 when I got back to site, I could not apúrase. I was in the secuelas of Early In-Service Training and all that it encompasses (see: Overstimulation in the Oxford English); I needed[…]
Doblar Rodillas | 75 Palabras in Guatemala
I’d never heard the phrase until I was in a conversation I stumbled into the first week of January. And like with so many phrases that fly past me like patterned barriletes I can’t remember,[…]
¿Preguntas Dudas Quejas? | 75 Palabras in Guatemala
Questions/Doubts/Complaints At the end of each session, without fail, we are asked “Preguntas? Dudas? Quejas?” And without fail, there are preguntas. Sometimes dudas. Often quejas disguised as preguntas or simply statements in the form of[…]