Here Goes Something

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[…]

First Time Back | Subways and Panini

August 14, 2017August 27, 2017 First Person ForeignChanges

Before I “get into it,” I want to affirm how great my family is, on so many levels, and I appreciate them perhaps more than ever because absence, time and tortillas make the heart grow fonder.[…]

Learning a Language | Coming Back to Spanish (Throwback)

April 12, 2017 First Person ForeignBeauty

In high school I was awarded “Excellence in Spanish II” sophomore year followed by “Most Enthusiastic in Spanish III” junior year. I think Excellence meant highest grade and Most Enthusiastic meant Pain in the Cheeks. Mrs. Sweeney[…]

La Posada | 75 Palabras in Guatemala

March 5, 2017March 9, 2017 First Person Foreign75 Words in Guatemala

Posadas are another word for hotel or inn. ‘Round Christmas time (this borrowed from a google search) posada is: (in Mexico) a ritual re-enactment of Mary and Joseph’s search for a lodging in Bethlehem, performed[…]

Inscripción | 75 Palabras in Guatemala

February 26, 2017March 9, 2017 First Person Foreign75 Words in Guatemala

Before I begin, I am not a journalist. I think of this post as a journal entry, unwinding experience vis a vis my emotional reaction. There is a textural context I have yet to unwind[…]

Póngase de Pie | 75 Palabras in Guatemala

February 19, 2017March 9, 2017 First Person Foreign75 Words 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[…]

Primeramente Dios | 75 Palabras in Guatemala

February 8, 2017February 19, 2017 First Person Foreign75 Words in Guatemala

This is the stuff culture shock is made of. If you’re from a country where church and state have designated playgrounds, this continent’s roots may hit you like a brick wall. It’s not bad, it’s[…]

Popo | 75 Palabras in Guatemala

January 28, 2017February 19, 2017 First Person Foreign75 Words in Guatemala

At 935 Euclid Avenue a year ago, I got an email. An invitation to join Peace Corps! I wasn’t expecting to hear from them until at least March and it was February 2nd. I just interviewed[…]

Hembra | 75 Palabras in Guatemala

January 27, 2017February 1, 2017 First Person Foreign75 Words in Guatemala

The first week in site, welcome and instructions came in a shower of words from my host mom. Lots of words. At dinner, she’d eat a bite, wipe her mouth and say more. Eat a bite,[…]

Pelar | 75 Palabras in Guatemala

January 12, 2017February 19, 2017 First Person Foreign75 Words in Guatemala

This post is meant to convey first: humor and b: humility. Beyond that, please take it with a grain of salt. For flavor. And oyster pearls. I woke up this morning with a food hangover[…]