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Alejarse | 75 Palabras in Guatemala

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

On Sunday I read the writing on the intestinal wall, it’s gonna be a long one Guatemala. By 12:34 It occurred to me I should go outside. I needed first degree sunshine and I couldn’t[…]

La Publicacion | 75 Palabras in Guatemala

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

So it’s the New Year and I haven’t heard from Socio #1. I get up the nerve to call. I leave a message: “Can I come visit the school sometime to familiarizandome? Gracias.” I still[…]

Cualquier Cosa | 75 Palabras in Guatemala

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

When I moved to site, I become immediately aware of two phrases: “Cualquier cosa, con confianza.” Like peanut butter and jelly, they compliment each other and often come as a pair but can just as[…]

La Navidad | 75 Palabras in Guatemala

January 9, 2017February 19, 2017 First Person Foreign75 Words in Guatemala

I’ve never been awoken into Christmas morning by a rooster, bombarded by the harsh snaps of endless cohetes and bombas (firecrackers), with small chicks chirping for food around my feet as I walk downstairs to greet the[…]

Christmas Eve Eve on a Chicken Truck

January 9, 2017January 11, 2017 First Person ForeignCompany

December 23, 2016: We all rode on a stuffed camioneta home from Xela. Alysa and I spent the sunny day in Xela, I bought more stuff from Walmart and got more necessities for my apartment.[…]

Moler | 75 Palabras in Guatemala

January 6, 2017 First Person Foreign75 Words in Guatemala

Moler means ‘to grind’ or ‘to crush.’ After we’ve toasted coffee beans over the plancha (stove) in the kitchen, Doña Rosario produced a wide cylindrical stone out of the other room where she keeps kitchen supplies.[…]

“Mondays Are Hard Here Too” And Other Easing-In Stories

January 5, 2017 First Person ForeignChanges

This is a patchwork of all the feels from week one. As wavering as unrooted as the feelings were, they came and went like the incumbent GI issues I experienced. I laid on the cold[…]

Arrival into Site: The First Morning

January 5, 2017 First Person ForeignBlank Slate

On my first night: As we eat, I look over at Doña Clara at 88 years old as she calmly eats. As her daughter teaches me K’iche words, she erupts in laughter, her body doesn’t[…]

La Capacitación | (The Grit and the Polish of Training) 75 Palabras in Guatemala

December 17, 2016December 17, 2016 First Person Foreign75 Words in Guatemala

Week 3 of training, I ate 5 tortillas during one lunch because I loved them so much and came home and broke the key to the house. Out of all the things I’ve managed to[…]

Week 8 Reveals Fate, Convent, Volcano

December 3, 2016December 3, 2016 First Person ForeignGoodbye

Practicum ended (week 7) and we all ran for the hills. Not really. What I actually did was enjoy a Saturday in Antigua and torteared on Sunday and then returned to life as I knew it[…]