Before that day, that fateful afternoon, I could say wrist, liver, distinguished, decade, hallucinogen, family planning and chemotherapy in Spanish, but not ankle. So when I called my host sister and said “Yo necesito ayudo[…]
Category: Host Family
La maña | 75 Palabras in Guatemala
In 2015 my friend had a baby. Many of my friends have made a hobby out of birthing babies. It’s like my version of crafting. She told me that her mother-in-law, who is from Central[…]
Terremoto | 75 Palabras in Guatemala
In Guatemala, temblores/tremors are a part of life. Terremotos son otras cosas, they are earthquakes. Terremotos jumble the earth. My host family asked: “Do you have them in your home?” and la verdad es no,[…]
First Time Back | Coming Back to Service
And I left the cab driver who couldn’t get his payment machine to work for me to leave a tip. I felt a little bad but couldn’t do anything. I went through LaGuardia security heaving[…]
“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[…]
Buen Provecho | 75 Palabras in Guatemala
“Feliz Cumpleaños” means Happy Birthday, but cumple means “you complete” + “years.” So the term is also used for death anniversaries or any anniversary, every time you complete a year… For example, on July 19[…]
High Fives! Six Month Anniversary in Peace Corps
HIGH FIVES WE DID IT. You and me, 6 months! You know the moment in School of Rock when Jack Black high fives all his students and runs out of the school before they’ve even[…]
Mujeron | 75 Palabras 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[…]
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[…]
Creído | 75 Palabras in Guatemala
After I moved in to my Santa Clara home, a lady in the market asked my host mom “So are you proud now?” In Spanish, estás creída? She’s referring to the time my host mom[…]