Learning Spanish

De Tal Palo, De Tal Astilla 2 | My Parents’ Visit

June 10, 2018June 10, 2018 First Person ForeignBeauty

Continuing, my parents visit, the first post here. DAY FOUR: In the morning on Thursday, March 29th, I woke up on fabulously comfortable mattress in Antigua to find my parents had already eaten breakfast. Hostel[…]

De Tal Palo, De Tal Astilla 1 | My Parents’ Visit

June 3, 2018June 10, 2018 First Person ForeignChanges

Del tal palo, de tal astilla: of such a stick, of such a splinter (kinda like: the apple doesn’t fall from the tree). This post is about my parents’ visit to Guatemala, which I’ll split[…]

‘ito | Foreigner Alphabet

April 30, 2018April 30, 2018 First Person ForeignCultural Difference

‘I’ is not a letter that starts a lot of words in Spanish. Iglesia, sure, izquierda, iniciar, inauguración.. but I can’t think of a ton of Guatemalan expressions that start with the ‘I.’ But when[…]

P is for Pisto, Probando y Picante | Foreigner Alphabet

April 7, 2018 First Person ForeignForeigner Alphabet

Foreigner Alphabet is a series of posts inspired by The 75 Palabras in Guatemala Series. It is not a real alphabet, it’s a series of words organized by their first letter and inspired by the[…]

Year Two Like a Mango

March 24, 2018March 24, 2018 First Person ForeignGuatemala

Mango pits dusted the February pueblo streets: dotting my daily route with off-white pits decorated by stringy remains. One day in January there are no mangos and the next day there are mango pits everywhere[…]

The Big Cry, Part One

March 11, 2018March 11, 2018 First Person ForeignChanges

In January of 2016, I looked at one button on my computer screen. It was an “Accept Peace Corps Service in Guatemala, September 2016-December 2018” button. I had to click the button then press “Submit.”[…]

Agallas | 75 Palabras in Guatemala

December 18, 2017December 18, 2017 First Person Foreign75 Words in Guatemala

October 30th, 2017: Tonight I switched on National Geographic in the hotel. The brownish tile floors, standard flat but not sinking mattresses and the thin blanket are all second nature. But the showers have hot[…]

La Imagen Corporal | 75 Palabras in Guatemala

December 3, 2017December 20, 2017 First Person Foreign75 Words in Guatemala

La Imagen Corporal, Body Image, is a term I learned working with youth. As I spent the better part of a year teaching healthy self-esteem, positive identity and knowing your value as an individual, in[…]

Delantal | 75 Palabras in Guatemala

October 28, 2017October 28, 2017 First Person Foreign75 Words in Guatemala

So….. This is not my first time writing about the wonders of Guatemalan indigenous clothing: traje típico. It’s the traditional clothing of the Mayan culture that is utilized in the pueblos of Guatemala. Each region[…]

El Lienzo (or.. when I fell) | 75 Palabras in Guatemala

September 24, 2017October 19, 2017 First Person Foreign75 Words in Guatemala

And here’s where I am 3 hours after my ankle-spraining. Eventually, it’s time to move upstairs to my apartment. This is not going to be easy. I’ve got the crutches, thank God, ice for the[…]