Learning Spanish

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

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

I’m experiencing this ankle sprain on every level: the writer in me is taking copious mental notes, the foreigner is overwhelmed at how rattled they are by a sprained ankle and the human is simply[…]

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

September 24, 2017 First Person Foreign75 Words in Guatemala

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[…]

First Time Back | Coming Back to Service

September 2, 2017 First Person ForeignBeauty

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[…]

Buen Provecho | 75 Palabras in Guatemala

July 23, 2017July 23, 2017 First Person Foreign75 Words 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[…]

Mucha Bulla | 75 Palabras in Guatemala

June 11, 2017June 11, 2017 First Person Foreign75 Words in Guatemala

When I moved to site, I treated myself to my first ever bluetooth, wireless speaker. I’m not one for keeping up on technology trends, not until they aren’t exciting and new anymore, then I consider[…]

High Fives! Six Month Anniversary in Peace Corps

June 10, 2017June 10, 2017 First Person ForeignBeauty

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[…]

Learning a Language | Half of sentences…

May 13, 2017 First Person ForeignBlank Slate

When I met Training Host Mom Rosa Maria, she was very patient and spoke slowly. I told her Spanish was ‘difícil’ for me before I knew the phrase “me cuesta.” And she told me “pero[…]

Significa | 75 Palabras in Guatemala

May 7, 2017May 7, 2017 First Person Foreign75 Words in Guatemala

I called from across the street to a man in a bright red shirt. I recognized something: the font of that familiar “KEEP CALM and CARRY ON” message. It said “KEEP CALM and TAKE ACTION.”[…]

Machismo | 75 Palabras in Guatemala

May 7, 2017May 7, 2017 First Person Foreign75 Words 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

April 30, 2017April 30, 2017 First Person Foreign75 Words 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[…]