My host mom and I stood at the entrance to her house, waiting. She had a beautifully wrapped present in hand. I had enough Spanish to get me through the drive thru at Taco Bell.[…]
Category: New
“Getting In With The Beans”: Week Two
Week Two: Routine, Beans, Learning Spanish Again, Becoming a Part of the Family, Conflict and Resolution, Tortillas. Here is the short: Language Classes by Morning, Community Integration by Afternoon, Dinner and Dishes, Sleep. Repeat. Go to[…]
The Beginning: Week One In Guatemala
Genesis 1:1: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. In the beginning (anew), I moved to Guatemala. I remember when I started my big Euroventure and I also had no idea what[…]
Smiling in Spanish, The Next Wedding Shower
So……… I was bamboozled AGAIN. Two Sundays in a row. Last Sunday I went to a ‘lunch’ that was a 4.5 hour wedding shower. This Sunday I went to ‘meet my host mom’s family’ and it[…]
Meals | Guatemala At Home
If you want to learn what a culture values, eat within that culture. Eat at a home. Eat. Eat. Eat eat eat. Ever since I moved in with my host family (8 days ago), I[…]
Bodies, 5 Observations from a Newb.
In no particular order. The Front Seat: My host mom sat with me in the back of her car and her two sons sat up front. Francisco & Javier are in their 30s, Rosa Maria[…]
Language Class, 7th day in Guatemala
My first week in Guatemala! Bailamos! I stood over the pila tonight, brushing my teeth and wondering about my 20s and how I got to 30. It’s the stuff you shouldn’t think about when you’re[…]
Sick. 6th Day in Guaté, 7th Day in Peace Corps
Well it wasn’t before long that I was in the infirmary, laying on a bed of Guatemalan textiles, crying. I had my first in-country cry, and that was about Nana. This was my first in-country-WTF-cry*.[…]
The Party: Day 6 of Peace Corps
On my 5th day in Guatemala, my 6th day in Peace Corps, I went to a party. I learned so much. I have so much more to learn. The night before, Rosa Maria said she had a[…]
My First Night with the Host Family: Day 5 of Peace Corps
The courtyard was vibrant with mid-morning sun. The hydrangeas/hortensias were calm, but every other living thing was excited, nervous, on edge. Maybe even scared. Our group entered the courtyard of Peace Corps Headquarters, anxiously scanning[…]