My alarm went off at 7:17am. Already winning. On my second morning in my new pueblo of Santa Clara, I descended the stairs to find my host mom in her tasked cooking pace, donning her[…]
Category: Not From Here
“Mondays Are Hard Here Too” And Other Easing-In Stories
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
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
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 9+10: Divine Unwind + Wind Up + Swear-In + Socios + Adios
So here’s the thing, week 8 was so much better than the other weeks. You wanna know why? It was week 8. One week from the end. On Thursday of week 7, Thanksgiving, we got[…]
Tienes Sueño | 75 Palabras in Guatemala
On Sunday, November 27, I slept in. I slept in late. I slept til 1:30pm don’t tell nobody. When I wake up on the weekend, my host brother sees my drowsy figure appear and asks[…]
Week 8 Reveals Fate, Convent, Volcano
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[…]
Los Chuchos | 75 Palabras in Guatemala
Chuchos are street dogs. This was one of the first things they warned us about on our arrival on September 28. Don’t drink the water! Don’t eat street food! Keep a “wide berth” around the chuchos.[…]
Piropos | 75 Palabras in Guatemala
I went to Guatemala City for a doctor’s appointment. As I waited for my ride, a gentleman named Hector introduced himself to me. He was the guard in the building I just left. He asked[…]
Un Ratito | 75 Palabras in Guatemala
My first day in the Ciudad, Guaté, I was picked up by a private driver to go to a medical appointment. After the appointment (about an hour long), I speed-walked to a local restaurant to[…]