Not From Here – Page 6

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[…]

Touring vs. Foreigning | Encountering Tourists while in Peace Corps

June 3, 2018 First Person ForeignGuatemala

I’m a long-term foreigner with an expiration date. The following terms don’t quite apply: transplant, resident or visitor. Each of those has a defining set of circumstances that doesn’t fit that of a Peace Corps[…]

‘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.”[…]

El USB and La Prédica | Pueblo Press Issue Two

March 4, 2018March 4, 2018 First Person ForeignCulture Shock

I did not know what upset I had caused. I went to school (like normal) and when I got there the door was locked and I waited with the errant alumnos who were late (like[…]

El Lustrador | Pueblo Press Issue One

February 4, 2018February 4, 2018 First Person ForeignCultural Difference

The Pueblo Press is a series based on the strange, intriguing experience of living, working and existing in a Mayan pueblo in rural Guatemala as a US American woman. This is my second year living[…]

El Otro Lado | 75 Palabras in Guatemala

December 19, 2017December 19, 2017 First Person Foreign75 Words in Guatemala

“Su país/hogar/pueblo/de dónde viene” are all terms for the US. Most commonly it is “Los Estados Unidos” (never America- Guatemala is in Central America). Ana María (we’ll call her) is a school secretary. First I[…]

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[…]