A day in the life

Many of my past posts have been about the spontaneous and memorable adventures I’ve made trekking across the mountain, lake, and tourist side of Guatemala. But no matter cool and Indian Jones-esque I would like to think you think of me, the truth is most of my time in Guatemala was spent as a student, volunteer, and adopted family member living just like you do—in a foreign city of course. That still makes me at least semi-cool, right?

All joking aside, these familiar routines and moments of everyday life are one of my favorite aspects of the trip. Sure it was incredible to be higher than I’ve ever been on Chikabal, hotter than I’ve ever been in Las Fuentes Georginas, and more Chaco-tanned than I’ve ever been at Lake Atitlan, but the thing that I will most remember from this experience is simply the fact that I was able to start from ground zero in a completely new country and culture and survive. And not just survive, but thrive with new friends, new job experiences, and new knowledge.  

So in my last week I set off to document the moments of just plain life I experienced living as an eager student of this amazing city and culture. Armed with my new, non-crazy-mind-of-its-own-glitchy camera I took to the streets of Xela to capture the scenes of my everyday life. Enjoy!

These are the chicken buses we took to all our weekend trips

 Where I found my favorite chocolate donuts! (conveniently located on the way from the orphange to the house)

Microbuses used to get around inside the city. They are normally PACKED with people.

 One of the gorgeous buildings surrounding Parque Central

The rotunda in the middle of Parque Central

 My favorite spot to sit and write in Parque Central

The Dispensa Familiar, a Wal-Mart owned corner grocery store where I bought lots of food.

El Cuartito Cafe! Now I guess we'll see how good of a writer I am. Is it what you were picturing?

This picture is kind of in the wrong spot...beautiful cathedral next to Parque Central

The ENITRE bathroom of El Cuartito was painted in chalkboard paint, and the messages changed every day

"Express yourself!" The chalk for this unique and totally awesome bathroom

A beautiful mural in the cafe. However, I think the girl is a little creepy. Am I right?

My church! In English it means "Rivers of Living Water"

A hilarious poster for a bakery that I always thought was a baby in the middle of flames. Until my friend pointed out that is bread behind him, not fire....

The outside of the orphanage. Wish I could have gotten some pictures inside...

The "iron fist" logo of one of the presidential candidates. Propaganda was painted not posted everywhere.

What a normal paca looks like

The outside of the house I stayed at with my host family

Part of the inside of the house. This is just one of the four houses that were all within the same complex.

The garage/patio that my room overlooked

Weekend at Lake Atitlan

First thing you need to know about Lake Atitlan: It. Is. Beautiful. Second thing you need to know about Lake Atitlan: It. Is. Gorgeous.

Lago Atitlan is said to have gotten it name from the Mayan word translating into “the place where the rainbow gets its colors.” ‘Nuff said. And I think the Mayans were right.

Clear blue skies, tropical green vegetation, deep charcoal volcanoes, flowers in bright purples, reds, and yellows, all melt down under the fiery orange sunsets into swirly watercolors ready to be splashed across the land and sky the next morning with the brilliant white sunrise. Beauty.  

Located about three hours away from Xela, Lake Atitlan is the largest lake in Guatemala and the deepest in all of Central America. It was formed in the crater of a massive volcano, and nowadays is surrounded by three volcanoes and a multitude of tiny villages named after the twelve disciples. And let me tell ya the greatest thing of all, it perpetually stays at a temperature of about 80 degrees during the days of bright sunshine and dips down into a comfortable 60 during the breezy nights.

Kristi, Kyra, and I caught a microbus, van, and then tuk-tuk Saturday afternoon to wind our way down to the lake shore, where we spent our next three days and nights basking in the sun and relaxing by the lake. We arrived in San Pedro in time for a late lunch on a patio overlooking the greenish-blue water.

We spent the rest of Saturday afternoon hunting down a hotel and exploring the city. The two-month-long Guatemalan citizenship in me was a little disappointed to find out this historic town had been hijacked by the tourism industry, replacing its traditional markets with gas stations and bars and causing its citizens to trade in their Mayan and Spanish languages for a few particularly polished, though not usually grammatically correct, English phrases.

Entonces (therefore), we hopped on a tuk-tuk (see below) and rode over to another nearby village called San Juan. This sleepy little town, almost untouched by foreign influences, couldn’t have been any farther from the big city hustle and bustle of Xela and the never-ending instant gratification of the touristy San Pedro. Finding our way down to the fishing pier, we spent the last hours of sunlight lying on the pier talking about life until the sun disappeared to reveal the first stars I have seen since Texas.

We awoke from our starry-eyed lull rather quickly however during our tuk-tuk ride back jamming out to Spanish rap music throbbing with deep bass notes and adrenaline. We grabbed dinner at a pub and relaxed the rest of the night in solar hot tubs located deep within a jungle of tropical trees and flowers. Interesting fact about our dinner: Saturday was a dry day in Guatemala, prohibiting serving alcohol since the presidential elections were the following day (not a bad idea, if you ask me). But what’s a pub without beer? Entonces, the pub served everyone their drinks in coffee mugs. Creative.

Sunday we got to experience another breathtaking view of the lake, from the inside looking out! After breakfast we rented kayaks and paddled our way to the center of the glassy lake where we spent an hour floating, splashing, soaking, laughing, tanning (or in Kyra’s case burning..), and above all enjoying.

On the way back to shore, we found out the only thing cooler than running through a flock of birds taking flight is paddling through a gigantic flock of birds congregated in the middle of the lake! Surrounded by flapping wings on every side while gliding through crystal water, surreal.

Later that night we found a funky restaurant serving Mediterranean food. A large striped tent strung with Christmas lights and multi-colored paper lanterns gave shelter to straw-woven mats and a plethora of cushions as guests lounged on the ground. Here, we ate amazing hummus and pita bread, drank fresh fruit liquados or smoothies, and created a bajillion inside jokes.

Monday we got to experience the lake in yet another way, from within! We started off the morning jumping on the early morning boat to another small pueblo on the other side of the lake called San Marcos. The town of San Marcos is built like a maze, with small tunnels and walkways cut out of the overgrowing jungle that lead to different places around the town. Along the lakeside, the rocks and trees open up to swimming holes. At one point along the side, the people of the town had built a wooden platform perfect for cliff jumping.

The ledge of the platform stuck out above the cliff side below and was long enough for the running start needed to fling yourself into the air. It was hilarious to see the different shapes everyone’s body takes on when left to itself for a few seconds in the air before the water’s impact. Below are some of the best shots from Kyra, Kristi, and I’s jumps.

Enfermedades y una familia cariñosa

The past week I spent in and out of the doctor’s office and pharmacies diagnosing and treating the bacterial infection in my stomach. Luckily, however, I didn’t have to navigate this new chapter of my Guatemalan experience alone. I spent the week with the Scott family who graciously offered me their five years of experience living in Xela, Spanish medical term translating ability, and spare bedroom for the past five days.  

This week-long journey started Monday with a doctor’s appointment with a specialist in gastroenterology and parasites. The 10:30 a.m. appointment turned in to a nine-hour day of no-food-or-water-allowed blood tests, breath tests, and an endoscopy under short-term anesthesia. For someone who has never even gotten their blood drawn, and definitely has never been on an operating table, it was quite a new experience.

Jenny filled the waiting bench, patient bed, and operating table side with conversation, experienced advice, encouragement, and laughter the whole time, filling my heart with comfort, encouragement, and peace. Her Spanish fluency covered my two-month Spanish gaps and I went into each new test or procedure with full confidence, even though it may have at times been accompanied by shaky nerves.

The nine-hours spent in the clinic and multiple new medical experiences were vale la pena (worth the pain) however because we came out on the other side with answers and some never before seen photos of my insides. The diagnosis: a bacterial infection which had led to a build-up of bile in my stomach and aggravated a previously-unknown hernia in my esophagus. Thankfully, nothing that isn’t easily treatable or manageable!

My treatment includes a few different (temporary) medicines taken before and after each meal and a slight (permanent, thanks to my unusually short esophagus) change in diet.

Although finding out bacteria has taken temporary residence is my stomach for the past two months, the good news is Spanish must be taking up permanent residence in my brain! Jenny told me that when I woke from the anesthesia and stumbled out into the lobby I came out chatting away in Spanish, albeit heavily-slurred and incredibly comical!

I spent Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday as part of the family, playing with the three adorable kids by day; running around to different pharmacies, back to the doctor after they couldn’t read his handwriting, back to the pharmacies to search for the medicine, and back to the doctor for official test results and receipts for my insurance during nap times; and hanging out and learning tons about life as a married couple, young parents, and missionary family from Brandon and Jenny. I could see so much of myself and who I want to be in Jenny and I can’t believe how blessed I was to meet this amazingly strong and incredibly giving woman.

Spending meal times, story book times, discipline times, home school times, temper tantrum times, frazzled times, unconditional love times, backyard muddy times, prayer times, and many other just plain life times with this family gave me such a sweet glimpse of what a marriage and family done right looks like overseas.     

Their three uniquely different and similarly loving kids gave me so much joy these past few days, and along with it, some hilarious memories. I will share a few with you below so you can get a taste of how fun this family is.

One night while getting the kids ready for bed, Deacon (the oldest, five years old) noticed his foam pool noodle transformed into a lightsaber was sitting under his bed. One thing led to another, and next thing I know Deacon, sporting a full-length Jedi cape and wielding the real deal light-up noise-making version, and I are engaged in an all-out battle flying across the pitch black living room in true Jedi master fashion.      

The next day Madeline (the second oldest, three years old) waltzed down the stairs to join us for breakfast in her Sleeping Beauty costume and proceeded to spend the rest of the day in the pink and sparkly ball gown. Later that afternoon Deacon, Madeline, and I acted out all her favorite princess movies in the backyard—placed, directed, and feed lines by Madeline. At one point, we acted out “Mulan,” the timeless endearing story of two sisters rowing in a boat until the princess jumps out and swims to her beloved’s castle only to find him dead but then brought back to life by a magical cape from Jesus after which they dance and live happily ever after while the other sister keeps rowing in the boat. Not the Mulan you are familiar with? Nor I, but it sure made for a great laugh!

Counting my blessings

Going on my eighth week here leaves a lot of room (53 days, actually) for missing a lot of things, from the food to the fellowship. At times, four weeks left feels like an eternity. So today I decided to make a list of things I miss and follow it up with a list of things I’m thankful for. Always a great reminder of how much I’m blessed :)

List of things I miss:

·         Reese’s peanut butter cups

·         Wearing shorts

·         Having roommates

·         My guitar, I’ve been able to still play with other ones, they just aren’t the same!

·         The deliciousness of Pei Wei

·         Homegroup!!!!!!

·         Worshiping in English

·         Sharing meals, church, laughs, and just plain life with my family

·         Aggie football

·         Doritos that AREN’T SPICY! (they have plenty of Doritos here, but even the nacho cheese flavor make my mouth burn..)

·         My fiancé—the warmth of his hugs, the comfort of his smile, the fun of our inside jokes, and of course his handsome face!

·         Drivers who obey the rules of the road

·         Pandora (it doesn’t work outside the US! who knew?)

List of things I’m thankful for:

·         A great, welcoming host family

·         My own bathroom (some students share with eight other people…)

·         Good friends at my volunteer sites

·         Beautiful places to travel, and the means to travel there!

·         Local people who love to take time out of their day to chat and help me practice my conversational Spanish

·         Warm blankets

·         New Guatemalan friends from Texas who spend nine hours in a waiting room with me

·         Skype!!!!!

·         The prayers of everyone back home

·         A great Spanish teacher with lots of experience

·         A church family that is excited to see me every week

·         The chance to learn something new every day

·         Children to love

·         The fact that donuts exist in Guatemala too

·         And last, but not least, the invaluable experience and confidence from creating a life from ground zero in a completely different county!