Happy Mother's Day

So it's the day for mothers and I decided to give my mom the gift she's been demanding since February: I posted some of the pictures from her trip to Guatemala.

It was great! We went to Tikal, Livingston, Flores, and of course Xela. I never thought traveling with my mom would be so much fun, but I had a blast and cannot wait to explore another country with her. So happy mother's day to all the moms out there.

Mom's trip to Guatemala

Where Time Hides

So, where did one month go? As I procrastinate in the library (reading friends' blogs instead of working on my thesis) I realized I couldn't remember the last time I updated my own blog. Sometimes time gets away from us.

In the absence a lot has happened. My mom made her first international visit (excluding Canada) and we took a road trip around Guatemala. I finished my work in Guatemala and returned to the US last week. And now I am in the one month countdown to finishing my thesis in time for graduation in May. As John Lennon sang "life is what happens when you're busy making other plans".

Posting pictures will have to wait since writing this post is stealing time from staring at my thesis and willing it to write itself. I don't know if it is the under stress writing or the fact that returning to the USA and culture shock will happen every time, regardless of how many years you've lived abroad, but I have been super emotional this weekend. I think it is the strange combination since this is the first time I've had to commit to doing something (writing my paper) as soon as I hit the ground. Normally I have a few weeks of me time that I spend catching up with friends and relaxing with my family. But yesterday it all hit me like I haven't experienced in a long time.

I went to the grocery store which is a strange love/hate location for me. I love walking around and thinking of meal ideas, since I love to cook. But I am always, ALWAYS overwhelmed at the grocery store and hate being overwhelmed by all of the choices. Have you seen the cereal aisle? Anyway, I was in the produce section and there it was: a sign for scallions "Made in Guatemala". And I lost it. I started crying in the produce section! Having gone through culture shock many times I was able to recuperate quickly and continue with my errands. But those couple of minutes forced me to slow down and be at peace with everything that is currently happening.

Adventures With My Bosses

A week ago I sat around the office talking to my two bosses and was struck by how amazing and odd the entire situation was. It was a combination of realizing how wonderfully strange my life is and being overwhelmed by the rare opportunity that I was participating in. It was a great follow up to a very weird day we shared about a month ago. There is a woman who runs a Spanish school in the same building as our office and she also owns a paca (the local word for a used clothes store). I was in search of some jeans since all of mine were at the end of their lives and the holes were becoming noticeable. The problem with jeans shopping in Guatemala is that every pair of jeans is bejeweled and glittered across the bottom (not my favorite look) and jeans seem to only come in one size (too small). So I asked Ruth if she knew where I could buy jeans and I lucked out because she's just gotten some clothes from the US and had a lot of jeans. So I went over one afternoon before lunch and the two women from my organization joined me.

We made quite the motley crew walking towards Ruth's paca: an indigenous woman in her traditional clothes, a ladino (non-indigenous Guatemalan) woman, the very Western Ruth, and myself. As I tried on jeans the women discussed body sizes and shapes. They found my curvy figure quite interesting since it is very different from the typical Guatemalan shape. In the end I found 2 pairs of jeans and we had a laugh when I pointed out that someone in the US donated or sold these jeans only for me to buy them in Guatemala and to eventually take them back to the States with me.

The thing that has stuck out to me the most recently is how different our lives are and how without Spanish we would not be able to communicate at all. My one boss, Amparo, is the president of the organization. Although she considers herself a ladino, she speaks Spanish and Mam (one of 9 indigenous languages spoken by members of my organization). My other boss Oralia speaks Spanish and Kaqchikel. Oralia is from an indigenous community in Solala and still dresses in traditional clothing (although her 4 year old daughter refuses to wear it). As for myself, I speak English and Spanish. I have to admit that my Kaqchikel lessons are not going very well with Oralia but they are convinced that I will pick it up one day and then can begin learning Mam. I guess I can't complain since I have two amazing and very supportive bosses.

When What is Right is Wrong

This is one of those stories that makes me think our system and priorities are out of whack (please read the full article since I do not give it justice in my short summary). Yes, she "cheated the system" by enrolling her children in her father's school district instead of the one her house was assigned to. But now her children will be relegated to an unsure future instead of the 97% graduation rate of their old school and her felony conviction means she cannot become a school teacher, even though she was 12 credits shy of graduating.

Sometimes right and wrong is not black and white. Maybe this should have been treated as a gray matter and 3 lives would have a better future.

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/01/26/mom-jailed-for-enrolling-kids-in-wrong-school-district/?hpt=Sbin

New Year = New Beginnings

It's a new year. I have always loved the New Year holiday. I love that it's a fresh start for everyone. I love that it's the one holiday celebrated around the world. And I love that my birthday is only a few weeks after so I get a double new year.

This New Year I spent in Guatemala. Since I had to work I was unable to travel to Belize or Antigua as I'd originally planned. Instead, I spent the New Year with two of my dearest friends Josh and Pinar. we really are a little gang - the three amigos - and Josh constantly reminds me that I will be breaking up the band when I leave in March. Anyway, it was very interesting being in Xela for another holiday since I've been here for Independence Day, Christmas and even the World Cup celebrations. Xela is the second largest city in Guatemala so it is usually jammed full of people from smaller villages and has days of parades, fairs, and marching bands for any special occasion, including the vast number of religious holidays.

So it was very surprising that the city was dead for New Years! Where I am from the city is shut down for New Years and street parties in downtown are ridiculous fun that usually end with some interesting stories. But here everyone stays home to ring in the new year. There literally were completely empty streets. We spent the hours leading up to midnight at an almost empty bar, but I had 3 packets of sparklers to keep me very entertained. It was a fun night with friends and another memorable way that I welcomed the New Year.

Marion Donovan's Diaper Quest

I love facts! Give me a statistic or little known bit of information any day. My friend Michael gave me one of those 1,001 fact books as my college graduation present and I still cherish that book. So of course my iGoogle homepage has a Useless Knowledge box that gives a new fact every time it reloads. This one I found inspirational and maybe you will too:

With the use of a sewing machine and a shower curtain Marion Donovan succeeded in developing what is considered the first waterproof diaper cover in 1946. Mrs. Donovan was surprised when her prototype for disposable paper diapers was met with ridicule. She journeyed to all the major U.S. paper companies, and was laughed at for proposing such an "unnecessary and impractical" item to replace cotton diapers. After nearly 10 years of pitching her revolutionary idea, Victor Mills had the foresight to capitalize on it, and he became the creator of Pampers.

This woman spent 10 years trying to get someone to believe in her invention! She believed in herself and the potential of her product and pursued her dream with passion. I love that...living with passion!

Walking Into Danger

There truth about the world we live in is that danger is everywhere. Many people express their disbelief about we single women who travel, work and live abroad and the dangers and risks we face being international. The truth is there are dangers everywhere and I often point this out in my defense of living abroad and working in post-war, developing countries. Yet every once in awhile I have to acknowledge when dangerous situations arise and when my being a foreigner is a disadvantage.

My trip to San Marcos La Laguna included one of these moments. Myself and a friend decided to walk to a neighboring village for the day. The walk was about 3 hours and the weather was wonderful. We walked around San Juan, ate lunch and started back on the road to San Marcos. As we reached the edge of town we passed two women carrying a large bundle of wood on their heads. I stopped to ask them about their load and when we finished chatting they suggested we take a tuk tuk the rest of the way. We asked why and they said the road was dangerous.

A man walking the same direction as us agreed with the women and offered to walk with us since he had a matcheti. This made me more nervous but we agreed to walk with him until a tuk tuk passed. As we walked he explained that groups of thieving boys would watch the main street to see when foreigners would leave. They would then run along the mountainside and intercept the travelers on the road to rob them. Eventually a tuk tuk passed and we were able to take it the rest of the way. But it made me realize how vulnerable I was as an outsider and how open for danger I really was. Sometimes a small reminder is helpful and kindness from strangers is always welcome.