As per usual, I’m a little behind
in my blogging. I’m sorry that my
last real post—that one really negative one—has been my only written update for so
long. However, the lack of
bloggery actually has a really good explanation: my service seems to have
turned around, at least for the moment.
The last two months have been incredibly busy, incredibly productive, and
incredibly happy. I feel like I’m
finally finding my niche in Guatemala.
The first step in this rather
dramatic turnaround was a much-needed visit from home. On April 25, my 271st day in
Guatemala, after weeks spent counting down the days and a veritable gestation
period of Peace Corps service, my parents flew in from Minneapolis. And even though I don’t want this blog to be a giant brag about international travel, this post is kind of going to be
just that. I’ll try to let the
pictures do most of the talking.
Ann’s
Top Ten…er, Twelve…Steps for Parental Integration
1. Take the chicken bus from the
lakeside town of Panajachel up a curving mountain path. Enjoy the soothing sounds of a
one-armed hawker trying to sell single-tablespoon servings of JELL-O.
2. Sip on fine Guatemalan coffee at
a quiet Sololá café (this actually isn’t a very Guatemalan experience. Almost all good Guatemalan coffee is
exported, which means that most of the coffee available in Guatemalan cafés is
of the instant variety. But, having the advantage of the Q7.50:$1.00 exchange rate, my parents and I were able to splurge for real, good Guatemalan coffee).
3. Make your way through the
crowded Sololá streets on your way to the famed market. Get shoved around by seemingly sweet
old Mayan ladies,
marvel at strange animal body parts,
and treat yourself to
some fresh mangoes dusted with salt and crushed pumpkin seeds.
4. Take a tuk-tuk (see picture) to
your Mayan language teacher’s house.
Make awkwardly translated conversation, and exchange gifts and hugs.
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| The world's cleanest tuk-tuk (but really) |
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| D'aww...look at that integration! |
5. Take a micro (see first video
blog) up the mountain to San José Chacayá. Freak out a little when the driver vigorously scratches his
head for about 10 minutes straight.
6. Visit the host family. Make awkwardly translated conversation,
and exchange gifts and hugs (seeing my host brother hug my mom after being
given toys from America (but really from Vietnam) was enough to make even my
hardened gringa heart melt a little).
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| My host mom and me (I'm the one on the left) |
7. Walk into town, and enjoy lunch
at the local comedor (basically a little meal factory run by a hard-working
Guatemalan woman and two assistants).
For Q15, or about $2, you get one of the set meals of the day: fried
chicken/roasted chicken/steak with rice, tortillas, side salad, and the
beverage of your choice. You can opt for either agua pura (drinkable water) or agua Pepsi (soda). Yeah, they call soda “water” here.
8. Visit tourist mecca San José
Chacayá’s hottest sites: the health center and the church.
9. Micro yourself back down the
mountain, and chicken bus yourself back to Panajachel. Lament the absence of the one-armed
hawker.
10. Find, purchase, and consume
dry-roasted fava beans (I highly recommend Googling these, and/or ordering some
from nuts.com, which is actually a real website).
11. Embark on a street food
adventure for dinner. For us, this
meant pupusas, an El Salvadoran treat of corn tortillas stuffed with cheese or
meat and fried on an oil-covered stovetop. They’re generally served with a delicious side salad of
pickled and spiced cabbage, carrots, and jalapeños.
12. Congratulate yourself on fully
understanding and integrating into a foreign culture. Er…not. But I
do love that my parents were willing to try such outlandish new experiences,
and risk their bowel happiness on delicious street food.
The above list is a description of
just one of the eight wonderful days I got to spend with my parents. I don’t want to bore you with a
description of each day, but I will give you a few more highlights of the trip:
Quest for Tortillas: I think
I’ve mentioned before that corn tortillas are the staple food here in Guatemala; and there’s no better way to
enjoy them than hot off the griddle at a tortilleria, or tortilla stand. On my parents’ second day in country,
we walked to the small town near our treehouse hostel with the express purpose
of finding a tortilleria. Sadly,
the town was so small that it didn’t have a tortilleria (a first in my
experience). I asked a local woman
if she could point us to the nearest tortilla procurement facility, at which
point she led us up the stairs of her house. Many Guatemalan women make their own tortillas at home, and
our new friend had a fresh batch.
She wouldn’t accept payment for her tortillas, so my parents got to
experience both authentic Guatemalan cooking and the pervasive Guatemalan
hospitality.
Watching Survivor: I don’t need
you to tell me this is sad. I know
it’s sad that I’ve been watching Survivor since Season 1 (we’re now on Season
30), and I know it’s sad that I count watching Survivor as one of the
highlights of my parents’ visit.
But, watching English-speaking television for the first time in months,
with my parents, and happening to stumble upon one of my favorite shows—all of
this was a poignant reminder of home.
