Usually by the time I make it back to the states the blog goes by the wayside and I neglect talking about the reentry. 

Coming back to the states is this weird out of body experience. It leaves you feeling discombobulated. I found myself wandering about my house last night feeling out of place and as if it wasn’t mine. 

Just for perspective I hadn’t driven a car in 23 days until yesterday. Aside from weekend trips in Guatemala, commuting was no more than a 10 minute walk anywhere in town.

I hated going to the grocery store last night.  Produce options are terrible here,  prices are insane,  and I don’t understand why I can’t negotiate cost based on the quality I am finding.  I also don’t understand why I can’t just buy one of something and not an entire package.

Having so many clothing options is something I no longer value.  Driving me to wonder why I own so many things.  I loved living for 23 days with only 10 items of clothing on rotation.  I spent zero time worried about what I was going to wear and worried very little about how I looked.  People’s kindness outshined their outfits in Guatemala and most woman wore traditional clothing.

I miss having my laundry done for me (courtesy of Nicole,  I never managed to have more then 2 things in the hamper at a time), and having my house cleaned 3x a week.  I miss having a garden to sit in that is up kept by someone else.  I miss living in community.  I miss morning walks to school.  I miss cool mornings and weather that makes you wanna be outside.  I miss kind friendly people everywhere you go.  I have yet to have a negative interaction with someone in Guatemala. Everyone is kind and helpful.  One of the most bizarre things I miss are the bathrooms.  While it seems odd to mention it is really one of the things I appreciate the most.  I have never been in a country that has the level of clean bathrooms as Guatemala. While you may not be able to flush the toilet paper, even in the most remote of places the bathrooms are always impeccable. I think it’s a combination of others being courteous of eachother and and just a value for taking care of what you do have when you have so little. 

Coming home is always harder than one would think it would be.  Modern conveniences seem less important when the pace of life is slower.  I am grateful to get to live in both worlds,  and understand that I exists in both with great privilege.

Today I woke up and had eggs and fruit for breakfast 🍳. I got dressed and then we walked to our second to last day of school 🏫. At break, we went to the ping pong 🏓 place and I ate a croissant 🥐. Then, we walked back to school and we finished our day. Then, we walked home 🏡 and I ate lunch and I had spaghetti 🍝 and meatballs. Then, we chilled for a bit and then, me and Mommy went out to walk to the rock climbing 🧗‍♀️ place!!!!! But there was a little problem that we could solve, it was raining 🌧️ so we had to wear our rain jackets 🧥. Once we got there, I had to change my shoes 👟 and then I was ready to climb. I made it to the 6th wall and surpassed my record in Guatemala 🇬🇹! I had the best time trying different walls and doing pretty good on them. 1 and a half hours later……. It was time for dinner 🍽️ and we walked to a place called Como Como, and I had a 10 out of 10 pasta 🍝 with meat sauce! It was so delicious 🤤. Then, we walked home 🏠 and took a shower 🚿 and then hanged out for a bit and then I went to bed 🛌.

I am pretty sure I write the same thing each year at the end of my time in Antigua….I am not ready.    This is the only vacation that I’ve ever taken where I don’t get that feeling of being ready to be home.  I think it’s mainly because this place feels so much like home.  I am going to miss these cobblestone roads that by the very nature of them and not wanting to fall,  force me to slow down. They force me to be present in the moment,  not looking at my phone or distracted.  Things are slower here but the days have flown by.  I am thankful for another year of spending my days walking the city, sitting outside,  rooftop coffee breaks and card games, language school,  living in community, and so much more.  Till next year Guatemala 🇬🇹….

Summers in Guatemala have been amazing for so many reasons, and one is seeing the many ways in which Luca has grown and matured. He loves school. He no longer complains about walking. He tries new things. He navigates his way through the city with minimal assistance and crosses the streets expertly. He doesn’t need to be told to not brush his teeth with the tap water or not to flush his toilet paper 😆. He has become a card shark playing gin rummy. He is praised by the teachers at school for being well behaved and he all around has become a great traveler. I couldn’t be more proud.

While reading the guest book in the house we rented at Lake Atitlan, I came across a quote that I believe I have seen before but that has never resonated with me until this moment.

Travel does change you. It exposes you to that which you didn’t grow up around. That which while uncommon in your world is daily happenstance in others.  It humbles you. It makes you patient. It makes you curious. It gives you perspective. It gives you understanding. It gives you appreciation, awareness, grace. 

I am so wholeheartedly grateful for the opportunity I have had to return to this beautiful country for the fourth time, and to be able to share it with my son, my family and my friends. Until next time Cuauhtēmallān.

Today I woke up and got dressed and then went to breakfast in this really pretty view and I got eggs bacon and toast. Maggie got pancakes that I wanted to try with no milk or butter and I loved them! It was so good. We took pictures, we played cards, and then we didn’t walk home because we went straight to swimming in the lake. But first we had to take a boat ride that was a little long to get there. Once we got there we had to climb up rocks and stones to get up to get to thermal waters which is basically in the lake but hot water comes out from the inside of the earth 🌍. We couldn’t really swim but we sat in it and we had a really good time. Then Maggie got in the real lake where it was cold and I decided I was brave enough to do the same. It was so cold when I got in but once I dipped my head in the water I got used to it. I looked for rocks, I even found obsidian and a rock with yellow stuff on it. I thought it was gold but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t

Today I woke up and ate scrambled eggs and fruit for breakfast 🍳. Then, the weekend was over and I got ready for school 🏫. At break time today was special for me because I got to reunite with Mrs. Lucia (my old teacher 👩‍🏫) and I was so excited 😆. I tried to understand the words Mommy and Mrs. Lucia were both saying and I understand the easy words. I had a croissant 🥐 with no butter 🧈 and it was delicious 😋. I was so sad 😞 when we left, because now I thought about how fun 🤩 and nice 😊 and happy 😃 she was. It was sad 😔. But when I returned to the school 🏫 and with my teacher 👩‍🏫 now, I started to feel a little bit better.

A little bit off topic but Tia has a week off because she wants to do stuff that she wants to do and me and Mrs. Christine are stuck and studying 📖 at school 🏫. She is so lucky 🍀. Anyway, when we were done with school. Mommy picked both of us up to go to the grocery store to get stuff to eat for the family. Once we were done ✅, we walked home while Tia was cooking lunch 🥙. We ate and then we chilled and I practiced baseball ⚾️ with a pipe and a ball 🏈 to hit it. Then here was the adventurous part of the day, we went and took pictures on a mountain ⛰️! But first we had to get up the mountain 🏔️ so we took a tuk tuk 🛺 there and the tuk tuk 🛺 barely made us up 🆙 on the mountain 🏔️ 😬. Then we went on the mountain and took pictures of me climbing and taking regular pictures and everyone doing the same thing except the climbing 🧗‍♂️. We had the best time, including me and then we hiked down the mountain ⛰️ and then we walked to have dinner 🍽️ at a fancy restaurant. I had a hamburger 🍔 and fries 🍟. But a hamburger 🍔 with red bread 🥖! After we ate, we walked home 🏠 and took a shower 🚿 and then I went to bed 🛌.

I woke up for an amazing day and ate cereal and fruit for breakfast. Then I picked the right shirt and not the right shorts and was ready to go to school. We had to leave early today because we were going to Lago de Atitlan which means lake Atitlan in English in case you don’t know. The presentation started at 11 but we went first at 1045 because our driver was picking us up from school at 11 so we went early and I went first. Mommy said I did really good and I thought I did too! Then it was Tia and Ms. Christine’s turn because they went in a group with their teachers. They were asking me to go in a group with everyone but I didn’t want to cooperate that because it’s too hard to cooperate. Then our driver named Sergio came to pick us up and we drove 2.5 hours to Lago de Atitlan!!!! Two hours and a half later,… we finally made it. When we got out of the car we went to lunch and Maggie was sleeping over with us for a night with just us so that was exciting. I had a Spanishy hamburger and French fries for lunch but I really didn’t like the hamburger for lunch because it was too Spanishy. Then we walked to the dock and took a boat to our house. While we were in the boat crossing the lake it started raining and it was a bumpy ride. Once we got there we had to walk through a river of mud because the sidewalk there is supposed to be dry but since it was raining it flowed down and we got our shoes and socks wet. Our house was so big, it had four stories and me and mommy slept on the first floor. Once we got settled in and then we went to dinner to a place called La iguana but first we had to walk there and it was taco night but I just had the pork. It’s basically like chipotle and I kinda liked it. We played cards with Maggie and then we walked home in the dark. It was super dark. We had to use our phones as flashlights. Once we got home I took a shower and went to bed.

So for the second time on this trip a little girl named Bianca has stolen my heart.

While I won’t share a photo of her… for many reasons, I will share about this little girl whom we met that was seeking nothing else then connection and someone to play with. 

In Guatemala it’s hard not to judge things based on our own culture.  Here you will find kids left to their own accord often,  or tiny children sent it to “work” selling things that that mother’s have made.  By all accounts it seems awful, neglectful, and scary. Things that would never be allowed in the US, are just simply a way of life here.

I won’t go into all the things that I worried for Bianca about,  but rather I’ll just share how precious of a child she is. Alone down at the thermal waters she climbed rocks as if they were solid flat land. She dressed and undressed (to swim) in her traditional clothing all on her own,  asking for only a little help from myself or Nicole to get her shirt on and off. She took our hands with ease for help and chatted away with Nicole and I. telling me flatly when she didn’t understand what I was saying and making me work hard to communicate with her.  She never once tried to sell us anything from the basket she was carrying,  she never asked for money, she simply asked to swim with us and show us the tiny shells you can find in the thermal waters on the edge of the lake.  When Nicole asked about her family,  she said she wasn’t ready to tell her yet,  but she maybe she would later.  She was smart enough to not fully disclose but trusting enough to spend time with us.  I thought of all the million fears that I had for a tiny girl like her left all alone.  Then I thought about this being her life.  This is where she spends her days. When we all thought it was going to rain… she looked up at the storm clouds above us and said nope it’s not going to rain you can just tell.  And in case you’re wondering, no it did not rain.  That little tiny girl had all the wisdom and innocence you could hope for from someone so tiny.  She crosses my mind often since we’ve parted and makes me wonder about the things she’s already seen and what the rest of her life has in store for her. 

Today I woke up and ate some scrambled eggs and fruit 🍌 for breakfast 🍳. Then, we walked to school 🏫 and then learned Spanish. Then, we had break time and I ate a snack before we got back to school 🏫. Tia and Ms. Christine (our new guest) made a Guatemalan dish called pupusa and I tried it and I didn’t really like it. Then, we walked home and I ate spaghetti 🍝 and meatballs for lunch 🥗. Then, chillaxed (relaxed and chilled in one word 😊) and then it was time for the title of the blog, PICKLEBALL!!! But first we had to take a tuk tuk 🛺 because it was a too far walk. Then when we got there, we had to wait like 30 minutes because the open play where everyone can play started at 6pm. Then it was our turn and I was on mommy’s team at first and she was learning how to hit a shot over the net. Ms. Christine and Tia were on a team and Ms. Christine got the hang of it quickly. Since me and Mommy play ping pong she didn’t hold the pickle ball racket the right way and then she held it like a ping pong racket and she was better at hitting the ball 🏀. After our practice round I switched teams and it was Ms. Christine and me versus Mommy and Tia. We didn’t keep score because Ms. Christine and Mommy were learning but if it was me and Tia playing we would have played with points. There were some pros right beside us and they were hitting it super hard. I tried to do that but it didn’t work out well. 30 mins later….we finished and were basically also exhausted and we didn’t even have dinner. So we walked to dinner and I had a burger with French fries 🍟. My belly was super happy after I ate that hamburger and French fries so then we walked home. I took a shower and went to bed.

The End.

Here are some pictures.