To say my mom was in culture shock both with the physical terrain and the community as a whole when we first arrived would be an understatement. As kids Michael-John and I always said if looks could kill my mom would be an assassin. Well here, if looks could tell an emotion my mom “looked” either scared or disgusted most of the time when she first arrived lol. 

Her initial reaction to being here got me thinking back to my very first trip to Guatemala 8 years ago and remembering what it felt like coming to a country I had never been to, with two teenagers that didn’t belong to me,  living with a host family,  and not speaking the language.  While I think our reactions have been quite different they both came from a place of stepping outside our comforts zones.  This is never an easy thing to do and as we age and get more seeded/rigid in our thinking it becomes even more challenging.  That’s one of the reasons I continue to travel and explore the world.  To be doing it at 72 for the first time ever has got to be a lot for my mom. She’s had so many first in the last 6 months.  When she walked into school this past week and cheered for herself for making it there all by herself  I knew she had turned the corner here.  When she declared last night she was going to mass in the morning and the parade by herself I wasn’t the least bit surprised. Nor was I shocked when I woke up and checked life 360 to find her exactly where she said wanted to be…. at the church. Michael-John woke up and said you know mom isn’t here…I said nope mom is in the streets.