Luca writes…

Rolly pollies are my favorite bug in Guatemala. That’s my blog.

Luca writes. First we got to the airport. Then we had to wait for like an hour to board. The plane took off and we got to Guatemala City. Then took a drive for 3 hours to get to Lago De Atitlan. We took a crazy boat ride. Where our butts flew in the air and it was crazy bumpy. Then we got to our house. It was nice and pretty. Me and my mommy went on the hot tub. I said to mommy “what a nice way to end a lot of traveling.” We had dinner and then a 15 minute walk to the different docks. Then w. e went to bed. That’s our blog

Day 22/23 Maggie and I graduated from language school, packed our bags and I headed out to meet a solo traveler I had met a few days before to take pictures at Ruinas de La Recolección. These were probably my most favorite of the ruins in town, mainly because you can climb on them freely.  Afterwards we wander to my favorite secret bar inside Antigua Brewery. You enter through a phone booth.  The bar is in what was once the kitchen if an old house, you can still see the ashe on the ceiling. This bar is unique in that you tell them what kind of liquor you like and the types of drinks you enjoy and then they create something for you. There’s no menu,  its simply like watching an artist create something magical. My drink was so good I couldn’t change it up,  but I can only imagine what the other drinks they create taste like.  23 Days have flown by.  There’s not a moment in those 23 days that I wished I was home.  120 miles walked, 21 days of language school (105 hours), multiple Ruins, 1 Volcanic lake,  1 active volcano, 1 horse named Caramelo, family time with my brother and my neice,  1 house (mansion like), 1 hostel,  2 massages, 1 futball (soccer) game, multiple cafes, and many memories that can’t be captured by a picture or put into words. I love traveling, but I also love traveling back to a place I know,  feels more like going back to a second home of sorts. Some general take aways and what I will do differently next time; I would bring a pair of night pants (nights r cooler with an open house floor plan), I will do 4 hours of language school instead of 5, I will visit more cafes to do my homework rather than doing it at home,  I will speak more and worry less about looking like a fool,  I may or may not get my same crazy hard teacher,  I will study basic vocabulary before I return rather than wasting time on memorization while I am there,  I will get the nicer hotel in Atitlan, I will buy house slippers for $2 earlier on in the trip,  and lastly I will return to Antigua. I am truly grateful for the time I’ve had in Antigua,  the people I met along the way, and the ability to be able to have 3 weeks away from reality (for the most part). 

Reality has continued to creep in as I spent my nights before bed catching up on the trial back home and reaching out to those I was connected to during that time.  Though it’s been incredibly difficult heartbreaking to watch I felt compelled to. In a weird way it felt disrespectful to all of the families and the people I worked with at MSD to not watch. We (those working with the families of,  and the students from MSD) spent so much time sitting and bearing witness to their pain.  Holding space for them as they navigated uncharted (unfathomable) territory. It felt only right to bear witness once again as the state (in all the horror of our legal system) made them relive the most horrific day and days that followed of their lives.  I know that for the families this trial has been a long time coming.  I pray daily that this trial whatever the outcome may be, will help bring healing to people who deserve it from the pain they continue to endure.  

And we are out.But not before my passport got left with security and thankful recovered quickly,  and a stop in the Ron Zacapa club for breakfast and for free Zacapa 23 drinks thanks to my brother. So much love and thanks for an amazing trip to an amazing country.  All the kind and very patient people of Guatemala who fumbled their way through my spanglish, and even helped with correcting me when I got it wrong. I will miss walking everywhere. I will miss the unbelievable weather that capped at 75 and low of 62 with zero humidity, I will miss the view of Volcan Agua outside my kitchen window and as I walked to school in the morning.  I will miss sitting around the garden every afternoon.  There is to much to miss and so many reasons to find my way back.  Hasta pronto❤️

Anyone who has been to my home knows that Alexa controls my life.  No like literally she turns on my lights, turns on my air, she changes the environment for the time of day, she tells me my agenda for the day, and most importantly she tells me when my Amazon packages arrive (ps. I am 23 days sober from ordering on Amazon). Oh how I have missed her for the simplest of things but mostly for turning on and off the lights.  Our house is amazing,  literally everything about it is great…. except the lights.  Recessed lighting is not a thing here and if it’s not daylight it’s dark.  There are lamps of plenty but honestly once the sun goes down it’s pretty dark in our house.  Which leads me to missing Alexa. Having to manually turn on and off a million lights spread throughout our very large house is a real task. On more than one occasion I had to stop myself from yelling Alexa turn on the lights.  There’s so much we take for granted that just simply make our lives easier;  washing machines, electronics,  solid paved roads, garbage companies, cars,  and hot water.  Though this time around we had hot water. I clearly remember the frigid showers four years ago for 30 days.  So be grateful for the things that make your life simple. Life in other countries just tend to be so much harder in general. It’s true what they say about if you have the right tools the job is easy.  Here there are far less of the right tools for the job and far more hard working, innovative people.  For example the roads in Antigua are the worst things in the world to walk on but they are also sacred here.  The cobblestone roads,  while dreadful to walk on,  help keep the character and history of Antigua intact. There’s road work happening on our route to school and each day we’ve gotten to watch as men dug up by hand huge stone boulders, cleaned them off, set them to the side to preserve them as they reset the road and then carefully placed the boulders back into place.  No machine could do this.  This task wasn’t for the lazy it looked more like a work of love happening on that street.  Things that are easy don’t always bring the most reward or beauty.  Great reminder that sometimes the things that matter most are the hardest (physically or emotionally) to do.  

Being here has brought up so many good memories of being here with the “duo” (Kianna and Michael). There’s been things that I have missed about not having them here with me again this time.  Including daily basketball games,  Kianna yelling perro everywhere we went, and our house and the people in it, to name a few things.  There’s so much that hasn’t changed since I was last here 4 years ago and so many things that have.  4 years ago covid didn’t exist in the form we now know it. There were no mask. The dog that we all where obsessed with in Atitlan (Chula) is still there living her best life catching rocks. I haven’t seen Kianna’s favorite dog Tocino (bacon) in town at all. Cafe no Se is closed.  Our house is still there but with new people living in it.  We are at the same school but in different buildings and with different teachers.  So much is the same and yet so different. Today I found out that our house mother that we lived with passed away due to covid. She couldn’t have been more than 38 years old.  People have died all over the world from covid and some like the people here, died because of lack of access to healthcare when they had covid.  One of the hardest quotes for me to accept and yet the truest about life is that “Change is the only constant in life.” I struggle with change so much. Before this trip I was filled with the normal excitement that comes with a trip,  yet I also had to sit with an my anxieties about the unknown, all the things that would be out off my control,  all of the fear I have of not being able to communicate and looking dumb,  all of it… bubbled up to the surface.  Change often times feels so scary to me. Yet I consciously make a decision to mix things up try something new even if it leaves me scared and vulnerable. This trip has been so so good. I can’t wait to look back at this trip with the same fondness and longing to replicate it like I did after my first trip.  My teacher today in class said “you are just becoming a little Guatemalan, you love everything about our culture.”  It is true there is so much I love here.

Here are some pictures of then (4 years ago) and now

Well in truth being the only one left standing blogging with Nicole and Luca gone has made blogging less fun.  But I don’t want to miss out on continuing to benefit from the intention of the blog.  The blog forces me to pause and reflect on the stuff that’s been happening… both in the fast pace moments of our day and in the very routine and mundane moments that happen from just living somewhere. We have 3 days left here and I can’t seem to wrap my brain around the fact that it is ending so soon.  Week 3 tends to be when you goet your stride in a new place and really start to just settle into the new norm.  School continues to be incredibly hard for me and I despise having homework at 41 years old, even when it’s something I truly want to learn.  My teacher continues to tell wild stories that force me to listen to an exhausting end. We finished it last week at school with learning to make tortillas and pairing them with delicious guacamole and beans.   MJ and I wandered around the city a little the end of last week. We walked into churches and Ruins and absorbed some of the history in our own back yard. We ended the day with pizza with a view from a rooftop restaurant. This weekend we ventured out on Saturday for a day trip to Iximche. The Mayan Ruins that are closest to us. Remembering back 4 years ago when MJ suggested we go to Tikal and I was like um how could that ever been entertaining. Only to be blown away once I arrived. So this time I was way more excited about going.  There’s just something so powerful and mind boggling about seeing Ruins from a time long before that were literally eaten up by the earth only to be found by radars and if left untouched they would once again disappear into the earth.  Iximche was interesting in that the local Myans still hold fire ceremonies here.  Our guide was a young Mayan who basically was like “hey let me tell you about my people.” This is how I love to learn.  Driving back into town we noticed a huge crowd and people in jerseys….I had literally a couple days before said that I wanted to go to a football (soccer) game.  Little did I know we had a stadium in our backyard.  So we rerouted and we’re able to watch Antigua vs Xela (The town where MJ did language school before living in Honduras). So much fun Soccer in Central America has a whole different vibe. Sunday I spent at one of my favorite cafes doing boat loads of homework and eating some of the tastiest food ever (the food made the homework part not so bad) Monday began our final week in language school.  Not long into the day MJ text saying hey it’s a gorgeous day let’s go climb Pacaya. Maggie and I ditched school early,  grabbed lunch at my favorite Cafe and headed out to roast marshmallows on an active volcano. Maggie and I decided that we wanted to do the trip in the most enjoyable way possible so we opted to get a horse for the climb and MJ braved the 15000ft incline on his own. I have never been more thankful for a horse in my entire life.  “Carmelo” was my horse, and me hero…..I once had a horse named Bob but I digress. I can’t speak for MJ but the ascend up was so much fun.  I got to chat with the other girls in on our group who were also on horseback and really just enjoy the simply beauty of the Volcano around us, instead of struggling to breathe which came soon after. The horses were only allowed up to a certain point and then we were forced to foot it the rest of the way like all the others in our group.  The initial incline up before we leveled off to cross the volcano sent my post covid x4 (1x covid pneumonia) lungs into a tizzy. I am talking full on lungs that felt like they were gonna burst. So while my legs didn’t mind the climb my lungs were definitely thankful for Carmelo carrying me up most of the acsent. Once we started across the volcano horizontally life got better and literally the view become overwhelming. We roasted marshmallows that were actually delicious on the heat from below our feet.  We stood on volcanic rock from the big eruption that just happened in March. We looked out over Volcan Fuego and Volcan Agua. We watched as Fuego sent clouds of smoke up into the air with each eruption. And said to ourselves….. not many people can say they climbed an active volcano today. We literally were above the clouds.  Moments…. Taking in moments.  Maggie mentioned earlier in this trip the two types of fun that her and MJ talk about all the time. The first type of fun are things that are fun in the moment, simple and just fun.  The second type are things that are not actually fun in the moment but are fun to think about after.  Thanks to my lungs I can truly say that this was both. We ended up with a really great group of people and it was a beautiful reminder that when you do things that are cool, exciting, difficult, and different; you will find others that are open and interesting.  That couldn’t be more different than you, yet the commonalities that are found simply because you’re both there trying something new connects you.  Also people who do things outside the box tend to be more interesting, accepting, and friendlier people in general.  We ended our trip having dinner with a couple of the girls we met in our group that included delicious tacos at Fridas and Zacapa in frozen lemonade.  While my lungs still haven’t recovered and I still sound like I have croup, these are the moments that make life worth living.  The pictures do this trip no justice but I hope you can feel the beauty in them.

Pretty sure that with Luca gone I may be the last standing blogger.  Though we are trying to convince MJs friends to join our story.  We spent Sunday afternoon at Centro Cultural la Azotea. A coffee bean Plantation turned into a family fun park including putt putt golf and a beer garden with live music.  I was so confused why they were playing American music. MJ compared it to us going to a Mexican restaurant in the states.  While it was very gringoesk (and not quite what MJ envisioned) it was a lot of fun and a beautiful day to be outside.  We headed back to town and decided to make our way through the fair that was happening in town.  Maggie and MJ braved (rather stupidly) the farris wheel. I hope Maggie will blog and tell you more about that.  Monday was back to school time.  Maggie willingly came along to salsa lessons (and did so good with some really hard moves). Then Andrea and Matthew’s family came over for dinner and fireworks to end the biggest celebration of the year in Antigua.  The actual fireworks didn’t take place till well past our bedtimes but from the sounds of them they were pretty amazing. I also finally discovered the creature that’s been making noises in my room at night.  While at first glance it appeared to be a bat, luckily it was just a giant moth. My brother came to my rescue and with the help of a laundry basket and a broom we were able to trap it…..though either it returned or it got away in the last moments because it has one again been fluttering around my room once it goes pitch black at night.  So I resolved to putting my ear plugs in and letting it flutter, at least for now.  Yesterday I spent the afternoon at private salsa lessons with one of my old inductors from 4 years ago.  This made for a much better experience than the group lessons with just basic steps. After lessons I sat in the park to do some homework and enjoy the sights of the city.  Out of no where there were sirens and announcements about moving if you don’t want to get wet.  I looked up and saw the fire department and assumed there was a fire inside the bar. As I got closer I quickly realized whatever was happening was not an emergency and seemed to be in fun.  I later learned that there was a fire fighter being promoted to captain and he was being hosed down in front of the crowd as his initiation.  Very amusing for all those watching.  It started to rain so I headed to Cafe Sky a restaurant at the top of one of the hostels.  This is where Michael, Kianna and I spend all of our breaks because it was right next to our old language school.  So I did my tarea (homework) with a view of Volcan Fuego and a licuado de sandia (watermelon smoothie). MJ and Maggie joined me for dinner there and Maggie practiced her verbs.  We compared our classes and how we are learning but in a very  different way.  It was a pretty great way to end the night.  

If anyone knows me, you know I don’t do well with goodbyes or even see you laters much less with goodbyes that change the dynamics of a trip for me. I am so lucky that I have gotten the chance to travel with my bff again and introduce her to a world that holds such a happy place in my heart.  On top of that I have gotten to share in learning with Luca and in turn he’s made learning more fun for me.  You know how when you fake excitement for a child to help them through… you then in turn tend to be more excited about things in general.  Part of my joy was sitting with my teacher and hearing Luca squeal in excitement or laugh at something he was doing with his teacher.  My teacher and I would both pause in our long intense conversation to smile and look over at him.  I will miss those moments, but I am so grateful for them.  Grateful that he had a wonderful teacher; who was childlike enough to jumped over cracked sidewalks with him as we walked through town, who showed care and concern for him as she put her arm around him to cross the streets, and who made learning fun for him.  I am thankful for both of them adding to the joy of my experience.  Yesterday was a rainy day here so we didn’t get to go out and about. I got a brand new bed (I’ve been sleeping on an incline since we arrived). As luck would have it the rain made its way through my roof and onto my brand new bed (luckily I saw it in time and did some furniture rearranging) The rest of our day consisted of a movie day in the Sala, dinner out (and wandering through parque central with a live production), and then Nicole and I wandered out to watch the locals dance. Having this big amazing house has been amazing but there is something to be said about living in community with strangers. It gives you connections and ties to people other than your own. I will miss having my best friend around and someone to hang out with dearly.  I will also miss my nightly snuggles in bed with Luca as we blogged together (he promised me he would call me tonight to write his last blog, as we can only blog at night according to him😊) The shift in dynamics is a hard adjustment for me.  It’s almost as if the party has ended and it’s time to focus on what I came here for… to learn some Spanish, wish me luck. 

Yesterday I woke up.  I went to my last day of school on Friday.  On my last day I played the game las memorias (you have to try and find the matching card using your memory). Then we walked back to the main school and Maggie saw her friends. We presented the Guatemalan candies that we learned about in school. I did not present because I was shy. Maggie presented sweet potatoes. I got to taste the candy and they were both good. I got a certificate from Ms. Lucia (my teacher) because it was my last day of school.  Then we went to a special place for lunch.  They had fun music and we played cards.  The bathroom had a view of the mountain in it.  I got locked inside the bathroom and they had to get a key and unlock the door.  I was ok but also a tiny bit worried because I didn’t think I was gonna get out.  Tía put her phone under the door so I could see the way to open it but it did not work.  Then finally the chef opened it with a key.  We walked home and got my bathing suit went to Maggie’s friends house to swim.  Mommy and Tia went to a massage that took 3 hours.  While they were gone I went swimming and then we got out and went into the hot tub. Maggie’s friend Ben said it was a cold tub. Then we went back into the regular pool.  After the pool we dried off. Mrs. Andrea (Maggie’s friend’s mom) and Michael-John went to get food.  I ate 6 wings and 3 sips of water.  Then I was playing on Maggie’s friend Tessa’s tablet.  We got to play minecraft, subway surfers, and word search. I got to play Super Mario.  Maggie’s friend Jonathon, Ben, Maggie, Tessa and Elisa played games too. Then we went home.  I didn’t get to take a shower or brush my teeth and I just put on my pajamas and went right to bed because it was late.  That’s our blog/story