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.

The more you leave your bubble of daily life the smaller the world becomes.  Not just in terms of familiarity, and commonalitiies which are both very true,  but also in terms of connections. 

While making papusas in the school community kitchen, and in forcing myself to practice my Spanish I met another student from Florida. Turned out he’s from Westen went to Cypress Bay and goes to UF also his mom used to work at my school.  The broader your circle gets the smaller the world becomes. 

Speaking of a small world,  my neice who lives in Chicago is in Guatemala for the same 3 weeks we are with her school doing language school in Panajachel. We were lucky enough to get to host her and get classmates for lunch when they were in Antigua last week.  To top that when we arrived in Pana yesterday she was able to join us and spend the night in this ridiculously beautiful house in Santa Cruz.

Though I’ve gotten to travel with Maggie before it was nice to have her to myself without her parents or siblings around. I’ve seen her more in Guatemala than I did the past year in the states.  While it might have been far less time than I hoped I am thankful none the less.  I hope we get a chance for more trips like this in the future. The world is smaller then you think. 

Today, I woke up and had scrambled eggs and apples for breakfast 🍳. Then, I got dressed and was ready to walk to school 🏫. At break time, the workers had set up a table for their traditional meal 🍽️. I handmade the tortillas by flattening the dough until it was a circular shape and then I put the tortillas on the pan above the fire 🔥. Once, they were done ☑️, I tried them with beans and guacamole 🥑 and I didn’t like it that much but with only the guacamole 🥑, I liked it a little bit better. The assistant manager told us history about this meal 🥘 and I couldn’t really understand it well because he said it in Spanish but I understood a few words. Then, I had to wash my hands and then it was time to make the tortillas with guacamole 🥑 and beans 🫘. Then, when we were done eating 🍽️, we continued school 🏫. Then, we went to our field trip at our school. We went to the market to look 👀 and buy some things. I asked to buy a toy car 🚘 in Spanish and Tia got me it. It was Corvette Stingray. Then, we had to get our stuff and go home 🏠 because it was already time to leave school 🏫. Tia wanted to get lunch at a place where the woman 🧍‍♀️ did her cooking while we waited. I didn’t get anything there so we walked home 🏠 and I ate spaghetti 🍝 and meatballs for lunch 🥪. Then, we chilled and I played a baseball ⚾️ game with myself. Then, we had dinner and I had a hamburger 🍔 with French fries 🍟. Then, we went home and I took a shower and then I went to bed 🛌.

The End.

Here are some pictures.

One of the things I try to do when planning a trip is to find different things that would interest someone in the group.  The good that comes with living in community is getting to trying things that interest others that you typically would NEVER do otherwise.

I found a really cool place close to Antigua yet far enough out to feel like you were in the mountains and jungle. I knew Nicole would love the yoga they had to offer and I would love the view. So we set out to explore. Upon arriving we got dropped of by our Uber at a sign that said 300 meters to the lodge, with an arrow down.  Imagine a step decline into the woods. Halfway down I told everyone to look back and remember that somehow we have to get back up this.  The trip down was far more doable then the hike back up.  As we got to the entrance of the lodge it opened up to the most beautiful property. 

We rushed to make it to our class and let’s just say I am far from being a yogi…. in my mind it should be so lovely… in practice not so much. I failed to take a picture of our view from the yoga studio but as I sat there in pain moving my body in ways it clearly hated me for, all that kept coming to my mind was how much privilege there was in this experience. The privilege to have two jobs that afford me opportunities to travel.  The privilege to travel the world with my best friend and experience new things everyday. The privilege of being born into a family that by all accounts provided a stable loving environment. And lastly the privilege to be in a place more beautiful than you can imagine.  So as I sat downward facing dog hoping the physical torture would soon end, I gave thanks for all that I’ve been given; by luck,  by chance, by my own hard work, and by the grace of others. 

I haven’t had a chance to blog because honestly our days here are just so busy.  From sun up to sunset there has been very little down time for me. 

Though life is simplier here and seemingly slower, time is flying by.  Our days seem to end as fast as they begin. But our days are not just busy they are full.  Full of learning,  of preparing, full of walking,  full of experiences, full of community. 

Carla and the girls left Wednesday and Christine arrived.  So our house transitioned from little learners to adult learners. Though it all looks much the same.  Carla and the girls brought so much fun to our house.  I miss having my kitchen side kick Bianca around who while she may have appeared ever resistant (much like myself) to learning Spanish,  she was learning.  I miss watching Brianna fully engage is learning and picking it up with ease.  I miss the noise of the kids playing. I am so thankful for the time we had.

Christine has transitioned in with ease and is for sure the most eager of any learner that has ever been in this house lol.  I fully believe she will leave here speaking Spanish. 

My learning has been… well exhausting to say the least. I’ve learned lots about my teacher and her life. I am learning to ask questions that give me answers to my ever curious self.  When,  Where, How, Who, Why.  My learning looks different then others.  But it’s learning just the same. My teacher is sweet and kind. She is far more independent and educated then most woman in this area. Though her and I are similar in so many ways her life has been far more challenging then mine.  From the outside her and I both present as strong, independent, self sufficient woman. However her means of becoming that person were far more challenging then mine,  and far more atypical in her culture than it is for me in the United States. She is by no means typical here. It’s always a challenge to put your own privilege aside and be able to hear someone’s story thru their own voice.  To take in their hard and not judge it by your standards. To honor someone else’s hard in its totality. This is where empathy not sympathy comes into play.  There isn’t one single story my teacher has told that has been a woe is me story. Not once has she ever indicated she felt bad for herself and all that she has endured (and boy has she endured). It’s been quite the opposite. Her mentality is this is life and she lives every minute she is given.  Once again this place has me thinking of resilience and why some have it and others don’t.

I also continuously come back to the fact that education is the only thing that can change a community, a culture,  and improve people’s lives. This is true no matter where you live or travel to.  The more educated people you encounter the kinder the interactions become.  There’s far more humanity that exists when people are educated.  Living with isolated views and little exposure makes a person far scarier to me then probably anything else.  I’ve tried to disconnect as much as possible from all of the awful that has been happening in the US. I needed to for my own mental health.  But there have been moments where no matter how hard I try I can’t completely avoid.  I hate that the perception of the US has changed so drastically and so quickly. Last year people here viewed the US as a power house.  As the leader in the world.  This year their views are so different. They feel sorry for us,  they think we are allowing one man to destroy everything the US has stood for.  They literally have said how are you letting this happen to you. My only response is…I wonder the same thing.  

Today I woke up and ate eggs and cereal for breakfast. Then, I got dressed and ready to go to school. Today was just a me and mommy day so for break, we went to a coffee shop and had fun playing cards. Once, I returned to school, and I had a blast with my teacher. Then we went home to eat lunch. Then, a little later me and mommy got our shoes on and walked to the best part of the day, ROCK CLIMBING! When, we got there the door literally opened when we had just got to the place 😱. I had the best time of climbing on rocks. The best part was Mommy had scheduled 4 hours of rock climbing! I got so lucky 🍀. The craziest part of rock climbing that there was a literal monkey in the building. Not actually but there was a guy who was basically acting like a monkey climbing up the wall and hanging from his feet and doing poses because he had 2 photographers taking pictures of him. I was in shock.

Today, I woke up at 6:30 and ate cereal for breakfast. Then, we got ready for the day at school. We walked to school and once again, we had the best time ever. At break time, we went to the coffee place that had a ping pong table in the place. After that we finished school and then we went lunch and then we went to the ruins in a tuk tuk (a motorcycle with a carriage over it with 3 wheels) and we all had to cramp ourselves in the tuk tuk. Once we got there, I was ready to climb 🧗‍♂️. The girls were trying to go where I had climbed and their mom stopped them. The scariest thing about the adventure was that I almost got lost but luckily I found them and I wanted to stay with mommy so much that I even went to the market with her and the girls and Tia went home. We got stuff for Chipotle bowls and they were delicious 😋. Then, I took a shower and then played with the girls. Then, I went to bed 🛏️.

The End.

Here are some pictures.

First I woke up early and had scrambled eggs for breakfast. Then we had to go somewhere like where the yoga was and we had to take an Uber up a mountain and then hike the rest of the way up. Yoga was fun, and a little boring, and a lot of stretching. The view of the mountain while we were doing yoga was magical. Once we finished we hiked halfway up the mountain to go into the reception center to get a little brunch. I played ring toss and I got the ring on the hook one time. They finally had pancakes without milk in it so I ate that and with some syrup and it was a little sweet but good. The hike was so tiring that we had to take a break after every 20 to 30 steps. We got super lucky because other people got an Uber and we came at the exact same time as they got there so we got that Uber and drove back to Antigua to our house. Once we got home we chilled for a bit while Ms. Christine went out for a walk because she didn’t come with us for our yoga. Then we chilled for a bit and I had a little snack and then Ms. Christine bought a lot of fun stuff for her house and for here and then we walked to pottery. Mommy and Ms. Christine went first and Mommy messed up a few times but eventually she got it. Ms. Christine stayed focus and only messed up like one or two times. Then it was my turn. The crazy thing is, I was the only one who didn’t mess up at all! Mommy made a mug cup, Ms. Christine made a tiny bowl. I made a medium size bowl. Then Tia went and she made a special kind of plate for food. It was so fun that I wanted to do it again. When our pottery clay was drying I didn’t know that it would take a week and a half to dry! Once we finished pottery we walked to an amazing music restaurant and I had a burger with fries and we played a lot of cards. So then when we got home I took a shower and then I hanged out in the sala/living room for a bit then went to bed.

Today I woke up at 7:15 and ate scrambled eggs for breakfast. Then Mommy and Tia went to the market to get supplies for Maggie’s friends and her coming for lunch. We had spaghetti and meatballs. You might be wondering what me and Ms. Christine did…well, we watched a movie called Leo. Once Tia and Mommy got home they prepared food for Maggie’s friends to come over. Then me and Ms. Christine continued to watch a movie, Leo. Once the food was done it looked so good. I played baseball with a stick and ball before Maggie’s friends came over and they were super tall. We had lunch and played the piano. It was the best lunch. I give Tia’s cooking a TEN out of ten! Ok, once they left, I did Duolingo with Ms. Christine but then Maggie’s friends and teacher all had to go to the bathroom and their teacher forgot their cheese so they came back and did what they needed to do and then left. Then it was time for the most important event of all, the soccer game !!! So we took a tuk tuk to the place and I sat in the very back where the engine is and once we got there there was a gigantic line where all the people wanted to watch the soccer game. The teams were Antigua vs. Marquense. Once I got here I had potato chips and the best part, Antigua won 3-0!!!!! Woohoo! #20 on the other team got hurt six times but after the 5th time he refused to leave the bench, but after the 6th time, he really was hurt and injured. A lot of people kicked each other and the game was so crazy in fact that one player got ejected, and that was #3 on the Márquense team. There was a lot of music from the band because we were rooting for our home team Antigua and they won so that’s great !ok, we left ten mins early because it gets so crowded in fact we can’t take an Uber. We didn’t get an Uber and so we walked home and pitch black and we could see something but basically we couldn’t see anything. Luckily we made it back home safely and then I took a shower and I was so tired I had to go to sleep.

Today was the most important day of Spanish school. I had a presentation about chips and salsa. But first I woke up at 6:45am and had cereal for breakfast. We walked to school and first we learned about feelings first and then we had to make the salsa. It was a Guatemala’s salsa called Guatemalteca. We had to cook the tomatoes until the skin was black and soft. Once all the tomatoes were black and soft we crushed them into small pieces and then we did it again and again and again. The rest of the ingredients for the salsa was cilantro, red onion, and lime. Once it was all finished it looked so good to eat with the chips. Then it was time for the presentation. Everyone in our family participated but not Mommy because she already knows Spanish. I went first. My voice was super nervous and I was about to stop but I pushed through it and once I finished I was so happy I got it over with. Then it was Ms. Christine’s turn and hers was so funny 😂. Then it was Tia’s turn. For some reason all the adults had a lot of words to say and including Tia. She did super good and all of us did super good. When everyone went the most favorite thing of all that I loved was chips and radish salsa!!!! That was so good! Then I got back to learning in school and I played a bunch of games with my teacher. Once I was finished with school we walked home and ate lunch. Then we chilled and then at 4 o’clock we walked to salsa lessons and I brought my word search because it was too advanced for me. Once we finished we ate dinner at the most fanciest restaurant in town and we had the best view because we had a light show where the projector projected really good stuff on the ruins. I talked to grandma and she just wanted to say that I did good at the presentation. Then we walked home and took a shower and went straight to bed because I was so tired.

From the minute that I got here, I was completely amazed at this Airbnb Spanish mansion built in the 1500s. What an absolute treat! Let’s take a tour, shall we?

Whether it’s sitting in the courtyard patio to drink, coffee, hanging out in the living room and playing ping-pong, cooking in the kitchen, or just sitting and having a glass of wine, it’s completely fantastic.

Patio by the courtyard

Inside the front door, you can park your car here

Bedroom i’m staying in to the left of the bench

My bedroom, bathroom to the left. It’s so cute!

Today was really fun. What can I say, I woke up and had coffee and a beautiful courtyard garden. Then, Michele and Nicole lovingly went to the market to buy all the ingredients for an amazing super lunch that we prepared for her niece Magie and all of the high school students on their Spanish school trip to Guatemala with their teacher. Luca and I watched an absolutely fantastic movie called “Leo”.

I also got a mini adventure of getting to go to two local markets to pick up sodas for the kids. The streets of Antigua were filled today as the lights of Antigua festival is still going on. After an amazing lunch, we went to the soccer game at the Antigua Stadium. What a great game! Antigua won of course …3–0. I forgot how much fun it was to go to a soccer game with front row stadium seats! Almost forgot our trip in the “tuk tuk” to get to the game. I still can’t believe we all fit in this tiny little truck, it looked like we were getting out of a clown car when we got there, lol. 

And it is…a beautiful day to remember in Antigua. For my second day of Spanish school, I never would have thought that I would present a dish of potatoes with rosemary and garlic, and complete a presentation on how I prepared a meal in a small kitchen in Antigua with my Spanish teacher, Naoemi. My presentation was totally in español!! 😃 Chefs, I prepared for you today…Papas en Romero E Aho (potatoes with rosemary and garlic).

Luca made a homemade fire grilled tomatoes salsa, and Michele made a delicious cucumber salad called Pepinoes. Everything was delicious, and now I have a new recipe for a radish salsa, which was so tasty that Nicole brought home all the ingredients from the market and Michele prepared a giant bowl for a mud-afternoon snack!!

Our chefery was then followed by amazing conversations in Español about mi familia and Naoemi’s familia. We shared photos and stories about our families. It truly is amazing that when immersed in language, how easily one can pick up on it. The people in Guatemala are super friendly and welcoming. They speak Spanish slowly and are all around kind hearted.

Other highlights… We took a Bachata and salsa lesson, had an amazing margarita, and then followed up with a delicious steak dinner at a very bougie, yet inexpensive steakhouse called Escobar. Also watched the light show for the Lightsof Antigua Festival…. Front row seats with the windows open and the breeze blowing. We took a stroll through Central Park to watch the Mayan Antigua lights Festival and headed back to our beautiful historic Spanish mansion built in the 1500s!

I’m still in awe… This is my second day! 😍

I am truly grateful to experience this amazing trip with the two wonderful amigas, Michele and Nicole, not to mention the extraordinary super kid… Luca. My heart is full. ❤️❤️❤️

Today was my first day at La Union Spanish School. Five hours of 1:1 Español. Pardon my Español . My teacher’s name is Naomi. She is 40 years old, lives in Guatemala and during the year she is a teacher for kids age 6 through 12. She teaches grammar, culture, Guatemala, social studies, science, math, and languages, including Japanese, Portuguese, Italian, And English. I don’t think I’ve ever learned so much of a language in five hours. We even played a game of goldfish with opposite cards with Luca and his teacher Kenya. Of course, Luca won with 7 siete pairs, while me, Naomi and Kenya had six pairs. The phrase is “no tengo. Pesce.”

During our “pausa”, (30 minutos break) we had an amazing Cubano cordito, which is different than a regular cordito. Cordito has milk, no sugar and Cubano cordito has sucre plus Leche. For lunch, Michele whipped up these Incredible, when I say incredible…., I mean Incredible tortillas with steak, cheese, beans, and rice, avocado, and delicious spicy salsa. For a snack, she then cooked up these sugar dipped plantains fried in olive oil. And for dinner, chipotle bowls. And of course, the venito (the vino rosso). Salute, I mean, salud.

Carla writes…..
Traveling to Guatemala was such an awesome experience, but taking my girls on their first international trip? That was next-level magical. And a little chaotic. But mostly magical. Watching them take it all in — from the moment we landed to their 100th “Wait… they do what here?” — was like seeing the world for the first time, all over again.
Let’s just say, Guatemala didn’t know what was coming… and neither did we.

The Cousin Bond & the Auntie Squad
One of the absolute highlights? The girls finally got to spend quality time with their cousin, Luca — aka their personal tour guide, giggle partner, and chaos coordinator. They adore him. Like, “can we pack him in our suitcase” adore him.
And then there were the real MVPs of this trip: Auntie Nicole and Michelle. These two amazing women didn’t just guide us — they elevated the whole experience. Think: adventure coordinators, snack suppliers, Spanish class cheerleaders, and loving aunties all rolled into one. With them, the girls thrived. Seriously — it was like having the Wonder Women of Guatemala travel at our side.

Spanish School & the Surprise Win
Now, I’ll admit — when we first told the girls they’d be going to school on vacation, I braced for the “Are you kidding me?” stares. But surprise! The Spanish school ended up being one of their favorite parts. They loved learning the language and getting to know their fun teachers. It was part classroom, part cultural exchange, and part me wondering if they’d come home correcting my Spanish.

Adjustments, Curiosity, and Growth
Living in Guatemala meant doing things a little differently than we do back home. The WiFi wasn’t always strong, showers were… creative, and we are now professional walkers. But what amazed me most was how open the girls were — even when things felt strange or challenging. They stayed curious. They asked questions. They tried new things. Sometimes reluctantly, sometimes fearlessly, and always with open hearts.
They noticed everything — how people got around, how they lived day to day, how they hustled everyday . And let’s just say they think some things are more fun here 🤣

Leaving With Full Hearts
The girls came back from Guatemala with more than souvenirs and mosquito bites. They came back with new words, new bonds, and a new sense of the world around them. And I came back with even more pride (and maybe a slightly new coffee and chocolate addiction…thanks Nicole 🤣).
Guatemala gave us adventure, but more importantly, it gave us connection — to each other and to a place we’ll always carry with us.
Till next time Antigua!

The most unexpected thing that happened today was that I had found a paper towel brand called Encanto! So we went to the store called Dollarcity and another unexpected thing that happened that the store had air conditioning 🌬️. Usually, Guatemala stores have no air conditioning but this store has air conditioning. Then, we walked around the store and then I found it. The Encanto paper towels! If you don’t know what I’m talking about Encanto, we call our mansion/ big house Encanto because in the movie Encanto, our house kind of looks like the movie Encanto’s house. That was the most unexpected day of the Guatemala trip so far.

The End.

Here is the picture

Me and Michele we usually cook together but when we were making our chipotle bowl we made like a little dance but we never got to do it but when we wake up when we go to the airport I think we can do our dance. It goes like this. Cooking an egg and shaking the leg and cooking and shaking and cooking an egg. But we didn’t get to do it it was only for the chipotle bowl. We can do it any meal we want. It’s a cooking song and we were cooking.

When your city has no water and your cisterna runs dry you call in the bomberos.

Sooo here I sit on the porch while the moms put their babies to bed, awaiting the arrival of the fire fighters to fill our 300 gallon cistern and save the day. 

Our house mom arrived to manage the situation for us. It took her trying 3 fire departments before she was able to get one who could send someone. 

While we were waiting she said to me,  each year something is wrong when you come I am so sorry.  I said back to her what my language school teacher my very first year said to me over and over again “Es la Vida.” Inconveniences make for great stories in the years to come (if it’s yellow let it mellow, if it’s brown… go to the fountain and fill a bucket and flush it down).

Prior to the announcement that we had no water the best part of the trip for me was taking place.  All of the little were blogging. One of my greatest joys is to hear, in their own words, their stories of their time here.  Thru the eyes and mouths of the littles the greatest of stories get told. 

Luca has grown so much since his very first trip to Guatemala. Sitting in school I have a direct view into the new kids classroom, and more specifically on Luca.  Although my ADD struggles with this being my vantage point I love watching him learn and seeing how excited he is.  I get 👍🏼 from him all day long, or the kids run out to show me something that is just to great to not share it right away.  Luca has grown into a great leader for his cousin and an excellent example of being a great traveler/learner.

Luca’s cousins Brianna and Bianca have added so much to our little crew. The two of them are full of sweetness and enough sass to keep you on your toes. They are for sure my kind of girls.  They know what they want,  and are excited about everything. Luca has been in Guatemala 3 times with older girls in the house with this being his first time with younger ones around. There dynamic, while different for sure, was just as fun. 

I am gonna miss having my kitchen helpers. I also am for sure gonna miss having someone around who ask just as many “why” questions as I do.  Though it may have only been 5 days it feels like we had so many memories packed into such a short time.  Grateful for them all. 

Update…our water didn’t get fixed we broke the bump by allowing the cisterna to get to low….hopefully tomorrow we get have it fixed.

Luca is the funniest cousin the world. I love him so much and we usually call him 🍀 Lucky. He is funny, kind, and sometimes Bianca bothers him and he doesn’t like it. Luca loves hanging out with me and Bianca. Bianca likes making funny jokes around with Luca. She likes doing the same things as Luca even though she’s a girl. My mommy is so strong so she can do fun stuff like all of us. Sometimes she is scared and she doesn’t want to do it. One time when we were going on the silks she thought she was strong enough and she was. Luca was having fun just like me. The end.

We took a shower 🚿 and then we sat doing this silly blog. . I had a cold shower 🚿 but Brianna had a hot shower 🚿 . Then I was doing my regular blog and then Brianna interrupted and she did emojis which I liked. Then, Bianca did her blog with Mommy/Nicole on her phone 📱. EMOJI ALERT!!!! 🫑🥙🥯🥘🍨🫙🥙🧆🍨🍦🍞🍧🍦🫑🍧🫙🥘🍨🍱🫜🌽🍝🍚🥕🍟🍚🍞🍧🥔🍝🍱🍦🥔🍨🗻⛲️🚢⛺️🏯✈️🚢🏯⛲️🗻⛽️🚖🏜️🚢🚞🗿✈️🚢🎢🎡🚂🏜️🚧🚉🚈🚢🏜️🚃🏝️⛴️🪝🚃🪝🏕️🛶🚃🛳️🏔️🛥️💺🏚️🚅🗻💈⚱️📿💎💣💈📡💣💎⚰️⏲️🪚🧱⚰️🪜🪏📡🏺⚔️⏳⚒️⏱️🗡️💎⚱️⏱️💸💷⏱️🏺💸🪏🪦💎💵💈⚰️💰🔧🧱📡🏺💰🧱⚰️⏲️🪙🔧📿⚱️⏲️🎟️🎗️🎿🤽🏽🤽🏽🤽🏽🚵‍♂️🤽🏽🎽🧘🏼‍♀️🎽🤺🙈🫎.That was the end of the emoji alert ‼️ so get used to it and read every emoji on this blog. 😃😊🙂‍↕️😝 this is about to be the end of our blog so we hope you liked it and we are about to put some pictures on the blog.😇😊. Bianca writes….. ☺️😉😌😍

Bianca writes…

On day one when me and Luca saw the water fountain outside we were so excited. The lady came and we saw the fountain and it was so beautiful and I loved it. Luca and Brianna and Nicole got on the roof. I loved it because I could see the whole volcano. When we got down I got to play with my toys and use my iPad.

On the second day we went to Hobbitenango. I love the parks but mostly I love the circle swing. You go very far and there’s a little bean bag and you can push yourself off if you are almost going to hit something but if not you can hit the bean bag. There wasn’t very much to do where the sticks playground was. My mom went on the first swing ride and when they let go she was laughing so much. I thought she was going to get hurt but I knew they would save her. Michele was second to make sure Luca was not scared and she did super cool poses like she was a superhero. When Luca was doing it he had tears but when he was done I gave him a high five.

On the third day Sunday my daddy went home and I didn’t like it and I gave stuff to my dad so we wouldn’t have so much in our backpacks and so he could change my bed and my sheets and organize my room. And then we went on the silks which are like rubber bands and it was super cool because we got to like pretend we are caterpillars and went in a cocoon and we changed into a butterfly but we didn’t do the butterfly pose we were just in a cocoon. We had lunch and then we came home.

On the fourth day this was our first day to our Spanish school to learn in Spanish. I was nervous but we were going there Michele made a little song and it was like this “this is the way we walk to school, walk to school, walk to school, this is the way we walk to school all day long” and that made me a little better. And my teacher was named Noemi. It was fun. We got to write and made paper airplanes. We went really high on stairs and then we went tippy top of the roof and also we got to fly it on the garden and then we got to go down and pick up our airplanes and then do it over and over. And then we walked home and then we ate lunch and then we did salsa lessons but I liked it a little bit but then we went home and ate dinner. And then we went to bed.

Then on the fifth day we went to school again and I was so excited but I was sad that I was leaving my teacher but it was more important to not leave Jesus behind. We played games like you have to pick a chalk and the teacher says it in Spanish and then if you know the word first you would get a point. So pretend you are a teacher and you say a word in Spanish and like if you know the word in Spanish and you get a chalk and then if you start to draw it first you get a point. And I got a certificate. On the sixth day we are going to the airport because we are leaving Guatemala because we are going on an airplane to fly all the way back to America. I’m happy and sad because I’m leaving my teacher and I’m a little happy because I’m going to see my dad👱🏻‍♂️

My favorite thing we did while we were here it was today. We got to go on a tuk tuk so we can go to a rock area where there was a festival but it is only open on the weekend. But today wasn’t the weekend but today is Tuesday so we just got to like hide in rocks and take pictures and climb but mostly of all I loved going to secret passages. And going in them. But my most most favorite ❤️ taking pictures with the whole family. And everybody else that are now on the trip. I saw a lot.

Brianna writes……We were excited and we loved the first day of the house. We got to sleep next to the garden. We got to go bug hunting and we got to play music with the piano and the guitar.

The second day we went on the Hobbitenango mountain. We got to go on swings, in the little house, we got to go on a hand. A big hand. Mommy went on a big swing and she flew out and Luca went on the big swing and flew out and Michele went on the big swing and flew out too. Bianca was screaming when Luca was on the big swing.

We have fun playing with Luca. We call him Lucky 🍀 . We have a fun time.

On the third day daddy went to the airport and then after we went to a farm. We got to go in the silks. They are big things that people can go on and pretend they are swinging and going in a cocoon. It was so fun that my back hurt. Bianca was screaming having fun. 🤩

The fourth day we walked to school and it was so much fun. We learned about animals, colors, body parts and we learned about Luca 😂 . When we were walking to school we saw volcanos and they were pretty.

The people at the school are so nice. My teachers name is Keyla. Bianca’s teachers name is Noemy. Luca’s teachers name is Kenia. 🤩

The thing we started to cook is spaghetti and meat sauce for dinner tonight. My favorite thing we ate here was homemade Chipotle bowls. Luca’s bowl was spicy. 🌶️

I’m looking forward tomorrow to go to school again. The end.

Luca writes…Today was a sad and exciting day for me. I have a new Spanish teacher. So it all started with me waking up at 6:26 am and then I ate cereal and a banana for breakfast. I got dressed and then packed up my backpack 🎒 for school. Then me, Brianna, Bianca, and Tia all were participating in school. When we all got to school, we had the best time ever because the kids played games together and we threw paper airplanes across the room. Tia was just having the best time learning Spanish with her teacher 😂. I really miss my old teacher (Ms. Lucia) because she was 300% perfect and my new teacher is 150% perfect so I really miss her Ms. Lucia.

The End.

Luca writes… Today, I woke up at about 6:00 and ate scrambled eggs for breakfast. As you can see in the title, the most tiring part of the day was a 5- 10 minute walk which felt like forever just to get to the bus place to drive up the mountain. When we got to the first part of the trip, we went on a smaller truck to go to Hobbitenango, an amazing place in Guatemala. As you can see in the title, the most exciting part was the swing. We went on the biggest swing in Guatemala. Me, Tia, and Titi Carla (Brianna and Bianca’s mom) went on the big swing. Titi Carla went first and when I saw her, tears almost came out of my eyes. Then, Tia went and this time, 2 tears came out of my eyes. Then it was my turn. The best thing about the swing was that I was brave enough to not scream! I went about 100 feet in the air and when I got used to it, I wasn’t scared. I wasn’t scared that I wanted to go again! Then, I went on a tire zip line and it was also fun. We walked some more and then I went to the playground because the place had one. Then, we went on this old trampoline and I loved it. Then we walked around the place and we were about to do jumbo Jenga but there was a big line of people wanting to do it so we skipped that and then we walked to our truck to get down the mountain and then we went to the bus and then drove to the bus place and then we walked back to the Encanto house. Then we chilled and then we had Chipotle for dinner. Then we took a shower and then we watched some of Wonka (a movie) and then we went to bed.

The End.

Michele writes:

Sometimes being brave goes unnoticed because everyone’s brave looks different. What comes easy for me might be hard for others and vice versa. One of my favorite parts of traveling is forcing myself to be outside of my comfort zone.  It’s not something that comes easily for me. I, like most people, like familiar, safe, comfortable things. But I have a strong belief that sitting in discomfort until it no longer feels as distressing is the only way to learn and grow.  Familiar only become familiar by doing. But this takes courage. Sometimes small amounts and other times it takes every ounce we’ve got. 

Luca has been big brave our first two days in Guatemala. He used an airplane bathroom for the first time. Something I thought was a simple ask of him took a lot of courage for him to do.  I had no idea he was afraid to use the airplane bathroom.

He made me think about all the times people don’t do and we don’t understand the reasoning behind it.  Also, it made me think about how infrequently we are brave enough to just say “I am scared” or “this makes me nervous.” Not only does it leave us feeling isolated in our own fear,  but we rob those we love of the opportunity to help us through hard things.

The second time Luca was brave, he asked me to be brave first.  Yesterday we had the chance to swing on a pretty big swing at Hobbetenango. Due to weight, age, height and all the things,only Luca, Carla, and I qualified to go.  Luca asked me to go first.  Now this was big brave for me. I don’t necessarily have a fear of heights,  but I do have the fear that comes with aging. I have far out grown the stage of life of being invincible.  The knowledge that a broken bone or even a simple injury could ruin an entire trip, not just for me but those around me.  This is the fear that stops me.  But Luca asked me to be brave and go first, so I did as he asked.  I flew through the air with all the espresso filled adrenaline rushing through my body and I loved every minute of it (though the coffee right before might have been a bad idea). Those moments were thrilling and freeing.  No time to hesitate, analyze, or talk myself out of it.  Just moments of pure joy. 

My excitement continued as I got to watch Luca conquer his fear.  For two years he has wanted to do this and backed out each time.  This time he told us he was nervous, he voiced wanting to do and then decided he was gonna be brave and try it. Afterwards he told me while he was on the platform he was so nervous he wanted to cry.  I told him that there’s lots of times in life that he will feel this way. We were all so proud of him,  but most importantly he was proud of himself. Shoot, even I was proud of myself lol.  Not gonna lie,  my legs trembled for a good 15 minutes even after I was back on solid ground, but it was worth every minute. 

So be brave,  tell others when you aren’t feeling so brave.  Do the hard things till they don’t feel so hard.  It reminds your brain that you are capable of tough stuff and not as fragile as the voice in our head tells us we are.

Tell others when your proud of them and create safe spaces for them to tell you when they aren’t feeling so brave.   Today I am proud of Luca for being big brave. 

Luca writes….woke up at 7:00 and our flight was at 11:20. Grandpa picked us up at 9:00 so we wouldn’t miss our flight. He drove us in his truck and we went to the airport. Brianna and Bianca met us at the sitting station at the airport. Brianna and Bianca are my other cousins, this is their first year in Guatemala. When we settled in the airplane, we took off. 2 hours and 13 minutes later…. We arrived in GUATEMALA. Then, the guy drove us to our Encanto house. This was the most boring day because all of the grownups were unpacking their suitcases. We did drawing activities,played outside, and had some alone time. Then we walked to dinner and we had some delicious dinner. After that, we went to Guatemala’s Central Park and walked around the park. After that, we went to see if the ice pop place was open but it wasn’t open. Then, we went home to take a shower and go to bed.

The End.

Luca writes…Today I woke up for an amazing day. We went to breakfast when Uncle Sam ( Brianna and Bianca’s dad) had to leave because he had to work in Florida. Then the most exciting part of the day was the aerials, silks, and acrobatics. But first, we had to go in a uber car 🚘 to get there. Once we got there, we saw bunnies and a dog 🐕. We had to go straight to the best part of the day (which is the silks) and we started to stretch. Mommy did the stretches which took a lot to convince her to do it. Then, we went into the action. First, we did simple exercises on the silks. Then, we went upside down 🙃 doing an exercise called the mariposa which means butterfly 🦋 in English. After we ate lunch and I had bison burger. It was delicious. Then we played on the playground. We went home and I played with Brianna and Bianca. The end.

Michele writes:

I’ve only known since the last day of our last trip last year to Guatemala that we would be leaving tomorrow to return.. but as it goes I will always be a last minute kind of girl. 

Funny thing is packing this year, while I may have put it off to the very last minute, was a breeze.  I texted Nicole asking what was missing because with only a carry on backpack, and a personal bag, I have far too much extra space. Antigua has taught me a lot,  including that we actually require very little in life when the focus of life is on experiences not what we looked like while we were living them.

Also as always, you can plan and prep and then… life happens. Depending on what report,  or what local group chat I am in the estimation varies on the number of earthquakes Guatemala has had in the last 3 days ( I am talking numbers like 150) with two significant ones being 5.4 and 5.7 ratings. The 5.7 was in a town 25 minutes from us. Thankfully Antigua is fine with minimal damage and the roads are all reopened.  Santa Maria hasn’t been as lucky. I’ve learned a lot about earthquakes in the last few days.  Mainly I’ve learned that there are far more happening around us than anyone realizes.  Unless it’s a 4 or higher no one gives it much notice. Sooo are we crazy to be going to an area that is so heavily active at the moment? Maybe,  but I truly feel like there is risk in life always.  Some risk are more calculated than others. There’s many times in life that fear of the unknown has stopped me from doing exactly what I knew I wanted to do. So I choose to stay informed and proceed on the be exactly where I wanna be.  I can’t wait to return.  #year5

Follow along if you’d like.  This year we have a few new additions to our Encanto house.  I’ll let Luca introduce our first set of guest.  T – 12 hours.

I woke up at seven o clock and me, mom and Tia walked to breakfast. Today I had a really special breakfast and I had bacon and ice cream!!!!! After breakfast I was thinking of something creative that I could do so I found a raft made out of wood and was filled with seaweed but I didn’t touch it and then I found a stick and I used it for like an oar and I swam out to sea. I tried to catch fish with my hands but it didn’t work out quite well. Here’s the first sad part of the day, I was trying to catch fish and I accidentally scraped my right foot on a piece of wood and I was bleeding 😔. But I was just fine and I got in the ocean 🌊. Did you know that saltwater is the best healing method for a boo-boos? Me and Kayla jumped off the dock into the water.

Here’s some videos and pictures

Then I saw fish on the shore water and I tried to catch them, but I touched 3 of the fish but I didn’t catch them. Then I saw stingrays and I petted them! Then someone else fed them but the leftovers the stingrays didn’t eat the food so I grabbed it and fed it to them again. Then me and mom took a picture in front of the The Split sign. Then I jumped off a ladder thing and it was so fun 🤩 And then me and Tia fed tarpons!

Then I ate lunch and this is the second bad part of the day, my stomach hurt and I had rice and beans and 2 legs of chicken. It was delicious but still my stomach was still hurting and I had to go to the bathroom 🚽. Mommy and Tia rented a golf cart because there is no cars on the island and I had dinner at the restaurant called Pelican Sunset and I had a hamburger and fries. I looked for fish and I saw needle fish and minnows. Then mom took us on an adventure around town on the golf cart. And then I went home to go to bed.

That’s the end.

Today I woke up at about six o clock and got ready for the biggest day on this trip. Snorkeling with sharks!! But first, we had to get there where the ocean is. We went on a fancy boat called a Catamaran and had 4 bathrooms and 4 bedrooms but they only use the bedrooms for tours but still that’s crazy! When we got there I was so excited but also a little nervous. We had to use a face mask and flippers. We saw different types of coral, barracuda, hogfish, a baby green sea turtle, jack fish, a stingray, and about 10 nurse sharks!! The captains of the boat are Carlos and Carlos Senior who made us all lunch and we had rice and beans with 1 leg of chicken. It was perfect for me and for my belly 😄. The girls said they loved everything they did today but there was 1 problem, our feet, our feet were hurting so bad that mom had to take me all the way to the boat that’s how much my feet were hurting and same as the girls. There was 4 different parts of what we got to see the fish! The main captain was sick yesterday and he had a fever so today he was feeling the same thing as yesterday so it was a sailboat so he had to use the wind. I was so tired because whenever I go in seawater, my eyes start to get really tired so I took 2 naps on the boat.

Here’s some pictures

When we got back to Caye Caulker, we had to walk to dinner it was called Happy Lobster and I had grilled shrimp and fries and I ate the whole thing. Me and mommy walked back to our house and I tried new toothpaste but it was minty but all I had to do. Then the rest of the crew came back home and me and mom went to bed.

That’s the end

…And it’s definitely not reciprocated. Just wanted to put that out there. No matter how much bug spray or oils I use. It’s the mosquitoes, bees, all the flies every type of them. I’ve been thinking that maybe I should just accept it and become one with insects. What yall think?

Ants too how could I forgot those little guys. The fire ones actually covered my whole foot at one point when we were at the lake in Petén. Isn’t that so fun?!

Today I woke up at 5:30 and I got dressed in my bathing suit because we’re going caving in water. We went in the van and took a 2 and a half hours to get there. We had to walk to the cave and it was about 20 to 30 minute walk but when we got there it was spooky. It was so cool and a little bit scary because it was super dark. We had to climb up cave rocks and mom was struggling. There was also artifacts such as pottery pots and bowls that the Mayans used them for. There were also bones that came from humans. 2 of the skeleton people got hit by a person dropping a camera on and the other person got killed because someone took their heart out and died. So, we can’t bring cameras inside. Then, we climbed the rocks and we got in the freezing water but I didn’t mind but the girls did. When we got out of the cave, we walked back and it was raining so it was very muddy. All of us were so hungry but luckily there was a little lunch service and we had rice with chicken and everyone devoured it.

Here’s a picture before we went inside and some that mommy got from online

I finally got 700 days of Duolingo and 30 more days and it’s going to be 2 years of Duolingo! I also started over with about 200 to 300 days so I was so disappointed but with a lot of work and studying, I got it back.

That’s the end

We just turned the corner and went from cobblestone roads to a smooth, paved highway.  There’s something so symbolic about those cobblestones for me.  You know you’ve arrived in Antigua when the cobblestone roads start, but sadly, you also know when you’ve crossed over back into reality.  I don’t think I’ve ever once in the 4 years I’ve been coming been ready to leave Antigua. We have quite a bit of adventure ahead of us still,  and while I am excited to watch everyone experience all that’s to come, but I would have loved another week in our house.  Hopefully, we will be back soon in some combination of people.  I’ve left half my wardrobe at the house, so I sure hope I’ll be back. Hasta la proxima vez “Encanto”

In an Uber today, with way to many of us crammed into the back seat so I went to “roll down the window” to let some air in.  Kayla quickly yelled out “wait let me do it” and it was in that very moment that I realized she’s never used a mechanical window in a car before.  Oh, how that shift in life is hard… when a whole generation of children have no idea what things are because they have simply never existed for them. Makes me now understand why nostalgia and longing for simpler times are so real for older people. Antigua represents simpliar times for me and i am grateful for the pause. It also makes me realize that regardless of progress, this will happen for every generation to come. 

We’re leavingggg nooooo, no but for real I’m so so so excited for this week we’re traveling almost everyday to do these cool excursions and go like snorkeling and going in caves and stuff. So I’m super duper excited

Short story time. basically our power went out again, it was yesterday, our last full day at the house. the lights in me and Kianna’s room just turned off and we were like no way not again… I go to plug in my phone just to make sure and yes it was for sure out.

Good news is they were about to leave to go to a close by coffee shop to charge all of our electronics before dark but we tried to turn like light on before they left and it turned back on thank the lordddddddd🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

So it was only like 20/30 mins not four days this time!

Oh also I miss my brother and my dogs so so so so so so so so so much

Okay I don’t know what else to right about sooo byeeee #kaylasbloggsss

Everyone had to pack today because tomorrow we’re going to the city in Guatemala called Flores so we had to pack. Even I had to pack! We also packed a few extra things. I don’t think I have any empty notebooks in my house but luckily the girls had one so I packed 2 notebooks and an extra shirt that the girls didn’t fit in but it fit me perfectly so I packed that. And then we had to use our school bags to pack in, that’s how much things we have 😊.

That’s the end

Today I woke up at 7:00 o clock and I had breakfast. I had eggs for breakfast and water. And then we took a Uber to do acrobatics and yoga! First, we stretched our bodies and then we started doing stuff on the floor. The best part was the silks! Silks are cloth that hang from the ceiling and you can do acrobatics on them.

Here’s some pictures and videos from the acrobatics and yoga

When we were done, there was a playground and they had 2 swings, a slide, tables, a trampoline and the spinning chair that you turn the steering wheel around and it spins. Then I felt a little bit nauseous but I didn’t throw up so that’s good but we ate some lunch and I had chicken fingers with a whole bunch of French fries. I tried a fry with 5 different kinds of sauces and it didn’t taste really bad but I ate the whole fry and we played cards. And then we took a Uber back to our house and then we just chilled. We ate dinner at home and I had pasta and chicken. But we walked to a fancy hostel and I got hot chocolate.

Here’s some pictures

Me, mom and Kayla walked home and there was a big flood but it definitely covered the whole road so that’s a lot of rain that we didn’t even notice. But then I took a shower and went to bed.

We were walking to a restaurant and we sat and saw a little bit of lightning and I watched it happen. Then when we were done, we walked back home in a crazy way! It was flooding with tons of rain that we didn’t even know about. Mommy and Kayla had to take their own shoes off because our feet would get soaked! I didn’t want to take my shoes off because I had hiking shoes on so I got them a little wet but not so wet. We didn’t have an umbrella and a poncho on so we got wet but we have a dryer that mommy was not happy about but now is happy about.

That’s the end

I woke up at seven o clock and I had eggs for breakfast 🍳. Today was presentation day for typical desserts and everyone did it.

Here’s some videos and pictures from the presentation…

3 hours later… and I got my certificate from the school because I finished. Today was my last day.

Here’s some pictures of my certificate

We’re done with school and the sad part is that my teacher will never see me again because she wants to become a nurse so she can make money for her family. That’s super sad 😭🥺😢😔☹️😞😕😥😪😓😞😕🙁😥😟😿. But away from that, we went to cooking lessons and we all made tamales and a Guatemalan dish called Pepían and I didn’t really like it but that’s okay because I tried something new.

Here’s some pictures from cooking

And we were trying to fit in the tiny car as that was our transport home. All the girls were asleep and I was wide awake so I had to be super quiet 🤫. I called ady and Emi and Dillon and all of them asked me about Guatemala 🇬🇹. Then, I wanted to blog so I went on the roof and I took a selfie 🤳

Then I had eggs for dinner and cereal so it’s a breakfast dinner I guess but anyway that’s all they had so I ate it. Then I took a shower and went to bed

That’s the end

In Guatemala, everyone is always trying to figure out how we are all connected. People I have known here since the beginning remember Kianna from 6 years ago, at which time I think I introduced her as my God Daughter, which quickly transitioned to neice. So with Luca/Nicole and Kayla/Kianna being the only blood related people in the bunch,  sometimes it’s just easier to say I am here with “my best friend and my neices and nephew.” It’s not wrong.  We’ve become this little traveling family.  Nicole and are much like sisters (the older version of Kianna and kayla). Here, Tias aren’t just blood related.  They are the helpers of the children, they are the older women in the community, and they are the helpers in the home.  I align much more with the title of Tia here.

Just as we get onto our Antigua routine and flow of life we are already preparing for the next phase of our trip. Nothing in life is constant and change can be  hard but it’s part of the good in life.  It’s a guarantee that nothing that is bad will remain forever and that even the best of times transition too.

Dinner table talk included the run down for the next upcoming days.  The LT40C “less that 40yo crew”… (feels wrong to call them kids since two of them are capable adults) finish their last day of school tomorrow and then we will enjoy our last weekend in Antigua.  I jokingly said to the LT40C that next year I am getting a white board like they have at the hostels to put checks next to the daily activists they are interested in.  It’s easy to lose track of everything when we are trying to throw so much into such a short time. 

Today I hung back a little and it felt so nice.  When I say we just got in our routine I mean the LT40C are now oriented to the city enough to lead the way, they have assimilated enough that I don’t have to be “as in charge” so today I hung back intentionally.  I am no one’s parent but when we travel with this group it’s hard for me not to worry about everyone’s needs and expectations. I am well aware it’s my worry not theirs, but I worry regardless. I worry about everything from safe choices to ensuring they feel like they have gotten out of this trip whatever it is they expected for themselves.   So I work on balancing that.  So sometimes I need to remind myself to adjust and step back.  A no decision situation does not mean I have to figure it out. I finally get to enjoy bringing up the rear.

I have sisters yay!!! And also, I have sisters like almost every day so they are basically my actual family.

They play with me sometimes 😆 but they play nicely and kindly and with respect and also fun 🤩! And Elissa is teaching everyone the piano lessons and I’m actually getting really good at piano now so that’s really fun.

That’s the end and thank you for being so kind and caring to me.

I woke up tired but still I ate breakfast 🍳 and I had scrambled eggs for breakfast. And then I walked to school with the whole group. And you might be wondering, why am I all prepared again Well I’ll tell you, I’m doing another presentation but this time is different, I’m going to make helados de chocolate. What it means in English is chocolate ice cream! So I went to the kitchen and made the chocolate ice cream. How I made it was I boiled the water 💦 and then I put the chocolate in the pan 🍳 and then the chocolate melted and I mixed it and it smelled so good. And then we poured the chocolate water in those plastic cups and put some sticks in the chocolate water and then I put them in the freezer and tomorrow it will be ready.

Tomorrow it’s my teacher’s last day at the school because she will become a nurse so that’s super sad😭🥺😢😔☹️😞😕🙁😪😓😟😿. 2 hours later… and it’s break time and we went to a different place where it had delicious chocolate chip cookies and I ate 2 and Kayla ate 1 cookie 🍪. 3 hours later… and we’re finally are done ✅. We walked back to our mansion house. Then everybody was relaxing but me I was going crazy with some things. We also went to salsa lessons and I did the warmup with everybody and felt bad because I thought I would mess up so I sat alone but I wasn’t really, I was just feeling alone just thought of it. I was playing Minecraft with Aunt Laura because she called me so why wouldn’t I answer duhhhh!!!! After salsa we walked back home and ate dinner and I had Chipotle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Anyway mom told me that I had to go to shower so I took a shower and then went to bed.

That’s the end of the blog

Soooooo for school last Friday I had my sister get me manzanas from the market when they went with their teachers I didn’t go because it was my first day back to school after being sick and I didn’t think I could handle the market (iykyk the market is a different breed)

But I presented apples covered in limón, lemon and they were so so good everyone grubbed them up, prolly mostly me

Speaking of presentations… me and Kianna are sharing one tomorrow so I’ll have to keep up with my blogging tomorrow

But here’s some pics

I’ll update tomorrow on me and Kianna’s okiii byeeeee #kaylabloggss

We are down to our last few days in Antigua and I have come to realize my only other blog post is just some emojis. So here’s a little summary of how it’s been for me thus far.

Language school has been going well. I feel I’ve been learning a lot and becoming more comfortable speaking and writing in Spanish. My teacher, Carolin, is so sweet. Everyone calls us “las colochas” which is a term I think they only use here, but it means girls with curly hair. We’ve gone to a few dance classes that have been so fun. Although they’ve been difficult for me at some points, I love to dance and move my body in ways I don’t normally. We plan to go to another class tomorrow night that some may be surprised to hear I’m excited for. Of course I can’t write a blog without mentioning the dogs here. I just wanna rescue them all and take them home with me. They’re just lil babies and I wanna give them all the good food and pets they deserve. I knew coming here would be good for me and a nice change of pace from the Miami hustle lifestyle and it has been just that. I am so so grateful for the experiences I have had so far and eternally grateful for the people I’ve got to share them with.

Here’s a sneak peek into my camera roll since being here in Antigua:

My mom and some of her friends and their daughter came here for a few days which was super cool here a few pictures

I hoped they enjoyed their time here as much as we do

That’sss alllll okiii byeee #kaylasbloggsss

That was my horses name, he was supperrr cute. This was my second time doing Pacaya and if I could do it again I would it’s so cool riding horses up a volcano I just love horses.

They did change the location where we eat the pizza but that’s no biggy buttt it was cool because I got to learn about rocks from elissa

The weather was so nice it wasn’t too cold wasn’t too hot , all the workers were so nice and funny. And omg all the horses were sooooo sweet including my mom’s horse, he loveddddd me. I’ll show a video of that for proof

And omg how could I forget the sweetest dogs ever, they’re all so so so cute I wish I could take them all home with me and love them forever

Anywaysssss here’s some pictures and videos

Okiii byeeeee #kaylasbloggsss

Alright so I’m just now blogging this but we were about 4 days into being in Antigua and I had already got sick… sooooo that was awful but I’m good now

Also my allergies are so bad here I recommend bring allergy meds. I literally had a headache and Advil didn’t work then I took allergy meds… gone brotha

But yeah I even missed two days of language school from being so sick and recovering so that was upsetting but it’s okay

Anddddd the day after I started feeling better we went to bachata class and road some horses up Pacaya that’s for another blog though

Here’s some pics from bachata class

Okiii byeeee #kaylasbloggsss

If there is one thing to be said about Antigua Guatemala, it is that this city knows how to be festive. Seemingly everyday there is an concert, light show, parade, or marathon occurring. I love the vibrance of the culture and the idea of finding a reason to celebrate life. Somehow though, we’ve managed to avoid every festivity except the light show! Yesterday, Kianna and I went out in search of los Gigantes- to no avail. We did get cleansed by smoke and find two very cute puppies. This is to say that even if we don’t participate in the exact festival, the spirit of celebration permeates the city.

We’ve also been going to lots of salsa classes, walking around, visited a coffee and chocolate finca, and have still been going to school. Heres some random photos of those things:

Okay so basically we went to Finca La Azotea and when your walking into the park there’s a little pond that you pass and there’s a bunch of fishes and turtles in it and they were the cutest things ever and I thought one was drowning and dying come to found out it was just swimming down but that’s besides the point so after I saw that I yelled out “Are you okay do I need to save you I would jump in for you” but they were literally just the cutest little things ever so yeah

Thanks Michele for the title idea because I wouldn’t have even thought of it

Here’s some pictures of the cutesy little fishes and turtles

Anywaysssss I love that place I read almost 20 pages in my book and I can never focus to read all that was fun. This year is wasn’t as busy like at all, last year it was pretty busy from what I remember. But yea it’s super super nice there the weather was perfect I sat in the hammock for a long long time reading my book then I got super tired so I fell asleep. Can I say the best nap I’ve had Ina while.

Omg and they’re were horses too

Okiiiii byeeee #kaylasbloggsss

Many things have given me pause while being here.

I am in awe of the natural beauty amongst which these people live and call their home. I revel in the simplicity of the life I am experiencing here, and fully acknowledge this is a false sense of life in comparison to most of the women born here.

Today, walking through the Mercado, feeling grumpy with little sleep, an achy lump on my foot and without my morning coffee made a friend from works “first world problems” statement that he often says come to mind.

Here, there is no room for complaints. No room for ailments. No room for lamenting. No room for laziness. No room for mental health days.

Here, if you are not industrious, you are nothing.

Children peddle fruits and vegetables, candy and homemade jewelry to feed their families.

Elderly men and women tend meat, produce and supply stands, all day, without easy access to running water and restrooms.

Men and women deliver crates of produce on their heads, or atop their shoulders without so much as a grimace.

Here, people work. Sun up, to sun down.

And, they do it politely and with a smile.

So much effort is made in our current day to account for people’s internal struggles. And while I am not discrediting the importance of having sound mental health, I do feel that our current vantage point for many Americans could use a healthy dose of this “suck it up and push forward” attitude.

I know that pushing forward too hard, without pause for self reflection is damaging. The majority of the world does not recognize mental health as a priority. Talk therapy and psychiatric medications are not seen as valid necessities. Michele struggles with this on a daily basis with her kids from immigrant families.

First world problems allow us to lament our achy foot lump and lack of coffee. Third world problems, do not.

Somehow, I hope I can find balance. For myself, and for Luca.

I am grateful my parents instilled in me a good work ethic. Neither of them complain, ever. They have busted their asses for myself and my siblings and I will forever be grateful.

I hope I can do the same for Luca. I try to do what my parents have taught me and help him reframe when he has a self doubt or disappointment. To redirect his thinking by remembering his blessings; a body that is strong, a mind that is healthy, a roof over his head, food in his belly, and being surrounded by people that love and support him.

I hope that this learning, combined with him being exposed to different ways of life helps him to become a man that is somewhere in the middle; aware and protective of his mental health, but with a strong work ethic and a gratitude for his blessings.

I read an article recently about not complaining, ever. About reframing every thought and statement from a place of directly asking for what you truly need and from a place of gratitude.

I have tried in my adult life (however difficult and unsuccessfully) to not outright complain. I make light of my complaints, turn them into jokes thinking that they are in some way less negative.

I want to change that, and walking through the Mercado today solidified that desire.

So, here’s to self growth. One walk through the Mercado at a time.

Do you now there’s a difference between blind snakes and earth worms… well there is and I am still trying to figure out what it is. Luca said there is and I believe him.  This quote tonight made me think of Luca and all the great that fades as children age.  How these moments of looking at rocks, worms, and rolly pollies with wonder, awe, and excitement won’t last forever.  That soon they will make way for harder less simple things in life.  My hope, though, remains that he will be exposed to so much goodness in life that the hard stuff simply makes him appreciate the good and simple things even more. 

Monday was a recovery day and we were back to our normal routine of school and afternoon activities.  Today was filled with school and salsa lessons at Selina hostel where even Luca participated.  Nicole and I then  stole Elissa and Kianna away to experience our favorite secret bar for a drink before bed.  No one is a stranger for long in Antigua and it’s easy to become part of the community. I love that about being here.  It’s like being at “Cheers” everywhere you go everyone knows your name.  It’s familiar and comfortable. People here are just so kind.  That’s probably the hardest thing to express about being here.  I have zero issues going to the tienda and practicing my bad Spanish without embarrassment. My favorite people include the mango lady on the corner of our street who smiles (without teeth) so big when she sees us every day and having conversations with strangers from all over the world. You never know the people you will meet. 

Our first week in Antigua flew by and there hasn’t been much time for pause. So let me catch you all up.  Cheryl arrived on Thursday with a friend,  her daughter,  and her friend’s coworker. I think it is very special that Cheryl was able to come to the school and see where the girls have been learning. Also it was a special bonus that she happened to be here during our presentations, and she was able to see the girls progress. It was a fast and full weekend. Volcanos, horses,  ruins, cerro, etc.  My favorite was the dinner and a show put on by the kids,  a glimpse into the best parts of being in Antigua. 

Dearest Reader,

I write to you today to tell you a riveting story. It’s a story of a day that begins how most days begin- with awaking in the morning. This wasn’t any ordinary morning, however. It was TEN AM. Three hours later than our usual call time. Awaking at this time made me feel refreshed, vibrant and alive, like a flower sprayed with Febreeze and washed with Fabuloso. I would like to thank the members of the household for allowing us to enjoy this wonderus moment and prepare us for the week.

Heres a photo of the bed I slept in, in case anyone is confused:

Then, we went out and got to see some ruins from the colonial era of Guatemala. We saw a cathedral and a cloister. Unfortunately my body hurt and I couldn’t climb around too crazy, but I enjoyed watching Kayla and Luca crawl up into this rock cave.

Until next time!!

I woke up at about 7:00 o clock in the morning and I was feeling so good and I had cereal for breakfast. Then the girls woke up at 10:00 o clock so that’s late. Meanwhile… the 7 of us walked to eat breakfast and I had eggs and bacon for breakfast. It took so long to just get our food. It felt like a hour to get the food ready. Then we walked back to our mansion house. About 4 hours later… and it is time for the fun part of the day. We go to the ruins!!! but first, we went to a different ruins,the cathedral ruins so we went to that one first and here is some pictures.

then we walked to the second ruins and it was the best because I got to climb up the biggest rocks.

Here’s some pictures of the second ruins.

I couldn’t find the rest but here’s one of them 😄. When we got back home, we relaxed and I looked for bugs. Then, we ate dinner with everyone and it was delicious 😋. Then the girls were on their phones so I had nothing to do but watch them look on their phones 📱. Then it was chill for the rest of the evening. Then I got in the shower and went to bed 🛏️.

That’s the end

I woke up at 6:30 in the morning and we ate breakfast and I had eggs for breakfast. So we went in the car so we can go to the volcano called Pacaya. When we got there I had my horse named Muñeco and we rode up the volcano 🌋. When we got there, I played with the volcano rocks and I threw them all around.

Here’s some pictures from the volcano.

When we rode back, Elissa and Tia’s horses were running so fast that Elissa’s stuff in her backpack fell out on the ground where all the horses poop 💩 eww 😷. I had the best time riding my horse. When we got down from the volcano we got down the horse, we went in the car and rode back. The girls went to the market and mom took a nap while Me Tia and Kayla went to a coffee place called Fat Cat and we played cards together. When the girls got back from the market, me and Tia and Kayla walked home. I found 4 blind snakes and 3 of them were babies and one was a adult. Then Tia made what aunt Laura and grandma makes, spaghetti and hamburger meat sauce. It was so good in fact that I ate 4 small bowls of it. And then the best thing of the evening was a instrument dinner show

Here’s some pictures and videos from the dinner show

Then we tried to get ice cream for me but they had sorbet flavors I didn’t like.

But then there was a light show on the castle!

Then we all walked home and I had to go in the shower and go to bed because it was 10:00 o clock here but in Florida, it’s midnight so I was very tired.

That’s the end

If you know about Bob (first horse I ever rode who was specifically trained for the blind), then you know. But today, Bob was left in the dust like all the other horses (and friends) literally. Pepe was a pistel. He took off running the minute I got on.  I was miles ahead of the entire pack on the climb up the mountain…. and on the way down, thankfully, my horse found a competitor in Elissa’s horse, so I had a friend to go down the mountain with.  Our 🐎 horses didn’t let up, causing my newly dawned hat to fly off and Elissa’s water bottles to fly out of her backpack.  Let’s just say we made it down the mountain in record time and long before the others. As Elissa mentioned in her blog, prayers for my butt are welcomed.  Circling back to my amazing hat. So this is my 3rd time doing Pizza 🍕  on Pacaya and when we arrived, the owner of the business asked my group where I was by name, and so I went over to say hello.  He gave me a free hat and said how happy he was to see us.  It’s kinda nice to know people everywhere you go.  I am sure you’re wondering if going up the same volcano 3x is worth it,  well I can tell you it’s a whole new experience going up one with a Geologist (be jealous). Elissa is a Geologists so it was very cool to have her with us explaining the rocks that we were walking on and what we were seeing and how things happen.  It definitely shed a whole new light on the experience for me.  At the volcano there’s a little shop where local artisans take the volcanic rock and create jewelry with it. Here’s a “did you know” fact about Pacaya: In 2021, the Pacaya volcano in Guatemala erupted in a series of explosive and effusive events that began in February and continued into March. The eruption also occurred during Tropical Storm Agatha, which brought heavy rainfall that caused landslides, lahars, and widespread flooding. They called it the perfect storm in the ring of fire. I am not one for buying souvenirs but at the lava store Nicole and I both drawn to purchase earrings made from the lava during that storm and eruption and coconut shells.

Our first year in the house Nicole named our house Encanto, and every year since, the moment I walk through the door, it feels like coming home. We oddly all have naturally fallen into our roles in the house, and I couldn’t love my role any more than I do.  Doña Sed had returned to her kitchen.

The first week of being in Antigua has flown by and school came to an end for me before I even realized it began.  This year I had Kianna’s teacher from last year.  She was a stark contrast to my last teacher.  I have loved all my teachers for different reasons, but my teacher this year was so kind and so sweet and so patient.  She’s exactly what I needed this year and I am grateful.  La Unión also feels like home.  Everyone remembers us and our stories and we pick up right where we left off a year ago.  I  promised Luca that if he presented on presentation day i I too would present…. so he made me make good on my promise.  I was so proud to watch him on last day of school present for the first time. He’s always been too shy to present and I always opt out. So in the end, I guess we’ve both grown.  I made/presented on Pina and made licuados. I made the ones for the adults with rum. They were obviously a hit to say the least.  I love that the “kids” have favorite things to do at school. I love that learning can be so fun. Thankful for another year….. and now it’s time to play. 

We’ve just returned from el Volcán Pacaya, and my legs already feel bruised! My horse Pícaro was well behaved on the first half of our trip, but on the second half, he unleashed his inner beast🫎 (and by that I mean he galloped to catch up with Michelle’s horse) (everyone pray for Michelle’s lower body) (pray for mine too while you’re at it). But anywayyy all the pain is worth it, as I was able to see the volcano up close and personal. Thank you to everyone who indulged me in geological talk and investigation. We were even able to see the direction of the pyroclastic flow based on the shape of the grains seen below!

After returning home we went to the artesanal market and were graced by a scene that is better to see than to describe with words:

Happy Friday everyone!

Watching the kids be creative and put on a show for us after dinner made me feel like the days of old.

When our siblings, cousins and friends would goof around, create, imagine, play, and entertain ourselves without digital aides.

A world with limited use of technology.

Another simplicity of being here that I love.

This will be a short blog but I was riding down the volcano with a horse 🐎 and I saw a leaf on the corner of my eye and I grabbed it and when I saw it, I was amazed by the look of it so I kept it for the rest of the ride and when I was done I took a picture of it on my horse 🐎.

That’s the end

This will be a short blog, but what happened was that mommy felt something shaking and felt like a little earthquake! But it wasn’t a big earthquake, it was an earthquake that was in El Salvador 🇸🇻. I hope the people are ok in that area.

That was crazy!!

That’s the end

I woke up for the big day and I had eggs for breakfast 🍳. And we walked to school with the nerves for the big day. 2 hours later… and for break, it was the presentation about fruit and I chose tomatoes 🍅.

Here’s some pictures and videos of my presentation.

I was very proud of myself by doing the presentation on my own. I ate the fruits of the presentation and I had my own personal option, the tomato salsa and Lychee fruit and that was kind of like my lunch.

3 hours later… and we’re done for today and it’s the weekend yayyyy!!!! I looked for bugs but instead I found 2 blind snakes! And the craziest thing happened, I saved a bee from drowning and it couldn’t fly so I actually put him in my box thing and I made all my bugs a habitat in my box thing. I called Granny and she answered and I tried to show her some things that I can do on the phone but she couldn’t figure it out. I also showed her how to make her see my background and she didn’t know how so I did it and she was surprised that I could do it so I did a basketball game and I won 50 to 17 and she was surprised because how much points I won by. I also told granny about a snail that Tia caught on her papaya tree and I showed it to granny and she thought it was pretty cool.

I said goodbye and I had dinner and I had fried pork and guacamole and I kind of liked it.

I went in the shower and went to bed .

That’s the end

Me and mom woke up at 6:45 am and I ate eggs this time for breakfast 🍳. We walked to school and we were all preparing for the big day. 2 hours later… it was break time and I played ping pong with Kayla and Elissa. I beat Kayla 12 to 10 and Elissa demolished me by winning 2 games, that’s crazy! But either way everyone had fun playing ping pong 🏓. Here’s Tia studying.

And here’s me studying 📖.

We had to go to the market because we had to cook it so we took a long walk to the market to get the stuff for Friday. We some stuff at the market and walked back to school. 3 hours later… and I were are done with school and walked to lunch with 4 other people and I we had lunch. I had a hamburger with some French fries 🍟 and I forgot what everyone had so we had lunch and we walked back home. When we got home, we took everyone on a tour of our house and everyone loved our house so then me and Kayla and Abby, our new guest played cards and Abby was so good at cards. Then all of us went to dinner and I had steak, chicken, potatoes, and sausage. I had 4 different kinds of meat today, that’s a lot of meat😂. After dinner the girls went to salsa lessons and they went to sleep at midnight. Meanwhile…me and mommy went on a journey together by trying to find the ice pop place but unfortunately it was closed.

Me and mom took a picture when we were walking 🚶.

When I got home, me and mom took showers and went to bed.

I had a dream about it was my friend’s birthday and we played a new game called Basketball Soccer and Kobe Bryant and he was dribbling the ball and I stole it from him and I threw the ball on the ground and dribbled it soccer version⚽️and I kicked it to my teammate and he kicked it back and I was relieved by the play.

That’s the end

I woke up like any other person and I ate cereal and almond milk for breakfast and it was delicious. You might be wondering, why is it the big Friday? It’s because that is the presentation day for fruit/ vegetables and I chose Tomatoes!! 🍅!! So me and my teacher will go to the market tomorrow with the group to get the tomatoes for the presentation on Friday. At 9:00 in the morning and that’s pretty early for the old folks😂.

Talking about today now, in school and 2 hours later… it’s not an ordinary break, it’s a snack break! The group ate tortillas that we made by hand and I liked it a little bit. I put black beans crushed up and tomatoes salsa on mine. Here’s a picture of me eating tortillas.

My favorite teacher is going to graduate if she passes her test to become a nurse but I’m glad that she’s been my teacher for the past two years and this is our third year of school. Three hours later… and I’m back at house. I ate homemade chipotle for lunch, AGAIN! Then I sat inside the chest at the window and I watched the cars and people go by. I FaceTimed Ady, Emi, Aunt Laura, Aunt Susie, Uncle cliff, and Granny and showed them the house. I even showed them how I went on the roof.

When I ate dinner I had granny on the phone and she watched me eat spaghetti and shrimp this time. When I was done eating that, I exercised with the girls and played jump rope and Elissa was the best at it.

Then I took a shower and went to bed.

That’s the end.

Me and mommy woke up and I was not happy to get up at 7:00 o clock in the morning but I did. So I ate cereal and almond milk for breakfast and I liked it again. I did my normal routine and we walked to school. Mom took a picture of me walking.

When I got to school I worked in español escuela.2 hours later… it was time for pausa and I played ping pong with Kianna and I won 12 to 10. I got a chocolate chip cookie after ping pong 🏓 and the chocolate chip cookie was so delicious and yummy! We returned to walking back to school. 3 hours later… we finished school and Kayla and Elissa were sick 🤢 and vomiting last night so they definitely stayed home while me, mom and Kianna went to lunch and I had a hamburger with French fries 🍟 and it was so good! Me and Kianna took a picture next to a 🐈

And we took a picture walking arm in arm.

And we also took a picture with me and mom holding a four leaf clover 🍀

After lunch, the girls were still feeling yucky 🤢 but the rest of us were fine. Then we watched a movie called Wonder and it was pretty good and funny and nice and it was a good lesson for kids… bullying is not nice to anyone.

After the movie, we ate dinner and I had homemade chipotle!!!!!!!!! Again 😆. We watched a show called Grace and Frankie and it has 7 seasons 7 SEASONS!!! I got in the shower and took a bath 🧼 and then I went to bed early.

That’s the end

Lord knows that I can’t sit still,  or sit in silence,  or hold empty space (except when doing therapy sessions). I mean, I can barely get through a TV show most days.  I am in constant motion or constantly stimulated. I can’t make it thru a red light without scrolling tiktok, or cook without the background noise of the TV.  But here in Guatemala I crave the lack of social media,  the lack of constantly being updated by the news (I mean wow Trump), and the lack of constant email and text that I feel compelled to respond to instantly because we are all now accessible 24-7. Getting a dopamine hit from other things outside of social media feels so much better, and I don’t miss it one bit.  We’ve replaced human interaction with 30-second clips of other people’s lives.  So the question is, are we holding space for people and experiences in our lives, or are we simply filling space?

Hello all!!

We’ve been in Guatemala for 4 days now and I’m finallyy ready to write a lil sum sum. I have to start by saying that this country is BEAUTIFUL and I’m so grateful to the lovely Kianna for inviting me❣️I have been loving just taking in all the new sights, sounds, smells and tastes. Let me share some through photos:

Today I woke up and I was so tired that I wanted to go to sleep again. I tried something new it was… cereal with almond milk and I liked it. I did my normal routine and we walked to escuela español.

When we got there, we took a picture in front of the school.

When we walked in, I reunited with my favorite teacher Lucia ❤️. 2 hours later… it was pausa that means break time for 30 minutes, we went to a cafe and I got a chocolate chip cookie and Kayla and Kianna got a ham and cheese croissant and Elissa I forgot what she had but she had something. Then we walked back to school. 3 hours later… me and Lucia had to say goodbye 👋🏼 and all of us walked back to our mansion house and me and Elissa and Kianna were playing stickball and that is baseball but the bat is a stick with a ball and I won 2 to 1 because both of them were tired from just 1 inning 🤯. Then I played stickball by myself by just swinging the stick. I lifted rocks and guess what I found? 3 blind snakes but I only caught 1 and Elissa and Kianna touched the snake.

I snuggled mom in the bed.

Guess what I think we’re having for dinner… Chipotle!!!!!!!!! Mi favorito!! So we’re probably going to have that and it’s gonna be the best food ive ever eaten in Guatemala! 🇬🇹.

That’s the end

“Are you sitting down? I have bad news” -Michele

The farthest thing from my mind when she uttered those words was… a dryer.

“The owner let me know that she bought a dryer the last time she was there. Are you going to be ok? You can still hang clothes on the line” -Michele

“But what kind of psychopath hangs clothes when there’s a dryer! “ -Me

😂😂😂😂

Anyone who has heard me talk about trips to Guatemala knows that one of my favorite things about being here is the simplicity. Walking the kids to school, drinking coffee in the park, grocery shopping, playing cards by the fire, and my favorite…hanging the laundry on the line.

It’s a form of meditation for me, rotating the clothes into the light as the sun charts its course in the sky.

So to hear that we now have a dryer in the home was, to say the least, devastating.

I’ve done my best to cope, have put things into perspective, and realize that no, it does not make me a psychopath if I choose to hang the clothes whilst the dryer sits idly by watching me slip back in time, refusing to utilize modern technology 😆

We are surrounded by modern advances, but being here allows me to take pleasure in the little things.

So, if you’re looking for me girls…I’ll be in the garden, finding my peace.

“Luca how are you feeling? Are your allergies bothering you ?” -Me

“ I have a little boogies but I’m okay” -Luca

“ Anything else you’re feeling?” (Me forever triaging if he’s getting sick 😆)

“ A lot of excitement !” -Luca

❤️❤️❤️

I blog to you today from the road while we journey from Atitlan to Antigua as the “kids” play I spy.  Oddly leaving the lake feels much like you do after you’ve had a really great trip but you can’t wait to be home in your own bed.  To me Antigua feels like going home.  My trips to Guatemala began with the duo (Kianna and Michael) and they have evolved over the years with different people and combinations of people joining in.  It’s always fun to see how the combination of people will meld not just in the easy fun times, but even more so during the bumps that can happen along the way with international travel (luckily we haven’t had many). This year we have Elissa (Kianna’s roommate) joining our story in our travels and she couldn’t be a better fit.  I am grateful for kind girls who exemplify what it means to just be good people. A highlight for me so far on our journey (aside from “I spy”) happened our first night at the lake. Nicole and I were upstairs getting settled into the house and the kids were all downstairs, and I hear them say to each other “what were your peaks and valleys of the day.” This truly touched my heart that they not only thought to do it (something we’ve done on all our trips) but that they chose to reflect on the day on their own without having to be prompted. More gratitude is something I want to ensure we all walk away from our trips with, not just of the big things like being able take this trip, but for the effort of others that goes into making our food, or carrying our bags up the hill,  or driving us safely. The mindset that we get to do things and try things not that we have to.  Acknowledging our privilege and being gracious in how we receive or experience things from others along our journey is a lesson for us all. 

Luca…

Me and mom went on a breakfast date at the restaurant in our walk way to our house. We went on another road-trip to Antigua which was 2hrs and 15 minutes. When we got here to our mansion house, we unloaded the car and brought our luggage to our house. Tia and Mommy went grocery shopping and the girls and I were staying home. Elissa taught all of us how to play songs on the piano and she was very good at piano, so good in fact I thought it was a piano video but nope😆. When mom and tia came back with a Uber car ride, there was so many things from the grocery store and all of us needed to carry something for my mom and tia. When we were done with unloading the car, we just had our own business but me, I was just playing with bugs all around the house and I was also focusing on baseball so I cut down bamboo and made it into a sort of shape of a baseball bat and I tried it and I was actually amazed of how good it was😲. Then the best part is coming soon but first we need to go to dinner 🍽️ so we went and there was hamburgers so I got a hamburger for dinner. Best part… that it was the copa mundial cup. It was Argentina vs Colombia but I didn’t finish it because it was too late. But at halftime show it was… Shakira!!!!!!!!😆😆 the music artist and she played the song called Hips don’t lie and 2 other amazing songs that I loved!!!

The end

Right now we’re at dinner, El Patio, waiting for our food and we’re watching the soccer game (Argentina vs. Colombia) so it’s delayeddddddd we found out why though… It’s from people getting arrested in the front of hard rock because they’re trying to get in but anyways today we traveled to Antigua where our house is, the same one we stayed in last year and I missed ittttt

Also me and Kianna were sitting in our room and i thought our room had ac which is crazy come to find out the door we have in our room that goes to outside is open so the wind is just coming in and out. I really thought we bougied up the place noooppeee that’s junk felt noiceeeee but the bugs coming in ain’t so nice

The drive wasn’t that bad I watching S.W.A.T on Netflix in the car

OMG I can’t believe I almost forgot this is so sad I had to say bye to the dogs on the lake like so so sad. This one black dog idk her name another black dog and Camila a blonde dog, they were actually the sweetest dogs every now and then joke. Camila followed us to breakfast and we thought she just left after but nope she waited for us the whole time and walked us all the way back to our hotel house thing. But when me and Kianna had to say goodbye I couldn’t they didn’t know what was happening so they followed us to the deck and it was so sad here so pictures I took of them

Earlier today (I started writing this yesterday but didn’t finish so it’s not actually today anymore it’s yesterday technically) we went to this women’s cooperative weaving place where you get to learn how to weave. My back hurt from leaning over so much but my lady was really nice she was. She was like a little nice old lady, she was trying to speak to me in Spanish but I had no clue what she was saying so I didn’t say anything I just looked and smiled. LOL I ended up telling her I didn’t speak Spanish but she was so cute. Also learning how the color the yarn and stuff was really cool

Okiiii byeeeeee #kaylasblogggsss

Michele and I are not the only Scorpions here….aside from our astrological signs, we had the real deal crawling on our wall!

Thanks to her ninja moves, the intruder was thrown off the balcony, all the while stabbing at the glass she captured him in.

Turns out Dora isn’t just good at exploring 😆

Luca…

Today me and Kayla jumped off the dock and it was freezing like it was water snow.

But other than that, we have a new guest named Elissa and she is Kianna’s roommate so I’m getting along with her.

All of us went on the bumpiest boat ride ever because we almost flew in the roof of the boat and we went to a weaving tour and we got to try weaving and everyone did amazing 🤩 and then we went to a bee tour/ farm and we saw different kinds of bees and some of them are tiny and that was interesting. Did you know that Mayan bees don’t have stingers?

We went on a tuk tuk to our boat ride and our captain was named Pedro. It was super bumpy but we survived the ride.

We had lunch and guess what I had? Spaghetti and meatballs! My favorite 😍.

Yesterday I tried something new and I liked it… broccoli soup!

After we ate lunch, me and Kayla jumped off the dock into the freezing lake🥶! And then we were so cold that we went in the hot tub and the sauna. Then we went to dinner with everyone and there was a bbq at la iguana and Chula, the dog that I met the first year I came was there. The BBQ had the best chicken Ive ever tasted! After dinner, we had dessert which was drum roll please 🛢️🛢️🛢️🛢️🛢️ brownies!! So we ate all of them and we walked back in our house in the dark so we had to Tia’s phone flashlight to get back to the house and we walked with three lake dogs that followed us the whole time we were walking but then we had to say goodbye to the dogs.

Tia saved our lives by a catching a scorpion that was in the house!!

That’s the end

🥳🥰🤩😊🤪🫨🤭😆

Emoji for emoji. This is what I sent to my mom to explain my emotions as we are waiting to takeoff.

By far the hardest part of travel for me is the packing. My hard rule of “no checked bags and if you can’t carry it yourself don’t bring it” makes packing a challenge to say the least.  It also puts into perspective how much you think you need in life vs how much you actually need. Makes me grateful that being in Central America is more about what you’re doing and who you’re doing it with rather than what you’re wearing.  I can wear the same outfit a 100x and no one would even notice or care.  So wish us luck as we pack 3 weeks worth of items into a backpack…Guate bound in T minutes 9 hours.

I feel like I blinked, and this trip has come to an end. No part of me is ready. I am not ready to leave my walking city with 75-degree weather, not ready for school, not ready for a lot of things that we face going back home. Being in Antigua isn’t like a regular vacation. It’s really like being in a second home…. so I never feel an urgency to leave. I also am not ready to have the girls and Luca gone. The feeling of walking away without the girls in tow at the airport was pretty overwhelming to me. It’s a rare thing to be with people for two weeks and not have a single moment where you desire a break from each other. So we either did a really great job of naturally giving each other space, or we are just really meshed so well. I have a feeling it was a combination of both. I hope you’ll hear from this crew again someday. Thanks for following along.

Here in the states when someone asks me what I do for a living I usually get one of two reactions:

1. people have the persception that we are baby snatchers, or

2. I get the dreadful “poor you how awful your job must be look.”

But in Guatemala when people ask what I do for work and I say I am a Social Worker….their reactions are quite different. Their faces light up in awe and amazingment. Much like the reaction a doctor or lawyer would get, or the same as Nicole gets when she says she’s a Midwife. I noticed this reaction my first two times in Guatemala. This time I pointed it out to Nicole and she noticed it as well. Clearly to be a social worker here means something quite different to the Guatemalan people. I wanna know more. I am intriqued by their reaction and can feel an instant endearment to me when I talk about the work I do. No one looks sorry for me like they do in the states. In the states I am not sure if the looks I get are related to the toughness of my job or the salary my job alludes to. I love the work I do and this is the first time I see a reflection back from a community that miorrors how I feel about my profession. I am intrigued and hoping next time I am here that I can have more converstations about their perspectives on social work.

Nicole touched on something in an earlier post that I wanted to piggy back on a little. She talked about a converstation she had where the fact that Nicole and I are two working non married woman who are able to travel freely was pointed out to her. Funny thing is it wasn’t until she shared her converstation with me that I even stopped to take pause about that simple fact that I clearly take for granted. If I allow myself to view my own situation from the vantage point of a typical Guatemalan woman or man…how insane that concept must seem. To be completely financially independent and to be free to do as I please is something I very much take for granted. Not to dismiss the fact that I work two jobs, but to their point the fact that I am able to find two jobs to have is something inconceivable to them. Access to education, that then gave me access to jobs (in a country with jobs), that then gave me freedom and independence. I don’t have to have a husband to survive or feed myself. I don’t require support. And because no one else is supporting me no one gets the right to dictate me either. If I choose to be with someone it is because I desire to be with him, not because I am just trying to survive. If I am in an unhealthy relationship I am free to go because I have the means to do so. I also have a huge support system in my life of family and friends that if I ever find myself in a situation I can’t manage on my own I know I have people willing to back me. It’s hard to place myself in the shoes of a “typical woman” here. Being in the outside towns and also at the clinic with Nicole the other day were great experience to help me grow my empathy, and the amount of empathy I feel is overwhelming. I also have a great deal of admiration for the hard work that living here requires. Nothing is easy here. Everything takes effort. We drove through other villages on our way to Pacaya and saw life outside of a very touristy Antigua. Watching the woman of the villages we passed having to walk down hills to the community water spouts and then lug the juggs of water back home, or carry their laundry to the community pila only to carry it home wet to hang. Women and men carring large heavy objects hanging from their heads. The quote “necessity is the mother of invention” is something you see in live living color here. They have created ways of doing things to help make life a little easier, all while, from my perspective, life is still far harder here. And yet kindness prevailes. People here are kind and genuine. Life is slower here and when you aren’t all self consumed (like we are most times in our society) you get to really engage with people. Experiences like this continue to reinforce my belief that to be human and to treat others not just with kindness but with empathy outside of our own understanding is the most coveted quality someone can possess.

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22 years ago, this little tiny baby girl came into the world, and I became a God mother. I had no idea the woman she would become.  Let me tell you about Kianna….

Kianna was part of my very first trip to Guatemala and really my first trip out of the country alone as the only responsible adult. To express what it’s like to be back in Guate 5 years later with her is pretty hard to put into words. But my goodness, oh how she’s grown in the last 5 years. From basic things like 5 years ago using an ATM for the first time and it happening in Guatemala, to problem solving and being aware of and observant of things around her. To this year she’s the driving force behind school. She is nearly fully bilingual now after living in Miami. Simply having her around has brought so much to my experience. The quite moments in the house gave us time to talk and the adventures gave me time to observe her and all of the great that she is. I can’t imagine being here without her. She is kind to her core, she’s got skills (like the ones that matter in relationships, in dealing with others, and with coping with life) that not many others might notice but I see them and they are impressive, especially for someone her age. She is learning about herself still and though it might not be easy for her it’s incredible to watch. I talk about just being a good human all the time to people, especially in todays climate with politics and world relations. Well Kianna is just a good human and I am so proud of all that she is and all that she is destined to become. I hope that she remembers that you don’t have to have it all figured out to know that you’re doing just fine.

If you are not familiar with my favorite book, it is centered around the red tent. The place where women went in biblical times during their cycle; to share their stories and impart wisdom. Children were welcome to come and go as well.

It was an honor being in the Red Tent with you ladies. I couldn’t have chosen a better bunch ❤️.

What you may not realize is that we mostly blog individually, and so blogs post alerts are exciting for us too. One of my motivations for creating the blog was to allow others to get a glimpse into our experiences, but also for those of us on the trip get to hear each other’s perspective of the same events. Luca is my most consistent blogger. This year was quite different as he didn’t blog with me, but rather with Nicole or the girls. While this change in routine was hard for me, and I missed our nightly alone time to blog, it was fun to read his blogs like everyone else. In his last post, he said something casual, but it struck my heart when he said….”my Tia.” Something so simple, but yet so endearing. So let me tell you about my Luca. He gives so much love and brings constant movement to the group. He also helps me practice patience… something that is hard for this ADD woman. His love for music (something we have made a huge part of our relationship since covid days), his constant reminder to be present in the moment, and the joy that came from watching him learn in language school. So happy we get these moments and I love being his Tia.

So unbeknownst to me when I entered my first blog before leaving for Guatemala I renamed Kayla for the entirety of the trip. Instead of writing Kayla, I mistyped and wrote Kyla. Little did I know that Kayla’s teacher would also misname her on the first day of school…. and thus Kyla was officially born. I am pretty sure I won’t be able to go back to calling her Kayla, at least not anytime soon. Kyla just feels so right. It also kept the girls from being called each others names.

Each of the younger ones have brought so much to this trip and something unique to the dynamics of this trip. Kayla has brought joy, adventure, fun, creativity, competition (to our already competitive Nicole), and a sense of humor that keeps things so light hearted. She’s my kindred spirit when it comes to being game for anything. I love how unapologetic she was about not knowing something and how she really wanted to learn. She’s an adoring little sister of her big sister and sweet, patient, and fun with Luca. Is she still a typical teenager? Absolutely 💯. Think that made it even nicer to experience. She’s a very typical teenager yet at her core she’s a sweet, kind, loving young lady. I can’t wait to see how she continues to grow.

Luca…

We woke up, did our morning routine then we got in the car for an hour to drive to where you get on the horses. I would like to mention this is my second time riding a horse ever in my life! Then we got on the horse, my horse is 5 years old and his name was Marshmallow. We rode the horses for an hour up the volcano. Some of the horses pooped and mine farted a lot!!! So when we got there, there was a lot of horses. There was also a lotttt of lava rocks, after we got off the horses we took a 10 minute walk to this red tent where they make the pizza and use a little mini volcano oven, meaning a hole in the volcano where it’s hot and they used that as an oven for the pizza. Then we ate the delicious pizza. After we ate the pizza we took some pictures next to the Guatemalan flag, we then walked back to the horses to start heading back down. I do hope we do it again next year! Once we got back down to the bottom we got back in the van and took the hour car ride back home. When we got back home we chilled and starting packing our things since we leave tomorrow, (I’m sad although I’m happy to go home and see my cousins, also would just like to let you guys know that I just farted). Then the girls (kianna and kayla) went to the market, me my mommy and my tia stayed home and ate dinner. Also I forgot to mention I ate a yummy lunch when we got home, but anyways I had a good dinner pasta and chicken my favorite. Then I did my night routine and I went into kianna and kayla’s room because they were vibing to some music and we started dancing and singing and it was so much fun!! Now I’m going to bed, I had a spectacular Saturday!!! That’s my blog:)