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.