The Dragon

     They could be any old piles of soil, but these mounts are alive. With a sigh, a puff of smoke escapes from the lips of Fuego. It’s easy to forget that the pastel hills in the distance are the mouth of the fire-breathing dragon, Earth. My goal before I leave here is to see the glow of flowing lava. Every night, I check. Every night, I see nothing but the blackness of the heavy fog that veils the beast. Finally, on one of my last nights, way off in the distance, the liquid fire rises and falls amid a shower of sparks. I smile. 

Rest easy, Earth.

Photo courtesy of Greta :)

Speechless

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

     There are some things in life that there are no words for. The rules of language confine emotions to a rhythm of sounds that desperately grasp at and slip away from the power of the true message of your soul. 

     Today I was speechless for the second time in one week. 

     Last Thursday, I witnessed life filled to overflowing. Like the tears that rolled down the cheeks of the young woman bringing her child into the world, life could not contained. The joy that transformed the tired face of the woman when we brought her new son to her for the first time cannot be put into words. Holding the hand of a complete stranger in her most personal moments and wiping the sweat off her face as she struggled through contractions bridges the gap of culture. Even being a small part of the experience of this woman left me sinking in a sea of inadequate expression when we congratulated her on her perfect baby girl.

     Today, I held a woman as she mourned the loss of her son-in-law. No language barrier was needed to leave my mind blank when it came to expressing my sorrow for her. I was there next to the car as she stepped out after returning from the hospital where her son-in-law lost his battle with cancer, leaving behind a wife and three children under ten including a forty day old baby. Family and friends had gathered, but in that moment it was just her and I and memories. There is no time or language that restrains that kind of emotion. She wept as I embraced her; my shoulder was hot and wet with tears. I smoothed her hair away from her face as she turned to face reality.

     The soul is capable of communicating love in its own language. Hold your tongue and let it speak.

Survival Skills

     I was reflecting back on my time here and thinking about how much I have learned. Obviously, I have learned a lot of Spanish as well as other things in my Economics class and Internship in the Clinic, but there is something else I have learned that does not fall into a class. I'll put these things in the Survival Skills category. 

     How to live in Guatemala is something that I didn't realize I was learning so much about until my family came to visit and I remembered what it was like during my first weeks here. I remember going to the market wanting to hold our group leader's hand! I was sure I'd get lost in Antigua and eventually die of hunger or wander into El Salvador. But slowly, things became easier. 

     I had to relearn some of the simple everyday life things I didn't even have to think about before. Here I learned how to go shopping at the grocery store and market, how to barter and not be totally ripped off, how to add minutes onto a phone, how to order food at a restaurant and not get sick (usually), how to go to the bank and exchange money, how to use the bus system and not get lost (mostly), how to cross the street and not get hit, how to get medicine at a Pharmacy, how to wash clothes, and how to shower without being electrocuted (by experience), and how to use the toilet without clogging it (paper in the trash). 

     Life is easier when you can take care of yourself. The longer I was here, the more confidence I gained. It is funny to think back to the girl who was almost being hit by tuktuk, zapping herself in the shower, and staring blankly at the cashier in the grocery store when asked about a "factura". Ah yes, the memories are sweet. 

     What have you learned about living in a new place? 

Myself and Two of the Three lovely ladies I had the pleasure of guiding around Guatemala for a week using my Survival Skills :) The other lovely lady was my Grandma who took this picture for us. Thanks!

Images of Semana Santa

     Semana Santa is past but here are some of the striking images of the celebration! The colorful carpets are representative of the palm branches and coats people laid down to cushion the road as Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the donkey. These alfombras (carpets) are made with colored sawdust, flowers, or other creative materials. They cushion the road as Jesus passes by in processions. 

The beginnings of a large alfombra

Sprinkling the colored sawdust

Adding a border

There is no peace without justice. There is no justice without pardon.

A unique use of color

It was for love.

A beautiful use of flowers

Morning light

This horse doesn't seem too happy to be in the procession.

Precious

 

Good Friday morning procession

Good Friday afternoon procession

A radish and bouquet!

A fruit and veggie island display!

Detailed!

A Noah's Ark alfombra with play-doh animals kids made! The cutest alfombra around.

This picture just about sums up Semana Santa. The people! Jesus! Mary! Antigua!

The End

Arise!

Celestial spirit that doth roll
The heart's sepulchral stone away,
Be this our resurrection day,
The singing Easter of the soul -
O gentle Master of the Wise,
Teach us to say: "I will arise."  

~Richard Le Gallienne

Tikal

     Wow what a week. It started with last weekend with our trip to Tikal, the capital of the Mayan world. What a work of art! It is definitely a "thin place" in the words of Dr. Becknell. The experience was worth getting up at 4 a.m. and sitting in the last row of the plane - row 11! It was a tiny plane. 

Plane :)

 

My fellow row 11ers. Beauties! 

     The architecture the Mayans were capable of was incredible to see. I feel honored to have been able to climb their pyramids.

At the bottom looking up

At the top looking down

hugeness

See those little grave stone looking things at the foot of the stairs? That's where the sacrifices took place, not at the top like most think. Yeah.

mask!

 

 

 

bird's nests

A beautiful end to a beautiful weekend :)

And now, spring break! With my lovely Mom, Sister, and Grandma! woooo!

Spanish vocab lesson of the day

handcuffs = esposas

esposa = wife

wife = handcuffs!

Ha!

Recent Acquisitions

Shopping here is done “chose your own adventure” style. There are an abundance of boutiques, indoor markets, outdoor markets, indigenous shops, street vendors, and the pacas. 

The pacas are a phenomenon I should explain. Think of an indoor-outdoor thrift store. The clothes are hung or piled on tables according to their value. For the best deal, you have to do a bit of digging!

The clothes on the tables are between 2Q and 15Q or $0.26 to $1.97. Fun!  They also have a great range of belts, purses, and shoes that vary in price by condition.

Here is what I have acquired lately at the pacas.

My favorite pacas steal…I mean deal…is the purse for 10Q!

 

A fun outfit!

These, I did not get at the pacas, but I sure do like them :) 

Kung Fu Panda Earrings!

Lessons from Good Earth

 A steaming cup of tea is just the thing to relax the body and spirit and a well spoken word is just the thing to inspire the mind. 

A Short Story

There was a bug in the shower and I was too afraid to kill it.

So Greta saved me.

The End.

A Week in the Life

What a week! This is my normal schedule for ministry site weeks.

Monday: Clinic

Tuesday: Asilo

Wednesday: Clinic

Thursday: Hospital

Friday: Clinic

     On top of that, our Spanish Internship prof, Alicia Juarez, has been here in Guate the last week and a half. “Spanish Internship” is just a fancy name for homework in Spanish that has to do with our work at ministry sites. We had lecture on Thursday for 2 and half hours for that class. Fuuuun. 

     Laura and I have been working out together twice a week pushing weights around in the gym. We are pretty buff you know. 

     At the Asilo we mostly just talk to the nice old people there :) There are a few ladies there that are long time friends of Maureen and look forward to our visits every Tuesday. We also change dressings. It’s not as fun as chatting and it’s sad because it really hurts when we are cleaning the sores. But it has to be done.

Doña Julia and I

Dressings

     Once again, the hospital on Thursday was an adventure! We saw three surgeries this week. 

Maureen and I

     The first was a precious one-year-old boy. He had a lump under the skin in the shoulder blade area. This was easily found and removed in a fast, clean process – a good warm up for the next surgery!

Cute little baby feet

After the surgery

     Surgery number two: circumcision. One eight-year-old boy is now able to pee with ease! This surgery was significantly more gruesome than the first. It was worse than I thought it was going to be – a great warm up for the third surgery! Pictures don't do this one justice. So I left them out :)

     Amputation. Above the knee. Friends, if you ever get diabetes, take good care of yourself. Please. I don’t want to be observing your gangrene leg being taken off while you are awake. This surgery was actually less bloody than number two but far more disturbing just knowing what was happening to this sweet eighty-year-old abuelita.  

Her eyes are closed, but she's awake!

After. She kind of looks like she's smiling...but I doubt it.

I spared you the photos of the actual cutting...If you all want to see them I will have to get LOTS and LOTS of comments asking for them or your email address so I can send them too you. It's not pretty.

In these bodies we will live. In these bodies we will die. Where you invest your love, you invest your life. Awake, my soul! Awake, my soul! You were made to meet your Maker. Awake, my soul! Awake, my soul! Awake, my soul! For you were made to meet your Maker. You were made to meet your Maker.- Mumford & Sons