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.

I Speaks Spanglish

Coming here I knew that I had a ways to go on my Spanish… My brothers in Magdalena confirmed this :) I was often teased for the way I said things or the words I chose when I just didn’t know how to say what I wanted to. The people here are very gracious and are willing to work with my poor language to understand what I’m trying to say. I’ve been learning more Spanish every day but not without mistakes! Here’s the best of my blooper reel ;)

I wanted to describe something as “slow”. I used the word “lente” where I should have used “lenta”. “Lente” means lens.

My host family said that American girls bring a lot of clothes to Guatemala. I jokingly replied that that is because we don’t want to have to wash them. Enforcing the stereotype of American girls they get from TV, I said it’s because we don’t want to wear them. Wash is “lavar” wear is “llevar”. Oops.

Apparently old people here don’t like to be called old! The correct term for “casa para personas viejas” (old folks home) is “asilo”. I think I prefer “old folks home” over a word that means “asylum”.

“Letreras” of the alphabet? No such thing. Letreras isn’t even a word. The word is “letras”. A B C…

Muscles tight from working out? You should “flexionar” them. I was “estrechar-ing” my muscles… which isn’t possible. Typical Spanglish!

Me – “I love the tortillas ‘fresas’ here in Guatemala!” Host brother – “The what??? HAHAHA!” Yeah, I guess the idea of strawberry tortillas is pretty funny and they probably wouldn’t be as good as the tortillas “frescas” made by hand that we enjoy at meals.

Tortillas frescas

To me, Greta and I are “nosotros” (us boys) instead of “nosotras” (us girls).

I saw a procession going down the road honoring the “Virgen de Candelas” (Virgin of Candles). It was pretty interesting. My host family thought it was even more interesting to hear my account of the “Virgen de Canelas”! Anyone else celebrate the Virgin of Cinnamon? No? Just me I guess. 

Virgen de Candelas

Host Family! Silly host brothers that tease me for my Spanish!

Home Sweet Home

     Here I am in Guatemala! It's a crazy thought that I live here now. When we landed we were all commenting about how we left home and arrived at home. It doesn't seem quite real yet. The flight went smoothly as did immigration and customs. Yay!

     Arriving at Magdalena was an adventure. We rode on a bus through Guatemala city and up into the mountainous area where the town of Magdalena lays. Will informed me that starting a manual on a hill is difficult. This is true. At one point we were halfway up a steep hill and had to stop. We then had to roll back down the hill in neutral (apparently there is no reverse on the bus...) and try again from the bottom of the hill. We also had to stop for a herd of cattle. Eventually we did make it :)

The cows :)

     We are definitely at high altitude here and breathing is difficult and not made easier by the steep roads! There are virtually no flat roads in Magdalena. You are always going either steeply uphill or down. Our house is really nice. Greta and I have a room with two beds and a table. There is a kitchen, two bathrooms (one for us and one for the family), a living room, the parents bedroom and a roof with a cooking school on it! The center hallway of the house where the stairs to the roof are is open to the sky - a design you wouldn't find in MN or WI!

Open ceiling with stairs to the roof. The bathroom is by the sink.

The black door straight ahead is our room. The kitchen is to the left of our room and the living room is to the right.

     My host family is great. I have four little brothers instead of four little sisters! The dad is Jose, the mom is Antonieta, and the boys are Wilmar, Kevin, Jeffrey, and Justin. The boys like sports (especially soccer) and playing cops and robbers. Antonieta teaches women how to bake cakes so they can help support their families. Jose works in agriculture. All the vegetables he grows are purchased by Wal-Mart and sold in the US. They are all really nice and welcoming. They ask Greta and I a lot of questions about home and school and our families!

     We had breakfast with our host families this morning - pancakes, bread, watermelon, and hot chocolate. We then went to church where we sang a lot (our group sang three songs in front of the congregation!) and attempted to follow a message in Spanish. Later today we are taking hike to the ecological park to see some of the beautiful nature in the area. I've heard it's a strenuous hike but worth it! Apparently there is a rope swing at the top! I'm excited to experience more of Magdalena!