Poza Zilei: August 2007

It's interesting what different symbols are taken to mean in different cultures. I have a BMI of about 19, which makes me, as my mother would say, a skinny lil' drink o' water. But the other day my host mom and I were about to carry a large bucket of tamales over to her daughter's house for a party. She asked me "are you sure you can handle the weight?" to which I replied "I may be skinny, but I'm not weak." She smiled proudly and remarked "You're not skinny. You're fat!" I was a little taken aback, as I am clearly more line than circle. It occurred to me, however, that this is a woman who grew up with very little food security, and that now she was preparing my meals. "Fat" to Manuela, I suspect, has more to do with a family's financial prowess in covering the basics than in BMI...

our last few moments in Nahuala

The Guatemala City Temple

Well, it’s been an intense last few weeks. I got sick twice, got the most physically painful haircut of my life, and spent over 15 hours in airports and airplanes. I got 2 separate stomach infections in my last 2 weeks in Guatemala. I still can’t figure out why – I never eat off the streets, I wash my hands frequently, I brush my teeth with bottled water, and my host mom is meticulous about boiling everything and not serving me on wet plates. My last infection hit its peak my second-to-last day in the community, and I had to go to Xela for treatment. That was terrible because I wanted to say goodbye and prepare a few things before I left and didn’t wind up having time to do it. The day I went to Xela, as it turns out, was the day my host family had a surprise farewell party planned for me. Shoot! I came home the next day and packed and said goodbye to a few people and wrote cards to the rest. Then the next morning we headed to Nahuala to turn in our equipment (tape recorders, the ancient laptop, etc.) and fill out course evaluations, then we took a shuttle to Guatemala City. My friend Martha had made me pinkie promise her that I’d let her cut my hair on our last day in Guatemala, so I did. She used the only set of scissors we could find, which were dull, and she severely layered my hair (meaning she took each strand of hair on my head, pulled it taut, and ran the scissors slowly along it to cut it at an angle… twice…). It hurt so bad I cried. I think my scalp is seriously bruised. But it looks dang good, and I’m grateful to Martha for her friendship and good intentions (not to mention good taste). And I’m especially grateful to her for lending me “Harry Potter 7” for that last day or so of our journey! That kept me pretty busy for the last excruciatingly long day between leaving the community and heading on the plane home. Sunday morning I headed to the airport at 6:30 a.m. and got home about 9:30 p.m. I don’t think I’ve ever missed home so much in my life as on this trip. It’s so dang good to be home!

Now I have a few major decisions to make, like… what am I going to do with the rest of my life… I graduate in a week or so. Then it’s job hunting. I can’t decide if I want to look for a job in the Washington DC area or if I’d like to stay closer to home. Like I say, I was shocked how much I missed home in Guatemala. I don’t think I’ve truly been homesick on a previous trip like I was this time. Thanks for my dear friends who kept in touch when I needed them – it meant a LOT to me.