la vida chapina: 04

January 17, 2025

la vida chapina: 04

January 17, 2025

Hello world! I’ve been in Guatemala for nearly 4 ½ months and in site for just over two, so now seems like a lovely time to sit and think and write. Since my last lil update, I haven’t done a ton of work, with it being vacation and all that. For the most part though, my time feels fulfilling and each day, I grow more accustomed to life at a slower rhythm with minimal responsibilities. It’s been a privilege and a pleasure to soak up the goodness surrounding me. It’s also the new year! New year, new me, and all that jazz. Just kidding. I honestly am a fan of the person I’m becoming, and don’t see a need to undertake some sort of drastic reevaluation of my life and my choices. Thus, I’m not a huge new year’s resolution girly, but I do love picking a word or two to keep in mind for the next 365 days. At the moment, I don’t have my old journals on hand, but I am fairly certain that in 2024, I tried to focus on presence and peace. And truly it was a beautiful year, filled to the brim with early mornings and sunrises that made getting out of bed worth it, treks across a barely awake campus with a surfboard under my arm–ready to greet the day on the chilly sea. I beheld breathtaking landscapes: clouds hugging the central coast, a sprawling city barely visible from the mountains we perched upon, dizzyingly tall palm trees tucked away in a hilly grove, alpenglow that soaked the craggy peaks and jade colored lake, the unparalleled majesty of the smiling faces of my dear family and friends.

Looking ahead, peace and presence are intentions I want to cultivate this year as well. Plus some creativity, wonder, and joy thrown into the mix. Tangibly, this might mean thinking outside the box as I teach and develop lesson plans for my jóvenes, taking more sunset walks, talking to strangers in the streets, buying brightly colored mystery fruits in the market, feeling all the feelings in a big way (this might be a stretch but I can give it my best go), showing up–fully–as the marvelously embodied being that I am wherever I go.

Some snippets of life for you! Christmas Eve here was unlike any other. We had dinner of homemade paches (think Costa Rican tamales or tamales oaxaqueños if those mean anything to you) after church, around 10 pm or so. Then I desperately tried to stay awake until midnight so I could participate in the festivities to come. I lit off some of my first fireworks with the host fam and since my abuela lives up on the hill, we took in the whole municipality, aglow with the brazen and blinking lights of oh so many bombas. We finally headed home at 1:30 am; I truly cannot remember the last time I went to bed that late. The next day (well later the same day, I suppose), I helped my host mom prep Christmas lunch for the extended family and my hands acquired a lovely pinkish hue as I peeled and sliced up the beets for our salad. Don’t ever underestimate the power of a simple lime and salt dressing; I kept coming back for more of those veggies that resembled some sort of Valentine’s Day concoction. The Christmas gathering was reminiscent of holidays in the US with plenty of yummy food, hot chocolate and a smattering of board games played with cousins afterwards. I was welcomed into the fold of the young ‘uns where we played Uno and later Basta (the Spanish version of Scattergories), in which I didn't get dead last, so I count that as a win.

Since work has been mild to say the least, this past month boasted an abundance of natural beauty. I climbed a few volcanoes (Guatemala does have 37 of them afterall) with friends and each one offered us such unique scenery. We wandered through tons of microclimates, enjoying plain-like patches, lava fields, and dense rainforests, to mention just a few. Though all have honestly been quite challenging, I never fail to be amazed by what my body can accomplish and by the subtle magnificence of my surroundings: “Truly we live with mysteries too marvelous to be understood,” Mary Oliver just about sums it all up. Most of the hikes have involved unplanned detours and unexpectedly difficult terrain, but my dear pals always manage to keep positive attitudes. Even when I lead them astray, they serve as living and breathing reminders that it doesn’t really matter where life takes me as long as I’ve got sure-footed, bright-eyed and kind-hearted folks to muddle through the jumble with me. Such joy!

When I am not busy scrambling over vines and under bamboo arches in the middle of the Guatemalan jungles, I’ve been trying to figure out how to rest well. How to find activities that feel wholesome but aren’t “productive” nor “total time wasters” to borrow some lingo from Dad. Reading and writing have long been that for me. Now, with my guitar skills marginally improved, this, when I am not trying to learn some new riff or tune, proves restful. Experimenting in my kitchenette has actually been a source of joy and relaxation as well. It’s strange. There are moments in which free time abounds and I have absolutely no motivation to read, write, practice guitar, do k’iche homework or roll out my yoga mat. And then I think to myself, ah yes, time to go cook something random in my kitchen, make a large mess, eat for a bit and then clean it up. Oddly satisfying! Recent experiments include: naan bread (way too sticky), home-made tofu from my home-made soy milk, coconut milk for curries, soups galore, chai lattes, hummus, peanut butter, tahini, and lasagna (a time-consuming effort that included my host sister upstairs). I’ll gladly pass hours stirring slowly simmering broths and mixtures on my stove, listening to music, chatting with a friend, or just letting things marinate in my own mind. I think it feels like a way to be present, a way to connect to the veggies that are giving me sustenance; being intimately involved in the process of creating an elaborate, colorful and healthy meal is soul-filling in a way that is an unexpected but welcome gift. That said, if you have any stove-top recipes you love made with relatively simple ingredients, please send them my way! Another request: trying to make my poetry more public, so if you know anyone who is in the poetry publishing world, just lemme know:)

Okay, enough asking for things. Here, I offer up these miniature melodies to you as little encouragements to maintain a posture of curiosity and wonder in your daily wanderings! The comfort of seeing familiar faces when I run, go to the gym or just walk about. Free food from neighbors, extravagant birthday parties, unnecessary races in the pouring down rain that hurt so good. Sunsets that steal my breath away and conversations with locals that illuminate centro-aldea dynamics and religious expectations. Smushed summit sandwiches and mostly melted cookies that make the whole hike worth it. A moment of release while ranting about our shared frustrations with sexist theology. A romp into the forest where a hidden meadow beckons me towards reflection and repose. Sipping hot tea in the richness of the morning sun.

School, at least one of the ones I’ll be working in, begins this week! I am excited (and honestly slightly terrified) to start meeting the jóvenes, and eager to learn from them and with them about their communities, maybe even helping them enact some sort of positive change! Who’s to say what these next two years will hold??