First Person Foreign

T-Minus Guatemala (Peace Corps Ending): The First Goodbye Lunch

March 23, 2019March 23, 2019 First Person ForeignBeauty

Upon returning from the Master Stylist workshop excursion in Huehue, the nice Indianans dropped me off at my highway stop. I waited for buses while I called my sister to catch up. I was so[…]

T-Minus Guatemala (Peace Corps Ending): Translating For The Master Stylist

March 21, 2019March 22, 2019 First Person ForeignBeauty

On our last day, our group of 16 stood in a large circle while the youth gave us palabras de agradecimiento. They also gave each one of us Estadounidenses little gifts to take home, recuerdos[…]

T-Minus Guatemala (Peace Corps Ending): How To Lose A Pueblo in 10 Days

March 18, 2019March 18, 2019 First Person ForeignBeauty

It’s 11pm on a Sunday night. It’s my second to last Sunday in site. Tomorrow I have a session to observe and some tasks to accomplish, and then I go to another school in the[…]

T-Minus Guatemala (Peace Corps Ending): Taking My Chances on the Border of Guatemala at the Border of Service (2)

March 15, 2019March 18, 2019 First Person Foreigncoffee

I stepped out onto the patio with a toothbrush and retainers in hand, still in my pajamas at 10am, in a place I am just getting to know: a coffee farm in Huehuetenango. What did[…]

T-Minus Guatemala (Peace Corps Ending): Taking My Chances on the Border of Guatemala at the Border of Service (3)

March 14, 2019March 18, 2019 First Person ForeignCompany

On the third day of my adventure to Huehuetenango at the border of Mexico, I woke up in a desert heat in a house of polite and friendly strangers-becoming-friends. It was Monday morning. In a[…]

T-Minus Guatemala (Peace Corps Ending): Taking My Chances on the Border of Guatemala at the Border of Service (1)

March 14, 2019March 14, 2019 First Person ForeignBeauty

As of today, I have 18 days left in service. My Peace Corps days are numbered.. ‘son contados’ says my host sister Clara. And many magical things are happening between the moments of uncertainty and[…]

T-Minus Guatemala (Peace Corps Ending): Theology, Tortilla Tears & Talent Show Tuesday

March 6, 2019March 7, 2019 First Person ForeignAbuelita

For those of you just tuning in, and for those of you who aren’t, thank you. This is my last month of Peace Corps. I am learning, as I continue to grow as a human,[…]

T-Minus Guatemala (Peace Corps Ending): Lunes sin luces

March 6, 2019March 6, 2019 First Person ForeignChanges

I woke up in enough time to get dressed and go to morning school. I already felt the lethargy heavy on my eyelids but I kept going. I figure, every step I take is a[…]

T-Minus Guatemala (Peace Corps Ending): Sunday is for Sweaty San Juan Subidas

March 5, 2019March 5, 2019 First Person ForeignAbuelita

For the third time in 2019, I planned to hike Volcán San Pedro and for the third time, I hiked the Mayan Nose instead. Probably for the best because the internet says San Pedro full[…]

T-Minus Guatemala (Peace Corps Ending): Saturday is for San Marcos, Sleuth Shopping and Sleepovers

March 4, 2019March 4, 2019 First Person ForeignBeauty

Listen, I’m proud to say, I’ve never been to San Marcos La Laguna. I’ve heard it’s a hippie nightmare (not a nightmare for hippies, a nightmare of hippies) and, if I had gone there looking[…]