Life on a Rooftop

Ever since my mom and I began traveling to Mexico 13 years ago, I have had a love affair with Latin America.  In my travels through Central America and the Dominican Republic, I have always loved the colors, the noises, food on the street, children playing everywhere, and the cadence of Spanish.  My first day in Guatemala, driving through the streets seeing the dogs roaming, hearing women selling Tamales from their wheelbarrows, seeing the colorful cinder block houses with tin roofs, and packing myself into a bus with 200 other people. . . I had a sense of feeling right at home.  But right along with that love, also comes some culture shock.  As a Guatemalteca for the next 6 months, there is definitely a lot I have to get used to!

People here are itty-bitty, and I am a giant.  One of my English teaching buddies is 5’2”, and she said this is the first time in her life she has felt tall.  I live on a rooftop with 7 other people, all working in different capacities throughout the school.  Some are teachers, some are working with the Artisans on their crafts, and some are working in the afterschool tutoring program for community kids.  I definitely love my new family here, but it can be hard all living on a roof together.  We all have our love of travel and helping the world in common, but the personalities are so different!  Included in our group of folk is a woman who leads a professional clown troop, a quiet artist, and a proud Texan who loves liberty.  Definitely a group of characters, with enough stories to last us all the quiet moments on our roof.

While I do love the noises here, it can make sleeping infinitely difficult.  Fireworks are a constant event outside our windows.  Guatemalans use fireworks to celebrate someone’s birthday, the arrival of new puppies, to honor a visiting guest. . . . .and basically to celebrate every day of the week, and every hour of the day and night.  It’s definitely festive, and I’m sure it will soon be sweet lullabies to my ears.

I look forward to the practice of simple living – and by look forward to, I mean that I miss all modern conveniences, and look forward to the time in a few months when it’s normal for me to not have them.  We hand wash all our clothes, showers are quick and cold, and we share rickety bunks with barely enough blankets to go around.  Our ceilings have un-intended sun roofs, which make for breezy sleep. Here's my bedroom. 

A few days ago, one of the girls I live with, Meagan, fell in love with a little street kitten.  She adopted it and brought it up to our roof.  It was adorable!!  But none of us, but Meagan, would touch it.  It had cat lice, crazy eyes, and mewed all the time.  We named the cat “Brittney Flea-Body,” and she stayed with us for a whole 24 hours before we returned her to her cozy street corner.  We reference her often, and reminisce over the fond memories of running away from her and telling her to be quiet. 

I have done a few house visits to spend time getting to know the community, and the amazing hospitality never ceases to amaze me - that families who have hardly enough for themselves, will feed us their food.  It also is always a humbling experience to see families who have only clothes and each other, but are filled with more joy, happiness and love than many families who have more money and things than they know what to do with. 

Part of that hospitality does mean we eat whatever is given to us.  Yesterday, we visited another school, and they cooked us a special soup, consisting of cow tongue, cow intestines, and cow leg nerve.  MMmmm.  I ate my soup, and have been paying for it ever since!  The Guatemalan’s who ate it got an upset stomach – which means it was probably a bad batch - none of my other (maybe smarter) English companions ate the meat and have been fine – but I went all in, and have had the meat sweats for a whole day.  I tend to get a parasite on every trip I’ve been do, but am surprised it happened this soon!  I haven’t kept anything down, and am off to the doc tomorrow for some medicina.  And I will save my future leg nerve and give it to Brittney Flea-Body. 

Brittney Flea-Body, breaking the rules and sitting on the couch.  

 And here is our neighbor's house, with their dog who we have named "Ledge dog." He is always perched precariously on the ledge of their 3 story home, acting as neighborhood lookout.