12 days in-2 years, 1 month, and three weeks to go

12 days ago I landed in Guatemala, eager, nervous, and excited to start my Peace Corps (PC) journey. I, along with the rest of my PC cohort (named Kan 14 and whom I have grown to love already), walked off the plane and were greeted by smiling, energetic PC staff members and current volunteers. We were embraced with a warm welcome and hurried off into vans to head towards Santa Lucía, our new home for the next ten weeks. The next three days consisted of a whirlwind of activities, meetings, interviews, and a constant stream of information being hurled at us. We had language interviews and were placed into our Spanish classes, we played games to get to know each other better, we listened to PC staff talk about policies, we received several vaccinations, and we got our official PC badges.

The first three nights we stayed in a hotel in Santa Lucía, and even though these three days were rapid, I am going to remember them forever and hold onto them closely. I was blessed with having the best roommates ever and our fun conversations in our room late at night and very early in the mornings were priceless. One morning we watched the sunrise from the roof of the hotel and as the sky became pink and the puffy white clouds made themselves visible, I felt whole and I knew that I was still me in this new place. I was still whole. Abrupt, drastic change sometimes can make you feel like you are missing a part of yourself. It’s disorienting at times. But at that moment I was whole and I knew I was still me in this new environment. The last night at the hotel we had a talent show and I was able to borrow someone’s dock martens to step in. I’ll never forget the faces of not only my group when I started stepping, but also the faces of the small group of Guatemalans in the back who looked surprised, confused, and a little impressed.

Friday the 20^th we met our host families. These are the families we will be living with during the ten weeks of training. They will be supporting us, helping us with our Spanish, bringing us to events in the community, and helping us integrate into Guatemalan culture. The moments before we met our host moms was agonizing, as all of Kan 14 was terrified. Terrified that our Spanish was going to be awful. Terrified that we were going to be awkward. Terrified of what our houses were going to look like, terrified of how we were going to live with strangers for the next two months. But all that worry dissipated when we were finally introduced to the host mothers. My host mother, Doña (Mrs.) Josephina, gave me a huge smile and grabbed onto me for a hug that lasted probably a whole sixty seconds. “Mucho gusto, mucho gusto,” she muttered. “I’m going to be your mom now for whatever you need.” I went back to her house in Santo Tomas, the next pueblo over from Santa Lucía, and met her husband, Don (Mr.) Omar, and her three sons, Gabriel, Omar, and Miguel. Her sons, my host brothers, are 31, 29, and 26.

And so commenced a weekend full of learning, living within the awkwardness, and lots of hand gestures to communicate. I went to a three-hour catholic church service, ate a lot of new food, and picked out food at the market with my host mom. Doña Jose has three little dogs and three parrots. She loves plants and flowers and has the most beautiful view of Santo Tomas from the roof of her house. Don Omar loves history, geography, baseball, and fútbol, and knows the United States capitols better than I do.

During the week we have our Spanish class Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Tuesdays and Thursdays we have training in the PC office. Our Spanish classes each day are at a different member of the community’s house. I am currently at the Intermediate-High level of Spanish and my goal is to be at least at Advanced-Low by the time training is over! Yesterday Kan 14 got to experience a Mayan ceremony at the PC office, and we got to learn our Nahual (or Nawal). It is similar to what we are familiar with in the U.S. as our zodiac sign, as it corresponds to our birth day, month, and year. My Nahual is 13 Kej and signifies that I am a leader in my community. I am looking forward to looking more in depth about what it specifically means. The ceremony itself was amazing and it was a privilege that the spirit guide was trusting us to share her culture with us.

Last night I went to an 18^th birthday party for my host mom’s niece. Doña Jose’s sister is also hosting a volunteer, as well as a couple other of her family members, so I was able to reunite with a couple other PC trainees in Kan 14 at the birthday party. We ate food, watched the birthday girl get her face smashed into the cake, and tried our best to communicate in Spanish. Every day is full of learning and overcoming cultural differences. Today I learned how to wash my clothes in a pila. A pila is what most people in Guatemala use to wash their clothes and their dishes. It is a cement structure that has water in the middle and one area on each side. The right side is commonly used for dishes while the left side is used for washing clothes. It was a lot of hard work scrubbing each clothing item and I now have a huge appreciation for washing machines and dryers. It has been raining here a lot every afternoon, so I have to wait again until tomorrow morning to rehang my clothes to dry on the clothesline on the roof before the rain comes again.

These 12 days have already challenged me deeply. Learning a different language is hard. Living in someone else’s house is hard. My first night at my host families house was difficult. I saw my first big spider and then sat on my bed thinking, “what the hell have I gotten myself into?” But as I sat with that feeling I got up, I wrote down my fears and the heaviness of it all passed. I woke up, I took a lukewarm shower (praise), and I kept going. And I will have to do that time and time gain throughout these next two years, one month, and three weeks. I will get used to sleeping in a mosquito net. I’ll get used to eating new foods. I’ll get used to moving at a MUCH slower pace. And every day I will have to wake up and recommit to the cause. Because it’s one I believe in deeply.

Here’s to learning and failing and learning again, so that I can be ready to dive head first into this service and uplift this community with all of the power that I have been given.