¡Feliz Día de Los Santos!

¡Feliz Día de Los Muertos! Or, as is more commonly said here in Guatemala, Día de Los Santos o Día de Los Difuntos. I have learned that here in Guatemala the “day of saints” is more commonly celebrated, especially in the smaller pueblos. Where I am living for training, the aldea de Santo Tomás, there are a lot of Catholic families that celebrate this holiday. I spent the holiday, November 1st, with my host family. The day was a lot different than what I had experienced in Oaxaca, Mexico in 2017 with Día de Los Muertos and it was a wonderful experience to be able to share such a personal moment with my host family.

We started the day in the cemetery at 7:45am. We visited my host moms parents grave first, placing flowers on it, cleaning it off, and adorning it with a corona, or circular flower arrangement that looks similar to what we in the U.S. would know as a Christmas wreath. All of the panteones or tombs were painted in happy colors of yellow, orange, blue, or pink. The sight of the cemetery was less of mourning and more of celebrating and honoring the dead. At 8:00am we attended a Catholic mass in the cemetery. The most comical moment of the morning was when someones cell phone rang while the priest was reading off the names of the dead and he paused to ask if the cell phone belonged to one of the dead.

The rest of the day was spent eating fiambre, the typical Guatemalan dish that is eaten here on Día de Los Santos. It consists of a variety of vegetables, meats, and cheeses and has a strong vinegar flavor. I have decided that it is not my favorite thing. The best part of the day, however, was spending time with the family and the extended family as well. We talked a lot, laughed a lot, and relaxed.

Rewind a little to right before this holiday, I was able to spend Halloween with my cohort in the Peace Corps office. We dressed up and ate snacks and were able to share a little Halloween happiness for a couple of hours! It made me miss home and our special traditions in the U.S.

The night before Día de Los Santos, I was sitting on the couch reading a book (the sixth book I’ve read so far since being in Guatemala) and all of a sudden fireworks started going off outside (a common occurrence here). I was in my pajamas and my birkenstocks and my host mom jumps up and says “Camila, let’s go see the fireworks!” I get up, thinking we were just going outside to look up at the sky for a moment, and I end up being dragged into the park and then into a Catholic procession. If this isn’t a classic Peace Corps experience, I don’t know what is. One moment you’re doing one thing, and the next, you’re in a procession walking through the streets of Guatemala in your pajamas, holding your host moms hand and listening to religious chants in another language. It’s all an adventure here!

This past Saturday I had the opportunity to go on a beautiful hike with my Healthy Schools group! (This is the project I am going to be working on here in country and my group is 19 amazing, dedicated individuals). The hike was actually pretty difficult, as we were scaling a mountain at a vertical angle on uneven muddy ground. My legs and glutes are still sore. However, it was SO worth it for the view at the top. I think it’s the best view I’ve ever seen. From the top, you can see Lake Amatitlan, the city of Guatemala, a few volcanoes, dense forest, and much more. My friends and I ate lunch up there and hung out and just enjoyed the afternoon of freedom that we had.

Yesterday I went to Antigua for an hour with my host fam to get some bread. The bakery actually ended up being closed, so we went to a beautiful church instead, bought some Guatemalan candy, and then headed home. It was a pretty fun evening and I enjoyed spending time with them, even though our plans didn’t go as we thought they would. That’s pretty characteristic of my time here in Guatemala. Nothing goes as planned, but what happens instead is often a sweet, precious, unforgettable moment.