Vacations and Celebrations

The past couple of weeks have been full of activity for the volunteer community.  First came Holy Week, the most important of all holidays here in San Lucas. 

The entire week was a holiday from work for all of the Parish workers so that everyone could be free for the activities.  Each day there was a procession through the town during which purple-gowned men carried one or more of various statues and floats reserved for the processions.  The processions walk slowly through town, sometimes for up to twelve hours at a time, on alfombras (rugs) made of colored sawdust and flowers.

After Holy Week, Katie, Owen, and I took a trip to Monterrico, a town on the Pacific coast of Guatemala, for a little sun and relaxation.

Monterrico was hot, and the black sand beaches made it a lot hotter.  We all enjoyed to views and the sun, coming home with painful sunburns and lots of memories. 

For Katie's last weekend, we also spent a night in Antigua, to enjoy good restaurants and a nice, relaxed environment.  We stayed in an adorable hotel called Posada San Sebastian.

Back In SLT

I have been back in SLT form the States for over two weeks now, and although it will be a while before I settle into a schedule again (vacation on the beach next week followed by surgical week),  I am starting to realize what it is I appreciate about having San Lucas as my home, and what I will be more than happy to leave behind in October. 

I’ll be honest, it is hard being different.  Being an average height/weight white girl living in “the middle” (as Minnesota is often referred to by my friends here) I pretty much fell in with the norm all of my life.  In SLT I stick out like a sore thumb, which means a lot of staring and a lot of shouts of “gringa” in my direction.  I am pretty good at shutting it all out, and to be honest it isn’t much of a nuisance, but it has taught me something new about being a minority.  What I lack is anonymity.  It feels like everyone in this town of 25,000 knows who I am, and if they don’t, they at least know where I work and who I am associated with.  This seriously impairs my ability to go outside looking like a slob, and I have to be very careful about how I act in public.  Sometimes I just want to disappear into a crowd and act like a jackass if I want, knowing that if anyone sees me again, they won’t remember me.

I also starve for the “whenever, wherever” lackadaisical attitude that I could have in the States.  (call it lazy if you want)  Everything needs to be planned in advance here.  No deciding that I want an omelet for dinner at 5 pm—the market has long shut down by then.  If I forget to send an email or do anything time sensitive on the internet between the hours of 4 and 7… well, then I missed my chance.  (I am very grateful for the fact that I do have access to the internet when I do, but I still haven’t learned how to best use what I have)  I can’t lie; I miss the information overload of constant connectivity.  When I come up with a question that no one can answer here, I want my cell phone and its 3G internet. 

The truth is, I really love it here.  I wanted to stay for a full year for a reason.  While I may complain about my lack of connection to friends and culture back home, not having distractions like the internet or television can be quite a relief.  For the first time in years, I am enjoying reading for pleasure again, an activity that had obsession status when I was growing up, and virtually disappeared when I entered high school.  Besides reading for pleasure, I am also enjoying reading non-fiction about Guatemalan history, economics, trade, race, etc.  I even catch myself pulling out grammar books (Spanish and English) from time to brush up. 

It is amazing how, when freed from the constraints of college, I naturally find my way to continue the kind of learning that I want to do.  If you had asked me two years ago, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you what that learning would be.  This experience has really encouraged me to go back to school and enjoy focusing on a field that interests me. 

Probably the most encouraging thing about this lifestyle is feeling like I have some (small) purpose.  All of the jobs I have held in the past, though I often enjoyed them, were motivated by money.  I clocked in hours to get paid.  I don’t get paid here, but I still find my way to work in the morning.  I am not getting a degree for any of the papers or articles I write, but I still put my all into them.  Why?  Because I feel like I am getting something out of it all that will make me better.  I can see the change this work makes in how I feel, and how I perceive my world.  I wouldn’t trade it.