Hi there!
I can’t quite figure out how it’s already the end of week five here in Guatemala. On one hand it’s starting to feel normal here, which is incredibly exciting because that means we are adjusting and adapting! At the same time, however, there are still those moments where you step back and none of it feels real. We are so lucky.
This past week has been one of many changes and accomplishments. After spending almost two weeks on fixing up the garden in San Juan La Laguna, we finally finished and were given the honor of presenting it to the women. We also bought tools that will hopefully make maintaining the garden a little bit easier for them. Having all of the women in the town that work with Maya Traditions come to the garden for the “grand reopening” was a pretty profound moment. We got the chance to meet the women of San Juan that we had been learning about since we arrived there two weeks prior. It was rewarding to see a more direct transformation of the garden in a short span of only 2 weeks. Even more than that, however, is the potential for this garden to provide important resources to the community for years and years to come. Living with families in the community that can directly benefit from the medicinal plants and natural dye plants really gave us the determination that we needed to push through the heat and exhaustion.
The women visiting the garden for the first time since fixing it up!
Our team presenting the new tools, while taking a second to embrace our true selves.
Speaking of families, it came time to say our goodbyes as we had to move back to Panajachel for our remaining week. We are very grateful for having the opportunity to live in two very different communities and families here in Guatemala. In San Juan, Claire and I lived with a family that had 5 kids in the house. It was the most heartwarming two weeks that I could have asked for. I came into this experience with no Spanish skills whatsoever. With kids especially though, I was reminded that there is much more to communication than spoken words. Language barriers didn’t seem to matter anymore. The late night dance sessions (them trying to teach me how to actually dance), the moments that we relied solely on smiles and laughs, and getting to dress up in the traditional clothing are just a few of the things that I will take back home with me. It was surprisingly difficult to say goodbye to everybody. We were treated to our favorite foods, gifts, kind words, lots of hugs, and also a few tears. Even though we learned that goodbyes can be very difficult, it also showed us how much you can connect with people of different cultures in such a short time. The connections that we have made here are well worth the difficult goodbyes.
Yeana and Amber with their San Juan host mom, Angelina.
Rachel with her host sister, Jenny.
Claire and I all dressed up with our two younger host sisters, Vicenta and Maria Elena.
Moving back to Panajachel feels somewhat like going back home. It’s the place that we spent our first two weeks in Guatemala in. The place that first introduced us to our “new lives” and our first host families. It feels very fitting to end our time here in the place that started it all. As for the next week, we will be finishing up our work with Maya Traditions, and really solidifying what we have built during our time here. Here’s to being grateful for the people we have met and hoping that our goodbyes aren’t forever.
Familia 🙂
Emily