Gobble Gobble Part Two

I just celebrated my second and LAST Thanksgiving in Guatemala! And I have to admit that I am not sad about it, as great as it was because I am looking forward to spending my next Thanksgiving in the United States with my family, stuffing my face with my mommy's delicious, delicious food (mainly side dishes as I am not a huge turkey fan...oh, and PUMPKIN PIE!!! And maybe I will make some baked mac'n'cheese...the options are endless...)

Anyway, this Thanksgiving was pretty awesome here in Guatemala. I spent it at my favorite place in Guatemala, Lake Atitlan (though I still have much more of this country to see, there is just something so calming about the Lake). My friend from the US was visiting me, and we were surprised to learn that the hotel we were staying at had planned an actual Thanksgiving meal, complete with cranberry sauce straight from the can and pumpkin pie. I was in heaven. It was delicious.

Also, it was nice to have a friend from home visit me because it helped me to not miss my family as much as I did last year. Even though for most holidays I have spent in Guatemala, I have usually been surrounded by my peace corps family, which has really been a blessing, on the main holidays, it does get a bit difficult to be away from my family...So I am grateful my friend came and visited me on this special occassion. But I am also grateful that this time next year, I will hopefully be with my family (¡Primero Dios!)

Peace Corps really has helped me to see what is truly important in my life, and at the end of the day, what is important to me isn't flushing toilets, hot water, cheese, chocolate or anything else I never knew I could live without; it is my family and my friends. Every day I am here, I feel truly blessed and grateful for the love and support I have back home--the people rooting for me to finish this, and finish strong. Because of them, I stay sane and positive. Thank you =)

Homecoming

This past week my training class and I had our (belated) midservice conference. Due to elections and severe weather, the Peace Corps postponed our midservice conference by three weeks, so even though our plans to stay together at the Earth Lodge outside of Antigua were canceled, it was still nice to finally come together with my training class, discuss the challenges and triumphs of the last year, and just catch up with friends from my training class I haven't seen in months.

During midservice conference, as a training class we celebrated the completion of our first year of service, which is a huge milestone in a volunteer's service, especially for me, since my first year was filled with many a challenge, including (but definitely not limted to) my counterpart-diablo ( I swear, I am moving past evil, evil she-devil who shall remain nameless) and my second host family's racist and inappropriate comments about me being Osama Bin Laden's daughter.

According to most volunteers, after mid-service it is all down-hill because you know the lay of the land and are better euipped to handle living in and serving within a different culture from your own. Additionally, you have met those key people that will want to work with you...I am not sure how true this is for me since I have only been in my new site for about six months...I feel like I am only just starting to meet people--both in terms of potential community counterparts and friends and surrogate family. It is a LONG process. I think for me it means that in about six more months I will finally feel like my feet are on the ground and I know what the hell is going on...and then I will have like 5 more months of service until I fly home...GAH. Better late than never?

Anyway, midservice was also great because I went back and stayed with my first host family. And it was just like going home. The kids all remembered me, and when I entered the gate, I heard little voices yelling, "Noorita! Noorita!" Then I was completely surrounded by my host nieces and nephews as they enveloped me in hugs. It was amazing. I wish all of my peace corps' service could feel like this...simple and umcomplicated. Oh, well at least I know I always have a home in San Luis Las Carretas with the Menchus...where it all began for Noorita Menchu =)

Maybe by the time I finish up my peace corps service and leave Chiché, I will have another surrogate family that I will feel as close to as my first family and will have to adopt another last name, and truly be Guatemalan with three last names!

Funk-uh-licious

Last week was a week filled with many celebrations, events, goodbyes, hellos, etc., and thus, many emotions...so really, it was just another week in the peace corps, where I feel like I am bipolar...one minute super happy, the next depressed with work, small town drama, etc.,

I went to the peace corps office for my mid-service medical exam, which is a peace corps' rite of passage...meaning I have completed one year of service and as a reward I got to be examined by doctors and the dentist, o happy day! (0 cavities! woohoo!! Which is amazing considering all the sugar I eat in country...some people work out when they are stressed, others eat candy, and others just eat nutella straight out of the jar...which one do you think I am??).

Anyway, in terms of health, all is más o menos...I am just allergic to Guatemala...just kidding...sort of...but no parasites or life-threatening illnesses! woohoo!! lol.

Being at the peace corps office for my midservice was sort of strange however, because a few of my friends are COS-ing (kind of like graduating from the peace corps...after your 2 years of service, a volunteer COS's). It was cool to get to spend some time with them, but it was hard saying goodbye ( I hate goodbyes...I mean who likes goodbyes? But I am pretty awful with goodbyes...usually I just slip away without saying anything...I am working on that though...!). Also, for me personally, it was hard hearing my friends talk about leaving their sites, all the goodbye parties thrown for them by local guatemalteco friends and family, and everything they have accomplished. To be honest it put me in a little bit of a funk mainly because I feel so far away from that, yet we all know a year flies by...

I am about 6 months into living at my new site, and I still don't feel integrated or fulfilled with work. I keep wondering if anyone will throw me a goodbye party in year from now...will I have friends? A new surrogate family that has adopted me as one of their own? A year from now, what will I have accomplished?

Everyone says that the second year of service is when volunteers really start to make things happen and make those long-lasting connections to their site...I just get worried that everything will pass me by and it will be time to go, and no one will even care that I was even here...

But, it is funny because as I was thinking all these sad, depressing thoughts, this girl I had recently met on a microbus back from the cabacera to my site, called me and asked if I wanted to hang out...I actually ended up going to her house, and it also happened to be her brother's birthday, so not only did I get to hang out with her and her entire family, I also got cake.

So, maybe someone will miss me when I am gone! I guess everything happens in its own time...so I just have to be patient...

In terms of other things that have been going on, last week was dia de los muertos (day of the dead), and instead of spending it in a cemetery with people I literally just met the day before, I went to the kite flying festival in Sumpango ( a little outside of Antigua). It was beautiful! There were a bunch of these huge, beautiful kites; apparently people here fly kites to send messages to the dead. It was definitely an interesting cultural experience, and a cool way to spend my last dia de los muertos in country...It is strange to think that this time next year, I will be back home!! Or at least in the US...crazy.

Anyway, I am out of my funk, and I am trying to stay positive. I have one year of my peace corps' service left, and I would really like to focus on making strong connections to my community, long-lasting friendships, and also I would like to accomplish a few projects that are close to my heart (my next blog post will share details of my upcoming project!)

The more I am here, the more I realize that the peace corps is about so much more than whatever your job assignment is...