Friendship is the Best Ship...haha

Does anyone else remember coming back from your first day of kindergarten and announcing excitedly to your parents, "I made a friend today!"

Today about 21 years after the first time, I had the urge to announce this loudly to my parents and let them know that I have officially made a friend...Yes, my first Guatemalan friend...though I am not sure what said friend's name is...(baby steps...)

Ok, maybe I am exaggerating. I am sure I have made some Guatemalan friends here and there. I mean I am still close to my training family, but that is not really friendship, they are like a surrogate family. I am on friendly terms with my host family from my last site, but I don't see them anymore as I have my new site. I get along with everyone at my new workplace, but there isn't anyone in my community that I have clicked with or who I can hang out with on the weekends to just sit back with and chat with.

Just as I was getting kind of sad about my lack of social life or having any circle of local friends here to hang out with (non-peace corps volunteers that is), tonight, my first friend knocked on my door!

I met this guatemalteca (who shall remain nameless because awful human being that I am, I don't remember her name) through my sitemate one day while we were walking to go get ice cream. My sitemate introduced us, and we started talking, and she seemed really nice. I also found out she lives down the street from me, which is awesome since all my immediate neighbors are cantinas (and hence, BOLOS or drunkards). So, after that meeting I invited her to stop by my house for a cafecito, whatever baked goods I might have, and some conversation ( I NEED FRIENDS!)...then I ran into her again this week while I was walking to work, and she accompanied me all the way back to the office. And today, she stopped by my house and we chatted for a while, and it was so nice! I made her some tea and cookies, and we just chatted.

I finally feel like I have at least ONE connection in my community, which is a great feeling...for those of you back home who can't quite understand my enthusiasm for local friendship, all I can say is that for me, this is a huge milestone and one more way to truly integrate into my community. While my fellow PCVs in country are awesome and I have made some great friendships, I also want to feel like I have friends and connections in my community to feel truly grounded here.

I am finally starting to get that feeling of belonging...And my new friend ( I promise I will find out her name...you know we are just passed that point where I can ask her...) invited me to her house on friday to watch a telenovela with her! She felt sorry that I didn't have a TV and that I was missing out on some "quality" tv...so yeah, I'm not ashamed to say it...I have an official play-date on Friday, and to buy more love, I am going to bake something delicious to share with her and her family...

Yay!

Lazy Sunday

Happy Sunday, Everyone!

Back in training I remember a volunteer describing living and working in her site. She also mentioned the slowness of weekends, but how amazing they are because, unlike back in the US, you never really have anything stressful going on. While you have errands you might need to run, there is nothing really urgent that needs to get done, no stressful trips to malls, grocery stores, Costco, etc., Your weekends are just for you, and you can be as LAZY as you want.

I mean sure, I try to do all my laundry and cooking on the weekends so I don't have to worry about that stuff during the week, but sometimes the rain (or really most times now since it is rainy season) prevents me from any true "productivity". My weekends are just for me. Sometimes I travel or there are peace corps events like welcome parties, etc., but most times I lounge around my house, sipping on the instant coffee I once despised but now have come to love, reading, catching up on emails, etc., just relaxing. It is so weird not really having anything to do. There is no hustle and bustle, no sense of urgency, just me and my mind (which is sometimes a dangerous combination).

At first I wasn't a huge fan of these lazy weekends, however, now I have come to truly appreciate them so much that often times, I find myself dreading leaving for the weekend and having to deal with the real world, catching chicken buses and getting caught in a rainstorm. I find myself indulging in the slow pace of Guatemalan life (well during the weekends anyway, not so much during office hours!)...

It is a beautiful, simple sort of existence I have here...one I am truly trying to appreciate without questioning, because I know it won't always be this way...