As I prepare to leave for Costa Rica tomorrow I can't help but think back on the 5 weeks I have spent in Guatemala & one specific conversation I had with my first host mom. She told me she doesn't understand why Guatemala is called GuateMALA & that it should be called GuateLINDA.
mala (adj.) = bad
linda (adj.) = pretty, beautiful
mala (adj.) = bad
linda (adj.) = pretty, beautiful
So this last post in Guatemala is inspiration from her & will be about the beauty I found during my stay.
While trying to figure out how to put the beauty into words I realized something. Guatemala has (simply put) two very different cultures. The indigenous & non-indigenous life. From the outside they may look like two very different lifestyles because of their clothing choices, their religion, their houses, source of income, etc. But when you break them down they both have some very important things in common. They are proud of who they are & they show it.
They have pride, hope, desire for change & a sense of community. I saw pride & community at the protests where people gathered & sang their city's song, Luna de Xelaju, danced & chanted for change as they waved their Guatemalan flags. I saw the pride & beauty in the indigenous women & children that to this day continue to wear their traditional trajes. I saw pride & beauty in the many indigenous people here that continue to teach about their culture & continue to use their indigenous language. I saw pride & hope in the eyes of the people when I (the white gringo) walked into a quincenera with a traje on. I saw pride & beauty of the Maya Priest that preformed a Maya ceremony for us, which was a wonderful, beautiful experience that anyone of any religion or not can find meaning in. I saw beauty in the two families that allowed me to enter into their lives to learn more about them, their culture & to practice my Spanish. I saw pride & hope in my teacher who worked with me daily to teach me about the history of Guatemala & helped me become more confident in speaking Spanish, her first language & the language of most here. I saw beauty in all of the amor libre or free love I received while I was here & won't soon (or ever) forget.
They have pride, hope, desire for change & a sense of community. I saw pride & community at the protests where people gathered & sang their city's song, Luna de Xelaju, danced & chanted for change as they waved their Guatemalan flags. I saw the pride & beauty in the indigenous women & children that to this day continue to wear their traditional trajes. I saw pride & beauty in the many indigenous people here that continue to teach about their culture & continue to use their indigenous language. I saw pride & hope in the eyes of the people when I (the white gringo) walked into a quincenera with a traje on. I saw pride & beauty of the Maya Priest that preformed a Maya ceremony for us, which was a wonderful, beautiful experience that anyone of any religion or not can find meaning in. I saw beauty in the two families that allowed me to enter into their lives to learn more about them, their culture & to practice my Spanish. I saw pride & hope in my teacher who worked with me daily to teach me about the history of Guatemala & helped me become more confident in speaking Spanish, her first language & the language of most here. I saw beauty in all of the amor libre or free love I received while I was here & won't soon (or ever) forget.
I saw beauty in this group of people that I will be continuing to travel with until the end. They have become my go to people for everything & I appreciate their opinions, observations & conversations. We all come from different backgrounds, different states, with different experiences, with different degrees, different goals but we all have our individual beauty that makes this experience so much better.
Lastly, the beauty I found in nature. I am a Minnesota girl who loves lakes (and found one here) but doesn't live near mountains. It sometimes can be hard to see the beautiful nature here in Guatemala, especially spending most time in the city & because there is not an effective trash system so trash is everywhere. BUT it's beautiful & refreshing to be surrounded by such beautiful mountains & scenery daily from the busy, city life. OR to venture a little away from the busy city & experience nature near Lago Atitlan.
And with all that said, I say, "Goodbye, Guatemala. Until next time." Here we come Costa Rica!
And with all that said, I say, "Goodbye, Guatemala. Until next time." Here we come Costa Rica!