That’s weird.
Over our vacation during the past month, I have had a lot of time to explore and play and get to learn my location in a better way. I have gotten to know my family and neighborhood. I have learned how to play basketball… both with awesome middle aged women and an older man who is the Guatemalan equivalent of Bill Glazebrook, and with orphans. I have learned almost every way to get lost in this city and still make my way home in a decent amount of time. I have learned to navigate the markets and when to put my backpack on my front. I have mastered retrieving packages from the post office (and like many governmental things in Guatemala, the most successful technique is not the legal, logical technique).
I have also learned how to play. Finally.
You see, in Washington State, we have a playground. A playground where I was free to play where I wanted, when I wanted, and with what I wanted. It could be kayaking, biking, hiking, or sitting in the sun. They were all playing and all things I enjoyed and that gave me life. Sometimes, I did these things with other people, other times, I did them by myself. All the time, they were one of the best ways for me to get in touch with God.
Here, that’s harder. And losing that freedom to play is probably one of the hardest things for me about my Guatemalan world. It’s not safe to play by myself. I don’t have a kayak sitting around… I will get killed if I go on long explorations on a bike. The pool is even closed so I can’t go there. But, we finally broke through. I have now had two hiking adventures, and tomorrow I will go on my third.
Our first one was a warm up… it went up Mt Sinai and was GORGEOUS! Mt Sinai is a church that has a large “Cristo Viene” sign above it (Christ is coming). It sits above Central Park and has a really pretty view of the city. David, Patty, Catty, Tina, Malea, Juli, and I did the hike one afternoon… along with Fletcher the dog.
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| Goal: To reach the rocks. |
The other hike was up to La Muella. This hike was a bit more intense. First of all, we didn’t have a guide. We didn’t think this was a problem until we realized all the other gringos did have guides. That didn’t stop us though, we asked a cute 9 year old girl and she gave us directions “go straight up”, she said. So that’s what we did. On our way up, we saw kids going straight down with ropes, that were almost strong enough for me to trust them to tie off my kayaks, connecting their waists to their parents’ hands. That was not comforting.
When we finally got up (after a bit of an arduous journey…), we ate a delicious lunch of avocado, tomato, cheese, and whole wheat bread (we have learned to appreciate some things a lot… these are some of them). We also asked one of the guides how to get down without dying since we didn’t have the “strong” ropes holding us to the “strong” base of our parents’ hands in case we slipped. The guides did show us another way which had an added benefit of visiting one of Guatemala’s precious saunas, as well as a trail that didn’t lead to imminent death. It was nice. I think next time I go, we’ll go up AND down this trail. 
Standing on the hills, we all looked over the city – pointing out cathedrals, markets, our homes, and towns where we know people. It was so gorgeous. As we were soaking it in, I was so grateful – I have actually learned to make a city my home. Against all odds that I staked against myself, I have found this large, bustling, high altitude tropical, FREEZING, metropolis to be my home. This in itself is a testimony to how God is changing me this year, and how much more change is ahead of me.
I am so incredibly grateful for all the change, and I’m grateful that I now have a city. After years of living in smaller settings, surrounded by water or farmlands, and after months of living nomadically all summer and to a lesser extent the first 2 months of Guatemala, I can honestly say that I have a home. And it’s different from anything I’ve ever known.
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| Painting our house... |
And I like it that way.
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