This is one of many (hopefully) editions featuring aspects of daily life here in Guatemala... in writing these, I hope to share funny things, ironic things, and things I admire and I want to share them not as a form of judgment... in ANY way... but in a form of telling a story... with that being said... here's information about community!
During our group of volunteers from Southern Illinois University visited, one of the chaperons asked me if there was a big community of volunteers in Xela. I never thought of that as a question that someone would ask, and as I thought about my answer, I realized that I really just take the people here for granted.
During our group of volunteers from Southern Illinois University visited, one of the chaperons asked me if there was a big community of volunteers in Xela. I never thought of that as a question that someone would ask, and as I thought about my answer, I realized that I really just take the people here for granted.
I have a wonderful community in the country. There are the Mission Co-Workers from PC(USA) who are not directly involved with the YAV program but who still offer support and invite us over for Thanksgiving Dinner (Thanks, Karla!). Then, there are all the volunteers in the country: Juli, Laura and Andrew in Antigua area with our wonderful coordinator, Marcia, and her family, plus Tina who is here in Xela with me so we can celebrate Monday Fundays. The community that I have with these volunteers through our Sunday texts and monthly/bimonthly retreats definitely keep me going. At the retreats, we each take as much time as we want (usually 45min-1hr) to tell our stories of the elapsed time since the past retreat. Then, we work together to hear underlying issues and brainstorming how to address them, if possible, and talk about the really interesting subject that we have been studying/reading about since the last retreat. I love it! When this blog posts, I'll be in Belize with these wonderful people!
Tina and I, along with Malea, “my boss” at the school and Kyra, the other english teacher, also have a really healthy community here in Xela. We try to grab lunch together at least once a week and from time to time have sleepovers or go on some fun adventure. When something happens be it funny, strange, or bad, these are the people that immediately get to receive a text about it (aka my dog giving birth when I’m home alone, my month-long inability to find my bus (silly Christmas market blocking streets), fleas…). The support they offer is incredible.
Then, there’s the other “extranjeros” in Xela. I don’t really have a night life, mainly because I don’t want to pay for a cab, miss the opportunity to spend time with my sisters at night, or miss my chance to work out in the morning (or more correctly, look out the window, see the frost, and decide that it’s way too cold to torture myself in that way). However, despite my lack of socialism, I do have a few people who I really value and enjoy time with. Kate, Hannah, Steve, and Kelsey (from CPPC! before she left) are some of these people. It’s just great to engage in conversation over a walk, hike, or coffee, about our experiences and observations.
As much as I do really like people, I do also greatly value my independence and never saw myself as a strong “community” person. Then, I moved to a Latin American country and community suddenly became important in my life – my lifeblood. These extranjeros, along with my Guatemalan families, fellow teachers, and friends, are the reason that this experience (thus far) has been as incredible as it has been. I wrote my Statement of Faith for Seminary with the premise that we, as humans, are called to live in community with one another and with God. This year has strengthened that belief even more.
Who are you in community with?
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