Love After Love

The time will come
when, with elation,
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror,
and each will smile at the other's welcome,

and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letter from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.
-Derek Walcott

8 Weeks in...

I had a dream last night. I was naked. You know, the kind of dream where you are in a crowd of people and you are talking to a potential boss/in-law/stranger and you look down and see nothing but your birthday suit and for the next 6 hours you are at work/a party/running errands hoping that no know else realizes you are running around in the nude. Somehow, I managed to make it out of my predicament without anyone noticing (sidenote, if this were to ever happen in real life, I would never be able to show my face in that place ever again and I would run as fast as I could and never look back). Funny thing is, in my dream, I was thinking to my naked self, 'man, this is going to make a great blog...' Yeah, I don't know where my mind is sometimes. Wouldn't you think that if you were naked somewhere that your only thoughts would be about finding clothes. Well, mine weren't. I wanted to share all of my adventures with you, my faithful blog readers!

So why do I return to the keyboard tonight and share this with you? One simple reason. I want to share this experience with others. The whole experience, the good, the bad, and the embarrassing. I want others to get out and do something like this. I want to inspire someone to leave the safety of home and understand what it is like to feel at home in another country. A strange country. A place that is so much different than the clean streets you grew up on but when you start looking past all the differences, you start to see how similar it is. The people, the smiles, the families. There are things that transcend all cultures and languages. I want you to know, to experience, that. And I want to experience that everyday.

Often times, my everyday life here doesn't look much different than your everyday life there. I wake up, make coffee, take a shower, go to work, come home, cook dinner, go to the gym, watch the news, and go to bed. The only difference is that if it happens to be a Tuesday or Wednesday, I'm forced to speak a little Spanish. If it is any other day, I can manage to get by with minimal exposure. I have to get myself out there. I have to put myself in a position to experience something new. To learn a new Spanish word. To smile at someone new. To aid a fellow gringo who just arrived in my beloved city and to calm fears of walking in the wrong direction all the way to the Pacific.

So, when it comes down to it, our lives aren't really that different. I just happen to live in a place that the dogs out number the people and life just moves a little slower. So, get out there, make a new memory. Find a new friend. Invent a new dinner and try your coffee a different way. It may change the way you see your day!

Viva la Vida,

Liz



Bringing the Playlist back!
a tune by Jack Johnson (don't remember the title)
Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffet
The Moment I Said It by Imogen Heap
Do You Know by Enrique Iglesias
International Harvester by Craig Morgan
Angel by Jack Johnson
A-Punk by Vampire Weekend
The Front Porch Song by Robert Earl Keen
Take Me Out To a Dance Hall by Pat Green
Proudest Monkey by Dave Matthews Band

Pictures from the office

Here are a few pictures of my office. As you can see, it is a casual day (no students), thus the hat and t-shirt! Hope this finds all of you doing well!

Update in bullet points

It's time for an update since it's been awhile...Here is a brief overview of my life since the last post!

• I saw a man on a motorcycle the other day that had a 6ft by 6ft box advertising Kotex pads. It was pink and had examples of the product stuck to the side. I laughed out loud as I walked down the street.
• I also saw a bike/food stand that was called Burrito Loco that had a theme song to Achy Breaky Heart. I sang along in English.
  
• School has started out nicely. Only two kids in the office so far for discipline issues.
• I have hired a house cleaner to come once a week. 5 dollars each time she comes. One of the best decisions I have made.
• Went to Minerva (the awesome 'thrift store') and bought 15 things for under 5 dollars. I was pumped.
• I have spent the last three weekends at 'the coast' (not actually the beach, just down the mountain). It's been wonderful.
• We have a four day weekend this weekend. I'm going to Lago de Atitlan. It should be very relaxing and enjoyable.
• I've been cooking a lot. But I have a problem with cooking too much. I usually have 6-8 large servings left over...I need more people to cook for.
• I have been going to Guatemalan yoga. I must say, Yoga in Spanish is a totally different challenge. It has been entertaining (a post solely for this should be coming later)
• I will be in Oklahoma in October for a wedding. Let me know if you are going to be in the Enid/OKC area Oct. 21-25!
• The US Embassy was in town yesterday for a Town Hall meeting. I was great to meet other Americans in Xela and also meet those from the Embassy. They also treated us to a fantastic meal so thank you to all the tax payers out there for my incredible lunch yesterday! I was nice to have a little piece of home here in Guate!
  

I'm sure I have many other things that I have left out but I will try to keep a list of these things so the next time I write, I can include them!

Viva la Vida!

Liz