The last time posting something here feels like a really long time ago. Between now and then, I’ve been back to KC for Christmas, up to Chicago for New Years and have now been in Coban for two weeks.
Going home, there was definitely the expectation of culture shock. However, after the first night back, it felt like I was just back in the stride of things at home. I spent that first week just catching up with the family and being extremely lazy. Around Christmas, friends started to come back into town and things got busy. My trip to Chicago was wonderful as I got to check out Liesl and John’s new digs as well as see a ton of college friends.
The time at home made me realize how many things there are that I really miss. Clearly, the best part about home was to see people (and Scout). However, I had forgotten how little things like dry air, hot water and a good place to wash my clothes can make life so much easier. These aren’t exactly necessities, but just little things that a year in Guatemala will put into perspective.
Being home, I sometimes felt like I hadn’t left. On seeing people for the first time, the interactions usually went like this:
“Wow, you’re back. Everything going good down there?”
“Yeah, it’s been a great year.”
“Cool. Let’s get a drink.”
From there, any talk of Guatemala was over, and that was fine for then. I guess what surprising is how much I’ve realized Guatemala and home are two completely separate environments for me. Guatemala is a different world with a whole different set of rules than home. Accurately explaining Guatemala at home is just as difficult as it is to explain the States to people here. Somehow I’ve got it figured out how to live comfortably in both.
Getting back into things back here took me awhile. The month prior to going home, I had been thinking in little other than the trip itself. As such, I hadn’t planned much out for myself and had to kind of scramble to get thing back in order. Furthermore, I’m thinking seriously about taking a job here with an NGO that would cut my time short with Peace Corps but extend my overall time in Guatemala. It’s all up in the air and a lot to think about. The job would be amazing, but I really miss seeing people. With that, it’s tough to plan out the year not knowing if I’ll be in my current spot all the way to November, or just till June. I think I should be able to figure that out within a few weeks.
All that said, things have been pretty good this week. School started on Monday and it was great to see all the kids. Michelle, the volunteer before me at Chirrepec came back for a visit this week and we’ve been seeing a lot of coop families, so it’s been interested to see how things have changed. Come February, I´m off to Belize for a few days to see Mom and Dad. Can´t wait.
