Word of Mouth

My lovely co-worker and sometimes roommate, Mari, loves chocolate just as much as I do, but it’s not easy to find here. There’s Hershey’s, of course, and Toblerone and Reese’s and other sugary concoctions masquerading as cacao… but the real stuff, rich and dark and slightly bitter isn’t easy to come by.

Or at least, it wasn’t.

But yesterday afternoon, Mari and I were chatting at Oxford after work, and she shared some fabulous new chocolates she discovered in a little place called Kaffee Fernando’s. It was slightly pricy, but so yummy that I just had to go see the place for myself.

So this afternoon after work, another co-worker, Erin, and I joined up for the weekly market trip- but first we dropped by Fernando’s! It’s this adorable little shop down a random little alley near the Merced church; I swear I never would have found it if Mari hadn’t clued me in.

Erin and I each bought two bars. My two, lavender and lime & basil, are both unexpected, unusual flavors, but utterly delightful!

Afterwards, Erin and I went to market together. It’s always a treat to have someone to shop with! The market is like a little city in and of itself. It’s still vaguely grid shaped, just like the rest of Antigua, but the variety of things inside is random and astounding. We went in to where Erin normally goes veggie shopping, which was on the opposite side of where I usually go, but I might like it there better. It seems like every time I go shopping I get lost, and today was no exception, but it was so much more fun getting lost with someone!

Erin has only been in Guate for four months or so, but she spent three years prior teaching in South Korea. Since that’s where I want to go next to teach, I was peppering her with questions; but she loves the country and misses it, so I think she liked being able to reminisce and offer advice. She still has access to a network of people teaching there, which I’m hoping to tap into to find a school.

We split us soon after the market. Erin lives on the north side of town and I on the south; and with a brisk wind corralling grey clouds heavy with rain, we weren’t inclined to linger.

Tomorrow, I’m going to spend my free day exploring another out of the way place a friend told me about: El Pilar. It’s a park of sorts with hiking trails and three outdoor, natural swimming pools. As much as I adore living in the mountains, I desperately miss being on the water. My recent trip to Lake Atitlan was refreshing, but unfortunately it was a little too chilly to swim, and I've been dying to feel the rush of water over my skin. If tomorrow is anything like the rest of this week, the morning and early afternoon with be bright and clear and full of sunshiny goodness before collapsing into a cool afternoon rain. Eep! I can’t wait.

In other news, I leave the country on a visa run in just under two weeks! It'll be my first time visiting Belize, and my first time traveling somewhere solo! As much as I love being with friends on the road, a the prospect of week of adventure all on my own is rather thrilling.  

Cheers!

cotton or china or China?

Evidently, the appropriate second year anniversary gift idea for a husband and wife (according to the modern list, the traditional sticks to cotton) is china.... so whenever and if ever I get married, the man and I are definitely taking an extended trip to celebrate the end of year two.

Because china is china is China, right?

a Grey Lady

It's no secret that I teach because of my kids.

This evening, I told a friend that they were the light in my life, and even on the days when they're infuriating; when they won't stop trying to kick each other or are too busy watching life beyond the window to be bothered with what's happening within the classroom, even then, just being with them helps me to remember who I am and I why I teach.

The past week has been tough. Guatemala is life now, so much more than an extended vacation, and life always carries highs and lows in her suitcase, dolling them out like sweets to street children, a ready combination of the honeyed and the bitter.

Sadness rolled in this year with the rains. Normally, from May through October, the rains come only during late afternoon or evening, with mornings and middays gloriously calm, cool, and clear, and for this, the rains mark my favorite time to be in Guate. But the change didn't go smoothly this year, and for almost a week we had grey skies and a constant, cold rain that hung heavy in the mornings. Up in El Hato, where the paved road ends as soon as it arrives, it meant mud tracked into cold classrooms, thick fog lying like a wet blanket along the mountains, and sickly children ill inclined to pay attention. Coupled with an emotional falling out of sorts between me and a friend back home, and a tiff between the preschool teachers that I'm trying my hardest to stay out of... well, it's been an interesting week.

I've felt out of sorts as a teacher, which is strange, because teaching is usually what helps me escape any melancholy that creeps in because of homesickness or adult drama. The kids are a constant in my life, which is a funny thing to say about these little people who keep my days in a constant flux. But for some reason, a light tap on my shoulder from a lady in grey turned my head, and suddenly the school up the mountain was no longer my safe haven.

But after school today, a few second grades came into the English classroom and started messing around- starting a puzzle with me, bugging a volunteer to see his phone, pretending a stack of stools was a car.... and they were all so full of a joy and movement that I hope to never forget.

Today, I wasn't the best teacher that I am capable of being, but that doesn't mean that tomorrow I can't be. Today, the Gray Lady was a faithful shadow, but that doesn't mean she must also accompany me tomorrow. This morning, I let sadness win, and the hurts in life overcame her beauty, but tomorrow I will remember the lessons of this afternoon. Because the thing about children is they overlook so, so much, and with them, the tomorrows are always fresh ones. And if tomorrow I still don't feel strong, it's no matter; because they don't ask me for my strength, but for my patience and love, for understanding and energy. And in return, they make each day I spend with them astoundingly bright.

It's true that life is hard. But it is also incredibly sweet.

Let's go be dragon riders

I don't want to talk. I want to shave twelve years from my life and curl into my mother's lap. I want to sprout wings and fly to high, broken crags where the world is cold and the view unbroken. I want to grow sharp claws and dig them into the flesh of chestnut trees and climb in search of robin's eggs. I want to learn the secrets whispered in the trenches of war and sing with the whales and shine with the fireflies on a dusky autumn evening.