Fiestas, Despedidas, y la Navidad

Hola todos, y ¡feliz diciembre! The nights are starting to get cold here in Xela, my host family and the Spanish school have their Christmas trees up, and all of the cafes are playing Christmas music. It is a really exciting time here, and also pretty busy (and sad) with the program starting to wrap up. My family just got back from a wedding in Guatemala City, and I have spent a lot of the day wrapping up my thesis over the Affordable Care Act in the States. Good news is, I’m done! (with the first draft, anyway)

With Andreita, packing sweets for the kids in San Marcos, Guatemala (hit hard by an earthquake in November).

As for class--- this week, I am finishing up Avanzado II, and we are working on imperfect subjunctive (things like ‘I would have bought the house if I had had the money.’). My teacher is Claudia, a hilarious, middle-aged woman that somehow manages to work gossip and chistes (or jokes, usually about me) into every example.

The last week has been a week of fiestas y despedidas. Late last week, my host family and I said goodbye to Lisette, the niece who came from Houston to visit for a couple of weeks. It was probably the best party I have been to in Guatemala, filled with plenty of food, drinks and dancing. I realized that night just how comfortable I have become here with my new family. You really can make a home wherever you’re at in the world.

Lisette's despedida, with all of the cousins!

Last night, my friend Vanessa and I were invited to Doctora Mery’s house for a Christmas party. We worked with the doctora during our volunteer time at Puesto de Salud (a rural clinic), and we were thrilled to have worked our way up enough to be invited to her family’s party where they turn on the Christmas tree lights for the first time. We ended up staying for hours, eating dinner, and having some great conversations about everything from traditional medicine and cultural differences to our families back in the States. I also met what may be one of the most adorable girls in Guatemala (or the world)…there’s a picture below J.

Dra. Mery's Christmas party.

This weekend was our last free weekend in Xela – when did that happen?!? It could not have been a better weekend, though. On Saturday, we ended up at La Pradera, where we found Santa (!) and watched a concert for the ‘Luces de Campero’. Sunday was pretty relaxed, with brunch and a Xelaju game. All in all, it was a great, relaxing last weekend here in Xela.

We found Santa!

The biggest part of the last week was definitely the whole Spanish thesis thing. Although the days leading up to my presentation on Thursday were a little stressful – including a 9-hour café day to finish it on Wednesday – the presentation went really well! I presented for nearly an hour about health care systems and answered questions from the people in my group, all without any major problems (although I may have used a couple words of Spanglish --- oops!).

This week, between talking with people casually at the parties and my thesis presentation, I was really struck by how much I have learned in the past six months. Sure, I still have days where my brain hurts and the Spanish doesn’t come out like it should. However, never in my wildest dreams would I have been able to give an hour-long presentation – in Spanish, over a topic that is hard to explain in English – before starting this program. I don’t know exactly when it happened, but sometime in the last few months things ‘clicked,’ and I have been able to achieve a dream: talk, listen, laugh, cry…communicate…in Spanish. A door that I never thought would crack is now open, and I now have the base I need to continue learning and working on Spanish fluency. There have been a lot of long, difficult days. And every one of them was absolutely worth it. I could not be more thankful.

One of the concerts at Luces de Campero on Saturday night. Impressive, Xela!
('Campero' is short for 'Pollo Campero', a fast-food place here with a chicken mascot -- hence the huge chicken in the picture, haha) 

I have ten more full days in Guatemala. With a group retreat, salsa performance, several goodbye dinners, and my host dad’s birthday to go, the rest of my time here definitely won’t be slow. Here’s to living each day to the fullest, and to appreciating the little things that make life great. ¡Hasta pronto!

Paz,

Nico