Guatemala!

Hola from Guatemala, Mama!

I had a great time in Guatemala today! What a fascinating place! We pulled into the port this morning around 8am, and we were surrounded by complete green lushness. It was beautiful! Once we walked off the ship and into the port, we were immediately greeted by several Guatemalans passing out woven bracelets, welcoming us to their country. It was so fun!

The field program I signed up for was a guided walking tour of Antigua, a colonial city in the highlands of Guatemala. We left our port in Puerto Quetzal and took an hour and fifteen minute bus ride to Antigua. I have never seen a country with such lush landscape, surrounded my mountainous volcanos. It was incredible.

We finally arrived in Antigua, and proceeded to visit several churches, gardens, markets, and even a jade factory. Jade is a huge product and export in Guatemala. We learned about jade and got to see it being cut and shaped. Of course the tour of the jade factory culminated in a jewelry store. The jewelry was beautiful. I walked around, and the entire time all I wanted to do was buy you a nice piece of jade jewelry. I knew you would absolutely love it. Just as I was looping around the store for the third time and becoming sad about the fact that I couldn’t buy anything for you, I found a new case of jewelry that I hadn’t seen before. Inside I found a small angel shaped jade necklace. It was perfect. I got the angel necklace. Since I wanted to get something for you so badly, I knew that this was exactly what I had to do. You are my angel, Mama.

 We went to a craft market, which reminded me of a smaller version of the Grand Bazaar in Turkey. Handmade brightly covered everything lined the stalls. There was so much to choose from, and so many beautifully made items. I ended up buying a small painting of one of the streets in Antigua and a handwoven blanket. It is beautiful, so vibrantly colored, and contains every color you could imagine. You would love it so much, Mom. I struggled as I walked through the market, and the women were trying to get me to by their crafts by saying, “For your mother! Present for your mother!”  I kept myself together and didn’t snap at them. I really wanted to though. It’s so unfair, Mom. I should be able to buy a present for you. I shouldn’t have my immediate thought be, “I don’t have a mom anymore.” I know that that’s not true because you will always be my mom and that you will always be here for me even though you aren’t physically here anymore, but that’s still my initial thought when someone mentions doing something for my mom.

I really enjoyed Guatemala. It was a beautiful country, and an incredibly eye-opening experience. I had never been to a country with such great poverty before. The things I saw and the stories I heard were heart breaking. These people were so unbelievably beautiful, Mom, but they lived in poverty you and I could never imagine. I am so privileged in my life.

Tonight we sail to our next destination: Corinto, Nicaragua. We will see what adventures wait for me there.

I love you so much, Mom. I feel the biggest void in my life and in my heart without you here.