My arrival was memorable due to the lack of anyone meeting me at the airport when my flight arrived, on time, at 10 pm. Luckily 3 things were in my favour.
1. I have been here three times before
2. I had already Guatemala money in my wallet
3. I speak the language at a reasonably functional level.
I got a taxi which took over 2 hours to reach Antigua. It usually takes less than one hour. This was on account of protesters who have been blocking the roads. My driver took me half way up a mountain in the dark. It was a lengthy Spanish lesson. Then there was nowhere to stay, but I went to a hostel i had visited before, where they recognized me and gave me a bed.
That’s been the pattern of my whole month here – i encounter difficulties, struggle to overcome them, and get through to the other side. By about week 2 i was feeling a bit down; the dog at my homestay bit me, the weather kept on raining, I had tremendous trouble trying to see how i could get a replacement credit card and my ankle has been hurting when i walk. So that was plenty of opportunities for whining and bewailing my outcast state.
Gradually, things have come together. The weather improved greatly, my daughter is looking after my credit card issues, and I have been resting my ankle. Traveling alone tends to give rise to a roller-coaster of emotions. Every day I would take a bus (brightly coloured renovated ex-American school bus) up the hillside to a small town. I was teaching a group of local teens who wanted to learn English, but don’t have the money to pay for lessons. We met in a quite basic local restaurant with a beautiful view. There always seemed to be different people coming, but after a couple of weeks it settled down to the same 4 or 5.It felt very rewarding. At the same time I was having daily Spanish lessons, so all my interactions with local people have become much better.
The month is now over and i feel a very strong sense of accomplishment. The school printed 2 certificates for me, one for studying spanish and the other for volunteering. I have had them laminated. My Spanish is now recognized as ‘High Intermediate’. Its a big improvement but I am definitely not at the Fluency level.
Hermano Pedro. This morning I went back to the Iglesia de San Francisco, so named for the franciscan monks. Maybe i’ve told you about the tomb of Hermano Pedro. Today was a busy Sunday for the church. I walked through the flower garden and down some stairs to the tomb. It’s in an alcove to the side of the main church. There are plenty of pews with knee rests where people kneel quietly in order to pray to the Saint. I just stopped and stood there looking at the massive stone and wood structure which houses the earthly remains of hermano Pedro. He died in !667 and people have been coming there in a constant stream since that time. I just stood there and closed my eyes. It felt as if i had passed into a huge vastness, My personal thoughts and concerns had disappeared. It was a feeling of endless peace, cessation of worries, complete acceptance. It also felt quite ordinary; as if everything unreal had simply faded away and what remains was all that is. This didn’t take much time and felt quite normal yet inexpressibly profound. I don’t care if people are Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Jewish or atheist. The truth is the same for all of us, no matter what notions we might entertain in our complicated minds.
Simonsblog 