flor de utatlan.

I said that I wouldn't have anything cultural to write about after a week in Antigua, but whatever. I got home this morning in time to go to a birthday lunch for a family here in Poaquil I've become acquainted with through my sitemate. I get off the bus, carrying a ridiculous amount of crap, and my neighbor rides by on his bike. He's a mechanic, so he's always in the street when I walk to the Centro working on the camionetas, completely covered in grease. A side note on the mechanics in this country - I swear they could fix something with a bit of chewing gum and a paperclip. Reject cars and buses from the States end up down here, and there is obviously hardly any access to car parts, especially for the make and model you would be looking for. I consider them to be rather creative and very handy. Impressive stuff. Anyways, this mechanic ALWAYS has a huge smile and some kind words for me, which I realized today that I had been taking for granted. You don't talk to anyone on the streets in Antigua, too many people are tourists and the others think that you are a tourist. In the small towns we live in, you say something to just about everyone that you pass.

I turn onto my street and run into the landlady of my house, who seems very excited to see me. We exchange words, but very few. More or less, she only understands greetings in Spanish, and I only understand greetings and no more in Kaqchikel, so communication between the two of us is rather limited. She too always has a huge smile for me...and she has a fantastically beautiful smile, most likely because she has dentures. After seeing Lorenza (my landlady), I run into her daughter. And then 2 kids of a family in town I've gotten to know, heading out to the campo in their brother's pickup. And then one of the nurses that works for the Centro. Etc, etc. I guess that I didn't realize how much I've started to feel at home here until I left for longer than one or two nights. Time passes slower, people are friendlier, and I didn't realize how much I enjoy the tranquilo lifestyle here until I left it. The fact that I'm finding Antigua a little fast-paced speaks volumes to how out of it I'm going to feel when I finally go back to visit the States.

Anyways, those are just my musings of the day. Could be because I've killed an entire bottle of Robitussin in about 24 hours. Yay for the seasons changing!