Asturias, Spain & the Camino de Santiago
23 April 2019 It’s a place that reminds me of home, but feels utterly alien. We are constantly surrounded by green mountains on one side and the ocean on the other, with only a strip of land in between. Yet it is not my way,聽my camino,聽that draws my eyes as it may have in the....
Spain: Cad铆z
From markets filled with fish, fruits, and fresh breads To watching the sunset each night on the beach surrounded by friends Host families, street music, living with a partner, and plenty of new food When in Spain there鈥檚 no reason to worry, never a day seemed blue Doing good takes not much, if the heart....
Guatemala: A day in my life
Reflections on a day in my life in Guatemala Every morning I feel a small tug from sleep by my sister at 4 am. Phone flashlight, towels thrown, and makeup to be applied in the light of the hall. When she shuts the door to leave for her long commute, I am left to sleep....
Guatemala: Living in the moment
Imagine this: riding a boat on Lago Atitlan, a lake so blue and beautiful, you can hardly believe the toxins and pollution it contains. A lake surrounded by tall green volcanoes covered in green trees, coffee plants, colorful, touristy markets, and people鈥檚 homes. Imagine wandering the streets, sun on your face, admiring and buying the....
Do No Harm
After reading an article titled 鈥淒o No Harm鈥� This article really struck me and pleased me at the same time. 聽I鈥檓 not exactly sure why, but I have this negative connotation towards mission groups. 聽I loved hearing [the article鈥檚 author] Dennis Smith鈥檚 sharp critique on this subject. I can鈥檛 quite pin where this judgment for....
Guatemala: To be Mayan
Mom, There are many things I鈥檝e learned about the Maya, many things I鈥檝e seen and felt and read. To be Mayan is to carry weight. Literally, Mayans carry weight all the time — baskets on their heads, bundles on their backs. But, in another sense, there is a greater more permanent weight that Mayans carry.....
Cacao to Chocolate
Cacao to Chocolate I am a colony of cacao beans, sitting in my shell nobody to disturb me A loud crack heard, the shell that I call home is being broken into. Five long fleshy weird things from the bright blue abyss, reach out and grab me from the only place I know I鈥檓 then....
Guatemala: Welcome
鈥淚 feel tall,鈥� said Maya as we were talking about what we noticed in Guatemala after a week. I couldn鈥檛 help but laugh at her comment because I couldn鈥檛 relate and I thought it was comical. I actually feel like I am an average size here in a funny way. In the United States I....
Guatemala: The Border
From our first week in Xela, Guatemala and Tapachula, Mexico where we learned about migration throughout Central America into Mexico. Response to the Border From the moment we all walked up the steps that over looked the border, I was rendered speechless. I saw sand and graffiti on the buildings and walls and my interest....
Guatemala: the highlands
On the road yet again. We鈥檙e in the highlands, the north. As we climb higher, the trees begin to look like home. Everything else is different, but the rolling hills, the mountains, and the pine trees echo home. There is not ten feet of straight road. The car wash signs on the side of the....