1\/30\/20<\/p>\n
I like to know what’s going on. Unfortunately, I don’t always in my host family. I have a couple of instances of this that come to mind. The first is with my host brother Jacob. He is in the army but comes home for weekends. Two weekends ago, I went along to take him back to the army and was told (I thought) that he was going to be gone for a month to take some courses. Then we came back from Antigua and Chichicastenango. I found out that he had been home that weekend, but now has left for a month. At least I am fairly certain, but I could have misunderstood.<\/p>\n
The second was again when we got back from Antigua and Chichi. My host parents picked Caroline and me up from Semilla, and after we dropped Caroline off, I assumed we were going home. But then we stopped at a convenience store to pick some stuff up, after which again I assumed we were going home. But then we stopped somewhere else to buy bread before finally going home. Usually, I enjoy going along to run errands and don’t mind making unexpected stops, but that night I was tired and just wished they would tell me where we were going.<\/p>\n
I am used to being an at least semi-independent adult in college, and not knowing what’s going on makes me feel like I’m a little kid. I don’t know if these experiences were caused by different cultures, different families, or just the challenge of communicating in a different language. But in any case, I’m learning that I expect to be told what’s happening but also that I won’t always be told. Hopefully, I’ll get used to it eventually and maybe even start to enjoy having a few more unexpected detours.<\/p>\n
And here is a summary of the week’s events:<\/p>\n
Monday 27th: free afternoon – some of the group checked out \u201cGuatepaca,\u201d a nearby thrift store.
\nTuesday 28th: guest speaker Ronaldo Similox, a professor at the Mayan University, taught us about Mayan history, culture, and spirituality.
\nWednesday 29th: EMU classes – celebrating October\/November birthdays
\nThursday 30th: visited Mayan ruins at Kaminaljuyu
\nFriday 31st: went to the ethnology and archaeology museum *banner photo of the group on the museum steps
\nSaturday: spent with host families
\nSunday: visited Casa de Dios megachurch<\/p>\n
-Verda Zook<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
1\/30\/20 I like to know what’s going on. Unfortunately, I don’t always in my host family. I have a couple of instances of this that come to mind. The first is with my host brother Jacob. He is in the army but comes home for weekends. Two weekends ago, I went along to take him … Continue reading Guatemala: Expectations<\/span>