Thought for the day...

A prayer from a devotional by Charles Spurgeon:

O Lord, if it is not springtime in my chilly heart, I pray You make it so, for I am tired of living at a distance from You. When will You bring this long and dreary winter to an end? Come, Holy Spirit, and renew my soul! Quicken me, restore me, and have mercy on me! This very night I earnestly implore you, Lord, to take pity upon Your servant and send me a happy revival of spiritual life!

And a classic...

from Ricardo Arjona.  Jesus es verbo, no sustantivo.  (Jesus is a verb, not a noun)

Cold Feet

Somehow, in the past couple of days, I have gone from listening to American music and counting down the days until I could leave here to listening to Spanish music like it's my security blanket against the upcoming change. 

Change scares me.  You wouldn't probably know it from my track record, but transitions are hard for me. 

So, maybe, in addition to my thankfulness item of the day today I will also post another song to remind me of the country I will miss when I'm not here anymore.

Today I am thankful for the view from the mountainside when I am at school...the sun on the buildings spread out across the valley.  I don't stop to enjoy the view so often anymore, but last semester I found them to be nourishment for the soul...so, for the view from the mountainside, I am incredibly grateful.

And now I give you a video I found online for Ayudame Freud by Ricardo Arjona.  (I can't vouch for the spelling and grammar--I have only watched it enough to know that there is little use of tildes.  Does that sound like it is spoken by a Spanish teacher, or what? :-)  Enjoy.

Today...

I am thankful for mass.  Perhaps I've listed this one before--I can't really remember.  But today, as so many times over the course of the past semester, I am thankful for the opportunity to go to mass...In spite of not being Catholic, it has become my haven.

And to make up for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, I am thankful for rellenitos, a yummy food that consists of platanos wrapped around bean paste--a flavorful, slightly sweet snack.

I am also thankful for arroz con leche or any atol (or drink) made from a variety of ingredients.  They are served warm, are usually quite sweet, and are very tasty.

And for the last entry, I will jump on the bandwagon and say I am thankful for Ricardo Arjona.  I have enjoyed listening to his music over the course of the year.  He is a Guatemalan singer with a poet's ear for lyrics, and I have enjoyed being introduced to some of his many songs.  My favorites so far:  Ayudame Freud and Quiero.   (And Fuiste tu, of course.)

(Please pardon the lack of tildes on my Spanish words--I still haven't figured out exactly how to do them on my keyboard. :-)

Sounds of Guatemala

I thought I would share a couple of videos for songs that are very popular here right now.  The first is a video by a Grammy award winning Guatemalan singer named Ricardo Arjona.  The duet is with another Guatemalan named Gaby Moreno, who, from what I heard, was singing in bars in Guatemala City until this duet with Ricardo Arjona brought her to stardom.  The video is filmed entirely in Guatemala, so it will give you an idea of some of the major sites around here.  I hope you enjoy it.   (On a side note, Ricardo Arjona was back in Guatemala about a month ago to do concert in Guatemala City--it was a big event--two nights of concerts in the football--soccer--stadium.)  I have also included a video with the lyrics below (for any people out there wanting to practice their Spanish. :-) 



This second video is by a duo named Jesse & Joy. I don't know a lot about them, but this song is on the radio A LOT. (Warning: This video has some scenes that are kind of graphic--maybe not best for little ones to watch.)

Thankfulness 2

I'm a little behind on my thankfulness posts, so here we go--four days in one:

1--I am thankful for the shekas con frijoles at Xelapan.  It's a round roll of white bread with flour on the outside and black bean paste in the middle.  It's yummy.

2--I'm thankful for the random bursts of color with flowers on balconies, roofs, and other fenced-in places.  Since landscaping isn't all that common here, except for parks, the flowers in windows and on little decks add a very welcome burst of life and color to the scenery inside the city.

3--Okay, this one isn't specifically something I am thankful for about Guatemala, but it is what I am thankful for today.  I am thankful that, when the water goes out upstairs (as it has done a time or two since I came here) we still get water from the tap downstairs.  The fact that water is available somewhere in the house, even if that somewhere isn't the upstairs bathroom, is a huge relief, even if it is at a time of day where I wouldn't generally be needing it.  I like to know it's there and will be when I need it.

4--I'm thankful for my favorite cafe in town.  It's a nice place to go when I want to get out of the house and go somewhere else to read or do work.  The servers are friendly, and I can get my fill of 1990s musical hits (with other decades thrown in as well).

Contrasted with unthankfulness...

I probably shouldn't even mention it, but here are some things I'm not so thankful for today:

--Certain side streets that smell of urine--possibly because the walls have been used as urinals for far too long.
--Getting enveloped in a cloud of dust and black exhaust from chicken buses that pass me when I'm walking.
--The sight (and sound) of a young man vomiting in the street when I left my house today--although I was thankful he had a friend with him, so he wasn't in that state alone.
--Creepy men who feel the need to expose themselves to unsuspecting young ladies walking down the street (not me, thankfully, but still...)

And to balance out the list, here are a few things I am thankful for today:

--That no pigeons went to the bathroom on me when I walked beneath a flock of them today.
--For French class
--For already having a job lined up for next year
--And for pepper spray, which helps me feel a lot safer when walking alone, especially when darkness falls...
--And for the number of people I've talked to who have been so friendly and helpful.
--The chance to hang out with friends and...
--The privilege to pray, even when it isn't easy.

Thankfulness...

As I am heading into a time of transition, down to the last few weeks of the school year, I've decided to start a list of things I am thankful for here in Guatemala--one for each day.  Yesterday's item was:

Day 1--I am thankful for the ready availability of ice cream.  Almost every city block has either an actual ice cream store or a tienda with a deep freezer filled with Sarita brand ice cream.  Cremosas, yogurt, ice cream sandwiches the flavor of cheesecake... The strange thing is, I'm not that big of a fan of ice cream when I'm in the United States, but here now, at this time of year, there is something about it that definitely hits the spot.  So helado is my choice for "Thankfulness Item #1."

Day 2--Tamales.  Paches de papa or tamales de arroz... We had tamales for dinner tonight.  The rice and chicken mixture covered with a brown, slightly spicy sauce and a sliver of red pepper.  Served, as always, in a neatly folded banana leaf...and, of course, accompanied by bread in a bag from Xelapan (but thankfulness for Xelapan I'll leave for another day--it is far too deserving of an entry all its own). 

Easter

Out of all the holidays, it is hardest for me to be outside the country for Easter.  Perhaps Christmas would come close to that, but I have yet to be away for that particular holiday.

Easter, for me, involves getting together with relatives and going to a sunrise service at the Lutheran church...(or whatever other church is available).  This Sunday, I went to mass.  It was nice.  The church was so full there were people in the aisles, and the wall behind the altar was draped with yellow fabric, a color of celebration.

It is interesting to see how things are done here, but the closer I get to June, the more I find myself looking forward to home.  It's a tug-of-war, this focusing on the now to appreciate each moment and do what needs to be done right here and now while simultaneously becoming more and more anxious to return to the United States.  Less than two months to go...

I read an article on culture shock recently, and it spoke about the emotions involved in coming home--pulling away emotionally in preparation for letting go while still having to live and work in that country.  The truth of the matter is, I don't dislike Guatemala.  It's just that, as much as I love it, there are many times where I would just even more rather be going home.  I'm ready.  Not completely--there is still a lot that needs to be done before I'll be ready to actually go home, but I'm ready to begin the process of letting this part of my life go.  I'm ready to move forward and find out what is coming up ahead.

...

Another video...

Here is another video from the first procession we saw this morning.  The morning's procession was of Jesus carrying the cross, followed by the Virgen de Dolores (Mary) weeping at his death.  Then, this afternoon, starting at about 3:00, new alfombras were set up in the park.  These were all black and tan with pictures in the center depicting various stages on the path to the crucifixion.  Then a number of processions came through the park, depicting the stations of the cross and Jesus in his tomb followed (again) by the weeping virgin, this time clothed in black.  Most of these went through the park after dark, and people in the procession lined the streets holding candles as the processions moved through.

I found it helpful to watch the sequence of events today, to be reminded of what this holiday is about...and am excited about Easter Sunday (though the celebration here is very different than in the U.S.--the Catholics tend to emphasize Good Friday here, and the evangelical churches don't quite make it the massive celebration it typically is at home).  There will be one more procession that day, depicting the resurrected Jesus, and there will be the opportunity to hear the story read aloud in church.  Then we'll be back to life as normal and focusing on finishing out the rest of the year.

Video

Here is video of a procession from this morning.

A few more photos...

Sights and Sounds of Guatemala...

Semana Santa (or Holy Week) in Guatemala includes alfombras (carpets made of colored sawdust, grasses, and flowers) and processions in which the images of Jesus and Mary are brought out of the Catholic churches and paraded through the streets.  Many of the evangelicals here avoid the processions, but as a foreigner, I joined "my people" (the tourists) and took some pictures to share.  I also have some video, but I am in the process of figuring out how to go about adding video to a blog.

Enjoy.

These are the signs posted along the streets announcing that no parking will be allowed for the processions.

And here are some of the alfombras. We got up early to see some of them being made.

And my favorite, for how artistic it was: