Mi familia

When I arrived in Xela last Thursday afternoon, every detail about my homestay family was a mystery to me. I had no idea what to expect, other than someone from my new family would be meeting me at my school upon my arrival.

The woman who came to greet me, my Guatemalan mama, is a tiny woman with a larger than life personality by the name of Catalina. Catalina has a beaming smile with many missing teeth, and a knack for animated storytelling using her whole body for emphasis. She made me feel at home right off the bat, and lovingly refers to me only as hija or princesita. She is a sorceress in the kitchen, whipping up feasts of simple but delicious local cuisine for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I am in very good hands here, that is for certain!

Catalina has two sons: a 36 year-old landscaper in San Diego, and 17 year-old Antonio who lives here and attends university. The other permanent member of the household is 83 year-old Tía Margarita, a very darling but very unwell tiny old lady, with whom I share the back wing of the house.

Catalina runs the household; there is no man, and as of right now I don’t know the story of his whereabouts. She earns her living by hosting international students such as myself, and the three extra bedrooms here are nearly always occupied.

Most students stay only for a week or two, so turnover is high. So far I’ve had roomates from Japan, Australia, and Canada–all very interesting people, most much older than myself, and all mealtime conversation is in Spanish. I’m sure over the course of the next seven weeks I’ll share space with many more fascinating people from all around the world.

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Mi Casa

The household is one level, and all rooms extend off of one long central hallway. Out back is a sunny courtyard with a many plants and a colonial-era pila sink for doing laundry. There are two bathrooms, and the showers have electric heaters that at least bring the water from frigid to lukewarm.

My bedroom is quite large and has two beds. I chose the single bed furthest from the window, because the window doesn’t fully close and nights are cold. Even in my bed across the room with two thick wool blankets and a snazzy comforter, I sleep wearing wool socks, pants, a long sleeve, and my hoodie tied beneath my chin.

The color vibe is on point with my cheery turqouise walls and red window curtain, and I must say I’ve grown quite fond of my space in the week that I’ve been here.

Catalina and Tom hammin’ it up for the camera. Today is Tom’s 72nd birthday, and we had afternoon micheladas to celebrate. It’s his 6th year in a row traveling here from Canada to study Spanish and live at Catalina’s. How cool is that? I’ll take more pics of the fam to share another time!

The sunny courtyard full of life. The second bathroom is in on the right, and the pila for laundry is on the left. Margarita and I live right across the hall from the courtyard on the left. Micho the neighborhood cat comes to the roof daily for food–more on Micho later!

Long hallway. Bathroom straight ahead, Margarita & my quarters on the left, door to courtyard on the right.

The big green doors are closed at night to keep heat in for Margarita and I.

My lil bed with my snazzy comforter and two very thick wool blankets beneath.

The other bed in my room and my pretty red curtain.

My little corner of Guatemala. I love it so much.

The dining room. There are always plenty of people surrounding this table at mealtime.

Catalina’s kitchen, where the magic happens.

The pila out back for laundry.

The electric shower that almost, almost, almost gets warm enough.