Up in the Guatemalan highlands the temperature drops and the character goes up. After stocking up on essentials like toilet paper, sugar, rice, oil, beans and powdered milk we continued onto San Jorge La Laguna on the shore of Lake Atitlan to meet our home stay families. A community of indigenous Kakchiquel people, they operate on similar values as the communities we visited in Mexico – community first, individual second, take care of everyone and big families, an average of five kids per family! Our host mum, Susana Xulcut Pocop had five children, two boys, three girls and we also met her sister and niece. And if we thought we were having trouble with communicating in Spanish, Kakchiquel is a few levels up. Charades is still the only true universal language.
Claire and I gave our gifts of the food and toilet paper etc and little Manuel, around an age of three or four at most, found my personal stash of limes. Four limes were repurposed into toys and I was reminded of the attitude differences between cultures of the perceived rich and poor. A “poor” child can have hours of fun with a couple of limes whereas a “rich” kid couldn’t live without something electronic.
Claire was quickly wrapped up right in the local attire, thick skirt and belt over a tunic like blouse, all in miss matched colours, gorgeously embroidered, brightly patterned and finished off with an equally beautiful and functional apron.
Daniel, the local organizer of home stays gave us a town tour where we saw the communal laundry and major gossip hub for women and the prison – empty and with see through doors to enable public shaming of the crims.
We later bought crayons, plasticine and note books, passing the evening hours entertaining the young and very bright Elmer, seven years, Manuel and their cousin Estefanie, about four years, with our drawing attempts for them to colour in. I made a plasticine strawberry which Manuel tried to eat before I made some odd colored roses…fitting as it was Valentine’s Day after all. Probably the best V Day I’ve ever had.
Elmer and I spent some time with my camera, I’ve kept his photos, I’ll call the collection “still life from three-feet high”. He had it worked out in about five minutes flat. Even more surprising was when I brought my iPad out to show photos of home and he and thirteen year old sister, Cindy, made their way through all my photos, videos and onto the music. Beyonće has some explaining to do – Elmer knew the words to Single Ladies. And on V Day, it was even more a surrealisation!
Sleep was fitful with crowing roosters, barking dogs and loud music dominating the night right outside our door. Roosters don’t save themselves just for daybreak.
Warm, tight hugs all round after a breakfast of rice, beans and corn tortillas with warm corn tea. In such a short time we felt a genuine connection with people from a completely contrasting walk of life. We are all one race, the human race.
Matiox cha jun way y chwak chik Susana, Luis, Cindy, Elmer, Maria, Estefanie, Manuel y familia xoxox
