Hola! Today was our second day in Guate! We departed for Quetzaltenango or Xela early this morning. We took a four-hour bus ride through the mountains and enjoyed beautiful scenery of mountains and agricultural landscapes. We saw people farming corn, beets, cabbage, broccoli, tomatoes and other vegetables. Once we arrived in Xela, we headed for Café Red, an NGO that supports individuals readjusting to life in Guatemala following migration due to deportation from the U.S. Willie Barreno spoke to us about his life migrating to the U.S. and his experiences for 12 years working as a janitor, kitchen prep, and a chef before deciding to return to Guatemala. Upon his return to Guatemala, he started Café Red. Willie challenged us to examine through a new lens issues of world migration, globalization and hybridization. There is a small shop inside Café Red called Igual-Mart (Equal Mart), which sells many fair-trade hand made items. After a delicious lunch and cup of coffee, we walked through the center of town, the ‘parque central,’ and on to the language school which organized the family stays for us. Once we arrived, we met students from Rutgers University who were wrapping up their immersion experience. 

During our reflection, we talked about our hopes for the family stay and our experiences thus far. Finally, the time had come to meet our families! In pairs, we went with our ‘señoras’ to their homes. Nathalie and I are staying with Olga and her daughter Paola. Olga took us to the grocery store to choose foods we like and gave us a tour of the city. We feel especially blessed to be spending time with this sweet woman who has welcomed us into her home for a few days.

We are looking forward to more adventures tomorrow!

Hasta pronto,

Nathalie and Diane