June 17, 2017 I can’t believe our time in Antigua and the highlands is coming to an end. Since we arrived here, I’ve had the opportunity to do so much. Visiting archeological sites and museums has been particularly enriching, but it’s only a small fraction of what I’ve experienced here.
The fruit here is outstanding. The bananas are sweeter, the pineapple juicier, and the mangos? They melt in your mouth. One of my sweetest memories is sitting on a rock, dangling my feet in the water of Lago Atitlan, nibbling on an avocado in the brilliance of a benevolent sun (I’ve come to consider sunny days a luxury during this rainy season). Did I mention that the avocados are incredible?
Antigua is charming and picturesque, but you might know that from the photos. What pictures can’t convey is the sound of what seems like 100 different birds whistling and chirping throughout the day (though I’m sure it can attributed to just a few exuberant ones). The smells of pepián (the national food), torillas, and various types of freshly baked bread exude from every doorway. There’s the chatter of women in the market, the cadence of languages thousands of years old. The sound of hands slapping masa for tortillas against the comal. The smiles of schoolchildren as they wave hello, grinning shyly. The feel of the breeze upon my face atop of Cerro de la Cruz while overlooking the city. I have savored every moment.
That’s not to say I haven’t taken it a bit for granted. I arrived here on May 25. We depart tomorrow, June 18. In less than a month, Antigua has felt more and more like home each day. For every convent, museum, store, or ruin I’ve visited, it seems like I’ve missed twice as many. This isn’t a city that can be absorbed all at once. Some days I had to stay home to avoid feeling inundated with it all. I could probably spend another month here and not have seen everything. That’s okay. It gives me more incentive to return someday. The people here are so friendly and warm. The women are absolutely beautiful. I really hope they know that. I didn’t see a single tourist that outshone the smile of a Maya woman. My host, Doña Ruth, is 86 years old and has a thick, shining crop of still mostly-black hair. “I’ve never dyed it. It’s all natural,” she told me with a twinkle in her eye. “We live well here in Guatemala. It’s been good to me.”
Guatemala has been good to me too.
The land, the clear air, and the fresh food may be good, but the circumstances under which many Guatemalans live are not always so. Antigua is more or less a place for those of privilege. Here many people have cars and electricity and running water. I’m grateful for the opportunities I’ve had to travel outside the city to help bring me and my tourist’s perspective back down to earth. More than 59% of Guatemalans live in poverty. For many, basic amenities such as electricity and clean water (never mind running water) are a luxury. 1.5 million people live on less than two dollars a day. The stunning natural beauty belies the fact that many are struggling to survive. This is more apparent in towns outside the city, especially those dotting the mountainsides.
I aspire to forget none of this. For every thing that I enjoy here, there may be someone that will never get the chance to in their own country. As a future graduate in Global Policy, it is my goal to help develop impoverished nations such as Guatemala so that all may enjoy the fruits of this beautiful earth. It’s the very least I could do for all the kindness this country has shown me.