reminiscent of home...

It's Sunday night and I'm back from a lovely weekend at Lake Atitlan. I've heard incredible things about this lake for years, and in some ways I feel like my trip didn't really do it justice. Dont' get me wrong, the trip was exactly what I needed, being incredibly restful, but if you want to know much about the lake - I couldn't tell you.

Joe and Eliett ended up heading toward the capital and since I was determined to spend this 'free weekend' at the lake I made plans to travel there with a friend I met here in Xela. I wasn't feeling all that well when I left, but the trip there actually wasn't as bad as expected (I ended up sleeping for much of it - shocking, no?) Still, I was exhausted upon arrival and pretty much went straight to bed. Saturday I slept in, still not feeling 100% but the lake is significantly warmer than Xela, so we spent the afternoon at the beach. The day was lazy and it was wonderful to just sit by the water, eat, rest more, eat, and then head out for an evening of pupusas and gallo.

We started the trip back today relatively early, and I said goodbye to Diego (as he headed to the capital to fly home tomorrow). Goodbyes seem to be a constant at this stage in my life - and as much as I hate that, on days like today - I'm ever amazed by the people I meet coincidentally and how much I end up finding out about myself and them through converstaion. Diego proved to be an excellent travel partner and was more anti-USA than anyone I've met in a while; which led to some interesting debates. I found myself talking up Minnesota often...that land of glory...can you tell I miss home? I'm fairly certain the states is still last on his list of places to visit, so maybe I'm not the best debater. However, it did bring to mind much that I love about home, which seems only natural as I reminisced on the rocky edge of a lake.

This evening I spent some quality time with the family. I'm not sure I've talked about my host family here - but my host-dad is one of the most energetic, loud, caring men I've met and he loves it when everyone's home. We were all back tonight (the Guatemalan college girls who board here usually go to their hometowns for the weekend) and the kitchen was chaotic and brutal (in the best 'family' sense of the word) and loud and felt much like home.

(photo - my host dad was teasing one of the girls about wearing her hood and convinced everyone to join in. the boy is my host-brother, the girls are all fellow boarders...although they seem to have been living here quite a while, it feels like extended family.)

Sometimes, even when I'm far from home, it ceases to feel that way - the lake, long conversations with friends, a big family dinner -the weekend just felt much like home in enough ways that I'm far less homesick than I was a week ago. And all of the sudden, it feels as though the tempo has picked up - one week left in Xela.