Guatemala - Part Three - Growing Up

The third and many subsequent trips to Guatemala I owe entirely to my mama. She founded Worlds of Light, a travel company that worked to build cross cultural connections and inspire young folks to live with a deeper love for the world and reverence for depth in travel experiences.

That third trip was just my mom and me as her company was forming. It was a research trip where we stayed at a few possible hostels where future groups would stay, we made connections with drivers and restaurants, and planted seeds for what was to come.

There was such a playfulness to that trip that I am forever grateful for and it was so beautiful to feel her dreams becoming reality ✨

As the research trip ended I stayed to work @konojel
It was newly founded at the time and I designed my Spanish class around an internship there. I stayed for a decent part of the semester and worked as a bridge between the local chefs in the kitchen and the tourists ordering food! Taking orders in English and Spanish and translating them as needed for the kitchen. I loved a lot of it! And at times being that bridge was so lonely and unsettling. I’d watch cultures clash, I witnessed hippies being straight up awful to local children. It was like being caught between worlds, not sure where I really belonged.

Years later when I studied anthropology I kept telling myself and professors it was like learning a language to speak about what my cells had experienced growing up. I absolutely believe our facia holds the memories we don’t always have words for. The smallest moment, a new piece of information, intentional bodywork are just some of the ways to reconnect with and alchemize our experiences.