Osin Ghimire - Halfway Mark

We are halfway through our trip, and a place that was at first unfamiliar to me has become my home. Strangers have become my family. My Spanish instructor has become my friend, someone who I have shared almost everything with. The lady in charge of our house here has become my “Mama Sandra.”

The streets of Antigua with all the different types of cobblestone has been carved into my brain, as if I have lived here forever.  A feeling of calmness and excitement takes over as I walk through the streets of Antigua. People seem happier than they do back in the U.S., streets are quieter, and everyone says “hello,” welcoming you into their world. Classmates have become friends, and friends have become my backbone. I feel so much happier, relaxed and ready to learn about everything that has to do with Guatemala. It all seems so surreal and feels so much like a dream. I have learned to love it here more and more each day. I feel so enriched with all this new knowledge of Guatemalan culture. From the Mayan ceremony we witnessed that was meant to protect and cleanse people, to the traditional Mayan marriage we reenacted in San Antonio, I feel like I am a part of this culture that I had not even known about a few weeks ago.

A once unfamiliar place has become my home, strangers have become my family, these traditions and way of life have become a part of me.

Sincerely,

Osin Ghimire