Continuing The Way

Well, I actually did return to the States,from Spain, although I neglected to mention that. Having lived so simply for my time on the Camino, upon returning there was a bit of culture shock. As I unpacked some belonging to use in my new residence I was shocked by the number of hangers I owned. Why does any one individual need so many hangers for so many clothes?!? Within two weeks of returning, I headed to Rwanda for a second time to visit my sponsored child Emmanuel, and then headed back again in February. I am currently in Guatemala, having arrived yesterday after a snow delay in Boston. I will be here for the next three months doing volunteer work for Camino Seguro (Safe Passage) which works with children whose family live in the city dump of Guatemala City. My expectation is that the experience will teach me more about the lives and circumstances of persons who because of lack of options find themselves in a life of poverty. My prayer is that my own understanding, and resposne to the issue of poverty will be vastly different, including my own lifestyle of privilege. Today, my first full day in Guatemala, I registered at La Union Langauge School and had my first session with my teacher. We will meet for 5 hours/day for 5 days. The model at the school is one of one-on-one instruction. For 5 hours it is just me and my maestra. It is 5 hours of converstation which involvers her correcting my mistakes. For tomorrow she wants us to spend time on vocabulary and grammar review. There are lots of folks from all over the world at the school. Some are here while visting Guatemala or Central America. Others like me are here to learn the language in preparation for volunteer work. As part of our learning, the school schedules a variety of activities that will not only help us to learn the language but also expose us to various aspects of the culture. Our activity today was to visit an artisan cooperative of 5 Mayan families who work to teach and preserve the Mayan culture. They demosntrated a Mayan wedding, including dressing some of the student in traditonal Mayan wedding garb. We were then treated to the traditonal dish that is served at weddings and is a tradional food in Guatemala. It is a mildly spicy dish called pipián. It is made with chili and contains beans and was served with boiled chicken. We also were able to shop among the many crafted items that they had made. For my three months here, I am living at the home of Julita Lima along with two other women from the States and 2 young Guatemalan girls. Next week when I begin my volunteer work, it will be in Guatemala City, about 45 minutes away. There is a bus provided by the program that brings us into the city each day and then returns us to La Antigua at the end of the day. Even after only one day, I already love it here and look forward to the next three months. As I contemplate the fact that I am actually here in Guatemala and will be here for three months, I just feel amazed and astounded that God would allow me to have such an experience!!! Marcelle Dotson is actually in Guatemala!!! In fact, if I had not gone to France and then to Spain to follow the Camino, I probably owuld not have had the faith nor courage to take this step. Thanks be to God who always provides opportunities for us to stretch and grow beyond the limits of our imagination! Hasta Luego, Marcelle