My aunt Lise and uncle Wahba came to visit for a few days this week. We were chatting in the kitchen on the day they got here, and Lise asked me if I feel like I've readjusted to life back in the States. Let's just say I'm about as readjusted as I'm ever going to be. Some observations:
- Immigration news carries so much more weight for me now than it did before. I used to have a "position" on immigration laws, but truthfully they were just one more headline to skim over and forget. Before we left for Guatemala/Mexico, Byron, one of our group leaders, would occasionally send articles to us, but it wasn't until I got back that I found myself reading about these issues, understanding them, and actually caring about what I read. On a related note, it's now way more annoying when people DON'T understand or DON'T care. Especially if they then choose to make comments and advertise their ignorance.
- Spanish makes me very happy. I'm about half way through the novel Malinche by Laura Esquivel, which is of course weird but still good practice. I wish I had more opportunities to speak Spanish though, because while I could easily hold decent conversations with my class or my family in Guatemala, here I feel awkward even using the small amount of Spanish that I am able to at work.
- The "Mexican" food aisle at the grocery store has never been more thrilling. Refried BLACK beans, horchata and jamaica drink mixes, corn tortillas, corn flour in case I ever want to make my own tortillas, and mole sauce! I just about died. I also managed to find plantains and queso fresco, so I'm all set to try my hand at cooking the classic desayuno chapin (Guatemalan breakfast). :D
- I get the feeling that my life here is quite shallow. My interactions, my day-to-day activities don't seem very meaningful. When I hang out with friends, we do the same things we always did, but instead of enjoying myself fully I'm thinking that I'd rather have a conversation about something that actually matters.
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