100 Beautiful Things about Guatemala

Today in Eat, Pray, Love, I listened to Gilbert’s reflections of her time in India studying in an ashram and meditating. One particular quote stood out to me, “You are, after all, what you think. Your emotions are slaves to your thoughts and you are slave to your emotions.” I forget sometimes to remember what is beautiful or what makes me happy in Guatemala. I feel so out of place that it is often easier to reflect on what’s complicated about Guatemala and not what makes it such an intriguing place. After such a heavy post, I wanted to express some of the beauty I see in Guatemala:

1. Marvin Cone clouds billow every day in the sky due to tropical convection. In the evenings they turn brilliant pinks, oranges, and yellows.
2. Blossoms everywhere in every color, shape, and texture.
3. Warm weather and blue skies.
4. Pupusas – stuffed tortillas filled with cheese, meat, beans, you name it. They’re actually from El Salvador, but they’re quite popular here.
5. Vibrant colors of weavings and traditional fabrics.
6. Horrible Guatemalan-Spanish accents that make everyone sound like they’re constantly whining.
7. Jade.
8. Mayan temples.
9. Tajumulco.
10. Xela aka Xelaju aka Quetzaltenango aka my favorite town in Guatemala.
11. Antigua.
12. Chocolate from Chocotenango.
13. Hot chocolate with cinnamon that tastes like the elixir of the gods.
14. Coffee.
15. Smiles and encouragement at the gym.
16. Micro buses that get me around the country.
17. Refaccion, even though I hate snack break.
18. The Westin Camino Real where Rotary meets weekly.
19. My apartment, gray walls and everything.
20. The toothless woman who sells tortillas and always grins when she sees me.
21. The Curves security guards with their gold-lined teeth.
22. The afternoon sun that turns everything golden.
23. Toucans and parrots.
24. Spider and howler monkeys.
25. The checkers at the grocery store who all know me and always say hi.
26. Vista Hermosa Bookshop, my local English language bookstore.
27. Rainbow Room café in Antigua although I never find good books there.
28. The very effeminate waiter at the bagel shop who knows exactly what I want every time I go in (1/2 dozen bagels, everything, onion, and some more everything).
29. The fact that the Café Barista waiters always pretend not to know who I am, even though they really do.
30. Gelato samples at Café Barista.
31. Plants that survive in the canopy by absorbing mist from the air.
32. Quetzales.
33. Tikal.
34. Peten Itza and Yaxha lakes.
35. Lake Atitlan, even though I don’t like it.
36. Quetzaltrekkers.
37. Cookies from the Menonite bakery in Xela.
38. Cement slides I fly off of and crash spectacularly and scrape my knee on.
39. Fresh tropical fruit like pineapples, zapotes, bananas, strawberries.
40. Hot atol on cold mornings.
41. Museums about the Maya, even though they need to work on their interpretation.
42. My taxi driver, Juan Alonzo, just because he always gives me rides and looks out for me.
43. Solitude, although I am frequently lonely.
44. The back road to Curves.
45. The poor taco stand boy trying to cross the street with his Pepsi Cola shaped grill.
46. Rotary Club Guatemala Sur, for all its machismo actions and bingo playing.
47. Triple days for Tigo cards.
48. Calling internationally on my cell phone.
49. The view of Volcanes Agua, Fuego, and Acatenango from the cross walk by the grocery store.
50. Fruit venders who know what fruit I want to buy and the price I want to buy it at.
51. Rex II, the golden retriever, who is always glad to see me.
52. The fact the dog down the street and I made friends when I let her back inside her gate after she had somehow gotten out and didn’t know how to get back in.
53. The crisp contrast between clear blue skies and fantastically painted walls, brightly colored flowers, and green leaves.
54. The road to Xela. It takes forever, but the whole way is a beautiful mosaic of volcanoes, corn fields, and valleys.
55. Sunsets and sunrises.
56. Having time to write.
57. The clipped Spanish spoken by the indigenous Maya.
58. The way national tourists in Tikal say they go to see Tikal to make sure it really exists.
59. Travelers excited to be in Guatemala.
60. Lightening storms.
61. Crashing waves and black sand beaches of Monterrico.
62. Watching baby sea turtles get released into the ocean.
63. Two for one movie nights at the movie theater.
64. Poporopo, the word for popcorn.
65. Licuados, or smoothies, delicious whether they are made with water, milk, or yogurt.
66. How it takes so long to get anywhere you notice the changing scenery
67. Beberly and her hugs.
68. The ambivalent nature of Guatemalan relationships.
69. The fact that Guatemala imports cranberries, cheddar cheese, Silk soy milk, Twix, and maple syrup.
70. Slang.
71. How the insanity of this country makes me laugh, shake my head, and jump on board… sort of.
72. Chicken buses (like the Orellana Chicken Buses with their naked lady emblems).
73. Crowding over 100 people into chicken buses
74. Sitting in the back of a chicken bus and flying feet into the air whenever the bus goes over a speed bump (about ever 10 minutes).
75. Pollo Campero and everyone’s obsession with it (it’s soooo good).
76. Really ugly necklaces and embroidery thread covered pens that end up in Goodwill.
77. Guatemalans perseverance even when the going gets tough.
78. Scrambled eggs, refried beans, tortillas, and chili sauce being the only meal in the entire country (besides Pollo Campero).
79. The number of tortillas one person eats per day (at least 20).
80. Canyons, mountains, and plains.
81. Watching Pacaya spew out lava.
82. Being close enough to the USA that people come to visit.
83. How random people always offer help or advise, even when I don’t ask for it.
84. Ceiba trees.
85. Hearing awful ranchera songs for hours on the bus (“Si fuera ladron, te robaria tu cuerpo, te robaria tus besos, te robaria tu amor” If I was a thief, I would steal your body, I would steal your kises, I would steal your love).
86. How very inflexible people are when it comes to sizes of things (“We only have the large size.” “Can’t you just fill it less?” “But we only have the large”).
87. Too many people employed in one store so that my table gets mopped around at least three times while I’m sitting at it.
88. Orquids.
89. Zip lines in Chuiraxamolo Municipal Park.
90. How shoestring backpackers think Casa Argentina in Xela is the bomb, when it’s really just a gross, dirty hostel with broken beds and toilets that don’t function.
91. Teresita from Santiago Atitlan.
92. Church ruins in Antigua.
93. Pops ice cream and people’s obsession with eating it, especially in banana splits.
94. Vesuvio Pizzaria, the only good pizza I’ve ever eaten in Latin America (besides one other place in Ecuador).
95. Trees at 4000 meters.
96. How excited people get about weather changes like snow in the highlands.
97. Carlos Peña hairstyles. Nothing is hotter than the skunk cut.
98. The Cathedral in Xela.
99. The traditional dress of women from Zunil – florescent colors.
100. Esperanza and her family with their ready laugh, jokes, smiles, and welcoming embraces.

These things make me happy everyday. They’re beautiful even when I don’t always think they are beautiful at the time. Although life in Guatemala is hard, I reflect on this list and it gives me joy day.