I’m not in Latin America for a holiday or even just to learn Spanish. I’m here to find a new life.
My dream is to find somewhere affordable to live, pick up some work that will allow me to contribute to the local society and meet people. In my experience, everyone has fascinating stories to tell, and I’d like to be able to collect those stories and share them with the world.
Having lived in Australia, Asia and Europe, Latin America is my first choice for my new home, but my Spanish is nowhere close to useful, so I have come to Guatemala to correct that. Learning Spanish and staying in a homestay also provide a routine and a ready social network that reduces the anxiety I fear I’d have just turning up entirely without a plan. My plan, such as it is, involves following my instincts, letting the wind take me from town to town, focusing on learning Spanish, but keeping my senses tuned for opportunities to use my skills and for people or organisations that need help.
You can imagine how happy I was to stumble across a flyer for an NGO presentation in Cafe Rainbow, a great local café, in my first week. The presentation was by New Dawn to generate support for a Mayan community who are trying to improve education for their kids and to preserve the local Mayan dialect and dances. The children performed a number of traditional dances, which included activities such as making tortillas, sneaking away for trysts at the water hole and ceremonies honouring the cardinal directions. I spent some time after the presentation talking to Vicky from New Dawn, who was extremely welcoming, inviting me to stay in their village to experience the local life and be immersed in Spanish since almost no one speaks English. This may or may not end up being my new home, but it gives me hope that I will find what I’m looking for.
I have a ticket home in August, but if all goes to plan, that will be a temporary visit, only long enough to sell everything in storage. If you can suggest places that might make an interesting home, organisations that could use my skills in conferencing, anthropology or writing, or people I should talk to, please let me know.