by Keli Shipley
Intern at Porch de Salomon, Guatemala
"Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -H. Jackson Brown Jr.
Assumptions made:
1) You cannot drink the tap water in Pana: true; however, it is false
that it is tough to come by clean water. I feel like that is a
misconception that even I want unaware of. Think the big jugs of water
that are sold at Sam's Club. The massive blue containers that are placed
in dispensers. "Agua pura" is placed in these containers and are
located most everywhere around Pana. There are also plenty of places
with bottles of water, although it is not necessary to buy new ones all
the time. When I was packing for this trip, I didn't bother to bring a
water bottle because I figured I wouldn't have a way of filling it. False. So if any of you readers decide to
go on a trip to Latin America, bringing a water bottle would not be a
bad idea.
2) You cannot eat the fruit off the streets: false; however, it is true that it needs to be cleaned thoroughly. We, in the US, are used to buying an apple and eating it (maybe rinsing it off before hand with tap water). Here, you must peel, bleach, and/or soak the fruit in vinegar and then you can eat the fruit. A couple days ago, Joe bought me some mango off a street cart. They are located all over the streets of Pana. It was my first time eating mango and it was absolutely delicious. I feel like I am being spoiled with all this fresh fruit.
3) Street cart food make American's sick: can be true (such as the ice cream from the street carts); however, it is false that there are limited options for eating. For instance, I ate from a street vendor called "Big Alex's" tonight. I was recommended to go here and took a chance. You go up to the guy grilling the meat and ask for what type of meat you want and within 10 minutes, you are given a large portion of meet, green onions, 7 homemade tortillas, two types of sauces, black beans, and cheese for 15 Q (a little less than $2). Yes, this was a definite risk, but well worth it. As my friend Alex said, it's like Taco Bell, only real food. What I thought about was that the cheesy gordita crunch that many of us have grown to love costs about $3 and is filled with all kinds of preservatives while this food is all fresh. I may have just ruined Taco Bell for myself... but maybe that's not a bad thing...
These three things are just a few of the assumptions that I have learned more about from my first week in Pana. I'm not going to lie, I made a lot of these misconceptions before I came here. I learn more and more each day about how simple life is here and how easy it is for Americans to travel to destinations in Latin America. Each day, I try to eat a new food and take a new risk. What do I have to loose? Yesterday in worship, Lloyd Monroe spoke about how much Americans hate being uncomfortable, and that could not be more true of a statement. I find myself overthinking things down here already, something that I need to work on (as many of my friends and family know). Today, I was nervous to go up to the street stand and order, just as much as I was nervous about taking my first took took by myself. I am slowly learning that you might as well just take the risk and go for it. There isn't much that could go wrong and the people of Pana, as mentioned before, are so willing to help rather than take advantage, as many people may think. Risks, to a degree, are healthy, especially when travelling. I am only here for 2 months, so I might as well take as many risks as I can while I'm here.
Side story: each day, the housekeeper comes and cleans my hotel room. Today, I came back and found the flowers I had bought at the market yesterday lovely displayed in a vase on my window seat. Little things like this brighten my day :)
Intern at Porch de Salomon, Guatemala
"Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -H. Jackson Brown Jr.
Assumptions made:
1) You cannot drink the tap water in Pana: true; however, it is false
that it is tough to come by clean water. I feel like that is a
misconception that even I want unaware of. Think the big jugs of water
that are sold at Sam's Club. The massive blue containers that are placed
in dispensers. "Agua pura" is placed in these containers and are
located most everywhere around Pana. There are also plenty of places
with bottles of water, although it is not necessary to buy new ones all
the time. When I was packing for this trip, I didn't bother to bring a
water bottle because I figured I wouldn't have a way of filling it. False. So if any of you readers decide to
go on a trip to Latin America, bringing a water bottle would not be a
bad idea.2) You cannot eat the fruit off the streets: false; however, it is true that it needs to be cleaned thoroughly. We, in the US, are used to buying an apple and eating it (maybe rinsing it off before hand with tap water). Here, you must peel, bleach, and/or soak the fruit in vinegar and then you can eat the fruit. A couple days ago, Joe bought me some mango off a street cart. They are located all over the streets of Pana. It was my first time eating mango and it was absolutely delicious. I feel like I am being spoiled with all this fresh fruit.
3) Street cart food make American's sick: can be true (such as the ice cream from the street carts); however, it is false that there are limited options for eating. For instance, I ate from a street vendor called "Big Alex's" tonight. I was recommended to go here and took a chance. You go up to the guy grilling the meat and ask for what type of meat you want and within 10 minutes, you are given a large portion of meet, green onions, 7 homemade tortillas, two types of sauces, black beans, and cheese for 15 Q (a little less than $2). Yes, this was a definite risk, but well worth it. As my friend Alex said, it's like Taco Bell, only real food. What I thought about was that the cheesy gordita crunch that many of us have grown to love costs about $3 and is filled with all kinds of preservatives while this food is all fresh. I may have just ruined Taco Bell for myself... but maybe that's not a bad thing...
These three things are just a few of the assumptions that I have learned more about from my first week in Pana. I'm not going to lie, I made a lot of these misconceptions before I came here. I learn more and more each day about how simple life is here and how easy it is for Americans to travel to destinations in Latin America. Each day, I try to eat a new food and take a new risk. What do I have to loose? Yesterday in worship, Lloyd Monroe spoke about how much Americans hate being uncomfortable, and that could not be more true of a statement. I find myself overthinking things down here already, something that I need to work on (as many of my friends and family know). Today, I was nervous to go up to the street stand and order, just as much as I was nervous about taking my first took took by myself. I am slowly learning that you might as well just take the risk and go for it. There isn't much that could go wrong and the people of Pana, as mentioned before, are so willing to help rather than take advantage, as many people may think. Risks, to a degree, are healthy, especially when travelling. I am only here for 2 months, so I might as well take as many risks as I can while I'm here.
Side story: each day, the housekeeper comes and cleans my hotel room. Today, I came back and found the flowers I had bought at the market yesterday lovely displayed in a vase on my window seat. Little things like this brighten my day :)
