by Keli Shipley
Intern at Porch de Salomon, Guatemala
"Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the
barriers within yourself that you have built against it." -Rumi
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notice that it's
lipton tea |
Today, I woke up feeling much better than yesterday, but continued to be
cautious of what I decided to eat. Anyways, I met up with Lena for
breakfast at the Patio. For 19Q, I got the Americano breakfast which
consisted of: hibiscus tea, homemade bread and jam, eggs, and freshly
squeezed orange juice. It was a great way to start off the day and it
was nice hearing her perspective about interning in Guatemala. This is
her third time, so her advice is super helpful. Afterwards, we decided
to take a took took to the cemetery. This may seem a little odd, but the
Mayan people take a lot of time to honor the dead.
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allows for
additions |
There multiple options for how
they burry the dead. First of all, you can rent one of the places in the
permanent burial slots. These are the one in the first and second
picture. They can be painted; however, if a family stops paying for the
slot, than the coffin is removed so another body can be placed in it.
There are also larger plots that can be purchased where tombs can be
placed. These bars can be placed on top of the first tomb, allowing for
another family member to be buried on top of them. Many families take a
lot of time, effort, and money to ensure that the dead are honored and
respected. During the day of the dead, near about the entire city come
to the cemetery and brings flowers and other gifts to give to their
ancestors. As seen to the right, marigolds are one of the symbols of the
day of the dead. Lena was explaining that some of the seeds from the
marigolds that were brought on the day of the dead probably dropped and
ended up growing next to the tomb.
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"This tomb hold
your body, God your soul, and we your memories. For to me, to live is
Christ and to die is gain. -Philippians 1:21" |
After we went through the maze of different tombs, we travelled down a
road towards the lake. It wasn't too far of a walk and there were dozens
of boats along the shoreline. A lot of the gringos who come from the
states come here to get away from the politics of everything and simply
relax. There are massive houses with huge lawns and large fences/ gates
that surround them.
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Lena standing on
the bridge that we crossed. Sure, we could have used the safe bridge a
hundred yards away, but did we? nope. |
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massive houses
along the lakeshore. many gringos live in this area |
After some ice cream, a nice visit to the panaderia (bakery) and then
time meeting some new people at the porch, it was time to head back for
some rest. The weather in Pana is interesting because it goes from being
absolutely beautiful in the mornings to storms in the afternoon and
into some of the nights. Takes some getting used to, but it's nice to
notice patterns. Only a few more days until the first team comes, which
is exciting and should liven up the pace a bit down here.