Sunday, December 5, 2010

A Guate Christmas

Push some buttons, type some numbers, and I have spent more money in one second than I have in the past eight months. A plane ticket from Portland to Guatemala City. Such lanes of transit exist. I will walk out the door of this house of friends, cross the wet pavement, damp leaves, coffee roasting, beer brewing, yoga studios of Portland. I will board a long, winged, slightly uncomfortable box and, just a lapse of time later, find myself in the familiar chaos of Guate. A journey that once took the greater part of the year will be knocked out in eleven hours.

This journey is different in nature. I am returning to the place I lived, the people I know, to celebrate Christmas, to bring cheer. I was invited to help my friend Jon (see old blogs) who started a fundraiser to give gifts to the children and teenagers we volunteered with like we did last Christmas. The invitation came to me at exactly the right time. A time when my mind was open to the idea, when no plans cluttered the space of my future, when I had just made a little money. ¿Por que no? So now, we have reached our goal, we are ready to go. My deepest graditude to all who have given.

Expectations loom heavy, but this journey is a simple one. Give gifts, give love, give joy to those who welcome it with out beaurocratic nonsense. Share the blessings of my situation, as a citizen of a country that offers more opportunity than ever imaginable here.

1 comment:

Samuel Mascari said...

I logged on to the great Void, filled with everything and therefore no thing. I did so to find out bout your travels, to visit this age old blog I haven't touched in so so long. It just so happens that you also logged on today and posted! We meet again in serendipitous goodness hermana de amor!
What a breeze, a spring breeze to travel these days. A breeze that maybe is the beginning of big storm though, right? I look forward, as much as is healthy while still staying present to hearing and seeing your journey from your mouth and in the light of your eyes!