Twelve Days in Guate.

My time in Guatemala is coming to an end. Me quedan 12 dias, solamente. That means I have only 12 dinners, 12 mornings to wake up to roosters crowing, 12 nights of falling asleep to the crickets chirping and 12 afternoons to stare out at the palm trees from my bed after work. Most importantly I only have 12 more evenings with my friends and a handful of days in the office with my compañeros de trabajo.

My experience in Guatemala has been amazing, and I still have 12 more days to make count. I have learned so much about so much from International Human Rights law to Indigenous land issues and issues surrounding women's rights and domestic violence. Equally as important, I have learned how to make tortillas, how to get around this beautiful country and how to converse fairly fluently in Spanish.

I feel as though I know a few parts of Guate intimately, but none as much as Rabinal. I remember my first day, as I apprehesively moved through the market, staring in awe at the baskets of spices and the live turkeys walking around. Now I move through it as though it were second nature, knowing well in what areas I can find what things I am looking for. I exchange bueños dias, with many of the men and women who work there every day, and the sincerity with which their greetings are offered usually brighten my smile as I continue on my way.

I will miss more than anything the people who are here. I have met so many fantastic people doing inspiring work in many different areas of society. The artist, the human rights accompanier and the Peace Corps volunteer are all doing important work. And then are the my two Rabinalero maestros, who hold unique and dearly important places in my heart. My experience here would not be the same without them. I have learned immeasureabley from them about all that other stuff that composes life- culture, family, food, friends, and perhaps ultimately, that as much as things are different across all of humanity, so much is the same.

These last 12 days lay ahead of me, ready and waiting. I still have time. Much can be done and shared in 12 days. To those in London, I will see you on the 25th, and to those in Victoria, on the 3rd. To those here in Guate, I will see you tonight, and tomorrow and the next day, and for 10 more after that.