Day XVII in Xela: Donna & Laurel had to leave at 1:AM to get their bus to Guatemala City. They are celebrating a grandchild’s birthday. Donna had spent most of the evening making sure everything was packed and ready to go. She is one of those ladies that is super-organized and keeps them that way. I woke up at my normal Xela time of 6:30AM and discovered the electricity had gone out around 2:30am. I did my normal routine of out-going prayer and then laid back down to go back to sleep since I couldn’t even make a cup of tea. Unfortunately, I was wide awake and just laid in bed listening to the winds blowing outside. It was pretty strong, but there were no clouds. The stalks of corn in the field next door were swaying back and forth, with tassels blowing over the barbed wire coiled on top of the wall. The security stuff here still bothers me. The guys with shot guns; the coiled razor wire; the walls topped with broken bottle shards; the metal bars on windows. I know they might be needed, but how much of this is the classic self-fulfilling prophecy? How much is just manifestation of fear? How much is justified? But then I was the guy with my pockets buttoned and hiding stuff in my bag. I just wish things could be different. I could hear the hum of the power trying to start up twice, once around 9:30 and then about 2:00. The event at 2:00 actually caused the refrigerator to start cycling, but only lasted about 15 seconds before it was off again. Around noon I took a plate of biscuits and a left-over ham-steak out of the refrigerator. It was cold but still pretty tasty. I had spent most of the morning and afternoon going over verb tense s and endings. I also worked through and read some of the ethics of politics book from Ramazzini’s office. I am still trying to fully understand the differences between “pretérito imperfecto” and “pretérito perfecto” and their proper use. I am seeing them in the book, so I beginning to better understand. Around 4:15pm the electricity finally came back on and I immediately made some tea; it was so good! Since I am on my own while I am house-sitting for Donna & Laurel, I made a classic “me” dinner. I grated a potato, part of a carrot, some celery, part of an onion, and two eggs to make a potato pancake. I got out and walked around the neighborhood for about an hour, but didn’t go out of the gate. I would feel better if I had one of my walking sticks from home because I have seen small groups of dogs wandering while going in and out with Jose Manuel, the driver. I assume these could be the dogs that Laurel mentioned. In the day time I would feel more confident with defending myself with a staff. Since it is mostly cornfields, it could take a while for someone to find me if I got attacked. I will avoid the risk for the time being. I would be a little bolder with Laurel and Donna here. I am actually enjoying the quiet, the reading, and my time for prayer. I read morning and noon prayer aloud to myself in English and then practiced it also in Spanish. The quiet feels much like my weekends at seminary; it is quiet studying punctuated by prayer. St. Ignatius spiritual practices of noting consolations and desolations really are an effective way to keep the spiritual mid alive throughout the day. In silence these consolations and desolations sometimes seem magnified, particularly with lots of time for reflection. I see, however, the need to hold this quiet time in profound tension with engaging the world. Too much of either can unbalance the spirits. I am finding myself in need of getting out. I think I will call Jose Manuel and make an excursion to the city in the afternoon, to balance things out. Meanwhile, as I have been writing this, the diurnals have started and I can hear the wind cutting through the corn again. I look out and see the corn stalks waving back and forth, beckoning me to come out and play in all of Creation. The sky is alive with moving clouds and the mixture of dark and light is stunning. I am sure that the people that live here don’t notice the beauty of this place, in the same way I neglect the beauty of living on the water in Annapolis. I just chalk up the beauty of this place as one of the consolations of the day. I am thankful for this day and this place and the wind cutting the corn.
Posted on: Wed, 23 Jul 2014 04:08:25 +0000
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