Tuesday, August 12, 2014, Day XXXIX in Xela: Class happens, but I am intent on making margaritas and a cucumber salad today. Both are things we do frequently at home and I want to share them with the people here. I have everything planned in my mind because I have to strategize carrying money, bottles of liquor, limes and cucumbers without drawing attention to myself. Class ends up being lots of drills and during the break my maestro asks me all sorts of questions about life in America and what the average American understands about Guatemala. He is a very curious guy and tells me that he heard I had delivered a sermon in Spanish. He said he wanted to hear it tomorrow. Despite his desire to be a “detached professional”, I think we are making a connection. As I was leaving the class, I interact with one of the other students there who is and undergrad in Utah. In the conversation I mention Guatemala Human Rights Commission (GHRC) and he has a flurry of questions. He asks if I could spend some time with him to tell him what I know of the history of Guatemala. We agree to a meeting at around 4:00 in the afternoon. I go back to the house and have lunch. After lunch I start to execute my plan. I walked to the neighborhood of the “mercado des los flores” because I am told there is a big liquor store there with decent prices. I can also by the fruits and vegetables I need at the Mercado; it is no longer a flower market. Everything works out perfectly. As I am heading back to the house, the sky suddenly opens up with more rain than I have ever seen here in Guatemala. It reminded me of the rains Nan and I experienced in the monsoon season in Thailand. I scurried into the Celas Maya School because it was only about 50-yards away. Carla was there and let me in. I stood watching the deluge. After about 5-minutes, it stopped as quickly as it started. I headed to the house. On the way, I passed Nate on the street; he was heading to another meeting. He is always being productive and not just being busy. That is something I have been trying to perfect. At the house I put the triple sec and tequila in the freezer so they would be cold. I proceeded to make the cucumber salad. Obviously, cucumber, but also red onion, a little red pepper (all thinly sliced): a sprinkle of salt; the juice of a lime; and a little olive oil. It turned out perfectly. Jennifer and La Noretys were quite happy with the salad; Nate doesn’t much like cucumbers. Fortunately, everyone really liked the margaritas. Jennifer had one of my ginger margaritas, Noretys a simple, Nate and I both had our margaritas with four tiny chiltepe peppers. It was perfect for Nate, but completely flamed me out half way through. I would do it again with one or two peppers, but never again with four. I meet with the student for a couple of hours. He is intent and curious and full of questions. I can see the spirit moving in him, the deeper understanding. I give him my example of Emily Willard giving candy to children to illustrate the cultural differences between the Mayan people and western culture. When you give an American kid four pieces of candy, they pop one candy in their mouth and three in their pocket. In Mayan culture, and I have seen the repeated countless times, you give a kid four pieces of candy, they pop one candy in their mouth and then look for three other kids to give the other pieces. Western culture teaches to take; Mayan culture teaches to give. The student appreciates the example. We break and agree to get together again. After dinner, there is a flow of people in and out. Nate and I have all sort of discussions. In part of the discussions Nate goes to his office to get a reference that will make his point. Oddly he brings out and reads from “The Desert Fathers” using the exact passage I thought of in the shower yesterday. There are all sorts of weird connections here in Xela. It must be why this was made the spiritual capital of the Mayan’s long before the arrival of the Spaniards. I go to sleep with the idea of becoming a life of fire; tongues of fire bringing light into the darkness. Abbot Lot came to Abbot Joseph and said: Father, according as I am able, I keep my little rule, and my little fast, my prayer, meditation and contemplative silence; and according as I am able I strive to cleanse my heart of thoughts: now what more should I do? The elder rose up in reply and stretched out his hands to heaven, and his fingers became like ten lamps of fire. He said: Why not be totally changed into fire? (From Thomas Merton: The Wisdom of the Desert)
Posted on: Thu, 14 Aug 2014 00:37:20 +0000
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