Stephanie Beron has us addicted to her travel journals on Sosauce. Originally from Connecticut, Stephanie spent the holidays on a month-long volunteer trip in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala and documented her experience on Sosauce. Stephanie guides readers through her trials and tribulations, strange exchanges with locals, language studies, and moving anecdotes. We love her Journal so much we wanted to share a few excerpts from her experience with other Travel Geeks.
Follow Stephanie’s journey through Guatemala at her Sosauce Journal, “The Guatemala Chronicles.”
In her first entry, Stephanie introduces us to her trip ahead:
“Once I arrive, I’ll meet my homestay family: a grandmother (abuela), father (padre), and 9yr old boy, Pablito (niño). No internet in the home but I’ll have limited access at my Spanish school the afternoons I’m not volunteering. Class begins at 8am, 5 days a week, 4hrs a day (ay dios mio!). I’m excited, nervous, and sleep deprived.”
Stephanie experiences culture shock – both good and bad – amongst her first few days of arrival:
“Diana is Guatemalan; she studied English in Boston for 9 months. During our conversation she said Guatemala is very beautiful but the injustice here is very ugly. The ride was long careening our way up las montanas. The countryside of Guatemala is beautiful. . . I learned that woven throughout the cloth are very specific patterns carrying gender, social, and cultural significance.”
“Let me tell you about magic hot chocolate… it tastes like liquid chocolate heaven and it feels like a wonderful little chocolate cloud in your mouth. Not gritty or powdery. Not syrupy or intensely sweet. It’s a chocolate miracle in a cup. Muy delicioso. Martina speaks little English and I’m still working on my Spanish but we were able to enjoy basic conversation. She invited me to Salsa class on Weds. and I accepted.”
As the holidays approach, Stephanie is immersed in Guatemalan tradition. Her host family invites her to help prepare for a Christmas dinner as they share in table games and exchange stories of their homeland. Stephanie distributes photos from New York City around the table and her host family is immediately intrigued. The next day a special moment rises:
“I saw Cessie the following morning as I was waking up over my corn flakes. ‘Thank you for the post cards.’ ‘De nada,’ I said sort of sleepily with a smile and a shrug of my shoulders. To which she replied, ‘Thank you for giving me a dream.’ Wow.”
Some time has past and Stephanie is trying to assimilate to Guatemalan culture. This includes tasting and adapting to local cuisine such as the daily offerings of street food. But to her shock, Stephanie learns an uncomfortable fact her friend Jeff reveals:
“During a long drive through the countryside with his brother and girlfriend, he stopped at a roadside cart for a bite. The old women whipped together a sandwich with seasoned carne, peppers, and queso in no time. He said the meat was ‘todo, todo, blanca.’ He tapped his finger on the white plastic table, ‘Como este.’ So, he asked the old woman, ‘Es carne de cerdo?’ [Is this pork?]. In hindsight, he recalls the woman’s hesitation and darting of the eyes before she answered simply, ‘Si, si.’ Famished, he bit off a mouthful. Chomp, chomp, chomp. Hmmmm. He paused. Hard swallow. Neurons started firing; his taste buds were sending the brain an SOS. At that moment, Jeff recalled hearing that in the rural areas it wasn’t uncommon for roadside chefs to make use of the stray dogs downed by vehicles. He pulled the bread apart to examine the carne blanca, reluctantly lifted his head, and asked the woman, ‘Es perro?’ She didn’t reply. It didn’t matter; he already knew the answer. His psyche moved quickly to sound the alarm notifying the stomach to trigger the release valve. The Spanish word for vomit is a cognate so it’s easy to remember—vomito. And so he did.”
Traveling alone, Stephanie has time to reflect on her experience in Guatemala. As she “people watches” in Parque Central, Stephanie starts to realize not everyone in this country practices the same level of human compassion as her:
“The people here are welcoming and kind, the culture is rich, and landscape beautiful. I However, for a bleeding heart this can be a difficult place that at times, if you allow it, can drive you inward. Such is true for much of the world I suppose.”
Despite troubling observations, Stephanie follows her curiosities to learn more about local culture in Quetzaltenango such as funeral processions and cemetery fires, which are meant to commemorate the dead.
Stephanie’s volunteer trip is coming to an end and consequently having mixed feelings about her departure soon. A quick reflection wraps up her emotions from her life-changing experience in Guatemala:
“When Martina and I were packing at the Lake to return to Xela, I caught myself thinking, I can’t wait to go home. Home in Xela. Don’t get me wrong, I miss everyone in the States, (and wish Shane, Stevie, and Stella were here) but I’m really sad to leave Xela and shortly after, Guate. I can speak the language. I know my way around. I know how to catch a chicken bus. I know what drinks to order and what eateries to avoid. I’ve mastered bartering. I eat hand-made tortillas everyday and everyday I intermingle with (or at least gaze sight upon) ancient customs that survived time. I’ve become accustomed to round-the-clock bombas. I’ve made great friends. My homestay family has taken me in as one of their own and I’ve reciprocated. . . Jeff once said that it takes a lifetime to get to know oneself. Well, I have Guate to thank for leaps and bounds in that process.”
Stephanie is currently working on sharing her post-trip thoughts and is back home in the states. To see her Guatemalan volunteer trip in completion, check out her Sosauce Trip below:
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