Since Spanish has always been such an important form of communication in my family and a huge part of my identity as a Latina, I graduated with a degree in Bilingual Education and went off to teach third grade students in dual language programs, where I was able to put my Spanish to use and teach others along the way, too. Fun fact: before my travels abroad, I was a third grade dual language teacher at your very own school. I know, amazing!
After a few years of teaching, I realized there was something much greater than New York City calling out to me. A calling that required me to move to another country, learn about a different way of living and integrate into a new and exciting culture again. It meant being a new immigrant in a country all over again and, this time, using my professional and language skills to provide support to a new community. That calling led me to Guatemala and to living with an Indigenous Mayan host family while I fulfill my two-year service with Peace Corps. And that has given me the chance to learn firsthand about the culture of the Maya, an Indigenous group of people who have lived in Guatemala for thousands of years, long before people from Europe arrived.
If I'm being completely honest, it hasn't been entirely easy, but big changes usually aren't. I've had to learn to cook new dishes, use different ingredients than I was used to and find my way through mercados (local markets) looking for what I need. I've had to learn to travel in camionetas (low-cost local buses used for transportation, often referred to as "chicken buses" in English) and by tuc tuc (a three-wheeled motorcycle). While it hasn't always been easy, it certainly has been very rewarding.
