Roots & Wings

marioarana — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 10:37:00 GMT

Roots and Wings

In June of 2004, after going to college in Arkansas for 4 years and teaching in Honduras, Costa Rica and the Carolinas in the USA for a total of 7 years, I decided to take a sabbatical in Guatemala. I had lived abroad for 11 years and I wanted to get back to my roots to the place that defined who I was.

I spent most of that year in Antigua Guatemala and Lake Atitlan. Two of the most beautiful places I know. It took me a few weeks to readjust to what was familiar. I was home. My family. My food. My people. My land. I felt "chapin" again. "Chapin" is the nickname given to Guatemalans. As the end of my sabbatical approached I began thinking of starting to look for a job. The thought of returning to teach in the USA came to mind, but a phrase from Mario Benedeti, poet and novelist from Uruguay, came coming back to me. He said in one of his poems: "The south also exists...!"

After giving it some thought I decided to go "south." I began looking for a job online. A couple of weeks later I was hired to teach grade 6 in Cochabamba, Bolivia. On August 10th, 2005 I arrived at my new home with 2 suitcases and a backpack full of dreams. For the next two years I had the opportunity to live, to teach and to travel in South America. I had the joy of becoming friends with many Bolivians and with many people of other nationalities. I volunteered in an orphanage teaching English twice a week. I explored Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Chile, Argentina and Bolivia, I had previously traveled in Peru, Brazil and Uruguay. From the sunny Cartagena to the spectacular Patagonia. I watched the sunset in the Galapagos and sang at a Ricardo Arjona concert in La Paz.

In June of 2007, I went back home to Guatemala again. After those two years in South America I felt more chapin, more latino and more a citizen of the world. I am so glad I listened to that inner voice that reminded me that "the south also exists...!"

Thanks to that decision, now, I not only have roots, but I also have wings.

http://marioarana.blogspot.com/

countdown

marioarana — Sat, 12 May 2007 00:25:00 GMT

_{the countdown has begun for me to leave bolivia...one more month and i will be in guate... three more and i will be in cairo... i can't believe it !!! it seems like yesterday i was at a kjarkas (local folk band) concert having ron abuelo during my first weekend in cochabamba... here is something i wrote back then...}_{I arrived in Cochabamba less than two weeks ago… and I  a m  s o  g l a d  I decided to come here… why I am glad I came to Cbba ? Here are the top five reasons…

5. the weather…
    clear crisp mornings and evenings… sunny warm days…
    the city is called the city of the eternal spring... just like
    guatemala... hehe
4. the school...
    friendly teachers… great students… beautiful campus with
    lots of grassy areas... beautiful views of the city and
    mountains from my huge classroom windows…
3. the city...
    plazas and tree-lined boulevards... one of the biggest
    markets in Latin America where you can find any
    imaginable product for a great price…
2. the scene...
    lots of lil plazas, markets, bohemian cafes, good and cheap
    restaurants and lively bars all over town…
1. the cost of living
    the incredibly low prices allow you to go out, have fun and
    spend little… nothing like a delicious dinner at a really nice
    place (couple of beers included) for 4-5 dollars !!!

I feel really lucky: I arrived on a Saturday, July 30th. On Sunday I bought the newspaper to look for an apartment and on Tuesday I moved to a second floor "garzonier" (an apartment behind a family house) very conveniently located (close to school and city life) … lots of windows… nicely furnished… nice, helpful and friendly landlord… quiet neighborhood just a couple of blocks from everything you can possibly want...

I have been out basically every night since I got here… the highlight of the week was the Kjarkas concert… a parent gave ten tickets to the school counselor and he invited all the new teachers… Kjarkas was so cool… they play traditional Bolivian music with passion … lots of fun…

So, this is my life in Cochabamba now…
wow... c r a z y... that was almost 2 years ago... i have truly fallen in love with this city... i will miss all the people i met here... i take with me so many memories...sigh...

so, in two weeks i am traveling to sucre, a colonial city of white houses and government buildings... simon bolivar along with local generals signed the declaration of independence of bolivia, peru and ecuador there... i wonder what he would have thought of having a country named after him... my last adventure in bolivia will be the first week of june when i travel to uyuni salt lake... the perfect end to my two years here, a surreal place in every sense of the word... as if you step inside a dali painting...}

Teacher. Traveler.

Roots & Wings

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