Before I moved here I assumed that since I was moving to a country full of brown people, I would fit right in and be welcomed with open arms. I was WRONG.

Walking into a store or restaurant in Guatemala is almost exactly like walking into a store or restaurant in a small racist hick town in Texas. People stare with looks of confusion, curiosity and sometimes, disgust.

Now don't get me wrong, Guatemalans are extremely nice people...but ONLY when they realize we are American. At first glance, most Guatemalans assume that we are from Livingston, Guatemala. Livingston is on the Carribean coast of Guatemala. During the slave trade days, a slave shipped wrecked in Livingston and became the home of many displaced Africans. Livingston is very poor and though the people are technically Guatemalan, they are not held in high regard among the rest of Guatemala...unless they are helping the national Guatemalan basketball team win games...sound familiar?

I find myself having to constantly explain to people that I am not from Livingston. Sometimes, I even announce that I am from the U.S. before they can even ask. Once they know I am American, they have tons of questions about why I am here, etc. (Remember the guy that led us on the Volcano hike and all of his questions?)

One time, at a restaurant, a guy approached and flat out said: "What are you doing here?" We told him we were here for vacation but that was not good enough for him...he really wanted to know what business we had being in that restaurant. We went back and forth until finally he saw that he had taken it too far and left us alone.

Though the starring and the questioning makes me really uncomfortable and irritated, I know that most people are just curious and have never encountered a black person before. I have to constantly remind myself to me nice despite the stares and rudeness because I may be the only black person they ever interact with...so I am basically representing the entire black community lol! Just kidding...kind of.   :)

Remember when Amber and I went to that Day of the Dead kite festival? We saw a black girl in the crowd and it was like spotting a long lost relative! While we were debating on if we should say something to her or what would be the right thing to say to introduce ourselves without sounding weird, she came up to us and said "Yay, Black People!". And we exchanged email addresses and I made a new friend in Guatemala! More on that in my next post "Being Black in Guatemala Part 2."

Hey Y'all! Can you believe I will be leaving here in a little over a month? It has gone by so fast! AND I am all booked up with visitors until the day I leave! It has been so awesome experiencing the city through each different person. Even though I have been doing the same things over and over again, it's a new experience every time!

Guatemala City has just about everything a major U.S. city has. Wal-Marts, Malls, Movie Theaters, tons of restaurants. I've been snapping photos while riding around town for you to see! I will post more pictures when I get them.

The Day of the Dead is very important in Guatemalan culture. The most popular way to celebrate is at one of the Kite Festivals held in Sumpango. They build big beautiful kites to send messages of hope and love to their loved ones who have passed. They also decorate the tombs and leave gifts for the deceased. It was a very cultural experience! People come from all around to celebrate their loved ones. It almost reminded me of a State Fair...but with a deeper meaning.


There was no running water at the Fair Grounds. So we had to use buckets of water to flush the toliets. Yuck.

The cemetery. Graves are above ground here.

Yep...and that's not even the worst that I saw. Needless to say, we did not eat ANYTHING at the festival.