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."