Welcome To The Peace Corps!

I have been In Guatemala for over 2 weeks now. I still can’t believe I am in a different country. I’m not sure if I feel like I’m on vacation or in a different town in Ohio. Today was the first day all Peace Corps Trainees met at a local bar/restaurant called Mono Loco. We are told this place is a popular hangout spot for Peace Corps Volunteers. I ended up leaving early because I wasn’t feeling well. That morning I remember feeling really tired and then my muscles started hurting. Later in the day I felt dizzy and even more tired. By the time I met everyone at Mono Loco I felt like total crap. I felt drunk (which I wasn’t) and I wanted to puke. I left knowing I wasn’t going to get better and then taking a 20 minutes bus ride home was an adventure all on its own. First, I had to flag down the bus which was leaving, and they don’t stop, so I ran like an idiot American to the bus. Once I got on all the seats were full and everyone stared at me trying to see if I would make them squeeze into their seat. It is totally common for 4 people to squeeze into a single school bus seat and then have someone sandwiched in the aisle with the other 4 people squeezed in the seat next to them. Anyway, I found a seat with a mother and her 2 kids. The whole time, while I was trying not to get whip lash from the driver’s need for speed, I was trying not to ram my head into the baby sitting on its mother’s lap. I finally got off, and for a split second I forgot I was sick due to the thrill of being off that bus. I went home and crashed. It is hard being sick in a foreign country due to the language barrier. In the states I can say I’m not feeling well and I’ll go to bed, here they ask a million questions and when you’re sick the last thing you want to be thinking about is trying to explain to them if I have had diarrhea, thrown up or how long I have been sleeping. I’m pretty sure during that conversation I started talking to myself in English. I’m feeling better today, but I’m still tired and my stomach still hurts. I think I’m going to have to brace myself for a big bout of diarrhea. My favorite.