Cambodian Fishing Trip

Where we live is mostly concrete and mud. Grass and nature are limited to a few trees at the end of the street and the kids play in the cul-de-sac with neighborhood kids instead of in a backyard, all of which are things we've adjusted to. However, when presented with the chance to see more nature and get out of the city a little, we were all for it. Ben came home one day talking about a fishing trip he had signed up for along with a guy from his office. The kids were really excited. 

The boat was bigger than he had anticipated, with two levels and room for a table in the middle and a small bathroom behind the steering part. Several other boats floated by on our way out. One was a floating hotel, another was a floating banquet hall for what looked like a wedding. The kids were excited to see a police boat go by. Most of the boats, though, were narrow little boats with a curved piece of plastic or metal over the middle to provide shelter. Families lived on them with a rack of drying clothes hanging on one side, steering on the other. I suppose they fished for a living.

 I never did understand what exactly the name was of the river we were on, only that it was a place where four rivers joined.  The guide anchored the boat by throwing the rope to a boy who tied it to a tree. Behind the boy was an orchard full of  longan and banana trees. Longans are really common to see here, often offered on the small shrines outside of almost every house beside incense.

 

The muddy river was a little stinky and once we saw a dead dog floating by, but the kids liked being on a boat and holding the rod and reel. The line kept getting stuck in foliage on the bottom of the river, but we managed to catch about 8 really small fish about this size:

That's all that they cared about, that they had caught something! We went home exhausted, sunburned, but happy for a change of pace.

Boca de la Sierra, Hiking in Beautiful Cabo

This weekend I got to explore a new part of Cabo with some friends. We crammed 11 people into an Expedition and drove to Boca de la Sierra. On the way you can see the mountain Picacho, the highest point here. My friends were upset that it looks like there have been miners changing the shape of the mountain. Mining is a hot controversial topic here because it introduces pollution and messes up this beautiful place.

We arrived and hiked down a dirt then rocky trail, crossed a slippery river, then found a sandy beach area to make a "fogata" campfire.

The beautiful, deep pools were clean and clear. It was a wonderful compromise between a pool and the ocean: clean but no wild animals and still in gorgeous nature.

We cooked beef for tacos, roasted marshmallows for s'mores, swam in the cool water, hiked the giant rocks and laid on a sheet in the sand talking to friends. Every once in a while someone would wander off to "cut flowers" but we knew that really meant they were watering them... 😄

On the way home we were blessed with some of the most vivid colors splashed across the sky in a magnificent sunset.

This day was filled with friends, blessings and nature. I'm so grateful to be alive!

 

Benefits I Find Walking in Nature

While we are visiting in the States waiting on Little Man to be born, I've been walking every morning on a trail I've created in the back of my parents property. Since they live outside of the city limits, there are not leash laws and dogs all around the neighborhood bark and chase anyone who walks by. Instead of fending them off every morning, and since not walking is not an option, I decided to walk around the (large) back part of their property. I was surprised to find benefits to this besides just avoiding pesky dogs.

Walking between trees means I get to see lots of colorful birds every morning. Blue jays, cardinals, finches, mockingbirds, hummingbirds and wrens are common with an occasional rarer sighting of a painted bunting. Besides seeing them, hearing them can be therapeutic. Julian Treasure, a sound expert says "We are losing our listening." In a short talk, below that I think is more than worth your time to listen to, he shares five ways to re-tune your ears for conscious listening -- to other people and the world around you. In this speech he mentioned listening to birds, wind and water as healing forms of sound- two of which I get to experience every morning while walking. This morning time without loud sounds is so nice.



Going along with the lack of loud sound, comes the ability to think, pray, and analyze things. I'm not very good at sitting still and just thinking most of the time. There always seems to be way too much to do. I need to keep my body moving in order to think. If I'm walking, just the fact that my body is moving and that there is relative auditory peace gives my brain the freedom and time to meditate. Everyone needs some sort of time to do this. I don't realize how badly I need this until I miss it during the weekend and the contrast is stark.

Another benefit has been developing stronger ankle muscles from walking on uneven terrain. This means I have had to be more cautious, especially in the beginning, but now I appreciate that. I like the hills that are almost unexpected. It makes walking on a road or a track almost boring and harsh. :D (Not to mention treadmills, which have a different set of benefits.)

The (heightened-during-pregnancy) sense of smell also benefits. Have you ever walked around a neighborhood when all of the trash cans were out for trash day? Enough said. The trees and grass and even occasional dog presents still smell better than any roadside experience!

In the mornings, especially, I can also sense the changing seasons stronger than at any other part of the day. In our triple digit summer, walking outside not long after daybreak was the only cool time of the day... it was also the first time I could sense the gradual fall-like cooling of temperatures that quickly heated up to our normal, hot summer days just prior to autumn.

Though I normally walk before anyone else is up now that the school year has started, when I had to walk with Talia during vacations, walking outside was great because she could play while I was walking. I could see her at any point on the trail since she usually played in the middle and she loved getting to be outside. For us, it was a win-win.

Something that has been challenging is knowing distance, but a pedometer would make that simple.

Do you prefer walking outside, at a gym, on a track, on a road or is hiking more your style? I see benefits to all of them. Most of all, I love the privilege of being able to walk and intend to do it for as long as I'm able.

Childhood Artwork

My daughter, like most kids, has always loved drawing. She is constantly creating pictures on her magnetic drawing board, in the dirt with a stick, with colors on her paper or any other way she can figure out. I love it when she draws because it shows me a little bit more what the world looks like through her eyes... and most of the time, her depictions make me laugh in appreciation!

One of her favorite things to draw are bugs, spiders, butterflies and bumblebees. Once, a little, smiling bug appeared on the lid of her laundry pail (below.) He was so jovial and full of character, it was hard to explain how it wasn't appropriate to draw on the furniture with a straight face.

I think it's interesting that her pictures always involve characters from nature at this point in time. I like that she has enough contact with nature to feel that it is the natural thing for her to draw. However, it always has her own twist, like the spider (below) who looks quite startled!

At first, she would only use one color, when she used colors, to draw the entire picture. But as she has matured, she has begun to use multiple colors together to create a picture, like this picture of ducks in a pond:

Also, instead of drawing just outlines of things, she has recently begun coloring in some of her picture. Here, she was making a picture of a painted bunting for our neighbor as a thank you card for a book about birds for her birthday. I thought her bird turned out cute and had all of the right colors. He made me smile! :)

Do I think my child is a genius artist in the making? Not really... but I love seeing her art develop and appreciate all of the laughs and smiles she brings me with her whimsical pictures.

5 Expat Parent Observations: United States vs. Guatemala

When we come back to the States I always notice several things that impact my daughter differently here than in Guatemala. However, this is within a very narrow spectrum, so my experiences do not accurately reflect Guatemala or the States as a whole. Only my experience between a city setting in Guatemala City to a country setting in Texas. Here are some of the things I've noticed, particularly relating to raising children:



1. Larger range of ethnicities:

In Guatemala, most people are the following according to the CIA World Factbook:
Mestizo (mixed Amerindian-Spanish)and European 59.4%,
K'iche 9.1%,
Kaqchikel 8.4%,
Mam 7.9%,
Q'eqchi 6.3%,
other Mayan 8.6%,
indigenous non-Mayan 0.2%,
other 0.1% (2001 census)

In other words, almost everyone is brown-haired, brown-eyed, tan-skinned or else they are obviously foreign. There is a conspicuous lack of people of African descent. When we visited the States, that resulted in the following conversation:

Talia: "Mami, that lady has brown skin!"
Me: "Yes, it's beautiful, isn't it?"
Talia: "But my skin is peach!"
Me: "Yes, everybody is different."

In the U.S. there is a much broader range of ethnic peoples- and that is a good thing when it comes to exposing children to more than one kind of nationality.

2. Free-range child rearing is more possible:

When I say free-range, I mean that children have a yard to play in that allows for minimal supervision, like an adult washing dishes in the house at a window and still checking outside occasionally. In Guatemala, at least in the city, that is a difficult thing to come by. There aren't really "neighborhoods" the same way there are in the States. Children, especially foreign-looking ones, can't just wander off to play if you don't want them to get kidnapped. Outside of the city, this is much less extreme! Talia has enjoyed being able to run around outside (always in the yard, always within sight) and play around trees and foliage that would never fit in a little city "garden." I appreciate the lack of stress of constantly having the thought in the back of my head that someone could run off with her. (Though I am aware that yes, that is still possible here.)

3. The lack of walls and barbed wire is surprising:

If you want any degree of a place like my #2 to play in Guatemala, then walls and barbed wire are necessary. It's nice to actually see houses here in the States. In Guatemala, everything is behind a wall with layers of barbed wire on top. You can't just drive anywhere and see a house, you have to have permission to enter the gate and then you might get to actually see a house. At first the barriers everywhere isn't such a big deal until you go back to the States and feel like you can breathe again... unless you've gotten so accustomed to the walls that you then feel unprotected. I like for my daughter to experience life without walls occasionally.

4. Playing with other kids in English:

In Guatemala, even if the parents speak English, usually the language between playing children is Spanish. I like this. I'm glad Talia is developing her Spanish skills from the playground up. She always speaks English with us at home, and we know that it is developing also. However, her English is more elevated than her age because of this. I don't think it's a bad thing that she doesn't speak with other kids in English very often, but I am glad when she gets the opportunity.
On the flip side, this helps me appreciate the truly bilingual environment we have found in Guatemala. One big reason to move to a Latin American country was to have a bilingual child. I like that during her language's most formative years, she is in a bilingual atmosphere. She amazes me daily with her grasp of both Spanish and English. (She's pretty good at understanding Portuguese too!)

5. Extended family:

One of the most common things an expat must choose to give up is his or her close proximity to extended family when moving to another country. It's nice when we get the chance to visit and Talia can play with and talk to other family members besides those she lives with every day. I grew up very close to my family and it's definitely the thing I miss the most when we are in Guatemala. I'm thankful for technology and the contact that has made possible, but it will never come close to a real life hug or conversation.

Most of these reasons have also contributed to us moving out of Guatemala City and to a less hectic, more country place outside of the capital- more like where I was raised.
I want to be able to grow herbs outside.
I want to be able to walk consistently.
I want Talia to have a good place to play outside with her puppy.
Nature is therapeutic and I want her to find that for herself.

Guatemala has many beautiful things to offer, but, in my opinion, the majority of those things are not found in the city setting, but rather in the majestic natural environment.