Elote & Three Sizes Too Small

My supervisor in the clinic, Tía Rosa, invited Kyra and I to her house in San Andres Itzapa this weekend. I was really please to finally have a “social engagement” outside of NPH, especially one with a real Guatemalan (Guatemalteca or Chapina). The plan was to eat corn, or elote. Elote is a common food here, but it is much more interesting than American corn on the cob. In general, elote is served with lime and salt, but sometimes people go REALLY crazy and eat “elote loco”. Elote loco consists of your basic corn on the cob plus the exciting toppings of ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise (salsa dulce, mostaza y mayonesa- slowly building up the vocab!). Armed with all the toppings, Kyra and I successfully rode the camioneta to Itzapa and rendezvoused with Tía Rosa (STARTING TO FEEL LIKE A LOCAL, AWWW YEAHHH). 

We ended up eating at Tía Rosa’s mother’s house, and it truly was a lovely afternoon. Although I had been uncertain at first, the elote loco was actually delicious! Additionally, Tía Rosa and her mother were both so kind and hospitable. It was already incredibly nice of them to have us over, but then they offered to teach us how to make tortillas another weekend and started talking about spending the Christmas holiday together. They told us that they are a second family for us here… Everything meant a lot to me, and I was very touched!

ELOTE LOCO!

Tía Rosa and her mom. Oh yeah, and I'm in there too I guess.

After the food, Tía Rosa walked us over to her neighbor’s house. The house of Tía Rosa’s mother had already humbled me. I will not sugarcoat it- you could tell they were poor, or at least lived much simpler lives than we do in the United States. At this neighbor’s house, I continued to be humbled. Bare cinderblocks made up the walls and corn (which probably was a large part of their food for the year) was planted in front. The hospitality of this family blew me away. Before I knew it, the children produced chairs to sit on and a table. Then, there were mugs of soda and fresh, hot chuchos (a Guatemalan tamale-like food with meat inside) on the table for us. The family was seriously the nicest, and their children were adorable. They were so smiley and pleased to have visitors. Although I had feared the chuchos were the family’s dinner, they ended up sending us away with all of them! After a quick stop at Tía Rosa’s house to see some of her animals, the afternoon came to an end and we hopped on the camioneta back to NPH.

Part of Tía Rosa's mother's house

A little different than the neighborhoods in America, right?

Chuchos, coke, and an adorable three year old. Awesome.

OMG Tía Rosa's puppy. I died.

Chucho is also Guatemalan slang for dog. I had to laugh when this chucho puppy was after the chucho food in my bag.

I was thinking about a lot of things when I left Itzapa. To me, it seemed like these people had almost nothing in terms of material items. (I’m not just talking about expensive things like televisions but also basic stuff like ovens or silverware.) However, in other senses these people had everything that mattered in life. They just glowed with an inner happiness, and that is beautiful to me. It was also interesting to think about how much time we spend wrapped up in our “things” in a country like America, rather than sharing time with others. (Ahem, don’t mind me as I sit typing away on my computer- whoops.) Since they did not have “stuff”, did these people actually talk to each other? What was the source of their happiness? The people I met today had nothing to give, yet gave unceasingly without hesitation.

It is hard to express all my thoughts, but in short my world was rocked. I literally felt my heart aching with sincere gratitude as I took everything in. I could not help but think about how the Grinch’s heart grows three sizes in Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I think my heart grew three sizes today. To all these wonderful Guatemalans, thank you for teaching me that I can always do better- more hospitality, more love, more humility.

And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow,

Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so?"

"It came without ribbons! It came without tags!"

"It came without packages, boxes or bags!"

And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore.

Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!

"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store."

"Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!"

And what happened then?

Well... in Whoville they say,

That the Grinch's small heart

Grew three sizes that day!

And the minute his heart didn't feel quite so tight,

He whizzed with his load through the bright morning light,

And he brought back the toys!

And the food for the feast!

And he, HE HIMSELF!

The Grinch carved the roast beast!

Wise words, Dr. Seuss.

Still learning from children's stories even at 22.