I'm a star in Nebaj

Over the years, I have gone by many variations of my name. My friends from my neighborhood, school and college/post-college all pronounce my name differently. When I was younger, I tired of correcting people and accepted any close proximity to my name. It wasn’t until I got to college (and had an Indian roommate that insisted I not Anglicize my name), did I begin correcting people until they finally learned it properly.

And then, I got to Guatemala... The “Shr” cluster is completely unheard of in the Spanish language and my home-stay family only learned it when the little girl equated it with “Shrek.” Needless to say, I don’t like that comparison, and people suffer so badly with my name that my associates decided to give me a Spanish-name that sounds close to my own.

My Spansih name is Estrella (“es-stray-aa”), which literally translates to “star.” As such, I always get an interesting response when I meet someone new. Amongst my favorite:
- Ah, si? La estrella de mi corazon! (Oh, yeah? The star of my heart!)
- Mucha gusta, mi llamo Luna (Nice to meet you, my name is Moon)
- Utd es la luz del noche! (You’re the light of the night!)
From this experience, I have come to learn that no matter where you are in the world or what language you speak, one thing carries true: one-liners are just plain cheesy.

Regardless, I’ve finally made it to my last destination and home for next three months: Nebaj. On the surface, Nebaj looks like any other “small town” in Guatemala: stone-paved streets, a buzzing open market, and a white church in the center of town. Despite these appearances, the fact is that Nebaj is quite different. Until 1996, Guatemala was involved in a 36-year long civil war. Ladinos (Guatemalans with Spanish ancestry) made an aggressive attempt to wipe out indigenous Mayans, and here in Nebaj, the genocide was among the worst. Often times, entire families disappeared and everyone here has a personal story of the war. Due to this horrible history, many Mayan towns still remain reluctant to trust outsiders, but Nebaj has embraced any help it can get. For this reason, it is a hot bed for NGOs. Unlike the tourists of Antigua or the ex-pats of Pana, foreigners in Nebaj are here working with aide organizations.

In an effort to keep posts short and interesting, I’ll tell you more about what I’m doing here next time around... In the interim, I just wanted you all to know that my intenet has been sketchy at best, so I apologize if I’m slow on email responses. I do, however, have a cell phone, on which you are always welcome to call me:

From the US: 011-502-4607-2874