So yesterday morning I woke up in a panic because I had a dream that when I woke up and checked Huffington Post and Politico the headlines on the front page read ROMNEY WINS. Luckily when I did actually wake up and check those newspapers like I do every morning the headlines just read THE RACE IS ON.
I started yesterday bummed that I was spending election day in Guatemala and not back in the States. I wanted to be around friends and family for the day waiting for what would happen. However, I ended up having a beautiful election day here in Guatemala. Here are my favorite moments from yesterday.
When I got to work I told Jose that it was a big day in the States because we were electing a new president among other politicians. He then told me that in one of his college courses he was taking a class called Founding Fathers which he just had to write a paper for comparing the Guatemalan constitution to the United States constitution. He made me laugh when he talked about how it was difficult for him to understand all the huge words that we used because I cannot even begin to fathom attempting to read the Guatemalan constitution in Spanish. Jose then asked me to explain the voting process to him because he knew it was different than Guatemala's. We then spent about 20 minutes comparing the 2 different processes. The other volunteers kept looking over and laughing at us (I promise we did eventually get a lot of work done). It was such a great moment to share with Jose. I love working with him because I am constantly learning more about Guatemalan's culture and sharing with him about mine.
After I got home from what felt like such a long day from the clinic Heather and I watched the news for a couple of hours before heading over to Sid and Jan's house for an election night party. There were about 50 "gringos" who were all gathered to wait for the results from the night. When I looked around the room I laughed at the strangely great community that loves in Pana. My community down here is made up of the most interesting people I have ever met. We stood around snacking and watching the results come in for a few hours. I loved listening to all the random and some ridiculously idiotic conversations that were going on all around me. At one point I was explaining to Lungi what the electoral college votes meant and one grown lady who was listening thanked me for explaining and said that I should go stand in front of the group because she was sure no one else in the room knew that process. I then overheard a group of 5 other grown adults talking about how each State gets one vote for the president and that's how they decide. What?!? It baffles me that in one room there were at least 6 adults over the age of 50 who didn't understand the process. I know I come from a pretty political family, but come on that should be basic common knowledge for every American!
After a few hours at the party I couldn't take it anymore and still needed to pack for Xela today, so I headed home to watch with Heather and Dave. Fun fact: I road on the back of a motorcycle last night and didn't break anything. It's probably because Dave went extra slow since I was scared, but still if you know me and how often I break bones that's impressive. :) The 3 of us stayed up until about 1:30 watching the results and final speeches. Sorry to annoy anyone who reads this doesn't agree with my views, but I was ecstatic that Obama won again. I could not fathom Romney winning and that being a great decision for our country. Yesterday was a beautiful election day filled with mostly great conversations (except for the maddening ones at the party) and lots of celebration. Obama even made the front page of a Guatemalan newspaper! I bought one this morning have loved reading most of it (what I could understand) and hearing the story from Guatemala's perspective. I have the front page saved from 4 years ago when Obama one. Makes me laugh that I can now add the Guatemalan front page to that collection.
Right now it is extremely early and I am actually on a chicken bus going to Xela. I'm typing this on my phone in the notes app and was just asked by the 2 guys I'm sharing a seat with if this was a really long text message. I am going to stay with Archy and his family for the next few weeks in Xela which is the 2nd largest city in Guatemala. I am going to use this time to learn Spanish daily, work out of our Xela clinic, and to work closely with the Guatemala Tours office about our teams for next year. I am both extremely nervous and excited about doing a home-stay with a Guatemalan family. I think these weeks are going to be extremely difficult with the amount of Spanish I am going to have to speak, hopefully extremely helpful to my Spanish, and a lot of fun. In addition to Archy and his family I know a few other friends in Xela that I am excited to spend time with. I have been blessed to form good friendships with several of our translators and staff members. I'm really looking forward to these next few weeks and what all they will bring. I have been told several times that it is a really big deal to invite someone into your home, so I know how blessed I am to have been given this opportunity.
Lastly, did anyone else read the article that said that Romney had written his acceptance speech yesterday on the campaign bus? First of all who would believe that he actually writes his own speeches (ever heard of speech writers). Second of all if that was true do you think that he was sharing a seat with 2 Guatemalan men and 2 toddlers while 3 goats (I promise) stand in the isle with their owner who is selling fresh goats milk? Because if that all was going on as he typed away blaring Rolling Stones through his headphones I know EXACTLY how he felt. :)
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