Thanksgiving

Today is my last day in Guatemala, and I want to finish all of my posts about my last month here before I leave and head out on my three-month long trip through South America... so thank you for your patience if you actually decide to read through everything.

The week before Thanksgiving, I was super antsy to get back home. I could not wait to see my family and friends, indulge in gluttony over the thanksgiving table and see my niece Jilly that turned one this past Christmas. My excitement led me to completely forget that coming home is not always the smoothest transition, even if I was just gone a few months. I always think it is more difficult to go home than it is to go away because you have experienced so much in your travels, and so much is the same at home. Plus, you always expect changes when you go to a different country, but you think you are going back to "normal" when you go home, and you realize it does not feel as normal as it had before.

I was so happy to see all of my friends and family. The week definitely passed too quickly and I was running between seeing one friend and another. However, it was somewhat overwhelming going back, even after only four months.  I realized how different my post-college life has been compared to my friends. I received a shocked response when someone saw I still have an old-school, outdated flip phone, which is fancy compared to my Guatemalan phone whose buttons don't work, forcing me to push them with a pen for five minutes to just get to my contacts list.

The biggest reverse-culture shock was on my last day when my friend Yamilesi invited me to brunch.  She told me to dress up because it was a fancier brunch, but I had no idea I would be dining in one of New York City's most exclusive brunches at the Plaza Hotel, filled with the city's elite youth. We were able to get a reservation because Yami knew the manager, and she brought me and her friend Celia along.

The wealth was flowing out of the room.  Everyone was dressed in the hottest styles--I learned furs are in this season. Even the waitresses rocked a fashionable short black dress with an empty back.

Coming from trying to stay in my Guatemalan budget and eating only rice and beans for a week to this was a striking contrast. We had mimosas, a bottle of champagne, an appetizer and a main course for ourselves. When it came to desert, the three of us couldn't agree on what we wanted. So to avoid any confrontation, we decided to order them all. That is no joke. We had one of each dessert on the menu. Yami was so sure her friend would be covering the breakfast, and she reassured Celia and me not to worry. She was right. I ended up only paying part of the tip for an amazing meal. Talk about a change of lifestyle from my crap apartment, cheap food and low costs in Guatemala.