Mi mamá

This week I had the privilege of having my mom visit me in El Salvador!! She was in the highlands of Guatemala this past week working in a clinic. It was amazing to hear about her experience and learn about all the differences between Guatemala and El Salvador. I am just so proud that she decided to undertake such a difficult experience alone. And I learned more about my mom when she was young and realized how much we have in common.

She bravely took a Greyhound type bus from Guatemala city to San Salvador alone. I was so nervous for her to arrive just because so many things could have gone wrong. But on Wednesday, when she arrived, I had some communication issues (Spanish on the phone is rather difficult) with the taxi driver and so we left my house really late. Then we hit some bad traffic and I just kept hoping she was not waiting outside in the dark for me. We pulled up to the bus station and I just out, opened the door to find the room completely empty. I felt my heart speed up and sweat forming on my fingers. I ran around asking people in the area if they had seen a gringa that looked like me and no one had.

So the taxi driver, Salvador, said there was another station in the downtown area that she was most likely at. We drove across town in horrible traffic and at this point I was freaking out. I didn't know if the area was safe or if she was freaking out. And I was thinking the worse, that if she was not there that I would have no way of knowing where she was. So I was freaking out but trying to keep my cool with Salvador. As we got closer the area kept getting worse and Salvador kept saying how dangerous the area was so of course I was just getting more worried. As I walked into the station I saw my mom talking with someone so I just yelled her name, gave her a huge hug and just cried tears of relief and joy to see her.

It was a pretty surreal experience at first to have her experiencing my life in El Salvador. At the same time it solidified that this is my life and really happening. Luckily we were able to visit Las Delicias on Thursday morning. Most of the women I am with everyday were there. Denora's daughter had a baby on Monday and she was going on Thursday to pick her up but she heard my mom was coming so delayed picking her up for two hours so she could meet her. It was so special to share that with my mom and also to have the women to meet my mom.

We had a little time to just chat and share stories. It was a short visit but definitely worth the time! It was just amazing to share this with her. Luckily she made it safely back to Guatemala and will be relaxing for a few days in Antigua.

Tomorrow morning we leave for the campo (or the countryside) for a week. We will be staying with a partner at a family's home and I will be staying in a pueblo called Las Flores. I am excited but pretty nervous, so wish me luck!

Here are some photos from the visit: