In October of 2009, I joined a handful of my friends in San Juan del Obispo, a town built on the side of a Volcano just outside of Antigua, Guatemala. Our language school, APPA, placed each of us in homes with Guatemalan families.
San Juan is a collection of homes and shops surrounding a small central park where the community’s Catholic Church stands. My friends and I were basically the only white people in town, but no one seems that surprised to see us.
The home I was in belonged to Luis and Gaby Sican. Luis works for a cell phone company in the capital, and the commute keeps him away from home most of the time. But he was very friendly whenever I did see him, and I saw that he is a good husband and father.
Gaby is also very friendly. And she's an amazing cook. She takes good care of her kids and took very good care of me while I was there. Most nights, after dinner, we would sit and chat over apple-cinnamon tea (her favorite). It was an opportunity for me to practice my Spanish, and it gave us chance to get to know each other better.
Gaby and Luis have two kids: a five-year-old daughter named Laura, and a two-year-old son named Pablo.
Laura and I would watch TV together (usually the Disney Channel) and I would ask her about her likes and dislikes. Sometimes she would pretend to be a dog and sometimes she would pretend to be a mother. Gaby would help her strap her dolls to herself with a blanket like an indigenous Guatemalan mother.
Pablo saw me as his walking jungle gym. He loved for me to pick him up and swing him around, and he was constantly crawling on me. Sometimes he’d take me by the hand and lead me outside so we could play “Gol-Gol” (soccer). Other times, he’d follow me around trying to play hide and seek.
I will always be grateful for how this family welcomed me into their home and supported me as I struggled to learn their language. They are absolutely beautiful people.
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