Flying High

I came here for the work. I was not looking for fun. But fun seems to have found me.

Where has the misery gone? Has it been swept away by constant company? Due to our "Normas de Seguridad" (see upcoming post), I have not been able to reach my full loner potential. I am almost never alone, in fact. I spend my descanso (rest time) with my co-workers/roommates.

Maybe I feel better in the absence of constant frenzy. In New York, I was in a rush every minute of every day of every year. Always running. I ate my lunch in the elevator while running to a meeting or hiding in the hallway between patients. Here, we go home for lunch, followed by a lengthy siesta.

On the weekend, our whole team packs up our 4-wheel drive vehicle and we head out for an excursion. We meet up with our friends from Olopa, somewhere in between Olopa and Puerto Barrios. Our weekend days are spent breakfasting (pic below), then lying around in a hammock. Sometimes we go to a swimming hole. Generally we have a long lunch, then a nap. By evening I am ready for a beer or two or three. Then I get dragged out to the nearest disco, against my will, where I am forced to dance and drink, and sometimes jump in a nearby lake to cool down.

Maybe it is the tranquility of Guatemala that has mellowed me out. There are no visible signs of the long bloody civil war. Despite the poverty, this country is beautiful: rolling hills, thick green jungle, wildlife, tropical flowers that grow like weeds. Or, could it be that I am more comfortable around the wayward MSF ex-pats than the marrieds with children and Park Slope or UWS real estate? (No offence to all my beloved friends in this category-- it was a rhetorical question...)

Will I have to change my username to euphoric? No no, never fear... I´m sure dysphoric will be back before I know it.
Pic at left is from the boat on Rio Dulce. Pic above right is Finca Paradisio, near El Estor.