So...where's the fridge?

My annual trek back to the states for a little R & R is up & coming.  Seeing family & friends is always at the top of my favorite activities list...closely followed by hot showers & eating all varieties of tasty treats that are hard to come by here in Guatemala.....yummie!

Other thoughts that come to the front of my mind when prepping for my trip home....mostly, thoughts of perspective & acceptability as it pertains to daily life. Now this might sound a bit intense but stay with me...this will be limited to the sliding scale of acceptability that occurs when one lives abroad.

Topics for your consideration:

~i wish i had a tub like this!~

Bathing: While living in the States bathing was an activity that I indulged in daily. While it is true that I only washed my hair 2 or 3 times a week, a shower was had every day.  Regardless of the activities of the day I always took time to have a nice hot shower at the end of the day before climbing into bed.  Oh how things have changed. Saturday is a VERY special day for me....bath day! That's right folks, from daily showers to weekly bathing, and depending on the amount of water available, my blonde locks may (or may not) get a rinse as well.

~pila...aka: fridge~

Food Storage:  One of the funniest parts of having new people on site is the conversation about food storage.  In case you were wondering...there are many items that I buy/use here that are the same as in the States: mayonnaise, yogurt, eggs, bacon, cheese, etc. The only difference is that none of these items sees the inside of a refrigerator once they have been purchased from the supermercado (supermarket).   People are always surprised to see the yogurt bottle floating in the pila (sink), the bacon in our cat-proof storage box on the counter, or the mayo in the cupboard, but my little cabin on the hill has no refrigerator & we love bacon...what else can I say.

Dog behavior:  Our dogs: Juancho, Amigo, Osita, Lucy, Indie, Obi, Suze & Zelda...that's right...8 dogs!  These lovely furry friends are wonderful to have around (mostly).  All of them are native Guatemalans that have joined our community over the years.  They are not only our pets, they also serve as security for our property and our persons.  As such, they tend to play really rough with each other....training for a time when they need to fight off a foe....which they have all been called to do from time to time.  As a general rule...when our dogs are roughhousing with each other we don't get involved...unless it is some kind of food dispute....all our dogs have deeply ingrained food issues & we don't want to have blood shed.  Aside from that we tend to step back when others might step in...letting the pack hierarchy work it out....sometimes to the discomfort of visitors.

~yes....lets!~

Enter the sliding scale of what I perceive to be acceptable.  It is so interesting to see our movement on this scale as our environment changes.  We adapt, adjust & ultimately reevaluate what we think we know...which is such an awesome gift....& an interesting adventure!

When I first arrived here I was bathing more frequently, steering clear of food items like bacon or yogurt & stepping into a roughhousing dog pile.  Today, almost 2 years later, I've grown so accustomed to weekly bathing that even when I can take a shower every day I don't.  I've gone from cooking bacon the day I bought it to buying it on Friday to eat on Sunday.  And when the dogs fight with each other while walking me home....well as long as they don't knock me down or tear my skirt...we're good.