The post that goes with the photos of me lookin all guatemalteca

My gap sandals were not made for the terrain we walked on today. Sneakers, hiking boots, or even sturdy flats would have been the wise choice. But when my host mom asked me if I was going to wear those shoes that I had on, or my pretty sandals, I had little choice but to change foot-wear. The sandals matched my outfit better anyway. We went to visit my host mom’s mom for her birthday, and my host mom lent me one of her outfits for the occasion. I wanted to dress up like the rest of the family, but hadn’t brought any skirts I felt were long enough (aka the one I have shows my knees). So there I was walking (tripping) along a dusty dirt road in dressy sandals and traditional dress (traje). This was both a really cool and really uncomfortable experience. Cool because I love the traje and have always wanted to wear it, uncomfortable because I kept tripping in my sandals. Cool because I felt it was a huge gesture for my mom to dress me in her clothes, uncomfortable because I felt like everyone was staring at me- probably the tallest person ever to wear a guipil and corte.