Aqua is the volcano that looms over Antigua. It is majestic. The little city under it so reminded me of Tahoe City in the 1960's and 70's. Friendly people. Small, independent business. Delicious food. Visitors welcome and needed. Antigua for me was both new and familiar. I’ve been back in San Mateo for a week now. Returning to my house feels like taking off tight, pointy, high-heeled dress shoes after a long, family wedding. Relief. San Mateo is different than Antigua. The shower has hot water and strong pressure. My bed is soft. I relish sinking into it. All the cars [View Full Entry]

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In Antigua, the Calles run East-West and the Caminos run North-South. This makes it easy to read the map. Visitors think this means it is easy to find your way around. The only problem is--there are no street signs. In your hotel room you can think, plan and organize your walk around Antigua. But you won’t find your way around by thinking. There are no signs. You have to look up from the map, find the landmarks and use your gut feelings about which way to go. Guatemala taught me the joy of going with my guts. Saturday was our last [View Full Entry]

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As the fourth of July is upon us, Americans have 10 reasons to celebrate. The Bill of Rights. Guatemala does not have a Bill of Rights. Speech isn’t free everywhere. I have agonized over the writing of this blog. I long to share with you all the power, courage and beauty of my friend Julio’s work. It is what has impressed me the most about this extraordinary man. But I can’t do it over the internet. So, you are all invited to join me at my home on Friday, August 7, 2009 at 7PM. I’ll provide the margaritas and dinner. Julio [View Full Entry]

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My father was a bit of a joker. When I started dating way back in 1972, he wanted to be sure the boys treated me right. When that nervous knock came at the door, he would open it wearing a warm smile and say... “Hello, My name is Herb Beck. You must be a smart young man because my daughter is very special. Here, let me show you my gun collection. I’m an expert marksman. Please have her home by 10:30 PM.” I was always escorted home by 10PM. Meeting the family of someone you care about can be nerve [View Full Entry]

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I was lightheaded. I felt giddy, merry, joyous, free. Was it the climb up the side of the mountain? Was it the altitude? Was it the invigorating air that filled my lungs? No matter. Hiking behind Julio and Luke on a mountain trail at 8200 feet, and way above Lake Atitlan, I felt high. My thesaurus has 32 words for beautiful. None of them describe the mountains of Santa Lucia. Upon our arrival Friday morning, Julio hired a truck to take us to a path, about a half mile out of town, that he usually walks to. We would walk back. [View Full Entry]

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Every five years, the catholic boarding school that I graduated from in 1974, holds a reunion luncheon for my class. I dread it. Am I fatter than in 1974? Am I as thin as Suzy? Do my accomplishments match Anne’s? Will I have the most wrinkles? How will I be judged? Luke visiting me in Antigua had the same feel. Will he like it here? Will he understand? Will my friends here like him? Will we get along? All my petty worries were washed away in the Guatemala thunderstorm that raged when the van picked him up from the airport. He [View Full Entry]

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Yesterday, I had my first bad moment in 7 weeks. A miscommunication about rooming arrangements caused all of us a bit of stress--a feeling I’m no longer familiar with. At home, I would chew. Chew on what everyone said. Chew on who was wrong and why I was right. Chew on chocolate. Grind my teeth at night. Yesterday, I made a different decision. I choose not to ruminate on what went wrong, but instead, to find reasons to feel good, rather than reasons to be right. In Antigua, that was easy. First, I went and sat in the beautiful cathedral Merced. [View Full Entry]

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The blue was expansive. It felt like I was at the beach and I could simply wade into the sky. After trekking 2 miles in the humid jungle and climbing 166 steps, I was a the top of tower four of the lost city of Tikal. The feeling was both fierce and gentle. Even my eyelashes felt alive. Maybe you know the feeling that a physical place can create. A place that expands, relaxes and rejuvenates you. A place that erases trivial worries. A place that causes your soul to ask, “How did it get here?” Some of you feel [View Full Entry]

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When was the last time you attended an life expanding event: the symphony, a play, a wedding, a graduation or some other gathering that really moved your heart? (And no, Bob, Cal Football doesn’t count!) I’m talking about an experience. Something that connected you to the other people around you. Something that had meaning in the grander scheme of things. (No Bob, loathing Stanford does NOT count!) As the ultimate extravert, I love to be with groups of people. It energizes me. Perhaps that’s why I love worship. The energy of others, singing, praying, believin [View Full Entry]

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Perhaps you have heard the saying “She doesn’t have a shy bone in her body”. That would apply to me. I was born without the shyness gene. Even as a small child, I’d talk to anyone. I remember the remorse on my Mother’s face when, at about 4 years old, I asked the grocery clerk “Mister, why don’t you have any hair?” Mom apologized profusely to the man for my insatiable curiosity. Then she turned to me curtly and said “Let’s go, Chatty Cathy!” I had no idea what I had done to upset her. Still today, I know no stranger [View Full Entry]

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