As you can see below, I had an unexpected and sudden family emergency that required me to travel to the US on April 26th. It was not ideal circumstances for a trip home, but it was great to be able to be there during this time. I had not planned on traveling home during my service, but really enjoyed the opportunity to see family and friends.
So, upon my return to Guatemala I am ready to get home and get settled back in with all of the new books, food and other luxuries I brought with me from the US. I arrived in Guatemala on June 2nd, made it home on the 4th due to protests at some main thoroughfares on the highway and was well on my way to making myself at home when on Saturday June 6th, this happened:
Nope, that is not Quasimodo, that is yours truly. On the fateful day, Katie and I were on a walk when we stopped to visit with a friend of mine, Don Paulino, and his sons who were working in their corn field. As we were talking, a bee was buzzing around my head. I swatted at it with my hat a few times and thought that I had scared it away. As I was talking to Paulino (and thinking about what the hell I was saying in Spanish--it took a bit of adjustment after 5 weeks of English) I saw this monster of a bee zoom in towards my face and land on my forehead for a direct hit. I once again swatted it off of my head, while Paulino's sons burst into laughter at the gringo flailing at a bee. Paulino asked me about 3 times, "Pica, verdad? Pica?", which means basically "It stings, right?". And yes, yes it did. That evening as we were making dinner, I noticed that my face had taken on a strange shape, more swollen and disfigured than normal. I contacted our nurses who recommended Benadryl and if the swelling hadn't gone down in the morning, then to contact them. Well, the photo above was taken the next morning and therefore, I contacted them to see what my next step was. The next step: traveling 4 hours to Xela to go to the hospital! I pack my bag and head out, get to the hospital and talk to the doctor. They tell me they will give me an injection and send me on my way with some stronger antihistamines, which would leave me enough time to travel about halfway home to Katie's place, but cut my trip in half. Well, it turns out that an injection is hooking me up to an IV for an hour, so I am then required to stay the night in Xela. Needless to say, this was an unexpected yet appropriate adventure upon my return to Guatemala. This country definitely keeps you on your toes.
