Maria de Xela

As you can see from the picture, Maria de Xela, all four-foot something of her, is one of the hippest grandmothers around. Her hair is dyed a deep red, she has an eyebrow piercing, and here she’s wearing a bedazzled t-shirt and camo sneakers. She’s the best, even though I only understand about 25% of what she says right now because she seems to speak like that fast talking FedEx guy. But Kelly de Minnesota seems to be able to speak with her just fine, so I have hope.

I do understand her cooking, which is delicious. I feel fortunate, as some other students at my school have complained about the food they’re getting from their families. Almost every meal is three courses. Breakfast, at 7:30, usually starts with a coffee cup of a sweet milky mush, oatmeal-esque, concoction with bananas in it, followed by a fried egg with sweet mole sauce and cooked plantains. There are also baby corn tortillas that are part of every meal, and always some kind of fruit at the end, like papaya or watermelon. Sometimes, we start with corn flakes, using the sweet milky mush concoction in place of milk. It’s all a great way to start the day, though I often have a hard time finishing everything. Of course, Maria de Xela always wants us to eat more and I have to tell her a few times that I couldn’t possibly have another bite. Until almuerzo, at least. Lunch and dinner share many of the same foods, though she mixes them all up each meal. We often start with a delicious tortilla soup, then a plate with a small piece of beef, a boiled potato-like vegetable (I don’t understand what she calls it every time I ask), frijoles negros, arroz, more mole sauce, and of course the baby tortillas and fruit. Also, her guacamole is ridiculously good. The other day she made a fruit blend drink that was warm. I don’t know what was in there, but it was amazing. Fortunately, I walk around the hilly streets of Xela all day, so it’s easy to burn it all off. I’ve only eaten out a couple of times, mostly because why the heck would I?

There’s a pretty steady flow of people in and out of Maria de Xela’s house. She has a son and daughter who stop by regularly with their kids, along with the occasional neighborhood friend dropping in. Still, she seems to really like having Kelly de Minnesota and me around, calling us mija and mijo, which are terms of endearment often reserved for family. Especially when I move the television for her or change the drinking water bottle. I don’t yet have the fluency to find out more about her life, but I’m sure it’s an interesting story. I’ll let you know when I do.
This is my old room with the hard bed an no electrical outlets. It opens into a small courtyard, along with a few other rooms on that side.
Here’s my fancy new room, with bigger, more comfortable bed and electrical outlet. This is on the other side of the courtyard, next to the kitchen and opposite Maria de Xela’s room.
Here’s the shower. It’s an electric shower that provides slow but hot-ish water. The toilet is on the other side of the “room”. Toilet paper cannot be flushed down the toilet because they’re system can’t handle it.
Here’s the kitchen where the magic happens. To the left is my bedroom and another unoccupied room. To the right is Maria de Xela’s room.

So that’s my casa. It’s fairly middle-class by Xela standards. I like it and am for want of nothing, especially great food because of mi mama de Guatemala!