La Casa de Las Tres Gracias

¨Hayley, veni, es tu mama¨said the Senora, holding the house telephone at 830 this morning. I answered the phone and realized that it was not my mom, but a different middle-aged white woman, my supervisor Mykell. She was calling to invite me up to Antigua for the day to lunch at the home she shares with 2 retired friends. I managed a ride to the airport where I met up with another member of their home, ¨La Casa de las tres Gracias¨. In about an hour, I found myself in the most beautiful place I´ve seen so far here, the world famous Antigua. The house was more like a small utopia, dripping with gardens, indigenous art and beautiful verandas. I had seen photos, but I was really astounded by this decadent, beautiful cooperative. The meal was 9 Americans, 1 Guatemalan and 1 Chileno, mostly former Peace Corps workers, and montones of vegan-friendly food.
These folks are really inspiring. They´ve done so much in their careers, and it is nice to see that people in their 50s and 60s can still be so idealistic, ambitious, and adventerous. They shared peace corps stories, and at one point, one of the ¨Gracias¨(women who own the house) read us a hippie children´s book from the southwest US. Needless to say I was in heaven. I look forward to working with my supervisor and spending more time with the Gracias.