Coexisting in Two Worlds

I grew up calling a place home in Wisconsin, but in my heart, I also carried another special place with me.

I have always been very aware that my skin is a different color from that of many people around me. I feel proud. I never looked at myself any differently than any other person I came across.

As many may know, I was adopted from Guatemala in 2005, at the age of 6 months old. I came into this world and was welcomed by my beautiful mother, Marta. She was only in her late teenage years when she had me. She was so young and so much life to live, and did what was best, and put me into foster care. I was then taken care of by a family who had fostered many other children. This is when I was introduced to Carmen, my foster mom. She was married and had three beautiful girls, and was married to her husband, Otto. I spent the first 6 months of my life with the most caring family, and I couldn’t be more grateful for them.

A picture worth a thousand words.

My beautiful mama.

In the summer of 2005, my now Mother, Carol, wanted to adopt a baby. She was super excited to bring a beautiful baby back to Wisconsin. As we all know, the adoption process can be pretty lengthy. In the following months, she starts the process and prepares to bring her new baby home. Many back home were excited to hear that my mom would be adopting a baby girl from Guatemala.

Fast forward to November of 2005, my mom was headed to Guatemala to bring her new baby home. My grandmother, Sonja, joined my mom to get me home on this special day. It was a truly special day for my mom; this marked the beginning of a new chapter in her life. They got on the plane with me in hand, and headed for the cold temperatures in Milwaukee. I was the quietest baby on the plane, and was content in my new mom’s arms.

My Baca and I.

Such a special day.

There have been many times in my life when I think of what my life could’ve been. Where would I live? Would I be happy? As adoptees, this is a common thought that we often have. I am forever grateful to my birth mom for looking out for me by doing what was best. My birth mom, Marta, has never left my mind, and I think of her daily. I often wonder what she looks like, what she does for a living, and if I have any other siblings.

Growing up, I was always asked about my adoption story, and I would always answer and feel seen. I never grew tired of answering, whether it was from fellow students or adults. Everyone thought it was so cool when I would tell them I was born in Guatemala.

You may recall that at the beginning of the school year, teachers often do icebreakers. Well, for as long as I can remember, I have always said I was born in Guatemala as one of my interesting facts.

As I went through school, I made many friends, and they never saw me as any different. I would always notice different individuals around me, including the janitors at my elementary school. In middle school, they had a multicultural fair, and everyone would come out to support it. This school event featured a variety of foods from different cultures, and that was cool. As I was growing up, I had the opportunity to explore and learn about other cultures. I was glad to have a mom who didn’t hide that from me. In 2010, my mom found a week-long camp for adoptees in Minnesota. Each year, they focus on a different country, and funny enough, the year we went was Guatemala. Not only did I get a chance to meet other adoptees from various countries, but I got to try on clothing and dance in them at the end of the week.

Fast forward, it’s 2020, and I am a sophomore in high school. My mom brought up the idea of going back to Guatemala and visiting. As I got older, I was very open to asking questions about my adoption and my journey. She was very supportive of the idea, and she was looking into the possibility. Well, that idea slowly came to a stop, because the WHOLE world shut down. We got punched with the coronavirus and sadly couldn’t travel. Life moved on, and in a flash, it was 2024. I was now a freshman in college, and my mom got an email one day from Ties Adoptive Family Travel. She saw they were traveling to Guatemala in June 2024. I was excited to see that a group was going, and I had to decide whether I wanted to fulfill this long-time dream. A couple of weeks later, I decided to go. I was nervous, yet excited, all at the same time. Time flew by, and we were weeks from flying out. I was very anxious and unsure of what to expect, but I was ready to start my journey!

The time has come, I’m up early and about to head to the airport. It’s happening, we are going to Guatemala! This day finally came, and I couldn’t be more excited. It was quite the adventure, and a long travel day. We finally made it to our last plane, in Baltimore, Maryland. It was surreal to see Guatemala on the screen at our gate. We board the flight, it’s getting real now. Once we get into the air, we are on our way!

Four hours later, the pilot goes on the intercom and says, “Welcome to Guatemala”, and I can’t believe we made it. We start walking off the plane, and all I see are people who look just like me. We find our way through the airport, and as we go through the final checkpoint, all I see are hundreds of people waiting for their families. As we pass them all, I see a sign that says ‘Guatemala Ties’ and finally make it to our group.

We head out to our bus and start our drive to Antigua, Guatemala. The feeling is so surreal, I am here. The time has officially come when I am in my home country. I remember looking out the window and seeing all these people, and just being so happy. We finally arrive in Antigua, and they drop us off at our hotel. I get off the bus and see so many other families. My mom and I started saying hello to some of the families and engaging in small talk.

Time passes throughout the trip, and we explore Antigua, getting to know the other families. Tuesday, the 2nd day of the trip, we had a free day, and today was the day. Today, we had the opportunity to meet my foster mom, Carmen. I wasn’t sure how I would feel, although I was very excited. We meet them at a restaurant, and wait till their arrival. I start to get a little nervous, and all of a sudden, a woman walks into the room. There she stood, Carmen, a small 4-foot woman, with a massive smile on her face. She embraces both my mom and me, and she is so happy to see us. Thankfully, we had a fantastic interpreter, Jefferson. Shoutout to him! All of a sudden, two more individuals walk in, and there stood her husband and one of her daughters. It was truly a smiling fest all around, and all were so happy.

Reunited.

The smiles on our faces say it all!

We spent about an hour and a half with them, and showed them photos of me growing up through the years. We talked about our family in Wisconsin. It truly didn’t feel real, my mom and I sitting across from Carmen, who took care of me for the first 6 months.

That moment was terrific, and I will forever remember it. We are now friends on Facebook. Now, she can see what I’m up to in real time. Carmen gave my mom and me some gifts. I was gifted bracelets, an embroidered backpack, and a shirt. My mom received a bag with her name embroidered on it as well.

One of the moments that truly made me realize that many worlds can coexist and be vastly different was when we visited Chichicastenango. This is the moment I realized how lucky I am.

The people of Chichicastenango.

The life they live.

Walking the market of Chichi, I was in awe and also very impressed with what my people can do. These people don’t know any different; this is their life. I, of course, took many photos here and wanted to capture their world.

Many worlds can coexist and be so different. The lives we live, the adventures we take. It is all so different, but we are living and breathing on the same earth. I don’t want to make this political, but this makes me think of how billionaires get what they want, and how these countries smile and make do with what they have. These beautiful countries are indeed beautiful, and it's clear that their residents enjoy their way of life.