Ancient Antigua

Well, we made it back to Antigua for our last two weeks in Guatemala.  Like Josiah mentioned, Antigua is a smaller town where most things are easily accessible by foot.  We are currently staying at a "Volunteer House" set up by the organization Casasito.  www.casasito.org  We have quite a spacious room with a high metal roof.  I feel we are a bit spoiled with WiFi and a tv!  You can't imagine how excited I was to actually unpack my backpack for two weeks.  I love being on the move and seeing new things, but it feels nice to be settled in one spot for awhile.  Casasito really interested me specifically because of the Volunteer House.  I wanted to come stay here and see how it operated because if I have my own organization someday, a volunteer house is something I've considered.  So far I think its a great plan.  We get to meet other people with similar passions who are volunteering to make a difference here.  We are not all involved with the same projects, but the exchange of ideas and stories are quite interesting.  The picture here is looking out of our room toward the kitchen.  Josiah and I have had a lot of fun going to the local market here.  I meant to have taken a picture by now, but keep forgetting.  Stay tuned on facebook for those to come.  The market here is quite huge with a plethora of options on fresh fruits and veggies.  These are great and extremely cheap (in price not quality).  I'm quite addicted to fruit so I have gone every single day to buy more.  Since we are staying at the house we have access to the kitchen and are getting to be flexible with our meals.  It's a lot more economical for us to buy things and cook them ourselves.  Plus, cooking always allows time for bonding and seeing where our creativity with flavors leads us.  So far I've been impressed with our variety in recipes.  

Being in Antigua we are of course surrounded by, yes you guessed it...MORE VOLCANOS!  I am not kidding they are everywhere here.  When I first started traveling in Central America I would be so shocked and giddy to see a Volcano, but in Guatemala its just part of everyday life.  The cobblestone streets are filled with colorful buildings and interesting architecture.  Josiah is looking forward to painting some landscapes here.  

We have decided to Volunteer in the afternoons with another after school program.  We have only been one day so far, but it's very interesting.  We have to take a bus 20 min or so up into the mountains to a very poor village called San Mateo.  In the project there are 118 students from K-6th grade.  This may seem a bit overwhelming to think about, but these students are so well behaved.  It was quite shocking how well they listened and were eager to do what we said.  The project is run by a Guatemalan woman and her two daughters.  There is one teacher to work with the students and then any volunteers she has available.  Right now it's just Josiah and I.  Josiah's spanish boundaries are once again being pushed as he teaches the children.  It's good to be pushed 

when learning a new language, and I think he's adapting more all the time!  

On Wednesday we get to meet a couple,

 Heather and Greg, who are starting an orphanage here in Antigua. www.projectsomos.org  I have been looking forward to meeting them for a long time.  They are just in the beginning stages of registering their organization here in Guatemala, and looking for land to build on.  To most people this process may seem like a pain, or something boring to be a part of, but I'm so excited to see 

first hand how it can be done.  If I am able to start something someday these are all things I will be doing as well.  They seem like such an amazing and inspiring couple, so Wednesday will be very fulfilling day indeed.  Much to our surprise we received notice that our friend Isabelle would be coming into town.  We volunteered with her at El Nahual, so we got to spend the day with her today exploring the town.  It was refreshing to meet up with her so quickly after we had to sadly say goodbye in Xela.  Tomorrow I believe we will meet back up with her, and also get together the other volunteers here at the house to go out and Salsa!  It will be fun to check out the dancing scene here.

This is about all that is going on here for now.  The weather is warm and nice, but a bit chilly in the evenings.  We heard about the abundance of snow in Indiana, so I hope everyone has been safe and well.  I'm sure we will write again soon, so stay posted.  Rest assured that we are both growing a lot and learning new things everyday.  Hopefully we are opening doors to walk through for the rest of our lives.  

?Crowing Roosters, Screaming Cats, and Silent Dogs?

Hola Todos! Angie and I are back in Guatemala City, or as the locals call it “Guate”. Lake Atitlan was beautiful! After having some fun in San Pedro we took a boat over to Panajachel. It was long boat trip from one side to the other, but it was incredible; mountains and volcanoes lined every shore. Panajachel is supposedly the best town on the lake, but in retrospect; I really enjoyed San Pedro a lot more. San Pedro was much quieter and more intertwined with nature. Panajachel was actually very touristy; shops, restaurants, and hotels were as far as the eyes could see. We did enjoy a really great meal at the Sunset Café, and it really did have the best view of the sun setting over the Lake. On the other hand, we managed to find the worst hotel in town that night. With the door and windows shut it sounded as if we were sleeping outside on the street. Loud car engines and blaring reggaeton music made my dreams a bit cloudy. When it got to be about four in the morning we discovered that Panajachel has a very large population of roosters. They would take turns crowing in their many various ways, and it almost seemed as if they were having a citywide conversation with each other. The most social of the birds was the one across the street from us; it kept chatting until about noon.

Still half zombie later that morning, we found this great little coffee shop called “The Crossroads Café”. Michael, the owner of the café, was a wonderful guy. He was friendly, inviting, and wore a great big smile. There was no question that he was happy and loved his job. Everyone in the café was from somewhere different, and all were swapping their tales of travel. The Americans were conversing about in what direction our country may be headed under it’s new presidency. We met some really cool people there. Michael even took some time to show us a hidden room behind a swinging bookshelf where he stores and roasts all the coffee. By far, they sell the best cup of coffee in town, and his wife’s homemade cinnamon rolls were to die for. If you are ever in Pana look it up!

We bussed back to Guate and are surfing the couches again. We waited to get off the bus until the last stop; it was far into the city in a safer area. Angie and I were the last two people left on, but there is no way we could have known that the taxi drivers were on the hunt. As soon as the bus came to a halt they came swarming on. They shoved past one another down the isle while others hurdled the bus seats, and all yelling “TAXI, TAXI, TAXI” as they rushed towards us. We jumped out the back door and there were more. We were surrounded by at least twenty of them; all in our face, trying to take our bags, and desperate for our fare. We had the bus driver pick out one that he trusted. It was a sad and scary experience; people must really compete for a living here.

We are staying with a young guy named Harold and his girlfriend Stephanie. They are wonderful host and very welcoming. The house is cozy with a few extra rooms, and a hot shower (a Latin American luxury). He lived in Jersey for many years before coming to Guatemala and teaches English down here now. The only favor he asks of us is to help with a few classes while we stay with him, which we are more than happy to do. We are naturally teaching them salsa as well. In his classes he introduces us as the “NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS THAT HAVE COME ALL THE WAY DOWN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TO ASIST THEM”. What is funny is that they actually get nervous talking to us. The only thing that is kind of strange about being here at Harold’s is his cat.

Harold has seen his cat, Moonlight, through about five pregnancies, and always has trouble finding homes for the kittens. Getting her fixed is very expensive in Guatemala. Moonlight is in heat and Harold has decided that this time she’s staying in the house. All day and all night the cat screams loudly in hopes that a lover will hear her; it almost sound like human cries of suffering. She wanders all around the house looking for some way out, and when she finally gives up her search she squirms violently in circles on the floor screaming in hormonal rage. It's only funny, however, for about the first twenty minutes. On the subject of pets, it’s a kind of sad environment for them here. There really are tons of stray dogs and cats. There was a group of us on our way home from El Nahual in Xela when a pack of well over fifteen dogs surrounded us just to join us on our way down the road. The dogs here are like some kind of sub culture. Dogs don’t really bark or bother you, they keep to themselves as if they have there own lives and agendas to attend to. The worst part is that people here have taken pest control into their own hands. Many people feed the stray animals poisoned food. Harold just buried a poisoned cat that he was unable to nurse back to health; they’re hunted by dogs and poisoned by the people. I don’t know where they can begin to solve these problems.

Guatemala City is the biggest, most populated, and most industrious city in Central America…or so I read. You can almost feel the congestion as you sit in the cramped traffic. We head are headed back to Antigua, Guatemala to volunteer with an organization for two weeks starting this Wednesday. I think it will be nice to be back in a smaller town where you get to most places by foot again. It is hard to get around without a vehicle in Guate. Soon after that it’s on to Honduras as we continue south. Much love to everyone!!             

Los Dos San Pedros (The Two San Pedros)

I guess it’s my time to write, eh?  Josiah left off with going out dancing on our second to last night in Xela so I will pick up from there.  We got up early the next morning and of course ate our egg breakfast.  We hurried to gather our bathing suits and headed out to Fuentes Georginas.  Some of you may have seen our pictures on facebook, but this place was fascinating.  The Public bus dropped us off at the bottom of a hill and we had to catch a pick up (a truck with a cage like structure in the back where you can sit or stand) to the top of the mountain.  Winding up the mountain, seeing patches of farmland being worked by the Indigenous was breathtaking.  We were sharing our pick up with some beautiful Mayan women.  Lets take a moment to focus on this culture.  I have noticed many women still dress in the conservative but colorful dresses and skirts and carry their children everywhere with them on their backs.  The indigenous culture in Guatemala is still very alive.  We forgot to mention our weaving class at El Nahual.  A woman came to demonstrate weaving for the volunteers, and we all got to try it.  My camera was not working that day so I didn’t get any photos.  Okay, back to the hot springs…By the time you get to the top you are literally in the clouds.  We headed into the NATURAL hot springs, ate lunch, and were ready to be hot.  I went to a hot spring in Costa Rica, but I liked this one better.  It was less commercial feeling and you could literally see the steaming water running down the mountain.  (Once again check out pictures on facebook).  The water was so hot in the pool nearest the mountain that it took your breath away and you felt like your flesh was burning at first.  I made it in though and it turned out to be pretty refreshing, especially since I had a cold.  J

Following day, Couchsurfing with Juan Garcia.  Couchsurfing was brought to my attention a couple of years ago.  www.couchsurfing.com  Some people may be freaked out by the idea of staying with, or hosting strangers but you can always be choosy.  This community of people throughout the world are willing to meet up with you, or let you stay in their homes.  It’s a great way to keep costs down on your travels, while having first hand advice from someone who lives in the area you are visiting.  We met Juan at his café in Xela and he arranged to pick us up the next day.  We went to his house where he lives with his family and stayed in the upstairs of their house.  This family was truly inspiring to me.  They reminded me a lot of my own, were quick to welcome us into their barbeque (which made our tastebuds dance with excitement) and we could feel their love for each other and for life.  There were plenty of jokes passed around throughout the night and Josiah even got in on a futbol game with Juan and his friends.  We had an exceptional experience and if any of you go to Xela, stay with Juan.

So, off to Lake Atitlan or so we thought.  I have heard a lot about Lake Atitlan and its beauty, so the tourist in me wanted to check it out.  We go to the bus terminal asking for San Pedro La Laguna and they directed us to the bus.  We rode about an hour until we arrived in San Pedro.  We both thought this was a rather short trip.  We descend from the bus and start asking people how to get to the docks because that’s where most of the hotels are.  People looked at us like we were insane and quickly told me “there are no boats here you are in the wrong San Pedro”.  We looked at each other, sighed, and headed to find a bus to take us an hour BACK to Xela where we began in the first place.  Our bus driver felt so sorry for us that he got us off his bus and literally walked us to the right bus and threw our stuff on.  We waited at least another hour and a half before the right bus left, and finally we arrived just as darkness was settling in for the night.  But finally we are here.  

We got up early to go to explore the city and weren’t quickly blown away until we finally found a path that opened up such an interesting community.  We are finally seeing what makes San Pedro special.  We wanted to see the inauguration and were excited to see flyers up hosting “Good Bye Bush” partys around town to watch the beginning of a new era in United States history! People here were just as enthusiastic to see Bush fly away to his Texas ranch as we were. Much cheering and clapping filled the very narrow streets.  J  This brings us up to date.  We are relaxing at our hotel by the lake.  It’s much warmer here so I’m getting to use my tanktops at last.  Tomorrow we take a boat across the lake to spend a day in another town before heading to Guate once again.  Take care, and remember that we love you!

 

Somos voluntarios

Hi everyone! I hear it’s been dropping below zero in Indy lately, I guess we left just in time. I hope you’re all keeping warm. I find it so funny to see how much people wrap up in fifty-degree weather. The wind chill drops the temperature a bit, but you would think we’re in an arctic blizzard. I know it’s been less than two weeks, but it already feels like we’ve been gone for such a long time. I can’t figure out why it seems so long, maybe it’s because we’ve already been so many places and met so many new people. Or possibly just not having the same daily routine of wake up, work all day, come home, sleep, and repeat where time seems to blend together. We wake up excited, not knowing what the day will bring, yet taking it as it comes and enjoying ourselves. Whatever it is, time just seems to slow down a little bit around here.

Here are a few more things I’ve noticed that make being in Guatemala different than being home. Everyday things are celebrated with fireworks, things like waking up; there’s no better alarm clock on the market. Milk is only served warm to hot. Water pressure and heat are not features of a shower; they are choices you have to make. Roads come two ways Cobblestone or dirt. There aren’t many regulations for pollution. Taxis are run without meters and the drivers’ just charge what ever they estimate. There are twenty-seven different languages spoken just in Guatemala; most of them Mayan. And, almost everyone drinks coffee.

This week has been has been an amazing one; I never thought I could get attached to a place so fast. I’ve been taking Spanish classes in the mornings, participating in different activities at lunch, and volunteering with the kids in the afternoon. As Angie may have mentioned the organization provided us with a home stay that includes three meals a day, but what also great is that we’re staying with the cooking teacher.

The Spanish classes are incredible. In the many years I’ve spent in school I’ve never had a teacher sit one on one with me, assess my current knowledge on a subject, and then tailor each lesson plan to my personal needs. My teacher would also change the lessons when needed, adapting to anywhere I needed improvement. We worked through every subject patiently until I fully understood it. I learned an incredible amount of Spanish in just one week, I’d recommend it to anyone; I think it’s the best way to learn another language.

   The volunteers and staff at El Nahual. . .as of Jan. 2009

There were eight other volunteers, Isabelle (Germany), Chris (Seattle), Creed (Kansas), Lindsey (Minnesota), Renee (Australia), Anna (New Zealand), Sarah (Canada), and Eva (The Netherlands). They are great group of people, all with big hearts, great stories, and with their own reasons for being there. As volunteers we’ve assisted in teaching the kids English, health, math, art, and also help out with their organic garden. Angie and I also thought a few Latin dance classes to the volunteers and students. Dance class with the children went as well as it could have considering that most of the children are still in the phase of boy germs, girl germs, and cooties. As for the volunteers, I think we’ve recruited some new salseros. It’s hard not to fall in love with the kids, especially when they’re so loving and happy that you are there. After telling the children we were leaving one girl cried and held on to my legs for five minutes before letting go. In other news, Angie figured out that gardening isn’t her calling; or at least working part. We have been having a lot of fun. 

Angie mentioned that the kids have been learning about brushing their teeth in health class, she also wrote about how due to road construction the school is without water. This turned out to be a terrible equation. Anna, a volunteering nurse/health teacher, used her Christmas money to buy over seventy toothbrushes and tubes of toothpaste so that every child at the school would have some; she is a very caring person. The rough plan was to use a bottled water to wet all their toothbrushes and rinse out their mouths. We also had a bowl/dish for everyone to spit into that would later be pitched somewhere. And to set a good example we volunteers would brush our teeth along with them. Simple right! No. Sadly, for most of the children it was their first time brushing their teeth, and they just played with it like a new toy. A lot of the other kids had strange reactions to the toothpaste; you’d think it was burning their mouths the way the spit it out in disgust. Not knowing how hard to brush, a few brushed hard enough that their gums began to bleed; their faces looked foamy and red. Midway through brushing a few discovered the fun of flinging spit at each other. The worst was when they all tried to spit into the very small bowl at the same time; spit and backwash was getting all over everyone. Anna finally lost it when she tried to spit into the dish and one of the kids accidentally spit into her hair. It was one of the grossest happenings I’ve ever witnessed. In the following days we switched to a ” one at a time” system while brushing our teeth and things weren’t quite as bad.

On our last day we got all most all of the volunteers and coordinators from El Nahuel to come out salsa dancing with us. We went to a local club called “La Rumba”. It was exciting finding out that Guatemalans dance Puerto Rican style, I felt right at home. The salsa, however, didn’t last long. This place was crazy. I really think the DJ was had multiple personalities, was schizophrenic, or something. The total percentage played of every song was less than forty. The song were all mixed together, and the music would jump from salsa music to country square dance music, to old school gangsta rap music, to swing music, to reggaeton music, to Elvis music, and so on. At one point, within the span of six minutes, the song selection went from a Bachata by Adventura to the “Super freak” by Rick James, then to the “La Bomba” song, then to a swing melody, and after that “Billy Jean” by Michel Jackson; this is the kind place we were at. I got used to the randomness, however, the only thing that continued to bother me is that they never ended a song; they just kept blending each song into the next. When the songs don’t end you get stuck dancing with people for long periods of time because it’s rude to leave someone while that song is still playing. As a result there were awkward goodbyes, and awkward situations.  All complaints aside though, we had a super fun evening. Everyone got to know each other better, everyone loosened up, some acted like fools, and even though the goodbyes were sad they were filled with fun and laughter. I hope life is wonderful for all of you. As for us…our journey continues….                       

    

  

El Nahual

Good News!  Josiah and I are feeling back to normal (well, not that we are NORMAL by any means, but we are feeling more like ourselves once again).   J

On Sunday afternoon we set out to head to a woman’s house named Patricia.  Our bags were weighing us down by the end of our 20 minute hike through the traffic filled streets to her house.  Upon arrival we were greeted by many enthusiastic Guatemalans of all ages.  They were all eating lunch after a night of fiesta at the wedding of Patricia’s sister.  They were quick to offer us a snack and show us to our room.  We did a lot of resting that evening as we were still not feeling well.

The following day, Monday, we officially started our studies/volunteering at the organization El Nahual in Xela, Guatemala.  This organization is who set us up with our homestay.  I found this organization on idealist.org a few months ago and I wanted to visit because I found aspects of it very interesting.  I’m so excited to finally be here observing everything first hand.  El Nahual is technically an after school program for children, but in reality, for some of them it’s the only education they receive.  It is also a Spanish language school for foreigners in the mornings.  All of the proceeds from the money that the students pay for class goes to fund the school and the community programs they have going.  The students from the community come and learn math, art, English, Spanish, etc.  Volunteers teach the classes and interact with the students.  Each volunteer brings new talents, passions, and ideas for the classes. 

As many of you know, the summer after I graduated from Anderson I went to Germany to live with my brother for the summer.  I did a lot of reflection on what direction I wanted my life to be heading.  Laying by the canal in the sun one calm Berlin day, listening to my brother Nathan sing melodiously (of course) I had a vision.  The vision consisted of a community center in Latin America.  It kept coming rapidly to me as I thought about all my friends and different talents they had, at how a group of people can do amazing things when they come together.  How exactly it would be run, and specific aspects of the center were all very vague.  That is why I’m here, right now, in Central America.  I wanted to seek advice, inspiration, and guidance from existing Non-Profits in this region.  El Nahual was the perfect place to start our journey.

Josiah is currently taking a class at the school.  He has 4 hours of one on one teaching daily.  He is really excited and thinks he will gain a lot.  I’m sure he will expand on his personal experiences at the school soon.  In the afternoons we all come back to the school from 3-5 to have school with the children.  Yesterday I did publicity in the community during this time.  How insightful.  I knew the education system in Guatemala was bad, but to hear story after story from women about how the schools turn away their children in painful.  El Nahual really is doing great things.  This week during some of the classes we are focusing on health, one of the volunteers is a nurse from New Zealand and she is focusing her time on teaching these children proper hygience.  I will let Josiah expand on this as he was in class yesterday with the kids while I was doing publicity.  To put it simply, we believe it was the first time some of them had brushed their teeth.  To fill my time in the mornings I will be working in the organic community garden.  El Nahual works with women in the community to run the garden, and the women can use the produce for their own cooking or to sell in the market for some income.  I will also be updating the schools Facebook page so look us up and add us as your friend!

I feel like I’ve made this too long already so even though I could say so much more, I will cut myself off.  Oh one more thing, the students are studying art today…so Josiah and I as part of the class are going to teach them merengue.  I can’t wait. 

We are having a great time…Hasta Pronto!

I'm Alive!

It was a beautiful drive from Guatemala City up and through the mountains to Huehuetenango with Ruban his father and brother. The many sights from volcanoes, valleys, streams, waterfalls, to forests that seemed to stretch up into the sky made the six-hour drive quite bearable. We road there with them to see a village in the mountain that they loved, and it was also very close to our next stop, Quezaltenango. Once there Ruban and his family began the long progress of buying some land. They went through many negotiations and actually measured it out by holding the ends of a rope, marking trees, and putting sticks in the ground. I would have liked to observe much more of this process, however, I spent most of the time resting in the car. I had become very ill.

I don’t think it was Acute Mountain Sickness, it may just been the change in climate. At this altitude the sun is hot, however, the breeze is still very chilly. It’s quite deceiving. I came down with a bad fever, headache, stomachache, and the like. I tried to just tough it out, but I eventually went to the hospital. The doctor prescribed some antibiotics and I’m feeling much better. Now what is left to overcome for both Angie and I, is the Revenge of Montezuma, a.k.a. traveler’s diarrhea.

Angie has been a real lifeline and having each other has made everything a little easier. She has been great about helping overcome my sickness, and even better about not getting annoyed at my random needs for translations. We laugh at the awkward and embarrassing situations our (illnesses) have put us in. I went though an entire doctors check up with my fly wide open, and everyone knew but me. She thought it was the funniest thing ever. And people…sometimes…you can’t trust a fart.

A traditional Guatemalan breakfasts consist of the fallowing, beans, rice, eggs, tortillas, fried plantains, and some sort of meat. Most Guatemalan meals also include eggs, tortillas, beans, and some sort of meat, so they seem to have a strict diet. There has been a lot of Americanization here. There lots of our fast food chains, McDonalds, Burger Kings, Subways, and so on.  However, out here those restaurants are more high end and refills don’t exist. We’ve been as selective as we can about what we’ve eaten, but in some areas options aren’t available. We have, until recently, been brushing our teeth with tap water, and that may have been where we contacted some strange bacteria.

When I thought about seeing more of the world, I didn’t really think about also meeting new parasites, bacteria, and viruses. I believe we’ll be fine, our immune systems are just learning new tricks. We are in Xela now, and I am super excited to be starting Spanish classes here. We’ll be staying with a family and I will receive a lot of one on one intense tutoring.  We will also begin our first volunteer project. Things are in motion and all is looking up. More coming soon…

The Sick Little Josiah Bug...

Today we headed north from Guatemala City to a town called Huehuetenango.  A lot of Rubens family lives here, and he bought some land to build a house on.  I got to go see the land and give my opinion on where the house should be built.  It is in such a peaceful and secluded area in the mountains.  All of his neighbors in the area are family, and oh my gosh are they the sweetest people ever.  I absolutely fell in love with his fathers 78 year old cousin and his grandson Josue.  I really feel we got enlightened into more of their culture and lifestyle.  These people live sooooo simply and took so much pride in serving us coffee that they picked, roasted, ground, and brewed all from their own coffee trees outback.  Not to mention the abundance of orange trees surrounding their small houses.  Soon after the hot meal of rice and beef (i of course made rubens brother eat my meat) Josue hiked us around in the dark with a flashlight so excited to show us all of the flowers around.  he tried to pick me one but the trees were too high for him to reach (he is in 5th grade).  Oh man these people are so full of joy and their joy is contagious beyond words.  I could have stayed there for days and days with them in the tranquility.  (hopefully there are pictures to come soon)   It was a GORGEOUS ride through the mountains, however it was also 6 hours long.   

Soon after we left the city Josiah started feeling a bit strange and as the day progressed he felt worse and worse.  he was burning up with fever, and then his hands kept clamping up.  he could not keep them stretched out on his own accord.  he was pretty freaked out as was I.  So in short, we think he has acute mountain sickness due to the altitude at almost 7,000 feet.  I looked it up and indiana's altitude is 715 feet so you can imagine the difference.  Pobrecito, i feel so bad for him.  Tomorrow we are supposed to go another town, Xela and its elevation is almost 8,000.  I'm not sure if we will go if he's not much better.  we will take our time and feel it out.  

As for me, i'm doing well.  I just find myself a bit more fatigued due to the elevation but no illness.  :)  

!Estamos aqui!

We made it!

 

            Big thank you to Bev and Jon for taking us to Chicago and also to Thea and Lindsay. You all saved us from so much stress not having to bus or train there; thank you.

And the flights were very smooth and safe, so no worries Mom. While I do feel liberated having left my jobs and home to see to more of the world, it is a step into the unknown. 

Our descent into Guatemala City was interesting, watching from the plane, it looked as if everything were built around, through, and on top of mountains. There are many places where if you weren’t careful you’d fall to your death. And as we moved closer it was easy to tell that things here are very different. Most of the buildings are very brightly colored and look to be constructed mostly of concrete or concrete blocks. The winding roads make you wonder if their blueprints might have been mixed up with pages torn from a child’s coloring book. However it’s beautiful here, and there is something wonderful about exiting a plane into 75-degree weather as the temperature plummets in the winter of your hometown.    

There is much poverty here. In many place there are neighborhoods constructed almost completely out off thin random sheets of metal.  In other areas houses were built very close to each other scaling the side of a mountain, and they all seem to be on top of each other.  Some people brave living in the valleys, however, many have died in mud/rock slides. Driving around and seeing people struggle brings me sadness. It is good to know that there are people that care enough to try and make a difference. I am anxious to help those people, and to learn what we can from them.

 Then there is the traffic. The traffic is crazy to the point where using your car horn is essential for your survival. It’s mind boggling that I have yet to see a collision. I saw a man trying to load a bag of salt he could barely lift onto the seat of his motorbike and attempt to drive off. Later I saw a bus on the highway stuffed well beyond it’s capacity, they were hanging from the windows, out of the back door,  and a few were holding onto each other and the sides of the entry still merged from the side door. Maybe there is a method to the madness that I just can’t understand yet. What I am understanding much faster than I thought I would is espanol…well at least the comprehension of the language. I still have a very long way to go. 

Angie and I are having a lot of fun. She has some wonderful contacts here in the Lopez Lopez family.  They are the nicest people ever, and such gracious hosts. They are letting us use one of the units in the apartments they rent out, and they share their meals with us. Today they drove us to see an old town called Antigua, there were many tourists there but once there you understand why. It’s in the valley of three volcanoes, has many historic museums, beautiful parks, and many excellent restaurants for all to see. We then returned to have my Latin American favorite, Platanos fritos. That’s all for now! 

Hasta pronto

Hola Todos!!

Estamos aqui!  We made it!  Our flight was calm, and we made it to Guatemala to find ourselves greeted by my friend Ruben’s father (Misael).  I came here two years ago to visit, and this family has accepted me as one of their own.  We are currently staying in an extra apartment they have in the back of their house, and they have been constantly entertaining and feeding us.  Shortly after our arrival Josiah asked if there was a place nearby to get his hair cut and next thing I know we are in a shopping center and OFF IT CAME!  Now he is back to looking like the boy who first stole my heart on the salsa floor.  J  Today Julia and Misael (my Guatemalan parents) took us to Antigua.  This city is sooooooooooo nice.  It used to be the capital of Guatemala.   We spent a lot of time sitting in the Central Park people watching, playing hacky sack, and of course I had to drink some coffee.  There are a lot of different cultures in Antigua and a lot of Foreigners live there now.  I can’t help but think Nathan and Anna (my brother and his wife) should live there for sometime.

 

    Our next few days are going to be spent here with my family traveling around to various places.  We are trying to figure out our next plan of action when we venture out to visit some of the non-profit organizations we have contacted.  I am loving watching Josiah’s reactions to things.  He has such child like facial expressions when learning new things and seeing things that surprise him.  He is also really surprising me with his ability to communicate and understand Spanish!  Yaaaaaay!  People also constantly mention how he looks Latino (I wonder why!?  Hehe)  So this makes me feel at least a little less obvious that we are tourists. 

 

 I’ve been taking pictures that will soon appear on facebook.  I hate to rub this in, but it’s 75 degrees and beautiful here.  I love you all and hasta pronto!