A new month in a new country...

I can happily report that we did all of the things we had intended to do in Honduras, and more.  We were here just over two weeks and I feel like I’ve really gotten to

 know a significant amount about Honduras.  Coming from Guatemala I noticed everything being a lot more green here.  The grass is super green, almost like someone took a highlighter to the fields.  There are fruit here that I’ve never heard of, but my taste buds thoroughly enjoy.  Where Guatemala seemed to be Mountain after mountain, and volcano after volcano, Honduras seems to have a lot more flat fields for farming.  This could also just be because we spent most of our time on the coast.  Driving along the coastline we saw fields and fields of palm tree and pineapple farms.  Walking down the street you can see banana and mango trees everywhere.  It feels so great to live amongst produce that can only be found in the supermarket back home. 

It was great to stay with my friend Josue, because I feel like I got to see

 more into the daily life of a Honduran family.  We learned how to make some of their food, ate fruit and drank “agua de coco” (coconut water) straight from the trees in their yard, observed leaf-cutter ants make their way from the trees to their home, learned about their uncles farm next door and their milk business, swam in the absolutely gorgeous fresh water river in the back of their house, got to visit his girlfriend Yadira’s family and see where she grew up, helped their neighbor boy with his English homework, and walked around Josue’s property and learned about the different plants he has there and dreams he has for his future farming projects.  One day we decided to go to a place called Lancetilla on the way to the beach.  Our lonely planet book told us it is the second largest botanical garden in the world.  We got to the park and had to walk 4 km just to get to the actual entrance, so it was a hot and long day.  The highlight of the park for us was the layers of forest we walked though.  There were different types of palm trees, pine trees, willow trees, trees that looked painted with different colors of bark, all leading back to the bamboo forest.  Now THIS was awesome!  We walked in and I immediately thought about how my sister has been making references to “Honey I Shrunk the Kids” on several of our photos throughout this trip.  I literally felt like I was standing in the midst of giant grass.  I felt tiny and half-way expected a giant ant or praying mantis to come running out from behind a patch of bamboo.  It was breathtaking.  So, after walking around the huge garden we finally made it back to the front and

 then Josiah honestly looks at us and says, “I think I’m going to go buy a map of the park”.  We all cracked up at the fact that he bought one AFTER we were finished walking around and not when we first got there.  What a silly boy.  Our feet were tired so we waited on a taxi to take us to the beach in a town called Tela.  We had a lot of fun on the beach and got to play in the big crashing waves.  

This being only the second time Josiah has made it to the ocean in his lifetime, we

 decided to push the boundaries being expanded even more and take him to an island.  We heard about the beauty of the Bay Islands of the coast of Honduras, so we looked into couchsurfing to help keep the costs down if we were to go.  A woman agreed to let us come stay with her and her two sons, so we took advantage of the opportunity and headed out…in the rain!  I warned Josiah that I get tend to get a bit seasick sometimes, and it being rainy I was even more worried.  Quickly after we headed out on the ferry we BOTH started feeling ill and Josiah ended up being worsethan me.  

We made it through, but it was a rough 1.5 hours.    The island was beautiful, and I got to see the crystal blue Caribbean water I had always dreamed of.  It was fun to swim in the ocean and feel like you were swimming in a pool.  Too bad the ocean is so dang salty, or it would have been perfect!  Hehe.  The woman we stayed with, Mel, was super sweet.  Her house was comfy and even had a hot shower with good water pressure!  Her two sons, Deo and Ory, were sooooooooooooooo entertaining.  We have a couple of videos that caught them in their silliness.  When we get home remember to ask me to see them!  When we couchsurf and stay with people, we like to cook for them as a way to give back and show our appreciation so we cooked them a spaghetti dinner.  It was a short two-night stay, and we wished we had had more time to spend 

there.  All in all, the islands were a good experience, but still ended up being more expensive than we had hoped.  Most of the cost went into transportation.  Getting there and back on the ferry and no real access to public busses and having to take a taxi (overly priced) everywhere pretty much did us in.  We thought we would have plenty of money with the cash we had on hand so we didn’t want to risk bringing our credit cards.  Well, when we left Josiah was completely out of money and I didn’t have much.  So we have been living the past few days on the cash I have until we can make it to an ATM in La Ceiba.  Ahh!  Then it will be Josiah’s turn to pay for things for awhile!

I feel like Josiah and I have learned a lot about each other in the past couple of weeks.  We, or at least I, seem to have a new appreciation for our relationship.  We help each other out, we rarely have much to argue about, we are very caring and affectionate toward each other, we appreciate each other, we laugh and joke around with each other, and are truly each other’s best friend.  It’s refreshing to still be getting along so well after constant companionship for the past 2 months. 

We left La Ceiba and headed for the capital City, Tegucigalpa.  We met a sweet girl Janelle, from Alaska, in our taxi and we all decided to stay at a hotel near the bus we needed to catch in the morning.  It turns out our hotel doubled as a Chinese restaurant.  I ordered fried rice and the lady looked at me like I was crazy and insisted I couldn't eat that much food.  So, we decided to split the order.  It came out on two separate plates that were HEAPING over with food!  We still couldn't finish our four dollar feast.  haha.   After two long days of travel, and another border crossing, we have arrived safely in Managua, Nicaragua.  We aren't sure our plan from here, but I'm sure we'll be spontaneous and of course safe.  Goodbye Lempiras, Hello Cordobas.

Goodbye Quetzales, Hello Lempiras

After taking a very VERY cramped and long shuttle, we arrived safely in Copan, Honduras.  Crossing the border was pretty anticlimactic as we put our names on a sheet, paid the small fee and got back on our bus. Once again I was bothered by the injustice of us being able to so easily pass through borders while the Latinos coming to my country go through so much hassle and many times denial to enter if tried legally.  I wonder if that will ever change?  I hope so, but I doubt it.

Upon arrival in the small town we found no electricity or running water, anywhere, for the first few hours.  We were tired from not going to sleep the night before and not being able to sleep on the shuttle.  Sigh, but we lazily made it through the day. It’s much hotter here and the mosquitoes are more prevalent.  I’m happy about the heat, but not such a fan of being bit by pesky little bugs.  Josiah had expressed interest in going to the Mayan Ruins of Tikal in

 Guatemala, but it was way out of the way (8 hours each way out of the way).  I had already

 been so we decided to come explore some new ruins, in what is a new country for both of us, Honduras!  Excited we woke up early, ate breakfast, put on our sunscreen and bug rep

ellant and headed out.  Oh man we had so much fun exploring the Ruins together.  We spent many hours in the park trying to imagine and learn about what life may have been like for people once living there.  Josiah did some sketches of the architecture and I did some

 reading.  When you buy your ticket into the park, you can pay extra to explore some tunnels

 thatrun through the ruins.  It’s double the cost and we didn’t think it was worth it.  We WERE really craving to explore what was inside, and well, we lucked out.  You know me, any chance I get to take the path less traveled by I do.  We found a path leading by the backside of one of the ruins and there happened to be a door open to a 

tunnel.  So, we went inside to explore, amazed at what we found.  After spending a good 10-15 minutes a man showed up and asked if we paid to get in so I we played the ignorant tourists who didn’t know you had to pay to get in.  There was nothing that could be done at that point, we had seen everything and have memories engraved in our brains.  Sabooya!  All in all, Ruins were a success.

On to Valentines Day…For Valentines day we decided to go to Macaw Mountain, the most peaceful bird park in the middle of nature.  Included in the 10 dollar ticket price was a guide in Spanish or English.  We looked at each other and Josiah said, “Spanish”.  I was proud of his effort and enthusiasm to understand Spanish.  And I’m happy to say that I only tr

anslated one or two small things for him!  Red Macaws, Blue Macaws, Green Macaws, Parrots, 

Toucans, Owls, Eagles, Hawks and many varieties of each all coincided on the Mountain.  I was thankful to be in the forest as I had forgotten the sunscreen!  We spent most of the afternoon here taking our time walking around down by the river visiting different birds.  As you can see, there is an interaction area where you can hold the birds.  Only having previously seen these birds on T.V travel programs or in wildlife way up in the trees, it felt surreal to be seeing them so close and HOLDING them three at a time.  Many birds are brought here from the wild that

 were born with deformities, or were injured.  Other birds may have been pets, and abused by their owners.  It’s sad to think about these animals being hurt or at danger in the wild, but I’m glad places like this exist.  I’m so excited for my mother to see the pictures as she has an extreme fear of birds.   Another aspect I enjoyed on the mountain was the coffee plants they had.  This is another way for them to fund the project as they roast and sell the coffee from the mountain.  They had a small café where we enjoyed an icy drink. 

 After returning to the city after our wildlife adventure, we were starving and decided to eat dinner early.  We went to a Pupuseria (a pupusa shop).  Most of you are probably wondering what are Pupusas?  They are an El Salvadorian food that I will poorly attempt to explain.  You can choose from various ingredients to have put inside the Pupusa.  Usually its like cheese and onions, cheese and chicken, or other veggies.  On the outside is like a corn-meal bread that they pack all around the ingredients inside.  It’s very thin almost like a pancake and you put on top salsa and a mix of cabbage and other vegetables.  I’m so sorry for all the pupusa lovers out there reading this because I did no justice just now to the art of Pupusas.  I probably even got it somewhat wrong.  Anyway, they are delicious.  Josiah ate many and I got the Valentines Special.  We both had a very sweet Mango licuado (milkshake).

 Full and satisfied we watched a movie on Josiah’s laptop at our hotel.  Then we all of the sudden hear a live band playing Merengue, Banda, Bachata, and Punta.  We didn’t even have to discuss it, and both headed for the door.  This bar was filled with ONLY Hondurans (right up my alley).  We enjoyed the music for awhile and then a merengue came on and Josiah didn’t want to dance.  People you won’t believe this…he didn’t want to dance because “People will be watching us and I feel weird about it”.  WHAT!?  I almost fell out of my chair at Josiah not wanting to be overly eager to get out there and bust a move.  But, next song he couldn’t take it and he had to get out there.  We had a lot of fun dancing and even got called out by one of the band members for our dancing.  They played no salsa, but we weren’t expecting any.  This is how we ended our Valentines adventures.  It was a day I doubt either of us will forget.

 On to La Ceiba.  A few years ago, while I was still in college, I worked at a bilingual call center for a month (that’s all I could handle of sitting still all day everyday answering calls).  Anyway, I met my friend Josue, from Honduras!  Little did we know that 3-4 years later I’d come visit him in his home town.  I got back in touch with Josue to tell him we were coming and he eagerly offered us to come stay with him in his house.  Well, here we are.  He lives on a 15 acre Finca (farm) outside of La Ceiba with his mom and girlfriend Yadira.  His house is beautiful with a nice huge comfy hammock outside.  In the next few days we will be doing a variety of activities:  Swimming in a fresh water river behind Josue's house.  Going to La Ceiba and exploring the beach there, possibly visiting Josue's friend's beach house, maybe taking a bus to see some waterfalls.  We are looking into couchsurfing on the bay islands.  We will see what happens.  We are being open to whatever opportunities come our way.  I guess we'll see where the wind blows us.  Stay tuned for more updates and check facebook for more pictures.  Below is a video I made of the Ruins.  Enjoy!

A Farewell to Guatemala

The time has come for us to move on, one country down, four more that we plan to visit. We’ve spent these last two weeks in Antigua, and we have really liked it here. Antigua was once the capital of Guatemala, and seeing the beauty here makes it easy to see why. Getting around has been a dream. You can walk anywhere in the city in less than half an hour, and there is a stream of cheap public transport to take you any where in Guatemala. There are many museums, ancient buildings, ruins, giant churches, 

parks, Indigenous markets, Ice cream shops, bakeries, and everything else you’d hope to see in a city named “Ancient”.  Tourism is very important in Antigua; it is what drives their economy. Checking out the different restaurants, events, entertainment, art markets, and hotels they are clearly out of the price range of most Chapines. The volcanoes surrounding Antigua are huge and can be seen from almost any where in the city. For a best view of them, there’s a trail that leads to an incredible lookout point over the whole city (Cerro de la Cruz). A few restaurants have rooftop terraces; the stunning views of the horizon really do enhance the dining experience. We enjoyed a meal with our friends Heather and Greg on the roof of the SkyCafe. During the meal, “Volcan Fuego” spat out a giant cloud of sulfur that took the form of Angie’s favorite animal; a seahorse. 

There’re quite a few non-profit organizations based here; people form all over the globe are here trying to make a difference. Angie and I have been learning a lot about how NGO’s work. Watching our friends from “Project Somos” go through and talk about some of their trials in the initial stages of starting their project has been very insightful. Casasito, the volunteer house where we’re staying, alone is supporting around four hundred people. They also assist other organizations by providing volunteers and other materials. The profits made from guest staying at the house goes to community outreach. Despite all that being done, the reality is that there is much more help needed here.

Angie talked about us volunteering in San Mateo. We have been doing ok there. It is difficult to teach that many children at once without just becoming some kind of crowd control officer. Soooooo…we have done the best we could. I taught my class English/Art by drawing a variety of different things on a chalkboard and then writing their English name underneath them. This also covered for knowledge that I lacked in Spanish. I feel bad about just being there for two weeks because I know that these kids really need teachers. They need teachers that will be around, someone that will be there every day. However, I do find a little comfort knowing that there is a group of children out there that don’t speak English very well but would understand someone if they mentioned a ninja, dodge viper, samurai, or snow leopard.

Living at Casasito has been great, especially the having a kitchen part. We’ve made ninety percent of our meals, making everything from chicken fried rice to strawberry chocolate candy bar pancakes; we’ve also mastered the art of guacamole.

I’ve noticed there is an ease in connecting with strangers when you’re all very far from home; everyone can relate in that way to each other. Add that with salsa dancing and it’s like you’ve always known each other. Being a new Spanish speaker, I think it’s pretty cool how everyone is bi/trilingual here and are constantly switch between different languages, yet everyone still understands each other. We’ve made great new friends here in Patrizia(Germany), Gritta(Germany), Rory(Ireland), Josh(US), and Adriana(US) some volunteers here. Patrizia is a great salsa dancer. On one of our last nights there we all got together and made an international feast; it was glorious. Then later we played word board games in Spanish. I didn’t win any games, but I am proud that I was able to hold my own.

I have been immensely surprised by the salsa dancing in Guatemala; it’s incredible here in Antigua. There are a lot of small dance schools here, but the dance level is pretty high. What’s even better is the music. There are live salsa band here almost every night. My favorite band here is “Buena Vista de Corazon”. The lead singer/drummer is the original drummer from the Buena Vista Social Club. His voice is powerful, he is mad with the drums, and the band is awesome too. Best live salsa I’ve seen by far. There is a shortage of good females salseras, but that’s why I have Angie around. The bar has been set pretty high Central America, so watch out! We leave for Honduras at four in the morning, so after dancing Wednesday night are just staying up and waiting for the shuttle. We’re going to see the Copan Ruinas. Into the unknown once again, here we go. Take care everyone.

      

 

 

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….