Say what?

What? I leave Xela in 2 days and fly out of Guate (Guatemala City) in 3 days? Puchica! Time has really flown by... I feel like I just got here, yet at the same time I have been here forever.

This past week has been great. Last weekend (my last weekend, unfortunately) wasn´t as I hoped it would be. Lucas went home Saturday morning, and with Alex gone, I had no brothers. Nisha was also gone all weekend. So because I didn´t hang out with my family at all, it was a bit of a downer. However, on the upside, I hung out with Julie whenever I was out of the house. So In the afternoon I met Julie at Paiz which is like a really nice mall here. I got a new soccer ball for my family here, and some stickers for Abi. Then we just walked around, and met her friend Karen in the Parque. We got Pops ice cream and then ate it while watching what was going on. Because of tropical storm Agatha, the village of Zunil (which I went to when I went to Aguas Amargas a couple weeks ago) is completely ruined. People here were raising awareness and asking for money, for food, water, and any sort of help. So after we watched for a little, we walked back to Julie´s house because we had to take care of Clifford, her puppy. Then Karen went home for dinner, so Julie and I went out on a cute little date to Royal Paris. It was really nice to just talk with her. We laugh sooo much. Then we met some of her friends for drinks, and then went dancing at La Rumba. It was really hot and I wasn´t feeling too well for some reason (which has actually been the case the other few times I´ve been out at night), so I went home and to sleep by 12:30am. I didn´t sleep very well, waking up pretty frequently. Apparently I needed the sleep though because I slept for 13 hours. I woke up with a really bad sore throat, and had some white stuff on my tonsils, which was the same for Sandra.

Sunday afternoon, after I finally got up and took a shower, Alex was home. :) I went out with Julie again to the Parque because every first Sunday of the month the locals sell cute artesian things. Her teacher from school also came with her son, so it was really nice meeting them. Clifford the puppy also came along, which was fun for her teacher´s 6 year old son. :) We saw Karen and a couple other friends there, so we went to get a snack in a restaurant, and then back to the Parque to relax. I was home for dinner, and by then Lucas came home.

Monday started a new week at school. I actually had a pretty bad day and Carmen and Thelma could tell, but Tuesday was much better. I´m just feeling a bit tired this week, and I feel like I haven´t learned as much, but just enjoy conversation. Also just knowing that I am leaving Xela in a couple days is heartbreaking (for lack of a better word). I have fallen in love with this place, with my school, with my family, with the mountains, and of course Spanish. It´ll be an adjustment to go back to the States, but I know that the time has come.

Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts, and I will see you when I get home! :)

good morning, xela

Buenos tardes, ¿como estan? :) Estoy MUY bien!

This week has been absolutely beauuuutiful. Honestly the best. After tropical storm Agatha passed, every day has been gorgeous! Chilly, but sunny mornings with hot afternoons. :) A little rain at night, but that´s usual. The sunsets especially have been gorgeous. I also have thoroughly enjoyed school more, as I have the same maestra, Carmen, from last week. She´s amazing, and we laugh so much together. :)

Tuesday was such a great day. After lunch, Alex and Lucas accompanied me to the Parque Central to go shopping. It was so gorgeous out, but they thought it was too hot. Lucas was trying to get some shade from my shadow, haha. We got ice cream at this cute little place called Pops, and sat in the Parque and just people-watched. There were two gringos (white men) sitting eating ice cream on a bench, who wore flip flops. That day I happened to wear flip flops also, and Alex asked what the big hype was about them. Then we decided to go to a museum right next to the Parque, about Mayan culture in the past. It was neat to see artifacts, animals, cooking ingredients, money, and plants from the past. Alex was super excited to show it to me, haha. Below is a picture of the outside of the museum:
That night I also stayed up to play cards with him and Lucas until almost midnight... way past my bedtime here! ;) Within the last week I´ve gotten to know Alex better. From helping him to his anatomy homework, to teaching him English phrases, watching movies or music videos together, or just joking around at meals. He really is a sweetheart. I can tell he really views Sandra like his own mom... very endearing to see how much he loves to talk to her. :)
Wednesday morning Alex left before I was awake to go back home to Quiche (north Guatemala) for a few days. All the schools are closed because of the storm last week. After school and lunch, I went over my friend Julie´s house. She lives past the Parque Central, about 15 minutes walk from my house. I met her on the airplane coming down to Guate. I got introduced to her moms (she kinda has two, since its two sisters who run the place), and her host sister and her boyfriend. Her sister´s boyfriend brought a puppy to the house, I guess as a gift? So now it´s kind of like Julie´s dog... it´s super cute. :) After we played with the puppy we talked in the Parque. Then she had to go to work, and I went with Thelma (Zach´s maestra when he was still here) to get my hair cut. It was really interesting ´cause it was just in someone´s house practically... this lady´s own little business. And for only 35 Quetzales (about $4). That night I was really tired, so I went to bed early, but was woken up by a phone call from Cusco! I was so surprised and it was so nice to hear from him. :)
Yesterday was a pretty uneventful day. I didn´t do too much. I went to the Parque to do some shopping again, and Sandra went to church at night, so I just hung out with Lucas and Nisha.

Today was a good day at school. In the morning, Carmen (my maestra) and I went to The Bake Shop, an amaaaazing bakery run by Mennonites! It was actually close to my house, and it was nice to get a break from being at school to just talk and walk in the street. :) I got a raspberry filled powdered donut, and a chocolate covered... the best donuts I´ve ever tasted, seriously. We came back to school, and I learned the future tense, and then we spent some time in the back garden just talking, and then played Scrabble (in Spanish of course) for the last hour. A nice last day of class. :) Below is a picture of us at the Bake Shop, and then a picture her laughing at the ridiculousness of a Spanish-speaker needing my dictionary to look up words in Scrabble. ;)
I had arranged to have Thelma be my maestra for next week, as it is my last week and she and I already said we wanted to do that, but I am still having Carmen. I think someone else requested to have Thelma, and maybe nobody requested to have Carmen. I absolutely love Carmen, but I was a little disappointed to hear that I couldn´t have Thelma. I think we´ll go out to a cafe to make up for it anyway though. :)
Tomorrow Lucas is going home to Solola (about an hour east of Xela), until Monday. Alex isn´t coming home until Sunday night so I am brother-less. :( But Julie invited me to hang out tomorrow and go dancing with some of her friends, so it shouldn´t be too bad. :)


A few pictures...
Me enjoying the sunshine in the Parque. :)
Abi and I just having some fun :)
My three brothers, before Cusco left. :( From left to right: Lucas (21 years), Cusco (15 years), and Alex (16 years)

I´m alive

So apparently this rain that would not let up for 3 days was tropical storm Agata. I had no idea it was so severe, as this IS the rainy season, and it DOES rain here every day. I was surprised last week as on Wednesday and Thursday there seemed to be no sun... normally in the mornings there is. But from Thursday to Sunday morning it did not let up at all. Saturday was by far the worst dayl, rain-wise. We didn´t leave the house much. I played cards for over 5 hours and watched some TV. Cusco also announced that he was going home when the rain stopped (whenever that would be), giving no reason. We have an idea, since Sandra told us that this winter he was getting married, so perhaps that has something to do with it. Alex, Nisha and I helped him pack that night. :(

Sunday I woke up to an absolutely GORGEOUS day. Because of the rain and we didn´t know when it would stop or the roads would be cleared, the water park was off. We watched the news over the weekend and many, many places were ruined because of the rain. Cusco left around noon. Alex, Lucas, Saul (Sandra´s son in law), Abi and I dropped him off at the bus station. :( Then I went to Pollo Campero for lunch, and then I hung out in the Parque Central for a few hours with Lucas, Alex, and his cousin Jorge; it was really nice. :) I studied and watched movies with Alex and Jose Miguel.

It´s so sad not having Cusco in the house anymore! I really am sad to not have him to play cards with or talk to at meals. Besides that, I´m glad the tropical storm has passed. Also, last week (I think Thursday) the volcano Pacaya erupted in Guatemala City, closing the airport. I know some friends here at the school were supposed to leave, but it is now open again and all is well. All in all: God is good. I am safe. I still absolutely love it here. And the end.

What a week it has been

Another week has gone by, marking my halfway point here. :( Since last week, I have gotten considerably closer with my family, which is wonderful, but I know will make it all the harder to leave them. Having 3 brothers here in Xela is quite similar to at home in the United States. I absolutely love it, of course. :) I´ve begun to appreciate their different personalities. I love how Lucas (the one who is my age) is curious about me and wants to help me practice my Spanish. Alex, the 16 year old, is absolutely hilarious. He loves to dance and make me laugh, which isn´t too hard to do anyway. Cusco has been the most shy, but is a sweetheart. He didn´t start talking to me until last weekend, but since then I´ve gotten to know him better. He´s 15 and dating a girl (also 15) who lives in his home town. My mom, Sandra, told me that they are probably getting married this winter. For here, that isn´t a surprise... definitely cultural.

Last week on Thursday Zach left in the afternoon. Friday was actually pretty difficult, and I missed home a bit. Going from having him there, to not, made the house empty. However, the weekend had a good turn around for me, as I spent a lot of time with my brothers. I went with Lucas to an internet cafe, and to the Parque Central (central park only 5 minutes away), and also to church with him on Sunday. He´s Catholic, and so this was my 3rd mass service ever, and also not in English. Quite interesting. I also helped Alex with a biology project of making a mitochondria out of clay and a soda bottle. We play Uno a lot, and to make it more interesting we bet about 1 Quetzal (the equivalent of about 20 cents).

This week I switched teachers, and my teacher this week is awesome. Her name is Carmen. She´s 45, married, a Christian, with 4 kids (from ages 19 to 26) who are all married. We hit it off right away, and have had some really interesting conversations about religion, American and Guatemalan cultures, marriage, traveling, etc. She´s very sweet. I also requested to have her for next week.


Warning: the next paragraph holds some disgusting information.

Yesterday I took a trip to this village Zunil which is 8 km outside of Xela, in the mountains. There are natural hot springs called Aguas Amargas, heated from the volcano, so after a cold day I was really looking forward to them. I was the only person from school to go, so it was just the guide and me. Unfortunately we took the chicken bus there (aka, a school bus packed with people). The only seat was in the very back left. I was a bit disappointed to be the only one to go from school, as well as dreading the bus ride. I would say by now I am a professional at vomiting in moving vehicles, so after the first uncomfortable bump, I knew what the future would hold. I told my guide that I couldn´t talk anymore and that I wasn´t feeling well. I sat next to the window, and after the second bump, out came orange and white colored chunks: my pasta lunch from no more than an hour before. After about 8 or 9 times of hanging my head only halfway out the window because of my large head, I felt considerably better. In retrospect, this is a hilarious story that I will always remember, as I´m sure will my tourguide and the man who I paid for the bus ride, and a few other teenagers who gawked at me. I am now thankful that the only seat was in the back, as many other windows in the bus were opened and I´m sure the Guatemalan people would not be happy with me if they got a spray. I now have two bruises, one on my forehead and one on my chin, to remember that it is not possible to fully hang your head out of a window of a chicken bus with this large of a head. So, back to the less disgusting and much more enjoyable part of my journey: my guide and I arrived at the hot springs shortly thereafter after getting off the chicken bus and hitchhiking in a pickup truck. It was in the mountains, and absolutely beautiful. The clouds here are just fog, so it was quite nice and misty. I first went into this concrete pool, and met some other college students also studying in Xela. We went home a couple hours later. A much more successful trip home, after my guide gave me a lime, which apparently helps with the stomach. :)

Well, so yesterday and today it has rained considerably more. Usually it rains in the afternoon or evening, but it´s gotten to be at all hours. It´s awfully cold at the school, since we sit outside, but still manageable. I´ve realized if I can be this happy and content when it´s raining, I would love to come back here when it´s not the rainy season (December to May). I´ve already begun to think of all the things I will miss. I will definitely miss playing Uno with my family. I will miss little Abi and Jose Miguel coming over all the time. I will miss Sandra singing along to the radio. I will miss the view of the gorgeous mountains outside my window. I will miss the turkeys and rooster in my backyard. I will miss the cobblestone streets and the walks around town. I still have two more weeks here, but it will be hard to leave. Life here is very different from home. At home, people work to attain more ´stuff´where here, people work to survive. It´s difficult in a different way, but I am so thankful to be content and happy here. God has been so good to me, and I´ve realized that every country I´ve visited, I have enjoyed thoroughly. Yes, it takes some adjusting and I miss certain things at times, but it´s a wonderful experience being here.

This weekend I was thinking of climbing the inactive volcano, Santa Maria (which I can see out my window at home), but after the difficulty in altitude from the springs, I decided against it. Also besides, my family invited me to go to a water park on Sunday, which I am reallllllllllly looking forward to! :)

Enjoy your weekend. I will post next week! :)

Buenos tardes!

Day 3 of school has gone well. I woke up not feeling so well, but nothing to report bad about. I just think I´m a little tired, as well as extremely sore from yesterday´s adventures.
After school yesterday I went back home for lunch, then back to
school to go horseback riding in a local village, through the hills, mountains and valleys. Two other girls from the school accompanied me, although they´re a bit older as many other students here are. There are some people my age, who I´ve met and they´re... interesting, to say the least. So I went with the other two ladies, Katy and Jana, and someone from the school to this guy´s farm where he has horses for us to ride. We took the chicken bus, which was not terribly
enjoyable. As time went on, I began feeling more nervous and wishing I could turn back and not go at all. I´m not the fondest of horses, and have only ridden them twice. Once at a camp when I was 14, and another time 1.5 years ago. Both times having a lot of help. This time, the cowboy farmer spoke only Spanish, and had a sly, somewhat creepy smile. He was alright, but kept asking me to sing. Also, I realized once I got on the horse that I didn´t know how to direct it or anything really, so it was interesting as my guide told me in Spanish what to do. I figured it out int he end. So we spent about 2 or 3 hours riding th
rough the gorgeous rolling hills of this village about 30 minutes away from Xela. Once we got going, I had absolutely no regrets. I am very thankful for such an experience. It was so peaceful, and although the horse didn´t always want to listen to me, it was a wonderful experience. The mountains and volcanoes here are absolutely stunning with the clouds, and the grass is so green, with lots of corn and people and houses here and there. Below are a few pictures.Here is the view outside my window at home (during the day, and then at night).

And my room (as I was unpacking... it´s much cleaner now):

When you walk in through the first gate, there is the yard so to speak, with tile and flowers, and then you walk in through the front door and there is the living room: two couches and a tv. Then theres the dining room which has a table and 6 chairs. To the left is where the sink is to wash clothes and dishes, and around the corner is a bathroom and a couple s
leeping rooms. Forward still from the dining room is the kitchen. To the left is a hallway to Zach´s room and my room. To the right there are stairs to go downstairs where the bathroom and a couple rooms are.
Here is the yard, with some of my host brothers playing soccer:

Here is the living room after you enter the front door:
Here is the dining room past that:
And the kitchen:

I thoroughly enjoy living in this house. After my riding adventure, I came back last night and had dinner with the family, and then worked on some homework. Lucas (my host brother who is 21 and studying business administration) was at school studying for an exam, but came home late for dinner, so we just talked in Spanish for about an hour... the first time I really practiced. It was awkward sometimes, but really great. We talked about what we´re studying, traveling, favorite colors and animals, our families, etc. Very simple, but nice to actually be able to say what I wanted to say. It gets better each day I think. Today after my 3rd day of class I went home for lunch and then played cards with Cusco (host brother who is 15 and plays junior soccer here) and Lucas. Then I was reading in my room when Nisha came home (18 and from England, volunteering here). I heard her talking in English, so I went to see who she
was talking to. Alex (last host brother who is 16 and studies medicine in his high school) was doing his English homework. So I got to help him out too, and we started talking with a bit with Sandra´s (my host mom) grandson, Jose Fernando. He´s 8, and the brother of Aby (Sandra´s granddaughter who is 5). I hope that wasn´t all too confusing, haha. Everything is well, and it makes me happy to talk about my family and share pictures with you all. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.
Here is the garden of my school, and the walkway around it:


Here are a few pictures from yesterday´s horseback riding adventure. I almost forgot to post these!



Lastly, here is also a typical street in Xela. You can also see on the left a Mayan woman carrying something on her head. She is dressed in typical outfit which can have a lot of flowers or animals on it. My teacher at school is Mayan and she dresses similar, and today she was telling me that everything they have (for the most part) is all natural. It´s very important to them.

Holaaaaa

Hola, amigos! I am safely in Xela, Guatemala. The last couple days have been great. I left Newark airport (aeropuerta) at 9am on Saturday. Mom packed me a WaWa hoagie, with hot peppers, pickles, and tomatoes in a plastic baggy, which ended up leaking onto my little pillow and bear. I realized that in the airplane (el avion), and so I took both back to the bathroom to clean it off. When I got back to my seat, a woman wanted to have her mom sit with her, so I switched seats. I ended up being in between two ladies: a girl named Julie from Philly, a senior at University of Richmond, who is volunteering in Xela! She is also a Christian and knows people at Messiah... talk about a small world. On my other side was an older lady, Maria, from Guatemala City, just visiting a couple friends in NYC for the past couple weeks. I started talking to her because she was reading a book about the Amish schoolhouse killings a while back. The flight was 5 hours long, and the three of us talked almost the whole way. Quite wonderful after only having to change my seat because of spilled hot pepper juice. Julie is staying with a family also and learning Spanish, and is staying the whole summer. Anyway, when I arrived in Guatemala City, Patricia and Alberto (two people from my school here) picked me up and dropped me off at the bus station. I just had to wait a couple hours. My bus left at 3pm, and was supposed to arrive at 7:30 but got there 45 minutes early. It was pouring (which rarely happens, although it rains quite a bit here), and I wasn´t sure what to do since Zach was coming to get me. I knew the bus driver spoke English and he said I could wait on the corner with 2 policemen. In retrospect, I am so glad they were there because I would have had no idea what to do. Zach arrived 15 minutes later with some of my other housemates. There is Nisha who is from England, volunteering here. She´s 18. There are three Guatemalan boys: Lucas, 21, studying business. Alex is 16. Cusco is15 and plays junior soccer. I live in Sandra´s house. She is so sweet and takes care of us all (she´s in her mid 50s). Her daughter is Shirley, who has a 5 year old daughter named Aby... so cute. So I arrived, and Saturday night was the National Championship of soccer, so Zach and I watched the game at home with the other boys. Xela vs. Guatemala City... GC won 4-0. Sunday I went to church with Zach, and then met his Maestra (teacher), Thelma, and her 2 daughters and son. We ate Pollo Campero, a sit down fast food restaurant type. It was enjoyable, although I only caught a few things, but I´m getting used to just listening here. Speaking comes later. Not too much in the evening, except some Uno card playing. This morning, I had breakfast and then walked to school with Zach for my first day! The school is great... with a garden (jardin) in the center with a walkway around it with tables set up. Each student has a private tutor, it´s just great. Today I just reviewed a lot. Learned when to use ´ser´ and when to put to correct articles (el/la, los/las), colors... just conversation most of the time. I talked about my family, friends, study abroad experience, etc. I showed her some pictures also. Went home for lunch, then came back to school and called Eric. Today is our 2 1/2 years, so it was nice to chat for a bit. :) I am looking forward to next week when I will be able to speak more, and even to see how much I progress within the next month.

Something that I´ve really enjoyed the past couple days is the view out my window. We live in a very busy area... the streets are cobblestone and mostly one way. It´s obviously quite poor compared to home, with beat up cars and the buildings aren´t in the best shape. There are buildings everywhere that I can see, but in the distance out my window are mountains, and two volcanoes. One that I can see most of time is inactive, but there is one behind it which erupts several times a week. I can´t see it, but when it erupts, I can see the smoke. Mom got me two canvases and paint and new brushes, so I hope to have time to do that. But even as it being my second full day, time is running short, even as I understand more... I won´t want to stay in my room as much.

Every day I have class from 8am to 1pm. They have so many activities to do here, and tomorrow I am going horseback riding. Wednesday they have something where we can go in hot springs! I might go to that too. :)

Zach is leaving for Belize on Thursday, so I only have a few more days of him showing me the ropes around here. I´m learning the walk to school, but it´s frustrating being so dependent on him for things. He´s hosting a trivia night on Wednesday that I will go to.

But for the mother and all others wondering about my health: it´s all good, and I really like the food. Beans, rice, chicken, eggs... it´s hard not to like it.

All is well. I´m not sure what else to say. Thanks for reading and I´ll post soon. :)