So I really dropped the ball recently. Even my photo a day challenge couldn't keep my blogging. I stopped after 4 days, so much for self-starter huh? Anyway things have been busy and I just haven't had the time to blog. That's a pretty lame excuse I know but I guess I'll go with the update. November was fun with Shirley's visit. We were able to spend some time together and see the awesome kites so it was a nice trip. Then came Thanksgiving. Year 2 at the beach. I have to say Thanksgiving is fun normally but super fun unconventionally. Staying at the beach, swimming with friends and eating a hodge-podge Turkey... I mean chicken feast complete with spagetti is pretty great. We were also able to release baby sea turtles into the ocean. It was a fun trip, and no sunburns to be found.

Then came December the longest month ever because I was waiting to go home for the first time in 2 years! I couldn't believe that much time had passed. There was a birthday celebration in there and lots of things to break up the 19 day long wait but going home was so wonderful I can't even put it into words. I was able to spend sometime with friends and family that was so much needed it made coming back too hard! I ate at my favorite restaurants, went to a real gym, the mall, and just hung out at home with the dogs, cats, and everyone in between. It was really hard to come back to Guatemala even though I only had 3 months left. After being so comfortable and happy to be home, it was not fun to come back. However, as soon as I was "home" again in Guate, things fell back into place. I was looking forward to our end of service conference (close of service-COS) which was canceled due to the visit of the Washington head Director of Peace Corps Aaron Williams. He came to represent the US government at the inauguration of the new Guatemalan president Otto Perez Molina.

That combined with a changing state in Guatemala has really made the past few weeks a roller coaster. With the increased danger in the northern triangle region of Central America (Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala) Peace Corps has decided to completely restructure the programs in these countries. Honduras volunteers were completely evacuated by mid-January for the first time since 1963 and Guatemala and El Salvador are severely lowering their numbers. The good news is that programs are still going to be run in these countries, they are just being changed. Volunteers are being moved to new sites or being asked to leave early. Every volunteer in Guatemala has the opportunity for an "Early COS" which means they can leave and will receive the benefits of serving for 2 years. For my group this means finishing our service one month early; February 25, my 25th birthday. Honestly the last month of service is full of goodbyes and reflection so I am ok with this decision. I have spent two years here and had plenty of experiences both good and bad. I'm ready to move on to the next chapter of my life. I feel anxious about the future for Guatemala and for my fellow volunteers but I know after 2 years here that downsizing is a good thing. It is cause for a lot of difficult conversations, a lot of hard feelings, and a lot of discontent.

I think that volunteers here don't realize exactly what we go through daily and how rare it is. At a recent meeting the regional director for Latin America and the Pacific spoke about how he met with a volunteer who was shot in a bus robbery in Honduras in December. She stated " I did everything I was taught[while the robbery was happening] I ducked, leaned in, used the seat and my bag as protection..." but before she could finish he interrupted "Wait, they are training you to avoid being shot?" This is not ok. Many volunteers have said that they are willing to assume that risk. I for one am not and think that is a naive perspective. We came to a country to serve and help people but when you step off of the plane you have no idea what you are getting into. We forget that getting trained how not to be shot isn't really normal. I feel that this situation is difficult to swallow because volunteers form a bond with their country, their towns, and their friends, we don't want to have to leave but we aren't always thinking clearly. I know that my perspective isn't a common one because I'm finishing my service completely and fully and other volunteers aren't getting that chance. The truth is your experiences here will shape you for the rest of your life and we can't risk bad things happening to volunteers every day. The goal to reduce numbers in the northern triangle started when my group came into country and is finally be put into effect 2 years later. That's a long time and a lot of danger. I feel that Peace Corps as an organization has to do the right thing for its volunteers in the big picture and that makes it harder for us down here actually doing the leg work but it doesn't make it right or wrong. As I'm finishing up my service I'm trying to make the best of it and it's almost as hard as it was at the beginning. I still feel committed to the ideals of Peace Corps and will stand by their decision because at the end of the day it's my safety and my friends safety that is important. The work we do here is important and life-changing but we can't do it if we're dead. Sorry for the negativity but I feel that it needs to be said. There are many things to do in the world and many people need help but I didn't sign up to die for that ideal. I came here to learn and grow which definitely happened. I know that my experience here will shape how I live my life from now on. That may not be exactly what Peace Corps advertises as their goal but I think that's what usually happens. So I'm going to get off my soap box and enjoy my last few weeks here with people I love, conditions I sometimes hate, and extra tortillas, beans, and eggs because soon it will be over and I've got to make the best of it whether I like it or not. I volunteered to work for the United States government and serve as a US ambassador thus I must understand that like any other government agency there is bureaucracy that I cannot change, all I can do is learn from it and make the best of it. Pretty good life lesson.

The tree in the central park of Tecpan. HUGE and Beautiful. Central meeting place for lots of people and a nice place to sit on a warm day in town.

Shirley, Bill and I went to Casa de Sion, an NGO located on the lake that works with a local elementary school to improve children's nutrition and education. It was a beautiful day and a very interesting organization. They provide healthy lunches, clothing donations, formula donations, and more education for the children as well as their mothers. We met the sweetest little 5 year old boy with Down's Syndrome during our visit. It was so sweet, made me miss Clay like crazy. He loved getting a little bit of attention and it was interesting to see how others reacted to him. His mother didn't know what was wrong with him just that he was slower than other children( of which she had 5). Also another mother came up curious about what was going on. Although it was sad that they didn't know exactly what was wrong. It was nice to see that they felt comfortable enough to talk to each other about him. It was sweet.

http://www.safehomesforchildren.org/ - link to the Casa de Sion for more information

We also met a group of young people volunteering their on a missions trip that takes them around the world. Going to 11 countries in 11 months volunteering for one month in each. It was very interesting. http://theworldrace.org/

Anywho as for my picture. I took a picture of the clouds in the garden at the Casa de Sion.

What I wore Today. The topics for this photo challenge could probably be addressed more artistically but I think they can offer some insight into my daily life here. Sadly my outfits are pretty boring and there isn't much variation. I usually wear something comfortable but not necessarily flattering. It is amazing how much a nice outfit can make you feel good. I do throw in a few things that remind me of how I used to dress at home and that makes me feel connected to my old life haha but enough rambling.

What I wore:

Gender and Development T-Shirt: GAD is a PC committee focused on creating awareness with Host Country Nationals about gender, women's activism, HIV/AIDS prevention and topics of that nature. The shirt is super comfy and made in Guatemala (Aunt Shirley checked). Also money spent on these items helps support this committee within the PC community.

Jeans: Pants I found at the PACA (used clothing store). They were about 6 inches too long so I took them to a tailor to get hemmed for 5q. They don't have butt pockets....

Scarf: Dad gave me this scarf from Cambodia. I love it. I love scarves. When I wear one I feel a little bit connected to life at home. Also I love scarf weather.

Sunglasses: These cost 20q from the Market in Antigua. And everyone comments on how I wear them all the time. Luckily they haven't broken yet and I hope they last.

Alright, so I'm getting into the home stretch. Things are going well but just winding down a bit. I've decided for the Month of November to participate in a photo a day challenge. I found it online and each day has specific goals for photos and we'll just see how it goes. Today was a great day to start the challenge because it was Todos Santos and Aunt Shirley and Bill are visiting. We had an awesome Guatemala Fall day where we went to a town near by to see their Kite Festival to celebrate today. Last year I went to the horse race in Huehuetenango and this year was kites. Such a cool day. The kites were huge and the whole field was set up like a fair. People everywhere and so many kites. KITES ARE BEAUTIFUL. We enjoyed watching them try to launch these giant beauties into the sky as well as enjoy the beautiful day. After riding a crowded bus we got home and had delicious Chicken Curry made by Aunt Shirley. YUM! It was so good and my mouth is watering again just thinking about it. It's been nice to catch up with Aunt Shirley and fun to think about how some of my Peace Corps friends will be in my life for as long as they have in my parents. Here are some fun pictures of the kites and my photo for the day!

KITES!

HUGE KITES

Kite in the Sky

Can't get enough

Me and Aunt Shirley

Photo Challenge-

Self Portrait

Me, Aunt Shirley and Bill on the Bus

Also this past weekend there was a Halloween Party. I was part of group Clue Costume. It was pretty fun. More Pictures!

CLUE

Wilson and Heidi from Home Improvement

Black Swan, Mrs. Peacock and Heidi

Well my trip to Mexico came and went and I'll say it was more eventful than I thought it would be. I know many were nervous with reason about a trip to Mexico due to all of the crazy things that happen there but We managed a quick and relatively uneventful trip in San Cristobal de Las Casas Mexico. What a beautiful city. It felt like Europe with all the restaurants, tourists, and clean streets. It was very well organized and we stayed at a very nice hostel that was clean,had hot showers and breakfast included YUM! Our diet consisted of mainly tacos and XX beer which I had no problem with. We only found Corona once the whole time even though it is advertised everywhere. We also had a pizza and sushi meal(random) but all the food settled well on our Guatemalan stomachs. The trip started off Monday morning leaving from Huehuetengango, we were only about 2 hours from the border. Then going through immigration was pretty easy, this was the first time I had done it on my own (meaning not included with a shuttle; which is what I have taken to El Salvador and Honduras). Changing money to the peso proved to be confusing, amazingly the quetzal fares a little better so that was a nice relief. (11 pesos= 1$USD) Then we boarded public transport, where we had to purchase a ticket! Mind blowing to have paper proof of a seat. Then when the micro had sold all the seats, we left. Everyone had a seat and we traveled about 2 hours to Comitan, Chiapas, Mexico. It was so nice and such a change from Guatemala. Although the camioneta feels normal now, sitting in our own seat on an air conditioned bus felt amazing! In viewing the countryside, I noticed little trash and things just seemed a little more organized and clean. I was so surprised. We changed buses in Comitan and headed another 2 hours towards San Cristobal. There we found our hostal and then ate some delish tacos, nachos and beer. We booked a tour for the next morning to go to Palenque (Mayan ruins that are located nearby.) So Monday night we had a few margaritas, which were not as delicious as we expected, and then hit the hay to get up early for our tour on Tuesday.

Welcome to Mexico

Tuesday morning was off to a rough start as we overslept because there is a time change between Guatemala and Mexico. That was not the way we wanted to start the day, running out of the hostel at 6:30... 30 minutes late. Our driver was not pleased. Then we spent what felt like an eternity in a car to get to Aguas Azules, the first stop of the trip. In the non rainy season this place is supposed to be a beautiful scenic waterfall area where you can swim and relax. Lucky for us in rainy season it floods over with brown water and was actually hilarious to tour. As we walked through flooded paths to the top of the cascades all of the nearby restaurants were closed due to flooding and we couldn't swim because the water was too dirty and dangerous. We had also spent about 4 hours in a micro at that point... a little disappointing but adding to our adventure. After about an hour there we boarded the bus to head to another waterfall. Misol Ha is huge, the biggest I've ever seen. There Betty and Mary braved the water to swim and we just enjoyed the majestic beauty of the waterfall. Then back in the car to head to Palenque. Palenque ruins were delayed for an enchilada lunch and then we walked around this huge ruin area. It was really neat. These ruins were much larger than those of Copan, Honduras but equally as interesting. After about 2 hours we boarded the micro again, hoping to get to San Cris by 9 pm for a late dinner and early night as we had booked another tour for the next day.

Girls at Agua Azul

Me and the agua azul

Misol Ha Waterfall

After an hour and a half of driving we come to dead stopped traffic. Our driver stops the car and tells us people are protesting but the passage should open at 8 pm. It was 6:30. Annoyed that we had to wait an hour and a half before we even continued on our 3 more hours of journey, we sat in the car. Walked around a bit, and were entertained by our one year old friend who was also on this tour with his parents. At 8pm our driver comes by and says, well now the passage won't be opening until 11... Ok Now we won't be returning to San Cristobal until 1 am but there is nothing we can do. A house nearby was selling coffee and tamalitos, so we went and spent a few pesos on now "dinner". At around 11pm, the traffic jam has no sign of letting up and our driver informs us that there probably will not be passage until 8am the next day. Yes we are going to have to spend the night in a micro. Surprisingly we all took it well and just planned to sleep in the bus. Locals walked by selling bread and coffee. We turned off the van lights and fell asleep. Luckily our driver was watching our bus and he told us to stay inside, a little alarming but we all remained calm. Then at 1:30am, the passage opened and we were taken home. We arrived back in San Cristobal at 4:30 in the morning exhausted having spent almost 24 hours on a tour. Getting back to the hostel we zombie walked to bed and slept amazingly.

Palenque

Palenque

I awoke early to go to the travel agency to cancel our tour for Wednesday and got us almost a full refund. Some tears were shed and I had to make two trips but the cheapskate in me won out over the desire for sleep. I asked the travel guy if this was normal and he said that people protest in order to get a response from the government. He said sadly this is how they have to act in order to seek justice for petty crimes or to gain benefits for their small towns. These actions are common occurrences in the state of Chiapas Mexico. Wednesday all the local agencies had to cancel all of their tours to Palenque because the road block was still going on. Also, when I say roadblock, the townspeople had organized almost 30 dump trucks to block the road. So there really was no way to pass. And they stayed all through the night and the next day. Passage was only opened for about an hour and luckily we scooted by. I really felt bad for our driver who not only had to do the same trip as us but he had to stay awake the whole time. He did his job so efficiently and got us home safely.

Wednesday was spent walking around, eating more tacos and some market shopping. We had some great chats and our delish sushi dinner. At dinner I was shorted out of change which was disappointing and kind of put a damper on our last night. Although I know the waiter could probably use the 30 pesos more than me (i mean it's 3 dollars) it was just the principal but I guess that's what it's all about. Being here has made me realize that I'm learning a lot about life and living on a lower level. But luckily for me, I'll be able to go home to the states and have lots of opportunities and hopefully live on a higher level than I do now. I just try to remember this at those times I get frustrated when I get cheated because really I'm lucky to have this experience and be able to spare a few pesos, or quetzales for those who really have less than I.

Thursday was departure day and we headed home around lunchtime and were back in the Guate by late afternoon. The trip was a whirlwind and I can't believe it came and went. I really would like to go back to Mexico as it is rich with Culture and even after traveling as much as we did on that trip, I hardly scratched the surface of what there is to see there. And although they are more developed than Guatemala and have more advanced systems in transport, tourism, environmental care, I didn't feel the same way I do in Guatemala. Immediately back on a camioneta I felt comfortable, even though it was loud and crowded, I felt home. The people in Guatemala are so friendly and willing to have a conversation with a gringo; it's nice. With this trip and the recent departure of friends I've been able to realize how much I love Guate and care about it. It feels like home even when I'm not in Tecpan. Being able to leave makes me appreciate what I have here and I'm sure I'll carry these memories and feelings with me for a long time.

Home again

Well things are going well. It feels like the big September events have already come and gone. This past weekend was the election for all local authorities and the president. Although the presidential election is going to be decided in a run off in November, the local elections went off pretty well. Although we were put on PC lock down in our sites, all turned out well. Don Pedro had been working on a campaign for a man for mayor and he won. So hopefully next year DP will have a job working in the mayor's office. There were some tensions on the rise on Monday morning just because they weren't exactly sure who won (the decision came down to like 100 votes) but luckily dp's guy pulled though. We just stayed clear of all the hubub and cooked lots of delicious meals. I think the one I'm most proud of is the Homemade Falafel, Hummus and Pita bread. I think we are getting some skills. We also made sweet potato black bean burritos, baked potato casserole and of course chocolate chip banana pancakes. There was also some fort building and a lot of daily show watching. Man do I miss the daily show. Jon Stewart is so entertaining.

Kata in the Fort

Manchitas watching the Daily Show

Pita bread and Falafel

Also this week was Guatemala's Independence day ( along with Mom's Birthday). 190 years! It was fun. Such a gorgeous day and we spent the morning watching the local parade with Don Pedro. The local high schools did some awesome performances including the 80s classic I've had the time of my life. They were actually pretty good and it was entertaining.

Now this weekend it's time to say goodbye to one of my friends who is leaving at the end of this month. Amanda Baker is one of my closest friends here and I'm really sad to see her go but so excited for this new chapter in her life to start. I wish her the best of luck and know we'll meet again. She came to country the group before me and I've really enjoyed our time together.

Amanda and Me

In order to get over this sadness I planned a short trip to Mexico with three of my other friends. I'm really excited to jump out of the country for a bit and think that it will be a much needed break. Anywho, that's the update for now. Stay safe and I'll let you know about Mexico.

Love love love.

So I'm getting into the home stretch. I've been in Guatemala for 20 months. I can't believe it. It feels like time has flown. I've still been trying to keep things on track. With studying and working. I had a nice interruption to every day life on my trip with Jessica. We had a great time going to the lake, Antigua, and spending a few days here. We were also able to go to Honduras for a few days. It was so fun and relaxing. Although there wasn't a lot to do in the town we went to; the Mayan ruins there are amazing. We played around the park for about 4 hours. Just looking at all cool old stuff. It was a really nice break and a great trip. Now it's almost September and things are really going to start moving quickly. With only 2 months left of school and the Guatemalan elections quickly approaching time is in a crunch. We are trying to get work done while waiting for this turn of events. The elections are causing a lot of increased tensions all over Guatemala which is hard to handle but I guess all part of the experience.

Jessica at the Lake

Tecpan Ruins

Map of Mayan Empire (pointing to Tecpan!)

My favorite little mayan dude

cool staircase

So the past few weeks I've been cooking more. They've turned out pretty delicious. Tuesday we made spinach pasta bake with a cream sauce. It turned out really well, considering I have followed a recipe and just went with what sounded good.

Thursday we made some chocolate chip cookies. They were pretty alright. Some a little crispy and the lack of brown sugar made them more like sugar cookies with chocolate chips.

Saturday morning was chocolate chip and banana pancakes. Pretty good. I'm not a huge pancake person but these topped with some peanut butter, hit the b-fast spot.

Chocolate Chip and Banana Pancakes

Saturday dinner is my most proud dish yet. I made Eggplant Parmesan. It was so delish. I also added spinach and zucchini. I fried the eggplant in a rosemary, oregano, garlic and onion mix. Then topped it all with the spinach and parm cheese. YUM. It is definitely the dish I'm most proud of thus far. We'll see what the next week brings. YUM-O!

Eggplant Parmesan

1)Last week, Kata and I started a tradition that we are calling Eat, Pray, Wine... Based off of Eat, Pray, Love but I mean who needs the love part when you can have a glass of wine and maybe do Yoga a bit tipsy for the pray part? Last Thursday was the first of many Eat, Pray, Wines. We made garlic honey biscuits, curry lentils, deep fried green beans, and rosemary green beans. It was delicious. And a lot of fun. And very random but I mean we needed to mix up our tortilla diets somehow, so we combined all the random foods we had in our kitchens. We ended the night doing some Yoga in giggle fits, it was pretty great. I think laughing is great therapy and so is Yoga; therefore together they are even better. (This my friends is a conclusion to my argument; yes I'm studying for the LSAT and it's going ok but I'll tell you what those logic questions can be confusing. Oh well, I've got 4 months til my test date and a pretty intense study schedule.)

Eat, Pray, Wine FEAST

2) My LSAT studying is another reason I'm feeling pretty good. I've made a schedule and I'm sticking to it. Studying every day is a way for me to feel more accomplished and happy with how things are going. I'm nervous about the test so any study tips are welcome. Also just bits of encouragement :)

3) I cooked a new meal this week. Spinach Pasta Bake with a cheese sauce. YUM. Cooking is actually really fun and I'm getting into looking for ingredients and recipes. Funny story is that I cook like you do mom; in that I make things up. I read the recipe and then add my own stuff in. I feel like I'll be making lots of dishes that never come out the same way twice, but hopefully are always delicious. Also, today we made cookies. They turned out pretty good considering we didn't have brown sugar. (Only the first batch was a little crispy.)

Downfall to cooking is that I have to wash dishes in this hand-washing sink :)

4) Today we inaugurated a water project at our other school. It was really nice. Everything was decorated. We received a plaque that thanks Escuelas Saludables for their work in the project. We got lunch. They also put on some really cute dances. I'm posting a video of the cutest Guatemalan boy I have ever seen. Such a nice morning. The moments when we have ceremonies like this make time here feel worth it. Seeing how thankful people are and how much they want us to have a good time, really makes you feel good. Also the cheeseball in me almost always tears up during these events. They play the national anthem and have things so formally organized; it's emotional for me. Makes me happy to be an American and proud of our country but sad to see so many wonderful, good people living in a situation that is far from fair. The fact that we celebrated that a school now has water, is still mind blowing. We wouldn't even build a school, or anything at home and use it without connecting water.

Betty and Kata at the ceremony

Me and Kata with the water tank of 2000L and 8 faucets

Cutting the ribbon to "inaugurate" the project

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5) Today I found TOMs shoes in the PACA for 20q. That's like 2 bucks. Pretty sweet. Betty got some too. And Kata had some. Seems like Team Tecpan is pretty trendy :) check out toms shoes online- www.toms.com pretty cool idea. Also fun fact is I've heard of PC volunteers being in the towns where they do a shoe drop and they get a free pair as well. I'm happy to have gotten one for 20q.

6) One of our teachers invited us to dinner at her house tonight. It was so nice. Seno Alma is 27, has two kids, and we chatted her up for about 2 hours. She made us Pepian (a meat dish with a reddish, spicy sauce). It was the best Pepian I've had in country thus far. It's a dish made for special occasions. She is the cutest little teacher ever and really wants to be friends. So I hope we will be. It was nice to have a conversation with someone our age, who is really interested in learning, talking, and just spending time together. She really treated us well and reminded me again of why I'm here and what's really important to me.

7)Jessica is coming next week and I'm really excited to have another visitor. It's just so fun and will be a nice break from everything. (even though things have been so great recently)I also just really love showing people what my life is like here. It helps me to see what is special about my life.

8) Work is going well. We are having fun showing Kata the ropes. Checking up on all of our schools. Seeing Rincones de Salud, kids brushing their teeth and washing their hands. Pretty much great stuff.

TEETH BRUSHING

Rincon de Salud

Betty Spying on the school :)

9) I've been doing Yoga for 2 weeks now. Just 20-30 minutes at least every other day. It's really relaxing. I like doing it right before bed because it calms my mind and is just giving my day more of a routine. I'm finally learning how much I need a routine and how to make it work for me. It's a nice feeling. And fitting Yoga into my day is some time I can just give to myself to make me feel better and more relaxed with all I have accomplished in one day.

10) I'm doing things for me and trying to make the best out of the next 8 months. I make a list every night of what I want to do the next day in order to feel accomplished and then I (usually) do all the things on my list. It's such a good feeling to be at this place and getting things done. I hope it just stays with me and makes these next months fly by but in a fulfilling way.

So tonight the sitemates and I got together to make crepes. None of us really knowing how to do so but figuring between the three of us we can make something edible. After following a relatively simple recipe from our PC cookbook and adding some slight modifications; dinner was a success. I eventually was able to make the crepes the actual size of the pan and then we cooked up some tomatoes, onions, garlic, peppers and a sprinkle of basil to fill up our tiny pancakes with. Oh and don't forget some salty, dried out cheese. They turned out pretty good and I have to say I'm pretty pleased with myself (as I was the main one behind the frying pan; although shout out to Betty and Kata who prepared the ingredients!) We meant to take a picture of our delish creation but we were so hungry we forgot. Anywho, I think this means I should try to cook more. I always enjoy doing it but I'm going to be honest and say a lot of the time I'm too lazy. So starting this week, I'm hopefully turning over a new leaf and will try to cook one new thing a week. Maybe since I've posted on my blog I will be more driven to complete this mission. So look for a new recipe creation coming your way from my kitchen... Once I buy a tank of gas so I can use my stove... alright one step at a time.

Well, it's been a while since my last update and a lot has happened. Let's hit the highlights.

-The projects were finished in the end of May. It was awesome. We had another ceremony and it is just so exciting to see running water. YAY. One of our schools said multiple times how thankful they were for the project because we were able to help so many people. Pictures to follow of the final project. Betty and I both forgot our cameras on inauguration day. I can assure you that both school projects are complete and up and running.

- My sailing trip to Belize was amazing. My good friend Sara from Camp Cheerio came down and we sailed from Rio Dulce, Guatemala to Belize islands. We saw dolphins, sting rays, a lobster, lots of fish and the 2nd largest barrier reef. It was so wonderfully relaxing. Complete with sunburn, new friends, and a grand case of land-sickness. I was worried that I would get sea sick, thankfully no but those first two days back on solid ground were a little difficult.

-I have gotten my haircut twice by a new friend in town for 20 quetzales. That's like 2.50 USD. It's pretty great. Hugo, knows what's up. I was a little nervous the first time but my hair really needed a shape up so I figured he couldn't make it worse and I was right. I'm pretty sure I'll be visiting him on the regular until I COS.

-About two weeks ago we had our All Volunteer Conference and July 4th party. It was fun. I was on the planning committee which was a little more stressful than fun but it seems that everyone had a good time. Face-painting and tons of food, it was a very patriotic weekend.

-We are getting a new sitemate to help us with the HS program here. She just swore-in in March and will be coming to work with us for the rest of the year. Her COS date is in 2013, so our hope is that the transition from when Betty and I leave will now be pretty much none-existent because Kata will have worked with us and will be here until 2013. The thought is she will get one partner next march from the new group of volunteers.

Ok. So I know it has been way too long since my last entry but I swear I have good excuses. The past few months have been crazy with the 50th anniversary swear-in celebration I have continued to be going non-stop and I actually don't know when I'm going to stop which is probably the best news I can tell myself. First of all the swear in/50th anniversary celebration was really fun and interesting. We got to see the group that swore-in's ceremony, it was kinda like going to your friends graduation, a year after you graduated. It was such a fun time and a great way to reunite with everyone. Plus we all dressed up and looked really cute. It was nice.

Me, Betty, and Kristin: ONE YEAR LATER

Then it was April. We had our official mid-service conference, our last training session until we COS (Close of Service Conference in Jan 2012). How exciting we all got together and shared our experiences and really celebrated how we have been here for over a year and our now the "Senior Volunteers" or leaders in our program. It was really nice because the first three months of this year drug on but once we hit April time has been flying. Also, I've really enjoyed being a mentor to new volunteers. After this conference, we've just been continuing to go to work and trying to get things organized for our new work plan of this year. We are focusing on completing 4 projects and applying for 4 more during our service, As well as working with other schools to reach our healthy school metas but more on that later.

View of one of our schools

By Mid-April Shannan my dear friend from Camp Cheerio came to visit and we had such a great time. We went to Semuc Champey and went on cave tours and swimming. We made fun new friends at the hostel we stayed in from Japan and Spain. We went to Antigua for the Semana Santa (Holy Week/Easter) Processions and just caught up. She also was able to see my site, meet my host fam, and just hopefully relax and enjoy the Guate.

Shannan and I in Semuc Champey

Procession in Antigua

Shannan and I at the ruins in Tecpan

After Shannan left. I went to the lake to celebrate the end of Semana Santa and relax with some volunteers and celebrate my friend Damian's Birthday. It was really fun but I was like enough already I need a break. Finally things have slowed down a bit in terms of visiting other volunteers and traveling but the work situation has really started flying and I'm so excited about it.

Today marks the day that we started two water projects in two of our schools. We are building three 2000L tanks that will have 8 faucets on them and One wall of 8 faucets at these two schools. It has been a process to organize this event and it was difficult at times to get all the support we needed to complete the project from the community as well as the local authorities. 2 weeks ago we weren't sure when we would be completing our projects when our APCD (boss) came to Tecpan and helped us to meet with the mayor asking for him to supply some money in support of these very necessary projects. After a 30 minute rant on how there wasn't the money, He agreed to give us the money we needed to complete our projects. That got the ball rolling. In the past two weeks, we bought materials and met with masons to finalize the plans for our projects. Today we broke ground. One of the schools invited us to a ground breaking ceremony and it was so awesome. We also had new trainees visiting us today so they got to see a real treat. We got to school and were "honored" with a musical event where all the local authorities, kids, and teachers took turns thanking us for this project and the little kindergarteners did a dance and gave us candy. It was so nice to see all of this year process coming together. Then it was my turn to "Give words" in front of everyone. I was thanking them and saying how excited we were to be starting this process and that we appreciated all they had done in this past year... and then I started to cry. It was one of the most beautiful days of my service thus far. Seeing everyone together was so wonderful and feeling like we actually were doing something made me so happy. I cried. Then the school principal got up and told everyone how wonderful it was to see that I was so happy I was crying and that he couldn't wait for the project to be over so we could all cry together in celebration. It's amazing how overcome with emotion I got but it was so beautiful and exciting. I couldn't help it. Today really was one of the best days of my service and I love that we got to share that with the new trainees that have only been in country for 2 weeks. It was so nice. Then we had an event with all of the trainees and they had to share their experiences with each other. Mine and Betty's group said that they really admired what we had done and were honored to have been a part of that celebration and that they hoped to someday be as successful as Betty and I....I could go on but let's just say today was an ultimate high point in service and I can't wait for 2 weeks from now when the projects are finished and we can see those kids washing their hands and brushing their teeth.

Betty and I with the School Director

The official start of the project

So this Friday marks one year left. I can't believe it. I really cannot believe I am more than halfway done with my Peace Corps Service. It is exciting but unnerving. With everything that has been going on recently, my mind has been in about 50 places at once. I jump from today, to the weekend, to next year, to grad school, to 3 weeks ago, all in a matter of seconds. I'm trying really hard to stay in this moment and set specific goals for me to accomplish. This way once tasks are completed I can reset my mind to begin again. This week marks the 1 year mark and a bunch of friends are leaving the country and a bunch more are beginning their service and I'm smack dab in the middle. Betty and I are trying to get work done and are making plans for projects, school visits, certifications. It's an exciting time. Manchitas is huge. She's almost a year old as well. Where has the time gone? They grow up so fast. It really has been March Madness this month and somehow I was able to do a bracket. Totally wrong of course but I guess that's alright. Now I'm just gearing up for Friday to celebrate my Midservice, the completion of service of friends,and the beginning of service for new friends. It's quite an exciting landmark in many ways.

Some Photos of Life as of Late:

The cutest kitty ever

Betty hard at work with her Snack

Kids brushing their teeth!

View from one of our Schools

School

So today is Sunday and I've really been reflecting on life recently. This weekend I was supposed to go to the beach to celebrate my friend's birthday and say goodbye to some volunteers who are finishing their service. Friday morning's bus ride was disturbed by a phone call saying that a tsunami warning was in place due to the earthquake/tsunami that hit Japan. Sadness, disappointment, and anger were the emotions us PCVs felt. How terrible that our beach weekend plans had to be changed for something that probably really wasn't going to affect Guatemala. Unable to travel to the beach, we went to eat breakfast all 20 of us. A little unaware of the devastation that had and was taking place in Japan and for that matter in the rest of the world. As we ate breakfast and made plans as a group to head to Lake Atitlan and just move our weekend plans, we were updating ourselves on the news that was unfolding in the world. Knowing and hoping that the effects wouldn't be too large in Guatemala, the mood was lifting back towards celebration mode. Everything was working out. As more news was seen, I was beginning to realize how much of my life is in a bubble. The world around us is just in turmoil between the United States, Africa, Asia, and even Guatemala but somehow I manage to stay disconnected. It's nice but sometimes disappointing how much one has to try to realize what is going on in the world around them. It is hard to not get upset about how much the world is changing and how little I feel a part of it. I know that one person can't save the world or change the world but the extreme sense of disconnect can be unnerving. I guess now that I am officially reaching my one year left of service mark, I'm seeing friends and mentors preparing to leave and move on with their lives. I'm realizing how much has changed in the past year and how life always goes on. In my little apartment here in Guatemala, I forget that the world is still moving on, even though I feel like I'm staying still. I've had so much time for inner-reflection and can see how much I've grown this past year but I'm anxious to feel that connection again to the real world. I often feel like my life in PC is my life on hold. Everything is changing around me but my biggest complaints can be anything from being overcharged on the bus to having to change my weekend plans with my friends (nothing too life changing). I feel like this weekend brought a much needed life check in that I'm here to learn and grow but I can't forget the big picture and let myself get wrapped up in the bubble that is life in Guatemala and I feel life in PC in general. It is easy to get caught up in everyone else, you forget why you came, what you are doing, and what's important. I'm going to try to really take advantage of this next year to keep growing and changing and not get myself stuck in this bubble of disconnect. As I keep seeing glimpses of what is going on in the world, I get nervous and worried about how little I feel like I'm doing but I know that this time here in Guatemala is going to teach me more about myself than I ever knew. I just need to keep these thoughts in mind as time goes on. On that note I'd just like to say my thoughts and prayers are with those in Japan, Libya, Wisconsin, everywhere, and especially at home. love love love and miss.

So I wasn't planning on it but I ended up taking a month long hiatus from this blog due to the busy happenings of February. There have been lots of reunions, meetings, school visits and I just haven't found the time to post. Let's start with the beginning of the month and the superbowl. Lots of peace corps volunteers reunited and met up to watch the game in xela. It was very fun. It was a time to see people that I hadn't seen in a while and catch up with new people. I really enjoyed it. There have been other miscellaneous parties and celebrations since then. Including my birthday. For my 24th birthday we went to the waterpark here in Guatemala. It was so much fun. It was like a water park in the USA complete with lazy river and tons of crazy slides. I can't wait to go back. This past weekend was filled with other parties and goodbyes. It is sad to say so long to the "older" volunteers we looked up too and to realize how much I need to do in order to be a good volunteer to look up to for the newbies. So I'm still working on getting my schedule organized and keeping up with school visits and trainee visits here.

This weekend is another "despedida" or goodbye party and then marks the 2 weeks until the new volunteers swear-in and our grandparents leave. It is very bittersweet but the good news is we will be having a big party to welcome in the new and send out the old because this year is also the 50th anniversary of Peace Corps. So all in all lots of exciting, busy things have been going on and are yet to come. I've also forgotten my camera for most events so I don't have any new pictures to share but I'll make sure to include our 50th anniversary celebration photos and anything else exciting to come along. Thanks for reading. love

So it is already mid-January and I'm still trying to get my schedule back in order. I really can't believe I've been in Guatemala for a year. I was able to go to the airport to welcome the new trainees and that was exciting. Seeing those fresh faces just getting into Guatemala I had two thoughts : 1) I'm glad that's not me again 2) I can't believe I'm the person welcoming them into Guatemala. It was so exciting and overwhelming. It gave me a boost of energy and I'm hoping that it lasts. These next few months we will be assisting in their training. I'm excited to have a group of four newbies to try and show the ropes. I just hope I can give them good advice and good training on what our job is. We just met them on Monday for a lunch and it was fun to meet them and hear their questions. How little they know!? Not in a bad way just in a way that we have forgotten how little you know when you first get into country.

I'm excited to start work again but having a bit of trouble getting back into the swing of things. There are still some projects I want to do in my house. Cleaning, Organizing, and some small painting endeavors. Life is busy. I'm just one month shy of my birthday! Then I'll only have one more birthday in Guatemala. CRAZY, how fast time is flying. Back to work!

love love love

After one year in country I can say that this already applies. Let's see what the next 15 months have in store.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwuDH5BkHvw&feature=player

Love and miss you all

The Girls

Pool Time

The Boys

Sandcastle

We took our own costumes to a hostel party

Lots of Jeans

Beach fun :)

BEACH!

Dancing with the raw Turkey...

My green bean casserole with cheddar cheese and sliced almonds... the Grown up version

TURKEY!!!!!!!!!!

YUM!

Table settings

Delicious plate

Me and Eduardo with the turkey thermometer

Hiking a Volcano

Beach Sunset

BFFL

Madel and I in Antigua

Enjoying Antigua

Enjoying the Ruins

All the ladies

Saberico and Madel

Horse Race on November 1st

Horse Racing

Meredith's Horsey Costume

My Superman Costume

Sooooooooooo, long time no blog. I'm sorry it has taken me so long to update but I'm hoping to get you caught up on the exciting things I have been doing for the past few months.

So, October 30,31, and November 1: November 1st is All Saints day which is a huge holiday here in Guatemala. It is a day where many people go to cemeteries with their families to pay their respects to deceased family members. There are two very different traditions that take place on this day in different parts of the country along with this cemetery visit. In a small town in Huehuetenango, they have a town fair, that also includes the event of local men getting very drunk and riding horses back and forth all day for certain "teams." The objective is to not fall off and as the day goes on, it gets scarier and scarier. The neat thing about this town is that there is a very large indigenous population; meaning many of the people wear the typical traditional clothing' including the men which I do not really see in my part of the country. I loved seeing this because all the men from the young to the old wear traje but they all put their own spin on the look. Some young dudes have crazy hair and leave their shirts unbuttoned but it is still holding on to the tradition. So with that being said, this year I went to Todos Santos and enjoyed the "horse race." We also had a very fun PC Halloween party complete with costumes. I found a Superman Jumpsuit (pictures to follow). The tradition I hope to see next year is the flying of kites. In some towns the people build huge kites that they fly on All Saints day to connect our physical world with the spiritual world. The kites are huge and very beautiful and I'm hoping to see them next year.

November 11-17: Sabrina and Madeleine, two of my very good friends from high school came to visit. We spent some time in my house sleeping 3 to my full bed with Little Manchitas. We went to Antigua, hiked a volcano, and spent 2 full days relaxing at the beach. It was a much needed vacation and really nice to show some people from home what life is like here. Also, it was a good relief for me to see how easily we could fall back into touch like nothing had changed since we graduated high school. It was a really nice trip and I loved having them here, hope to see them again soon.

November 21: Thanksgiving dinner at Eduardo's house. Eduardo is a 70+ year old man who owns a farm outside of Tecpan and has been friends with volunteers for years. His house is full of treats like wheat thins and cheese that he buys from the capital and we have had dinner at his house a few times since we arrived in site. He is a genuinely sweet old man who loves our company and we enjoy his. Anyway, we asked if we could use his house to cook a Thanksgiving dinner with some fellow PCVS this year and it was delicious. We had it all, Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, homemade bread, carrot cake, pumpkin cheese cake. IT WAS SO GOOD. We were literally stuffed to the brim. I had to lay down. I hadn't had such good home-cooked US food in a long time. It was nice to spend time together and give thanks and eat a delicious meal so far away from home.

November 23-27 EL SALVADOR! Me, Betty, Carrie, Javi, and Damian made the 5 hour trek from Antigua to El Salvador for a few days and it was wonderful. We stayed in a hostel by the beach and were truly able to relax. It was such a great trip. We became a little family, for better or worse and have so many good memories of our time spent at the beach. On Thanksgiving day we at dinner for $3 each at a little beach restaurant. The owner gave us each a firecracker to shoot off and it was our own unique Thanksgiving tradition. We all got really tan and really relaxed. We were not ready to return to Guatemala but I guess that means we'll just have to plan another trip next year.

December 1-12: Mom and Dad came to visit. This was so much fun. We had our first trip together just the 3 of us, since they took me to see Mt. Rushmore when I was 3 years old. We relaxed in Antigua and ate delicious food. We spent time with Don Pedro and Dona Mercedes exchanging family stories. We went to Semuc Champey. This beautiful natural pool park in Guatemala that was worth the 7 hour bus trip! We relaxed and just caught up. A year is far too long to go without seeing people that you love so much. It was so nice to have the family here but it just made me miss them more and all of you guys too!

December 24- 25: It was very hard to spend Christmas away from home this year even though I really enjoyed partaking in all of the new traditions... some I plan on bringing home. We made tamales (around 150) which are cornmeal masses cooked with red sauce a little piece of meat in a banana leaf. That was a process on Christmas Eve morning. Then I ran out to market to finish my shopping just like everyone else. Wrapped some presents and then 2 other volunteers came to visit Betty and I. So we ate Christmas Eve chicken with salad at 8 pm. Then talked, played cards, set off fireworks, and played with sparklers waiting for midnight. Just before midnight, we all sat down to eat our tamales, and when the clock struck 12 we all hugged everyone to wish them a Merry Christmas and tell each other how much we loved them. Then we ran outside to see 4th of July style fireworks. There was so much smoke you could barely see the street. Then we exchanged gifts and went to bed around 130am. The next morning we made a huge breakfast. Biscuits, Gravy, Bacon, Eggs, Grits, Potatoes, Coffee... It was so Delcious. Then early to bed from staying up so late the night before, but also about 3 more tamales.

That leads us to now. I'm getting ready to head to Antigua to ring in the new year and I really can't believe that it is 2011. This time last year I was freaking out and running around getting ready to come to Guatemala. I can't believe it has been a year. I'm hoping to keep this blog more updated in the new year and hope that you all will keep reading.

Happy New Year!

love love love

Ok I know it's a little late to say New Month but I thought I would post some pictures for you guys.

Me Cleaning my stove... that's for you dad!

Cooking on the stove :)

Patty and Betty (other volunteers) with our delish breakfast feast

Don Pedro on his birthday with his presents

The Only picture appropriate of my apartment thus far.

Me and Bets

My New Haircut

So these past few weeks have been interesting. Definitely rainy (It's cold at 8000 feet)and Mondays really are the worst day of the week. But I wouldn't necessarily say that I'm down. I've had lots to do and now with October in full swing I can dream that the rainy season is over. It hasn't rained in like 8 days. I don't really know what to do with myself. It is also "fall" like weather which makes me incredibly happy. I forgot how much I loved fall: Pumpkins and all baked goods pumpkin flavored, coffee, scarves, and the crunchy leaves... None of these things are here but the dry crisp weather is. Betty also showed me a neat trick of putting cinnamon in my coffee before it brews. Can you say delicious and fally? So as the time passes and Guatemalans tell us we are entering "verano" aka Summer, I know they just don't know that really this is Fall.

As for work, it is difficult to get to school just to say thanks for all your hard work this year & we look forward to next year because there have been so many events like "dia del nino" you know kid's day? Also, our towns fair was last weekend. Causing lots of cancellations and trips on the Ferris Wheel. I would equate Feria with Apple Blossom but more run down and sketchy. Lots of Guatemalan carnies come to town and set up games, there is food and lots of times to go out on the town for some quality fun. I rode some rides probably against my best interest but I lived to tell the tale. First bumper cars, pretty standard and fun. It was so weird to be "behind the wheel", made me miss driving in the US but not too terribly. Then there was this crazy flying saucer thing... I never rode this things in the US I don't know what encouraged me to do so here. Cultural PRESSURE! Anyway, then the Ferris Wheel, oh how nice?! Unlike Ferris wheels in the US where the riders slowly pass in order to see the heights, Guatemalan Ferris Wheels go at breathtaking speeds encouraging all riders to scream in terror. I was riding with twelve year old Alejandra so I tried to keep my cool and prevent vomiting but I don't think I'll be doing that again. Now it's done and I can say that I did it and all is well.

Alejandra and the sketchy spinny ride that required me to sit down for about fifteen minutes afterward in order to ensure no sickness would transpire.

View of the Ferris Wheel seats

In other news my dear friend from training Brent has gone home. He will be missed muchly here but on to bigger, better, and different things I suppose. I'm sad for his departure but know that we have a friendship that will last, it is only disappointing to not have him here in the same country and time zone any more.

I guess all in all I'm really learning a lot about myself and things I want to do with my life. Also, what is important and necessary to be happy? All this and only 9 months in. I miss you all so much, lots of love.

So it's Friday night and time to blog. Things in Guatemala have been crazy for the month of September. Let's start with the weather. So much rain. Rainy season is terrible. However, it has led to a lot of time in my apartment and site. Lots of dinners with Don Pedro and Dona Mercedes. Lots of Tae Bo. Lots of Cat time. Manchitas is so cute and big. Love her so much... I'm thinking she might be done with her mess making. She better be. Anywho, the rain led to lots of terrible landslides, some fell on actual buses and of course Tecpan was right smack dab in the middle of that. Luckily no one we know was injured and every was safe, dry, and unharmed. Along with the rain cutting into the work schedule everyone was preparing for Independence day celebrations. September 15th is a big deal in Guatemala and I think all of central America. Celebrating 189 years of independence from Spain since 1821.

This means school serves even less of a purpose than normal. Everyone learns to bang a drum or play a portable xylophone. How cute? NOT. Not when they practice every day the same terrible songs and who ever is the instructor has no musical background whatsoever. Ok that sounds mean but really I watched a lot of parades and heard a lot of bad music. The xylophones are just dumb instruments to begin with. It just sounds like a bunch of baby toys going off at once. Then the drums are played by mostly boys and I literally think the "Band Director" instructs them to beat their drum as hard as possible. Evident by students carrying drums that are taped back together. I will give some schools credit. They try and some had some fun songs or tricks. But for the most part it was a little glimpse of torture. Imagine the Macy's Thanksgiving day Parade with really bad marching bands. It was still fun because it's so unbelievably hilarious. Anywho, parades were held Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Sadly it rained Wednesday night preventing the fireworks show. However, we got to hear plenty of fireworks because it doesn't have to be dark for them to be used. In fact they love that popping noise that sounds like machine guns for most holidays... Including birthdays. If someone really wants to wish you a happy birthday, they'll set off fireworks you can't even see in front of your door at 5 am.

It was fun to see schools that we work with and cheer for them in the parade. Same with seeing the Grandchildren. All in all it's been a fun holiday time.

Lauren and Betty take on Guatemalan Parades

The little Drummer Boy

Guatemalan "Float" that plays music for people to dance to

So the past few days of rainy season have been full of too much rain. I used to like rainy days when you could sit inside, read a book, take a nap, eat soup... I don't like rainy days in Guatemala. I've spent a lot of my time wet, my apartment feels wet, and everything is just damp and not pleasant. Also lots of landslides which are scary but not to worry. I'm safely held up in my apartment with my cheerios, kitty, and host family below. Love

So August is ending and I've almost been in country for 8 months. I can't believe it. I'll be in the teens... as in 19 months left! That's crazy. Time has been going fast but I've hit a little slump. The past week has been crazy. A lot of things have made me super emotional but I've been busy which is good. Lots of school visits and presentations to fill the time. We also met with a local NGO and will be giving a workshop on HIV/AIDS prevention to teenagers in the next two weeks. I'm nervous about it but excited. It is such an important topic and I'm sure after the first one I will feel more confident to keep spreading the word. Also I've been thinking a lot about my parents who still continue to do great things with their lives. I'm looking into my future after PC already. Also, thinking good thoughts for my mom as she spends the next 10 days in Haiti doing medical relief work. I love hearing about everyone from home's adventures. It keeps me motivated and looking for new and exciting things to do.

This past week we had a group of new trainees come and visit Tecpan. It was cool to show them around and to remember how crazy life was during training. They have only been here for about two weeks. I got to show them my apartment which was fun because I remember seeing other people's places during training. It was just exciting to hear their questions and to remember how much of a whirlwind training was and how glad I am to now be in site and working. Also, the next training group to arrive will be HEALTHY SCHOOLS! Not until January but I'm excited at the prospect of meeting new people and helping a lot with the training of the HS program. One trainee is living with my "old" host family. I've done a horrible job of keeping in touch with them but tomorrow I'm heading over to their house for lunch. YUM! Also, I'm really excited to see them. I've missed them a lot and it's hard to remember what life used to be like in Guatemala during training, let alone in the US. Things are changing so much... it doesn't feel weird to not flush my toilet paper! Although right now lots of people have been traveling home and I have been feeling more homesick. I'm just reminding myself to get through everything and soon enough people will be visiting and it will be 1 year in country before I know it.

So buy those plane tickets and know that I'm thinking of you all and missing you dearly. love love love

So tonight was tamale dinner at our friend Brenda's house. Brenda is 22 and not married. I.E. We need to be friends. She is really sweet and a teacher at one of our schools. She is also my neighbor and Don Pedro is her Uncle. Sadly, they do not have a very good relationship related to some rumors about Brenda having dated a married man last year... when she was 21 but you know it was totally her fault and thus she shouldn't be trusted or talked to. It's a little hard actually because I want to respect Don Pedro and Dona Mercedes with their choice to talk to someone or not but it is hard when they turn their nose down at me when they know I have spent time with Brenda and I'm sure this dinner will hurt their feelings but I mean at some point I have to make decisions on my own and having a 22 year old friend seems pretty good right now. Anyway, her mom made us delicious tamales and gave us beans. Ha sometimes pity tastes so good. Now I've got beans in my fridge and I'll be able to heat them up on my new stove. Well, that would be the case if I had gas. Next month. Hopefully we can keep this friendship alive to keep sharing food. We also have set up a movie night complete with popcorn. I guess we will just see what happens.

I bet you are thinking it's pretty sad that you have a stove with no gas but I mean it's not so bad. Gas is EXPENSIVE. I eat dinner with DP and DM pretty much every night. So I only have to worry about breakfast and lunch which surprisingly I can scrounge around enough to have something pretty good. Also, Betty and I together can pull off a pretty good lunch pretty cheaply and totally culturally sensitive. Beans, Eggs, and some type of salad (usually cucumber, tomato, onion and then lime and salt! YUM)So slowly but surely I will be a great little chef... haha Seeing as right now I can't get my huge water jug open, I'd say my skills are not in the kitchen. I also don't know which is more embarrassing a stove with no gas or a water jug that you can't open? You tell me.

In other news, Manchitas is really fat. She is getting so big. Also she loves to leave presents on my bed when I leave. This is really testing my patience. A)because it is really gross B) because it is a huge pain. I do love her though I'm worried she might have fleas and I don't have enough money to get her fixed until next month so I'm terrified she's going to get pregnant, keeping pooing on my bed, and get so fat that she won't be able to move. Any cat advice welcome.

This week starts more meetings. Tomorrow we are meeting with a local NGO to share what our project is and hopefully brainstorm ways we can work together. Should be exciting. Well that's the brief update for now... Love and miss you all. Let me know you are still reading.

The month of July has flown by and tomorrow makes 7 months! I really can't believe it. We had so many conferences this month and Betty's parents visited for the last week as well. So things were busy busy busy and it keeps on being busy. With lots of school visits to make this month, Betty and I are trying to stay on our toes. Going to school, fixing up our apartments and keeping up with our pets... Ok it sounds a lot more busy than it actually is. We have adapted to the lifestyle of not being able to multi-task or work for long hours. It just makes you so tired. Anyway, things are falling back onto normal schedule because we don't have any more meetings at the center for a while and we are just able to focus on life at home in Tecpan.

I'm trying to get the house cleaned up after I returned to a DISASTER. Who knew a small kitten could do so much damage. It was disgusting and awfully messy when I returned after 3 nights away from home. This little kitten is so needy. She wakes me up everyday for feeding at 6ish... Then constantly has to be with me and cries when I don't give her every ounce of my attention but I guess that is ok because she loves me and even though sometimes when I go to sleep I'm alone, she's always with me and for the moment without Fleas.

In other news, Today I went to the market and did some serious shopping. I bought Veggies which are currently sitting in Chlorine in order to be edible. I bought 2 knives, a pineapple and some HONEY! However, I'm not so sure about the honey. It tastes like syrup... processed syrup. But maybe that was just because it isn't as good as Woodland Ave Honey. I don't know. I'm pretty sure it's not syrup. It looks like Honey. and Syrup would be more expensive than Honey and I only paid 10Q for the bottle... So we'll see. I'll try again. I really am going to try to start a Honey project with my friend who is working on a Tea Farm in Alta Verapaz. That could be really fun and a nice chance to perfect my bee skills. They are definitely rusty.

I guess things are moving along slowly but surely and I'll try to keep you guys updated on my happenings but I mean not a lot happens. Anyway, love and miss.

HONEY

My widdle baby that drives me crazy

Little Manchitas loves to Cholorinate veggies

Let's hit the highlights...

-Manchitas, the cat formerly known as Lady Sadie Pickles is doing very well. she's growing a lot and learning that not all humans were put on this planet to terrorize her. In fact whenever I'm home she enjoys spending most of her time at my side, perching on my shoulder or on top of the computer and getting her paws on anything she shouldn't. It's really cute if I do say so myself. She does have a strange fascination with the toilet... It's gross. Betty suggested I litter train her to use it. vamos a ver?

-The other day I accidentally put the chair on Maria's foot. She squawked like crazy and still can't put weight on it. I think this happened Sunday. Now her poor foot is all black and disgusting. I feel bad but she still tries to attack my toesies so I guess now she knows how it feels to have an injured foot. DP and DM have assured me that they have done this many times themselves and that I shouldn't feel bad.

-This upcoming Friday the new volunteers swear in. It's pretty exciting. First of 6 groups to pass through before I COS (close of service). I can't believe that much time has passed already and I find myself feeling like such a vet when it comes to the life of a PCV in Guatemala. Still got lots to learn and more to see/do. Next week our training group will be reunited for RECONNECT, which is after the first 3 months of service and we all come back together for more training and language classes. Fun times!

-I've recently had some "breakthroughs" at work. It really is amazing how going to a school and seeing some little 4th graders wash their hands will really turn around your day. The same difference when you are sitting outside the school bathroom and the kids come out to wash their hands but there isn't any water. It's pretty heartbreaking. All for the sake of washing your hands a habit that I think even lots of Americans are lacking. Today I also made about 20 new friends. Man do I miss the 4th grade. They all keep asking me words in English which is usually pretty annoying but for some reason it was so precious. Cause I would say a word and then they would try to repeat it with completely the wrong emphasis. It was interesting to hear the English words how they heard them. They also loved my hair which has gotten kind of long and pretty blondeish... I made the mistake of wearing my hair down so I was getting lots of great hair dos... Hopefully my next blog won't be about lice infestation but it actually felt worth it. Feeling a connection to these kids even for like an hour was really nice but it made me have second thoughts about how my job is supposed to work. I love the hands on interaction with children but I really don't get that now. But it's all still beginning and we'll see how many more friends I make.

-LOVE THE MAIL!!!! I have been receiving lots of mail recently and it really makes my day. So sweet of everyone to send me anything. It is so nice to walk into the post office and have Don Luis tell me there is something for me. So I just want to say thanks and that slowly my confidence in the mail system is growing and I'll try to send some snail mail home.

Anywho, I think that is the highlight for now. Love and miss you all so much and love hearing from you. love love love

Obviously the best dressed award goes to me and Evan

Alrighty, so it has finally come and gone... the 4th of July passed with a big bang and was probably one of my favorite memories so far here in Guate. The build up was pretty huge. A big party with 220+ of your closest "american" friends, how could you not be excited? It was a weekend of reuniting and it helped me realize how much my life has changed these first 3 months of service. I've been feeling like things are going well and life seemed pretty normal. I had forgotten about the tourist haven that is Antigua and how much fun it is to go there with 220+ of your closest friends. It made me realize how much I love a lot of my training group and how much I miss them. We will be reunited again soon but until then it's back to work. I've moved upstairs into my apartment so it's time to organize and get that taken care of. Also this little kitten of mine goes through separation anxiety every time I leave hence right now she is sitting on my lap. Overall things are good. I feel like I really celebrated the 4th well this year and I'm excited for the upcoming weeks.

Also Happy 6 months in country!!!

VACATION TIME!!!!! Well not really but for the next week there is no school in our district. So it's pretty much vacation even though it feels like there is lots to do. Last week we had our big meeting and it went surprisingly well. YAY! We found out that we really have a lot of support from our schools and our superintendent. That is really exciting and motivating. Although it is still hard trying to adjust to our crazy schedule (meaning no school, then we have miscellaneous Peace Corps things when there is school) but I guess that's why the first year really is all about adjustment. I'm getting used to the schedule but it is going to be even weirder during "summer vacations" at the end of the year but that's a long ways a way, no need to worry yet. I've been painting these last few days and recruiting the help of any unsuspecting PCV neighbors. It is moving along well. Just that I'm too cheap to buy painters tape; which is causing a few splotches here and there but I mean it's not supposed to be perfect right? I like places with a little character. Hopefully tonight or tomorrow morning I will be finishing and then pictures will be up soon of my really cute apartamento. Next week is the 4th of July, which is a big (Peace Corps) holiday! I'm excited because I feel like I haven't really celebrated the 4th in a long time, always been working at camp but this year should be fun to celebrate our nation's birth with a bunch of other Americans in Guatemala. More on that later.

Also in about 1 week, I will have been living in Guatemala for 1/2 a year! I can't believe it! So exciting and crazy! I've never been away from home for this long but things are starting to look up here and I've found that my homesickness comes in waves. Like when I receive letters or packages from home! or when I look at all the "work" I'm putting into making this apartment my own and remember that within 21 months, I'll be gone and someone else will be here to change it. It's kinda sad to think about but exciting too! I'm really learning a lot about the passage of time and hopefully coming to a conclusion about what I want to do and who I want to be.

Some other sad news is that Don Pedro's mother passed away this week. It is very sad and although it was rather unexpected the family seems to be doing well. It was very hard for me to see Don Pedro so upset. Today he was cutting up an onion for lunch and I asked him if it was going to make him cry and he said "Ya no hay lagrimas, Lauren..." Which means there are not any more tears. It is so heartbreaking. But it was also very interesting to see how the funeral process works here. She died on Tuesday and Tuesday night there was a wake. At a Guatemalan wake everyone is invited over to the house of the deceased. The family of the deceased prepares food and then all of the guests pray almost all night long. Then on Wednesday we went to a special mass at the Catholic Church. It was really neat because everyone walks from the house and they carry the coffin to the Church. Then after mass, the walk to the cemetery. This funeral was very moving because there were a lot of people and the tradition of walking to the cemetery was very beautiful. The people that didn't come but were passed in the street still paused as a sign of respect. It made me think about funerals in the US and how we always hate getting stuck behind a funeral procession and those are in cars, Imagine if everyone in town walked down all the streets for funerals? It made me wonder how and why traditions change?

Anywho, that has been the majority of the excitement the past few days. Trying to be supportive of Don Pedro and Dona Mercedes while trying to get my own life in order; ready for the adventures of the upcoming week. love love love and send good thoughts for Don Pedro and Dona Mercedes.

So Uncle Steve told me to update and I guess it's about time I do so. Things are moving along ok. We are still recovering from the storm, with the changes in schedules, the crazy traffic when traveling, and the continuing rain of the rainy season ; but overall things are ok. I was really starting to get a schedule going and that just crumbled but hopefully things will start to shape up again. June and July are going to be pretty busy. I'm at about 5 and 1/2 months! Can't believe it. Betty went home for the weekend for her brother's high school graduation. It was hard for me to be here without her. It's kinda of funny because we are very close but I mean we don't spend every waking moment together but there was something about the fact that I couldn't spend every waking moment with her that made this weekend so odd. Anywho, today she's back and I'm glad. Hopefully now we will be able to return to some type of system and schedule and normal life... for Guatemala that is.

My host family is telling me that by the end of the week they will be done with the apartment. I'll believe that when I see it but I'm getting pretty excited. We are going to get some paint tomorrow(how fun!) I think I'm going to have a blue room, a yellow room, and a turquoise green room. I know that sounds like a lot of rooms but once I get everything painted I'll take some pictures and then it will make sense. I'm excited to finally have my own space and to get to play with my cat and just not have to think about every action I make all the time. For example right now my room is right across from the kitchen so every morning when I get up... I can't just go to the bathroom. I have to greet everyone... I bet you are like "Wow, that doesn't sound so annoying." But it is. It is just nice to know you can get up go to the bathroom and go back to bed without worry. Without having to make small talk, which Guatemalans are good at and I normally don't like but have fallen into the habit. It makes me feel less awkward.

This week we have a big meeting with all of our directors as well as our program director and project specialist. I'm pretty nervous. It will be 4 hours long with lots of talking, food, and just stress. Hopefully, it will be helpful and a good way to get our program information out there right before the mid-year vacations. Anywho, not much is happening in my life right now but I'm thinking this week things are really going to start picking up and before I know it, 6 months will be here. Thanks for all the support and love from home. It's making it's way here and helping me through the days. love love love

PS SKYPE ME!

So you can never be too prepared. That's what I learned this week. Really life is always unexpected and I think even moreso in Guatemala. It was so wonderful to have Tyler visit for the past week and it just makes me so proud to have such a great little brother. Seriously any and all problems that could have arose did and amazingly we are still friends and I think we had a pretty good time. But let's start at the beginning. So arrival in Guatemala with a nice first meal in Guatemala City and then being welcomed by my wonderful host family was a great way to start the trip. Although my host dad was in the hospital for a few days, Dona Mercedes greeted us with a delicious dinner and we were able to get some sleep. Little did we know the Volcano Pacaya was errupting, closing the airport and causing lots of problems for the southern part of the country, we peacefully fell asleep to the gentle rain. We woke up on Friday, light rain and ready to begin our weekend away to the Lake. Tyler becoming a pro in public transport, we hopped on to three different camionetas to arrive in Panajachel, a small town on Lake Atitlan. Super cute, even in the rain. As the rain picked up, our spirits stayed happy and we took a small boat across the lake to a very pretty hotel. We felt so cool because we got the guys to knock a few Q off the price, and all the other gringos got the rip. Anywho, arrived at the hotel, checked in. It is very neat, lots of stairs that were a little scary in the rain. We decided to not let the rain keep us down and we went swimming. Pretty fun, then a family style dinner where we met some other travelers. Who were supposed to be hiking Pacaya... We had some nice chats with them and then crashed the hotels hot tub that is heated by real fire. Pretty sweet. It was nice to be on the lake and in the pretty hot tub at night, in the rain later to be known as AGATHA.

We went to sleep Friday night, to the gentle rain and woke up the next morning to even more rain. Although the Casa del Mundo is a beautiful hotel that really gives you a nice secluded feel, it's not nice in the rain. There was not a lot to do, so we decided we needed to get out of there. After 12 hours we were already feeling like Jack in the shining and didn't need to take our chances. Just to make sure we weren't already scared enough, during breakfast we saw a landslide just a little bit away from the hotel and the rain was continuing. We did make some new friends during breakfast from Durham, NC. Artists traveling through, they decided to stay the night but we were ready to get out of there. So we went to the dock and waited. Everyone was telling us different answers, "No more boats are coming" or " A boat will be here in 15 minutes." The conflicting answers were not comforting. We even had the comfort of seeing someone from the hotel rig up one of their boats and take a man with an umbrella somewhere... Under a tarp. This hotel man also did not appear to know how to drive a boat, so I'm glad we waited. Eventually, another boat showed up and we got on to return to Panajachel. Upon arrival the rain had really picked up. The streets were starting to flood. We went to a hostal, dropped off our stuff and went on a quest for lunch. During lunch, we were freezing and beginning to realize that we could be stuck on the lake for a while. Also, that our hostal had nothing for means of entertainment. So we proceeded to search for a hotel with TV. We found it and moved from our hostal to a more secure and entertaining location. After a few trips out to get water, uno cards, and some snacks. We ventured out for dinner. As the power was going in and out and the streets were at about 6 inches of water, I was starting to freak. Luckily my brother and partner are the two most laid back people on earth, causing me to worry enough for the 3 of us.

In our hotel room, we played uno, watched some tv until the power cut out and eventually fell asleep. In case your wondering Betty won most of the uno games. The next day we woke up and it was sunny! Imagine our shock. We went exploring around Panajachel, which had a lot of destruction. The river in town was flooded, lots of bridges, homes and trash. The lake which is usually a pretty clear green was full of wood and trash. The river had people all over the place looking for wood and other goods. We ventured up to Solola, despite everyone and their mother telling us that there was not going to be passage for 3 days. We went and stayed the night with other volunteers and to have a bit of change of scenery. The next day we returned to Panajachel, and 2 other volunteers came to visit with us as well. Then as Peace Corps was telling us that the roads were still not safe to head back to Tecpan... The three of us got a terrible case of food poisoning. I don't know if words should describe how sick we were but it was awful. AWFUL! Gut wrenching... I don't think we will be eating pupusas for a long time. Tuesday was spent in a nicer hotel just trying to recuperate. It was not a good day for any of us. Not only were we feeling terrible but we were running out of money.

Had to ask the parents to wire us some money, such a pain. It was much appreciated but the act of recollecting the money was pretty difficult of course, why would anything go as planned on this trip? So as I walk into Western Union, I begin to process the transaction, let's just say that the ID I have issued by PC, is so frustrating. For some reason people always give us crap for not having our passports and I'd just like to say "REALLY GUATEMALA? I can't walk around without worrying that my $10 crappy cell phone might get stolen, do you think I'm going to carry around a US Passport,( we were told it was worth $10,000 on the black market) when I don't absolutely need it?" Anyway, after talking with her supervisor and telling me that she can't process the transaction, I was so frustrated. I had been sick, I was stuck, my little bro was supposed to be having a great trip, we had no money, so I cried. I told the woman that they told my mom there would be no problem with this ID and now I'm stuck here with out money. I fully believe crying is a much better option than getting angry, because guess who got the money? After this transaction, it was time to travel to XELA. Another city that PC felt would be safer and make it easier for us to make the journey home.

At this point, we were so tired and just wanted to be home. NEVER ONLY PACK THE ESSENTIALS CAUSE YOU ARE GOING TO NEED MORE. Also, always bring a credit card. In Xela, we met up with some other volunteers and had delicious hamburgers. I think the best I've had in Guatemala. Although, pain was felt later, too heavy and too soon after the pupusas, they were so good. Thursday, was spent doing laundry, and we went to the movies. Saw Robin Hood. Then recieving the most wonderful news in the world Friday we could go home. Finally. We watched the Celtics Lakers game in the hostal, went to bed and got ready for the journey home... 5 days later than anticipated. Leaving in the morning we got home. The road is still in bad shape. So much earth in the middle of the road. What was 4 lanes, now 2. Chimaltenango was one of the departments the worst hit and we'll see how long it takes to clean up. Very sad, but luckily no one we directly know was hurt or harmed. After eating lunch, we took showers, and naps and felt 10000 times better. The host fam was so happy to see us and to officially see Tyler. After getting a good night's sleep, Saturday morning was spent exploring for souvenirs and getting ready to head to Guatemala City so Tyler could catch his flight. Saying goodbye was hard. I don't think I can explain in words how wonderful Don Pedro and Dona Mercedes are. They are already waiting for Tyler to come back and I think they spent about 20 hours with him total in their house. They are just so kind and sweet and one of my favorite things about my life in Guatemala.

A relaxing ride to the capital ending in the wonderful Westin Camino Real hotel. Although, the trip had many low points... this hotel has the most comfortable beds and best shower I've had in Guatemala, it was very worth it... Who knows if only the crazyness of the week made the hotel even better but it was a great night to relax and allow Tyler to get ready for his trip home and me my return to Peace Corps life. I can officially say I had the best shower yet since being in Guatemala and a pretty great night's sleep... So anyone who comes to visit, we should stay there for sure. SO NICE!

Then today was the journey home after a stop at super walmart (Hiper Paiz) to get some necessities like batteries and glue. Now I'm home, reflecting on the crazy week. It was insane to be in the midst of a natural disaster, be scared but then have nothing too terrible happen to you and then to see all the destruction and suffering that surrounds you. Pretty surreal. Anywho, it was so nice to have my little brother here for a week. It made me realize how much I miss him and how proud I am of him. Ty, you are the best and I love you so much. I hope you make it back soon and I know 2 weeks from now, this will be the funniest week of our lives... right?

Arrival in Airport.

volcano erruption to close airport.

Non-stop rain on trip to Lake.

Stuck in rainstorm at the lake.

swimming in rainstorm.

stuck in hotel.

flooded streets.

Scary landslide road.

HUGE WATERFALL.

Stuck in hotel again due to food poisoning.

Moving to another town due to possible future storm.

Money wiring.

Crying to get money that was wired.

And it's only Wednesday.

All are safe. Will update the real story in time.

So, things have been moving along. Still slow, still a bit confusing but it's already May 12. These past few days have involved lots of festivities due to mother's day. Yes Mother's day is celebrated here and is always May 11th. Since it fell on a Tuesday this year, there was celebrating from Friday until today. I bought my host mom some flowers and gave her a scarf. Something little but I felt it was a nice gesture. Dona Mercedes y Don Pedro really are like my Guatemalan parents. Although I treasure the bond that I have with my training community family, I spend a lot more time with the two of them

A) because I have more time and

B) there are only two of them instead of 11.

I am hoping to make a trip back to visit my training family soon enough. I'm excited!

Sadie is getting bigger by the day. The other night I tried to let her sleep in my bed. Bad idea. She was so confused and she just kept running around. She also has the loudest meow out of all the kittens and everyone loves to comment on it. Oh Lauren, your kitten cries so loud and so much. Thank you Captain Obvious, I can hear here too. Also I'm still going to take her so don't worry. Anyway I had to put her outside because she was driving me crazy, such a loving owner I'm turning out to be huh? Honestly, once I have my personal space it won't be as big of a deal but for right now... not looking good.

As for work, with the recent holiday school has been a bit difficult to navigate. Today there was a director (principals) meeting our town. Although our CTA did not advise us about this meeting nor invite us to attend we thought it would be a good idea to just stop by and present ourselves again to all the directors... Well we showed up this morning really nervous. I mean you really have to get over the American sense of making appointments and schedules because Guatemalans live in the here and now; not in the I'm busy how bout next Thursday at 4? After realizing that it is normal to fly by the seat of your pants; you have to get over being afraid of appearing rude. For example, showing up to a meeting uninvited is not really seen as rude. In the states you would never just barge into your bosses office demanding to speak to everyone about your job, but here it's a little different. Although, they might not love the fact that you barge in on their meeting and interrupt the schedule; in the end it really doesn't matter. Usually the meetings never start on time and adding you in is a lot easier than it seems but it definitely feels uncomfortable when you just go for it. Anywho, back to the meeting. So we show up and we are feeling nervous but I mean we feel like we are doing the right thing. As we are waiting around for the meeting to start, we run into a director from one of our schools. After marathon introductions we ask her:

"What exactly is this meeting for?" THANK GOODNESS WE ASKED THIS QUESTION.

The response was something along the lines of "Well when someone dies and they go to heaven, they leave all of their money for their kids. We are having this meeting to discuss the recent death of one of the maestros (teachers) in Tecpan." The look on mine and Betty's faces must have been ridiculous. We just tried to crash a will reading! Are you joking? Immediately we decided we better leave and we were so embarrassed we had to tell ourselves to walk slowly so that it wasn't obvious to all the directors that we were running away. It's kinda funny when you think about it, but definitely embarrassing.

In other news I've bought a bed. What an adventure. Monday I went around to observe the sales for Mother's day and found a bed for 1195Q (approx 150 US$) I hope it's nice. I can't sleep on it because there is no space in my room for it, or for them to move out their bed that I'm sleeping on now. It's kinda sad but it's going to make my first night in the new apt on that brand new bed so wonderful. Although knowing my luck by that time I will be so used to sleeping on the bed that has a mountain in the middle the new bed will seem really uncomfortable. I guess that's how life goes and if that's my biggest problem, I'm ok with it. I'm hoping that sooner rather than later that apt. is going to be finished. The work is at a standstill, hence the buying of things that I can't fit in my room, to motivate them to get down to business!

Today Betty and I also met the mayor and the head doctor of our local health center. Thanks to Don Pedro who literally knows anybody who is anybody in Tecpan! We were able to meet two important people relatively painlessly and start a "business relationship" because in the future we will most likely have to annoy them for money, advice, and other general help. In this day of presentations we also stopped by the post office. The man who works there is so nice and I had mail! I strongly suggest mailing to the Tecpan address I sent out in an email. I will most surely get the mail and it seems to be way faster then going through the other office. So with that being said, I'd love some mail and I'm going to try to send some tester letters out. I sent out 5 in January and nobody received one... I'm a little discouraged about the mail system here but today restored hope and maybe in the future you will receive a letter all the way from Guatemala.

I think these are the most exciting things to date. The baby shower was successful and I'm contemplating trying to make pizza or some type of food this weekend for the host fam. Need to start practicing cause in a month and a half I'll really have to grow up and start cooking for myself. love love love.

So I'm beginning to realize that in my free time here I'm constantly thinking about A)what I might want to do when my service is over or B) things that I miss from the states or C)experiences I wish I could do over again. This past week I have been remembering how this time in the past two years I was doing some pretty crazy and exciting things. Last year was my last week of college and I was writing all of these crazy-long papers (one of which was all about Guatemala-foreshadowing?) and getting ready for graduation. I can't believe I graduated a year ago. Time goes by so fast. This time two years ago I was finishing my semester abroad in Salamanca... that feels like ages ago. I was finishing one of my favorite semesters of college and doing a little bit of traveling. I miss that semester a lot. I love Spain. This leads to topic A) I'm thinking that I really want to go back there after my service and just spend some more time studying (and playing) in Spain, my first country home away from home.

But back the the right now, I just can't believe that I am in Guatemala. 4 months into service and 23 to go. 23 months sounds like a lot but it also sounds a lot less than 27. The three months of training flew by and so has the first month in site but it is a weird passage of time. Sometimes the days feel like they drag on forever and that I'm not accomplishing much but then I look at my calendar and the month is over. I feel like my concept of time is completely skewed. I spend the day running miscellaneous errands related to work or daily need and end up not feeling like I've done many things of substance. Then it is night time and I'm really tired and wondering what happened to the day and what exactly did I do. I'm worried that I've become either incredibly lazy or very Guatemalan. I guess I'm ok with both options. But I want to feel more productive with my days. There are 692 days left, not that I'm counting already but I just need to have so more things to do. I just have to keep reminding myself that all will happen in good time. Just have to be patient and let it ride.

Well today is my little kitten's one month birthday! How exciting... I think I've decided on the name (Lady) Sadie (Pickles) because I wasn't sure about Sadie but I just haven't gotten anything else... And I love Lady and Pickles as well, so all together I think it is a winning combination. Today was just your typical Tuesday. Meeting with our CTA and trying to get the last few schools out of the way so we can really begin to work with our program. I don't have too much exciting news. Betty and I are still just adjusting to life here. I've been spending my time doing some of the following:

1. Watching 30 Rock

2. Buying house items such as tables or baskets to hold things (table count- 2 Baskets-4)

3. Poster and Project Planning for introducing Healthy Schools

4. Sleeping with my awesome down comforter

5. Planning to begin my Mayan Kakchikel lessons as well as teaching English to my host dad and his grandchildren

6. Making skype dates... we should chat!

7. Thinking about other things I should buy for my new Apartment

8. Planning a baby shower for this weekend with my host mom for her niece.

I think that's the most exciting news for now. Just trying to take things one day at a time still and getting ready for more adventures. Lots of love to the states... and send birthday wishes to Lady... I really hope I don't become a crazy cat lady at 23... or ever!

Well, it has been a long weekend seeing as I went out to Huehuetenango to visit some of my other volunteer friends. Although I spent 3 hours on a bus to get out there it was worth it. The story of how this visit came about is pretty cute if I do say so myself. Early this week my friend Javi called me and suggested I come up to visit his department (Huehuetenango) to visit with him and other friends including one of my closest friends Kristin. The surprise to this visit is that we didn't tell Kristin I was coming. Her birthday is in May and we both have been going through some separation anxiety. I mean you get pretty close with your training town and the fact that mine is spread all over Guate (we are all in different departments) is really hard sometimes. Claire, Kristin, Brent, and I were really lucky to form some real friendships... We even bought matching bracelets. That's true love. Anyway, Operation Surprise Kristin began Friday when I left my site after doing some miscellaneous work in the morning and I began my 3 hour journey to Javi and Megan's site. I was excited about going on my trip for a number of reasons but one of my main goals was to actually travel somewhere in Guatemala by myself. Considering what has happened in the past few weeks and the fact that I sometimes feel vulnerable and scared I was really excited to tackle the mission of managing some camionetas alone (well I had the advice of my surprise planners). I successfully got the buses I needed to get me to the right place and it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I even made some nice friends on the bus who advised me the best spots to get off and how much I should pay for my trip. I really regained some confidence and hope that this little adventure will help me to feel more comfortable. Anywho, after reuniting with Javi and Megan we went into Huehuetenango to wait for Kristin and her partner Damian to arrive. The irony of this situation is that everyone knew I was coming except Kristin. There was a fear that Damian might ruin the surprise by accident, which would have been a bummer. There was also the fact that Thursday Kristin was having second thoughts on coming into town on Friday. I had to convince her without giving away the surprise. It was really hard.

We awaited our guests in the Taco Mansion, which despite it's name is really delicious and obviously cheap. I was properly disguised (sunglasses and sweatshirt with hood) while Javi guarded the door so we would be ready for their arrival. When the moment of truth came I hid behind a corner while Javi greeted our guest and dropped something along the lines of "Hey Kristin. How's it going? I just wanted to tell you I got you an early birthday present. It just came in today." Kristin was thinking he ordered her tacos already so she was really shocked when I jumped out from the corner and yelled "Surprise!" It was such a great moment. It was so good to see her and to see the look of complete surprise on her face. There may have been a few tears; definitely some laughs and then some delicious tacos. The rest of Friday was spent passing the time and catching up. It is amazing how much you miss people and how great it is to see them and hear even the most minuscule details of their lives.

Saturday we went into Huehue again for a day at the local swimming pools with other volunteers. While walking to catch our bus, we ran into Claire. So 3/4 of our training town were reunited and it felt so good. We really were heart broken that Brent wasn't there but he was in spirit. The day was spent relaxing, chatting, and just enjoying the company of people that you may not have realized how much you care about and rely on. Saturday night we went out dancing for a little bit only to wake up this morning realizing that it was already time to say goodbye. I really enjoyed seeing some of my friends that I hadn't seen in a WHOLE MONTH!

It was nice to return home to my bed(which has the reverse of a valley... the middle of my bed is a hump that I have to sleep directly on top of otherwise it pushes me off -Besides the point but an interesting visual-). I was happy to return home and see my host family; which I should probably backtrack about. Thursday night the three of us had a very sweet conversation. They told me that they already consider me like a daughter and they are here to help me with anything. They said you have your family at home and your friends here but we are here to take care of you anytime you need it. We already accept you as part of the family and we want you to be happy. I really cannot describe in words how cute and sweet they are.

So all and all it was a wonderful weekend. I got to see good friends, talk with my family, even fit in a few skype dates with the home-front. I'm ready for another week who knows what it will include. Lots of love.

So never refuse an invitation, never resist the unfamiliar, never fail to be polite, and never outstay your welcome. Just keep your mind open and suck in the experience; and if it hurts, it's probably worth it.

"I simply cannot understand the passion that some people have for making themselves thoroughly uncomfortable and then boasting about it after wards." -Patricia Moyes

I just found this quote and find it so applicable to life right now. Just yesterday three of us PCVs went out to breakfast and we had a long chat about everything that is going on in our lives. We concluded that we have signed on to spend the next two years of our lives living in vulnerability and feeling pretty dang uncomfortable at times. I don't think this is really a bad thing, it's just not what I expected. I knew that joining the PC was going to be a life changing experience and that I would feel uncomfortable at times. I just didn't realize to what extent or how I would feel uncomfortable. I mean I have lots of things that I have in the United States, I guess at the end of the day it is just accepting that I'm in Guatemala and life is completely different here. Sure there are cell phones, internet, Mcdonald's and even Wal-Mart. But it's not the same. I find myself missing the things I didn't even realize made me comfortable, like eating breakfast when I want to or taking a shower without flip flops on, or knowing that my best friends and families are a quick phone call or drive away. I think it is the little things that make life in Guatemala hard and challenging.

Of course all of these "challenges" seem worthwhile when you have small interactions that remind you why you are here. For example today I went up the street to buy some more minutes for my phone. I went to this small store that I have gone to a few times to buy miscellaneous supplies and I usually have a brief "how are you?" conversation with the little lady that works there. Today my little tienda lady, I'm not sure how old she is, asked me where I was from? I think this means that she is starting to "trust" me and is curious as to why this gringa has come to her store for the past few weeks. Anyway, I responded Virginia. There was a bit of silence followed by "Well what are you doing here?" I attempted to explain Peace Corps and my job and I think she got it. It is hard for Guatemalans to understand exactly what Peace Corps is for lots of reasons.

1. They don't understand why you would ever leave your country, family, and friends to live in another place all alone.

2. It is hard to distinguish PC from other groups that come down and just give things away to Guatemalans, while we are here to try to live like them, live with them, and encourage them to make changes on their own. (SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT)

Anyway, I'm not sure if my new friend understood exactly what was going on but she did get that I will be here for 2 years and I told her that I would use her tienda for all of my miscellaneous needs. This made her happy and it made me remember that we aren't just here to work for Peace Corps. We are here to know Guatemalans and share our cultures. And I know it might be a bit cheesy but it made me really happy to have this brief interaction because I could tell that she noticed I was here and she was curious as to why. It made me feel good and reminded me that I do have a purpose here in Guatemala even if it is small or only includes supporting a small business owner for the next two years.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that although things have been rough lately, I can find something positive from everyday that I spend in Guatemala, I just have to look in the right places.

So, I know that I said I named my cat Sadie but I'm just not sure how I feel about it... Betty was also pretty set on Marvin but now she is feeling (Sir)Blacksburg Cheese. The Sir is my addition I just feel like cats are regal and calling them Sir makes any name better. Anyway, we were hoping for some suggestions to name our cats because we realized that these are our first pets on our own, usually it comes down to a family vote. I know it's hard to think of names without seeing an animal and its personality but any and all suggestions are welcome. It's a big responsibility we have...

So today things are going much better. It is amazing how my little cell phone, a good night´s sleep and some delish refried beans can really make me feel better. I spent the morning catching up with some friends and I just feel a lot better about the whole situation. Also the massive amounts of emails and messages of support I have recieved are so wonderful. It´s so nice to hear from loved ones at home and remember that even though I feel alone sometimes, I´m really not alone.

I know that within a matter of weeks things will be better and maybe I´ll even be laughing about how the past week went. Last night I also had a great conversation with my host family and they helped me realize how wonderful Guatemalans can be. I explained to them the three goals of Peace Corps and how important I found the 2nd and 3rd goals to be: ie the exchange of cultural ideals and practices not only with Guatemalans but with my friends and family back home. They thought that was so exciting and interesting. They are so open to new experiences and really are a great support for me here. Today they invited me to a wedding but I really just need some more time to decompress from all that has been going on but next weekend is the Fiesta... they have already advised me about it, so that I can´t make any other plans. It should be fun. It is for someone in the neighborhood so I´m sure it will be a good way to get my face out there, so that next time maybe my Guatemalan neighbor can come to my rescue... or at least cause a little diversion.

As far as animal adventures in my home, today we recieved two new birds. ¨Doves from the Peten¨ Let´s just say Maria is pretty jealous. She also gets jealous of me. Last night she bit my toes... it really hurt. and it´s still hurting. But anyway, between the new doves and all the kittens Maria is very angry. She walks around the house squaking and puffing up her feathers and biting people´s toes. She´s crazy.

Anywho, life is going slowly but surely still and I feel like things can only go up from here. I´m getting ready to head home and eat a delish bowl of cereal and yogurt cause the host fam is out! Then I´ll probably watch a movie... or two and snuggle with Sadie. Thanks again for all the love, it really makes me feel a lot better.

Well, I'm sorry for the lack of post and feel that this one may be a bit of a downer but I'm letting out so you guys can help me get over it. Adjusting to life in Tecpan is getting past the fun honey moon stage and starting to get a little hard. I'm really starting to miss the nice things at home and hearing about the good times friends and family are having< makes me a little sad. Although, our job is going well and our CTA is really a great worker and we have a mutual respect level. We have already been to 10 schools!!! That's really exciting and we think within the next month we will really be starting our job and getting down to business. These first few visits are just to show us where we are working and present us to the schools with some authority. Things are just moving slowly and I think that's what I have to get used to.

I really love spending time with my host family, they are really sweet and nice people. I will just be ready to move into the apartment sooner rather than later. Living with a host family has so many benefits and I know I will be really happy in the end with the relationship that forms between us. I'm just at a time where I am sick of being at the mercy of what they want to do or eat. I don't like feeling like I have to respond to them whenever I want to do something. I also think my body is getting sick of all the food I keep stuffing in it. Because even when they say I don't have to eat it, I have to eat it. I have cut tortillas out of my diet and I think that has made me feel a lot better. Also Betty and I joined the local gym... If you can call it that. 100Q a month for a few bikes, some weights, old school ellipticals... But it's something right? We have done a good job of starting a bit of a fitness plan, so that's good. At least I have control over something.

To make matters worse. I got robbed the other day. No need to panic or worry. Everyone says it is a freak accident. It was terrifying but I'm ok and I'm not going to let some gross, jerky, guatemalan masked-man scare me. It was just the cherry on top of my very homesick Tuesday and I don't wish that experience on anyone. But I'm going to learn from it and things will be ok.

I guess all I really want to say at this point is that things are going. Slowly but surely. The first three months are the hardest but I know I can do it. Any postive thoughts or words of advice are welcome. I'm just going to take everything one day at a time and I'm sure before I know it life here will feel so normal and great.

The postive news is that my kitty opened her eyes and she's probably the cutest ever. I've named her Sadie and I can't wait to snuggle in my purple bedroom... All this free time leads to lots of planning.

love and miss you all.

So I fell off the face of the earth and landed in Tecpan. Things have been so busy but then not at the same time. Betty and I arrived extremely sweaty and sunburnt on Saturday March 27 and we really learned the "best" way to travel on a camioneta.

We spent are first night saying goodbye to the volunteer we are replacing. It was sad because over the short time we have known her we have become friends and we know we have some big shoes to fill. Then we headed over to my host family's house. Don Pedro y Dona Mercedes are probably the cutest people I have ever met. They are an older couple complete with pet bird maria who walks around the house eating tortillas just like the rest of us. So also enjoys an occasional toe so beware! As well as manchas the pregnant cat who just gave birth on Sunday to 4 little cuties... two of which have been claimed by Betty and myself... we're working on names. Any and all suggestions are welcome.

The first week of residence was full of festivities for Semana Santa... The huge Catholic holiday leading up to Easter. Lots of special guests and commotion because DP and DM make alfombras in front of their house. I don't really know how to explain alfombras except that they are really beautiful sand/sawdust things that you put in the street for the Processions of Jesus to walk through. Ours featured a Peacock and it was a really fun all day Good Friday event. Saturday we had a bbq lunch at Betty's host fam's land. We passed the afternoon chatting with them and we met SueEllen's parents. She is the other volunteer of Healthy Schools that lives in Tecpan and will be leaving in 2 weeks. We are sad to see her go but are taking advantage of spending time with her. We went for a hot second to the ruins of Iximiche where we had our Mayan Ceremony back in Feb. Little did Betty and I know we would be living in Tecpan... We came here 2 during training and I never thought I would be living here. Pleasant surprise. Sunday was delicious breakfast day in El Pedregal. This super delish restaurant close by. Linda and Abra met up with us and it was nice to see some familiar faces and learn how everyone was doing. We took our time enjoying breakfast and were thoroughly annoyed when Guatemalans literally sat at the end of our table to get us to leave. And people say Americans are rude. It is so hard sometimes to just bite your tounge and not say anything where as in the states you'd be all over telling those people to give you some space because you are paying customers. Asi es la vida.

Then Monday began offical work. Betty and I showed up at 8am to the Ministry of Education office with little to no expectations. We met with our CTA aka superintendent to actually meet him and plan out what is going to happen with this little job of ours. And he was surprisingly super supportive after some prodding and agreed to take us to all of the schools we will be working with. Then Tuesday we ventured out to 5 of them. Got our faces known, took some names and are ready to do it all again on Thursday. So work wise things are going well thus far.

I think I need to share why DP and DM are so wonderful. After dinner Monday night, we got to chatting and we started talking about home and I mentioned that I had a picture. So I went and got my photo album and we preceeded to look at all the photos for about an hour. They were asking me about who everyone was and trying to remember their names. They also think we have a beautiful house. Silly me wrote in the photo album "our little house" and they were like "WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?!?!" By American standards we do have a small house and I think the camera adds ten pounds so our house appears bigger than it really is. Also DP and DM have a decent sized house as well but it did really make me think appreciate what you have. Which I do, I love our house so much and miss the homy comfy feeling I get there. I'm hoping I will be able to bring some of that to my Guatemalan apartment. Anywho, back to remembering names. They kept asking me to repeat names. Mom they remember. Mama Linda, Dad you aren't so lucky. They couldn't remember you so they said Papa Lindo! I was peeing my pants laughing. Also Aunt Susan they got you as Tia Susan, Uncle Steve you are now Tio Susan. Isn't that the most precious thing you have ever heard? Clayton they got a little better than Tyler. Also Abuela Yoyce. It was just so sweet. I really adore them and I am so happy to be living with them. Lots of Spanish convos to be had and funny jokes. It's a pretty good time up in here.

As for the rest of the week, we'll see how it goes. Everything is an adjustment. Lots of Love. Miss you all.

Well, time has flown by... It´s already april. So much happened in March I can´t believe it. So here I am in site during semana santa just thinking about the whirlwind of the past few weeks. With site visit and swear in... so many exciting things happened it was hard to keep it all straight. It´s been pretty hot and kinda of sad to say goodbye to all of my trainee friends. We are so far apart. As for life here, things are good. My new host family is a sweet retired couple that I´m already in love with. I have my own room and bathroom and they let me eat with them. Dona Mercedes makes some pretty delicious beans... so I´m pretty happy. They are building a small apartment above their house and I´m hoping to move in there when it is finished. I´m really excited. This week is all about Semana Santa and Easter so there is not much work to be done. It is a strange transition from PCT to PCV but Betty and I are still trucking.

This friday we will be making an alfombra in front of my house and just using the holiday time to really get to know our host families and intergrate into our new Guatemalan community. I promise a better update next time but so far so good. Love you all and miss you too.

OK, so hi everyone from an internet cafe in Antigua! Wow has life been crazy. I have moved in with a new family and they are wonderful. I live in a small town near antigua and today we had spanish class here! It is just as neat as it sounds, cobblestone streets with volcanoes in the background. It´s crazy. Anywho, my days have been filled with classes and learning lots of new things. My family is wonderful. There are 10 people including myself. It is a bit crazy. They are so sweet and excited to have me, they have never had a PCT before so it is a new experience for both of us. I´m still rocking the bucket bath, the sarong is a lifesaver mom! I also bought a cellphone today. So i´m hoping to make some phone calls soon! It is really cheap to call from here, about 2 quetzales and 8 quetzales is a dollar. So things are nice and cheap.

Everyday I get up and I can´t really believe that this is my life now, I´ve been eating lots of beans and tortillas and this saturday, I´m going to learn how to make the tortillas. I´m excited. It is really fun here. I´m finding that my spanish is really improving and I can actually have conversations with my family and they are becoming my friends. Last night they made funny of me because I love the beans. And today we laughed at these other gringos that came to lunch at their house. It is kind of hard to explain but bascially people pay to go on tours through Guatemala and their tourist organizations pay for school supplies in the small pueblos in return the families have to host the tourists. It is weird. I feel like these tourists want to feel like they are having a real experience or are doing something to help people. It is a load of bs, excuse my french. But anyway when they left, my family and I made fun of them because this was the last time they had to host people. It is funny but kinda demented and annoying how people think they are being ¨worldly¨ but they are actually being really rude.

Anywho, in other news life is really good. I really miss everyone and I love hearing comments. Aunt susan, life here is awesome, you would love to take pictures, I think a visit is necessary. Mom and dad I think of you guys everyday... and it makes me admire you so much more for what great people you are. You have given so much in your lives... I hope to make you proud. Tyler, i guess you should be jealous of the weather, it´s nice. But it has been pretty cold and I spend most of my nights in long johns, sweats, hat, coat, vest, long sleeve shirt. The bed is ok in comfort but you know, i´m pretty young so no pains yet. Also, no sickness yet, although I am waiting. I know my time is coming. Teryn!! it was so good to hear from you! Please come to Guatemala! You will love it here and you will learn so much! and I would love to see you. Thanks for your thoughts, i miss you and hope all is well. Casey, if you are reading i´m thinking of you often, i miss you and I am looking forward to hearing even more about your adventures. PS we had the same staging coordinator, small world huh? Claire, miss you lots can´t wait to catch up and share adventures... CC and others, i miss you all and I promise more personal shout outs to come! Ah, mrs. Rupert thanks for the love! I´m thinking of you all, always. This is such a special experience and I´m so thankful to have your support as a part of it! Sara! te quiero!

I´m trying to think of any last life details. ummm, lots of beans and tortillas and sugar filled nescafe here! Also more info about my life as it comes. Poco a Poco as they say here! All is well.... con mucho amor

ok everyone! I am finally here and safe. Traveling was a long crazy day that began at 3 am but it was well worth it. Guatemala is so beautiful and the weather is really nice. I have been staying with a host family here and tomorrow I will move to my smaller training village. My thoughts are a bit disorganized at the moment and I do not even really know where to start. I guess with wednesday traveling it was a long day. We got here by 3 pm and then settled in to our new host families after a brief intro at the Peace Corps office. My first cena was spagetti with garlic bread. Then it was basically time for immediate sleep as the days leading up to traveling had been filled with very little! Then I woke up thursday morning and took my first bucket bath and it was fine. The water was hot and over our shower door you can see the mountains that surround our village. It is pretty beautiful here to say the least. Then we went to Cuerpo de Paz as our host family calls it and it is pretty much like school. We took spanish tests, got some shots, got to know each other a little and then had some general orientations. It is really neat because the weather here is so nice and everyday we are pretty busy. My host family is very friendly and it will be sad to leave them tomorrow. Today we had our first day of Spanish classes, some more shots, and are just getting ready to move into our training communities where we will take spanish classes for 6 hours a day! and learn about our jobs over the next 11 weeks. It is already harder than I thought it would be here but all is well. It is just a whirlwind of emotions and I am hoping that things will get better with everyday. I really miss everyone terribly and so far things are going well, except that it gets dark here pretty early but I mean that is ok. Lots of love from Guatemala... miss you so much!

Well, today was supposed to be pretty uneventful. I only needed a few minor toiletries and little things but of course in the amazing store known as target... I found things I needed that I didn't know I did. It started with some appropriate "business casual" clothes that I need tomorrow for staging. I hope I will wear them again. I also purchased a new carry on bag. It's red. That's what's important. Also, it's really really full, with three days of clothes to wear in Guatemala as well as the computer, camera, journal, etc. I really can't imagine how all of my stuff fits or how I couldn't bring something. So, it's going to be some interesting travel days.

Today was also full of emotional phone calls. I know I'm not saying goodbye forever, but it is still hard to say bye for a little while. I think it is the uncertainty that makes it hard. My tear ducts are also incredibly sensitive, so I cry at the drop of a hat. I think that I'm ready now but I'm not sure. Tomorrow should be just as eventful but hopefully more exciting.

Oh and I almost forgot the most crazy detail of today. After I had packed my two suitcases and moved them downstairs. We discovered that the wheel on one suitcase was broken. Requiring a trip out to purchase a new, larger, better suitcase. That allows my luggage to be even heavier! I hope I can manage and that I won't be cursing myself for being such a terrible packer. It was great to have mom to help me weed out the unimportant things, like my backpacking chair. I mean really what was I thinking?!?! Anyway, more news tomorrow!