What a week!

In the market!

At La Pedrera. This is Flori, Alejandra and Maribel.

On our way to La Pedrera, Xela in the background.

Me and my teacher Lucky on our way to the museum!

SALSA!!! so. fun.

Allie, my mama Judith, hermana Sara, and me in our dining room!

Taylor and I making chocolate. yum

Future housemates and I soaking up the sun in Panajachel.

The group at Lago Atitlan! A fabulous weekend.

Wow what a week it has been! I had no idea that I would be this busy in Guatemala but at last I have the opportunity to update about what I’ve been doing!

Last weekend we went to Panajachel, a town on the beach of Lake Atitlan, a Lake in the crater of an inactive volcano. It was about two hours away so we had ourselves a little mini vacation and stayed overnight in a hotel in the town. The city and the mountains were absolutely BEAUTIFUL and the city was beautiful as well. The market was so much fun, so much to look at, I wanted to buy everything and the only reason I didn’t is because I don’t have any room in my bag… We ate at the Papusaria and I had a spinach and cheese papusa that was sooo good. My friend Annie and I took a ride all around the town in this little red vehicle called a TukTuk and it was so much fun. We had a great conversation with our driver who was a 16 year old native named Jose. On Sunday we crossed the lake in a boat. It was a beautifully sunny day and the hour boat ride was almost perfect. The only reason it wasn’t was that I burned my face really badly…oops. We boated over to the island of Santiago and got to explore there and visit a huge church. There was a service happening and it was neat to see the religious differences in cultures. We had a mini lecture on mayan and catholic religious practices and then we were given more time to explore. We all got choco bananos (basically the best thing ever, some of us think we should start a choco banano stand when we get back) and then returned by boat to Panajachel. We made it back to Xela around 8 and got ready for another week of school!

Monday Allie and I woke up early and went on a run around Xela. We ran up one of the nearby hills and the view was spectacular. I felt such an incredible connection with God and was overwhelmed with gratefulness that he has given me this opportunity. After, we went to school. I am learning subjunctive tense, future and conditional, and prepositions. I have felt rather frustrated with Spanish this week because I feel like I am not improving but I just keep telling myself to stick with it and it will come in time.

Tuesday after class we got to learn how to make chocolate. We went to this woman’s house and she explained to us the entire process and after we got to mold the cocoa, pound it into bars, smooth it out, cut it, and then stamp it. Oh my, it was so fun. We also got to try hot chocolate that she had made and it was possibly one of the best things Ive ever drank.

On Wednesday we had a salsa dancing lesson in the afternoon. It was so incredibly funny seeing the guys in our group trying to salsa. The lady who was teaching kept using me as the example when she was showing the guys to dip and it was so fun to do it with her and then try doing it with the boys. No offense guys, but the teacher (who was only a little bigger than me) was way better…

That night we all went out salsa dancing at the La Parranda and my goodness it was fun! I danced with one of the salsa teachers there and I learned a lot!

This is me learning how to spin!

Lake Chikabal with Jen and Bree! This can go over our mantlepiece in our house next year :)

Thursday I went with my teacher to the Museo de Traje Tipico, which was a museum full of typical indigenous clothing throughout the ages and the machines they use to construct them. We had a tour of the museum and I really learned a lot. After school we hiked up to La Pedrera, an after school program for kids who need a place to be. I was working with the younger kids and I had the time of my life. The little girls were adorable and would cling on to me at every possible moment. They wanted me to play with their hair and give them piggy back rides and play play play. The boys liked to pull on my hair and play chase. We played kickball, did homework, and colored with crayons. At the end we handed out a snack we had brought them. For some of these kids this was the only food they would eat all day. Being there with those kids was such an eye opening experience and something I could definitely see myself doing in the future.

Friday my teacher and I went to the market. Never in my life have a seen so many fruits and vegetables. All along the street were mounds of fresh, locally grown fruits and veggies, bins of beans and rice and dried fruits and dehydrated fish and nuts. I could just feel the culture pulsing through my veins it was fantastic. I bought three huge mandarins, three apples and two plums for 15 quetzales. That is less than $2. It blows my mind that I can buy $10 worth of fruit for a mere two! And oh my the mandarins…de. lish. Friday afternoon we went to a hot springs in the mountains! It was like a big swimming pool but full of steamy water. I haven’t felt water that warm in weeks it was absolutely fantastic…

Saturday we woke up early and headed up to Lake Chikabal. We were all in the school bus driven by Don Luis. On our way up we had to drive up some pretty steep hills and the bus was having a very hard time. Finally it just came to a stop and Luis said ya no mas. No more. Haha so ten of us got out and started walking so the bus would be Fighter. The bus started again and was able to make it up but for ten of us the hike started early! The hike was absolutely beautiful. There were trees of every sort, bamboo, wild flowers, I felt like I was an adventurer in a beautiful volcanic jungle. We could see the volcano Santa Maria steaming in the distance and when we reached the summit we could see down into the crater where Lake Chikabal was located. Then we hiked down 589 steps (Kim´s sons counted) and arrived surface level at the lake. It was breathtaking. We could here voices singing and when we walked the perimeter of the lake we encountered several indigenous Mayan groups worshipping. It was unreal! That evening a bunch of us went to a professional soccer game at the Xela stadium. The game was between Guatemala City Municipal and the Xela Superchivos. Of coure we were rooting for the Superchivos and they won 3-0! Woohoo!
Sunday we went to Momostenango to the house of Telma and Luis. Telma and Luis come to Casa Xelaju (my school here) every day to sell their products to the students. We went up to their house to learn how they make everything, from shearing the sheep, combing the wool, spinning the thread, dying the thread and weaving the yarn into rugs, hats, purses, jackets and more. It was so interesting and I even got to spin some yarn! After we returned a bunch of us went to go get ice cream, we are trying to get our ice cream fix in before we are deprived in Honduras J I can´t believe Honduras is a mere week a way…

That was my week this week, it was fantastic and busy and I learned sooo much! I hope to post again before Honduras but if not it might be a while before I see a computer… AH!

I hope everyone is doing well!

Yay got some pictures to work!

I was able to load some pictures hoorah!

Our first day in Xela. This is all the girls in Parque Central.

This is when we walked up to a huge church on the hill, the view of Quezaltenango was incredible. After the service we spoke with the pastor for a couple of hours! I am learning so much...

Making tamales! Doña Isabel taught us how to make churchitos (mini tamales) and empenadas. Oh my goodness it was so much fun!

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Here we are with our tamales!

At the airport! Of course out of everyone on the trip guess who had the heaviest pack And the smallest girl is the winner ringing in at 46 pounds!



Me and my hermana nueva Allie! This is our first Guatemalan meal!



Estoy en Guatemala! Que Fantastico!

I am in Guatemala!
Wow what a week it has been. At last I have a few minutes to sit down at an internet cafe and let everyone know what I have been up to.
The journey here was looong but we made it. When we finally arrived in Guatemala we were all tired but SO excited. I absolutely couldnt wait to set foot outside, my first time outstide of the US woooo! We took a bus out of Guatemala City, stopped on the way to eat our first Guatemalan meal, and continued to Xela where we are all staying. At the restaurant Kim told us who we would be rooming with. I am living with Allie! I was so excited. When we arrived in Xela our families were waiting for us. I am absolutely love my family here. My moms name is Judith and she is absolutely HILARIOUS and awesome and caring and she adopted us right away. We also have 2 host sisters, they are actually not the daughters of Judith but they live in her house. Anna is 26 and Sara is 21. Judith also has a son, Luis, who is around all the time but does not actually live there. I love all of them. On our first day there we met in the Central Park and got to explore the town a little bit. It is absolutely beautiful here in a way soooo different than the United States. That night Allie and I went out to eat with our mom and Luis. The food here is great. The restaurants are interesting and have a lot of great options. Also, Judith is an AMAZING cook. For breakfast she makes pancakes or eggs and beans. For lunch lots of vegetables, potatoes, carrots, pumpkin, celery, peppers, always rice, sometimes soup. Yesterday we had lentil soup, steamed carrots and rice. Today we had cauliflower dipped in egg and cheese stuffed mini pumpkins!!! The big meal of the day is lunch so we just have leftovers or go out for dinner. OH and mama overheard Allie and I talking about how much we love peanut butter and she went out and bought some for us! Oh my gosh it is sooo good, made right from scratch. This morning we had pan integral con mantequilla de mani y marmelada de durazno. Which in English is whole wheat bread with peanut butter and peach jam. Not at all that different from what I eat every day in the US!
Anyway, Monday was our first day of school at Casa Xelaju. We were all paired up with our teachers and off we went to our classrooms. The name of my teacher is Lucky and I really like her a lot. We have school from 8 to 1030, a small break for coffee, tea, and bread, and then we return til one. It is crazy having a one on one learning experience. Soooo much Spanish. And it is so different in the US because I cant ask what does this mean or just resort to English. It is good for me though I can feel myself improving already! Being surrounded by Spanish and having to speak it constantly is exhausting but fantastic!
On Wednesday a bunch of us went out to a club to learn how to salsa and oh my goodness it was soooooo fun. There were I think 4 guys who were teaching and they would stand in the front of everyone and everyone would just do their best to follow as the teachers rotated around each side of the room. Then they let everyone do their own thing for like an hour. One of the teachers asked me to dance and he taught me to how to salsa. We danced almost the entire time and I learned so much it was so fun. Then they started playing pop music like all of the stuff played in the US so we danced to that for a while. Most of our group left after a couple hours but Allie and I and a few others stayed to dance more! After the pop music they cleared the dance floor and three of the salsa teachers picked girls to dance with. Two of them were with Guatemalan girls who were really good and the main teacher guy came and picked me! aaaahhhhh it was so crazy he was so good and I had no idea what I was doing but I just pretended like I did! My friends said it was so fun to see me out there with this Guatemalan salsa man haha it was great!
Anyway, there is just way too much for me to post in a blog. I am having so much fun and experiencing so many new things. I feel like Ive been here way longer than 5 days!
This weekend we are going to for an overnight stay at a lake that is a couple of hours away. I heard it was beautiful and I am so excited!
I hope to update soon because there is so much to share!

uggghhhh I just tried for SO long to upload pictures but its not working! Maybe next time...

Adios Amigos!

I can hardly believe it. TODAY'S THE DAY!!! I'm packed and ready and have about a million butterflies fluttering around in my stomach. In a mere 10 minutes I'm headed over to the HUB for our campus send off. It is so weird, I feel like this day was just a dream, something in the far distant future that wasn't really a reality. Well it is a reality and that far off date is happening right now.
I have never felt so anxious, terrified, and ecstatic in my entire life. I am also asking myself, "what the heck did I get myself into? Can I do this?" YES I CAN. I've been praying like crazy and God keeps reassuring me that I wouldn't have been chosen for this trip and everything wouldn't have worked out if it wasn't his plan for me to be going. So I'm diving head first into this adventure woohoo!
The next 30 hours are going to be interesting. Our send off is at 4pm, we load the vans at 4:30pm, our flight leaves Spokane at 7:45pm, we arrive in Seattle at 8:45pm and then depart for Houston at midnight. We arrive in Texas at 4am and leave for Guatemala at 8am. We will arrive there around noon. From Guatemala City we then drive 7 hours to our final destination, Chela, arriving at about 8pm. I am praying for safe travels!
I can't wait to meet my host family and start language school!
Voy a Guatemala! Adios Amigos!

Ridiculous or not...?

Wednesday Dec. 7 2011

I am safely back in Spokane and for the past few days my fellow CASPians and i have been doing a little pre-departure training. It was great to see them all after our break and I am excited as ever to embark on this journey with them. It has also been great to see my friends not going on the trip and spending time with them before I leave.

As we all returned and started talking about our journey conversations arose about which bags we were all taking and how much stuff we were bringing along. I soon came to realize that uh...I might have packed a little too much. It was my understanding that I needed a big hard core backpack, a smaller backpack for day use, and a satchel type purse thing. Since I have never really traveled before and didn't really know what I was doing I kinda just started throwing things together and throwing them in my bags. My mom did a lot of shopping for me for things like shampoo, conditioner, sunscreen, bug spray, etc (thanks mom!) and I also recieved a bunch of stuff for Christmas. However, these bottles were rather large and needless to say my cosmetics bag and bag of medicine were really heavy and taking up a LOT of room. I had stuffed my backpack, my big pack, and my satchel and it was almost impossible to carry all three. I made it to Spokane but then I saw that almost everyone just had there big bag and a purse and I said to myself, "dang...what the heck am I going to do?"

I decided to enlist the help of my dear friends Taylor, Alex, and Peter who are all well traveled and who i figured could help me maybe consolidate some of my stuff. During a break in one of our training sessions I had them come to my room and assess my situation.

They were appalled. Not only did they mock half of the things I had packed but the fact that i had neglected to loosen the straps on my pack to expand it was unforgiveable. i had no idea what all those straps and buckles were for, who knew they did so much!?!? and they also showed me all these little pockets and zippers it was amazing! Taylor proceeded to repack my bag, trying to fit the contents of both bags into the big one, while Alex ripped through my stuff and chucked all the things he found ridiculous at me insisting that we make a pile and take a picture...Some of the "ridiculous" things included a big mirror (totally my mom's idea). burt's bees facial moisturizer with royal jelly (Alex: "ROYAL JELLY!?!? What is this? You won't even be washing your face in Central America!!!"), like 8 balls of yarn (haha yes that I suppose was rather excessive but I really like to knit okay?!), big bottles of shampoo, conditioner, lotion, etc. which Peter exclaimed that I could just buy down there.

My response to this was "why don't friends who have traveled a lot help out other friends who don't know what the heck they're doing!?!" And Peter said "Friends who don't know what they're doing need to tell us they don't know what they're doing."

Dang wish i had thought of that sooner.

HOWEVER, after ditching some stuff and learning how to properly pack a backpack I think I am set to go with my big bag. Once we had it all packed they wanted me to put it on and make sure it fit. It was so heavy and huge and when i put it on I felt like I was going to topple over! Alex picked up on this and proceeded to punch my bag so that i would go toppling to the ground. He finds it very entertaining and pushed me over at least six more times. He calls it "turtle" because with the huge pack as my shell I lie there like a turtle unable to get up...he better not keep this up when we get there...

Tomorrow is our last day of pre-departure training and we are going through the syllabus woohoo! Gotta get to bed soon so I can be rested and ready! 

This is Alex tipping me over...

All of the things my friends deemed ridiculous
and are making me leave in Spokane

Both of these were PACKED when I arrived in Spokane.
With the help of my dear friends I have consolidated down
to the huge pack instead of both
...however the huge pack is well...rather huge

Alex trying to fix my bag and
mocking my imcompetency

We got it!

I was sad to give up my yarn and burt's bees but at least I only have to carry one pack now!

ADVENTURES TO CENTRAL AMERICA!!!

Hello everyone! I have decided to create a blog so that all of my wonderful friends and family can follow my adventures in Central America! Tonight is my last night at my home in Newberg, OR before I depart for Spokane for our pre-departure retreat at Whitworth and then on Friday I leave for Guatemala. I am traveling with 18 other Whitworth students in a program called CASP (Central American Study Program). We are traveling to 5 Central American countries in this order; Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. We will spend about 3-4 weeks in each place. In each place (except Honduras) we will be accompanied by a Whitworth professor. In Honduras, we will be split up and put in rural homestays by ourselves aaahh!

 There is so much about this journey that is completely unknown, the faculty team keeps telling us to "embrace the ambiguity." I usually like to know what's going on so this has been somewhat of a struggle but at the same time it is so refreshing. I have never been out of the United States and have absolutely no idea what this international adventure will be like. All I know is that it's going to be AWESOME and I'm soooo excited! I just finished packing my 70 liter backpack which I shall be living out of for the next five months, another very big change. I'm really hoping I don't forget anything...

My mom asked me today what I'm expecting to gain from this trip and to be honest, I didn't really have a direct answer. Like I said before i really have no expectations so its hard to determine what exactly I plan to achieve/gain/learn BUT after a little thought here is what I have come up with:

1. I am so excited to be exposed to new cultures, traditions and people. I want to learn how to embrace other cultures and become a part of foreign traditions.

2. SPANISH I can't wait to better my ehem not so great spanish speaking skills

3. I can't wait to learn the ins and outs of travel, how to communicate with the natives, what to eat, where to stay, etc.

4. Some would say (alright almost everyone who knows me would say) that I sometimes tend to get a little stressed out when deadlines approach, when busyness overwhelms, when huge tests and assignments threaten my sanity, on and on. BUT i am looking forward to a new learning experience as a student this next semester. I plan to learn by completely immersing myself and learn from experience. The best part? NO PLANNER. It's going to be so different from my insanely routine, planned and dedicated school life and i think it will really change me as a student and possibly my approach to college :)

God has so much in store for me and this short list just touches on what I'm sure I'll learn. There are so many things I didn't mention and if I were to blog about everything I'm looking forward to I would be up all night. I hope that I can update this blog fairly frequently so that I can share my experiences with everyone. I will be praying for everyone back at home and I hope that you all will keep me in your prayers as well!

I am so excited for this adventure CENTRAL AMERICA HERE I COME!!!!