Sunday Funday

el 19 de junio 2011

I woke up to my alarm at 6:30 and quickly got dressed and ate a granola bar before leaving the apt with Sandy and Kristen around 7:15. We walked a block and turned to the right and continued straight the rest of the way. We walked through town for about 10 minutes and then the road began to climb. In just a few minutes, we were surrounded by poorly-constructed, one-room houses surrounded by tiny yards littered with garbage in the midst of fields. We climbed up this road for quite a while. I was surprised by the number of cars and trucks that were going up. Sandy said the people were going up to work in the fields. The roads up mountains here are interesting. The actual road is made of irregularly-shaped cobblestones, but there are two smooth tracks (that look like sidewalks) for the tires of the vehicles to drive on. It easiest to walk on these, but we had to keep getting over for vehicles. After about an hour of walking, we came to a place where lots of people were getting off a bus to go to church. We stopped for a moment and drank some water. I anticipated that it would be cold both because it was early in the morning and that we were climbing even higher than Xela already is. However, I was surprised by how hot I got. Luckily, I had dressed in layers, so I simply removed a few (only one of which ever made it out of my backpack the rest of the hike). Next, we came to a dirt trail in the woods that was more like usual hiking through the woods. We had to cross a meadow that had been turned into a soccer field. There was a group of people having a church service in the woods. We saw a horse tied to a tree. As we walked farther, we heard howling coming from the distance. Sandy told us it was coyotes, but as we listened more, we realized it was people. Apparently, it was a Pentecostal church service. We could hear them, even when we were at the top of the mountain! At one point, we could hear two separate services coming from different places. We walked along this trail for about fifteen minutes and then we came to a place with huge boulders. I would have stopped hiking at this point, had I been by myself. However, we continued our hike, climbing up, over, and around the huge boulders, using both our hands and feet. Each step brought us 12-18 inches higher. Finally we reached a part I thought was the end of our climb. However, I was wrong. Sandy began to climb a vertical rock wall. I tried to take a picture of her, but my camera batteries were dead. I tried my spare set and they wouldn’t work, either. I was disappointed. I really wasn’t sure I could make it up the wall, but it wasn’t as hard as it looked. I made it to the top and then Kristen climbed up behind me. We kept climbing over the big rocks and finally came to a part with a rock spire rising about twenty feet in the air. We climbed the rock tower and seated ourselves on its pinnacle. I imagine that the place where the devil took Jesus and tempted him to throw himself off the mountain was very similar to this place. We drank water, ate yummy graham crackers (so much better than the U.S.), and took pictures. I think I had accidentally combined one old and one new battery when I tried to take pictures earlier because my low battery light was not even on. Unfortunately, there was a lot of fog, so we didn’t have a perfect view of Xela. However, the fog kept shifting so we could see all of it, just in bits and pieces. After about a half hour, we started back down. Sandy couldn’t find the way down at first, which was a bit worrisome because all the ways down looked scary to me. We tried a few ways which were not right. The scariest one Sandy tried sent loose rocks and gravel tumbling down the mountain and off a cliff. I was glad that she abandoned that way! She finally found the way we needed to go. It was difficult to go down but not impossible. However, when we came to the rock wall, I needed some help from Cristina because it was hard to see where to put your feet since the outcrops were directly underneath you. I had to hang by my hands at one point and lower myself that way since my legs weren’t long enough to reach. I was impressed by Sandy’s climbing because she is even shorter than me. Getting down the boulders took more time getting down than it took us to get up. However, when we made it to the dirt path, it went quickly. As we came down, we could hear one of the church groups singing Majesty in Spanish. It was cool to hear. I was hoping to make it back in time for church at 11, but I know it would be close. We saw lots of animals on our way down: a cat, several cows, a sheep, and many dirty, sick dogs.

When we got back to Xela, Kristen and Sandy headed to get ice cream, but it was 10:45 and I wanted to try to make it to church. I booked it back to the apartment and ran in, all sweaty, and threw on a skirt and top. I was really hot, so I decided to wear flip flops, which was a bad idea. I grabbed my bilingual Bible and dashed out the door. I had to hurry to make it on time. I stepped on a metal plate on the sidewalk and a gush of wet, muddy water shot up and got my feet and legs dirty. Yuck! As I was crossing a street, one of my feet slipped on my wet flip flop and it fell off. There was not anyone coming so I grabbed my flip flop and dashed across the street barefoot. I shoved my flip flop back on and decided that I am done wearing flip flops here! I made it to church on time and sat down and wiped my foot off with a tissue.

The church service was good. I went to the Presbyterian church that I attended last summer. I was not in time for Sunday school which was my favorite part last year because I got to meet lots of young people. However, we sang lots of songs and then the pastor preached on Moses and the burning bush. After the church service which went until 12:30, I hurried back home to call my grandpas for Father’s Day. I was able to reach both of them. I finished calling them and it was time for me to leave to meet up with Andrea.

I met Andrea in the park at 2 by the big tall statue. She looked the same as I remembered. We walked around a little bit and then we headed to my apartment building. I showed her my terrace and we sat up there in the sun and talked for about an hour. It was good to catch up with her. She has been teaching in Honduras for the last year, so we had a lot to talk about. After a while, I took her on a tour of the important places in Xela. We went to XelaPan, my favorite bakery. We each got a sheca con frijol (roll with black beans inside) which were delicious and also a little roll flavored like anise. We went to the theater and they were getting ready to have an orchestra concert put on by a local school. Then we went to the grocery store and she bought food since she is staying in a guest house with a kitchen. We went back to her place and put her food away and sat in her bedroom and talked. Then her friend Holly arrived. Holly is from England. They taught together this past year. We talked for a while and then we talked to some guys who were there. Then we decided to go to a café. Andrea took us to her favorite café, which turns out to be Café Bavaria, which I had been to several times last year. I got hot chocolate. We sat and talked for a couple of hours, and then I felt like I should leave to make it back in time for dinner with Sandy. We made plans to meet up tomorrow. Andrea is going to volunteer at an orphanage and I am going to try to do so, also. They want volunteers to make a minimum two week commitment, and I won’t quite be here that long, but I want to see if they would take me anyway.

I got home before 7, but Sandy and her daughter were not around. I talked to another woman who apparently lives in our apartment but has been gone since I’ve been here. Her name is Tyra. She was very helpful. Sandy never appeared so I helped myself to a bowl of cornflakes and milk that I had to eat with a fork. I think maybe I should start doing my own cooking, like Andrea. I checked my email and called my dad for Father’s Day. Then I took a shower and ate pretzel sticks with peanut butter, almonds, and dried apricots while writing my blog entry. I really need to try to get some pictures posted, but I have been having trouble with the internet. Tyra recommended going down by the office, so maybe I will have to try that tomorrow, if I have time. I have class tomorrow morning at 8.

Happy Summer Solstice!

el 21 de junio 2011

I woke up early to take a shower a little before 7. Waiting to shower until the morning was a terrible idea. It was a colder day today than it has been. The water pressure and the water temperature are indirectly proportional to each other. I think I haven’t warmed up all day as a result of this shower. I got dressed, putting on lots of clothes. Holly still had my pink jacket from yesterday, so I put on my black one.

Sandy gave me yogurt and very crunchy granola for breakfast. When I finished eating, I got ready to go, but someone was in the bathroom so I waited until I got to school to go. I chatted with some girls from my school and then the bell rang to start class. Carolina and I went up to our table. The only other group in our room is Liz and her teacher. Carolina taught me another children’s song in Spanish. This one has addition facts in it! We reviewed the future tense and the progressive tenses. I was so cold that I had two cups of tea during the morning! During the break, I talked to Liz and then refilled my tea and went upstairs to get a head-start on my reading for tomorrow.

After class, I headed back home and checked my email. Sandy came home and I talked to her while she made spinach with mushrooms, onions, and garlic. We had this very salty mixture with tortillas and super salty pasta (with grains of salt on it). I think I eat about 15 times the amount of salt I eat at home and one-fourth the sugar! I checked my email and worked on my blog entry for yesterday. Soon it was time to leave for the Mayan Summer Solstice presentation at the museum. Kristen came with me and we met Andrea and Holly at the school. We chatted with people and I showed them the activity schedule. I think it is nice that the schools let outside people attend the activities! I like that Andrea and I attend different schools so that we can take advantage of the best activities! It was 2:30 when we met at the school and we waited about ten minutes before leaving. We walked to a street near the park and caught a microbus that took us near the museum. It was nice that we didn’t walk since it was starting to rain. It was really cold and rainy today! When we got to the museum, the man at the door told us that there was not a presentation today and that there were no displays to see. The teachers from our school were confused and called Olga, the director of the school. I had seen a poster from the museum that advertised this event. We stood in the rain for a few minutes and then someone figured out that the presentation was taking place in the museum next door. We filed in and sat in a room crowded with mainly gringos. Three women in typical Mayan clothing led the presentation. It lasted a little less than an hour. They had a powerpoint explaining the rotation of the sun and what causes the summer solstice. It was interesting to learn that the Mayan name for the summer solstice means “the stomach of the sun is big.” We learned how the Maya weave the meaning of the four seasons and the solstices and equinoxes into their clothing. After the presentation, they answered questions for a while. Then we paid Q25 and entered the museum. They had traditional clothing from each part of Guatemala displayed. One of the women gave us a tour. The same guy who translated for the presentation followed us around and did his best to translate. We saw everything in the museum and then we left because some of our group had been waiting for a while. We caught a chicken bus back to the park.

Andrea, Holly, and I went to EntreMundos to see about Holly volunteering somewhere and then we tried to find a café. First we went to the one next door to my apartment building, but it was really expensive so we went to one across from the park. I had hot chocolate with milk. Andrea and I read the newspaper. We sat and talked for a while and then the girls headed back to their place and I went to XelaPan and got a sheca con frijol. I am only here eight more days so I need to eat all the shecas con frijol that I can while I’m here! I went back home and worked on my blog and then Sandy came home.

We had black beans and a very runny egg and sliced wheat bread (pan integral) from XelaPan and guacamole that Kristen had made. Sandy wasn’t feeling very well today. The people in my apartment have been passing around a cold. After dinner, I wrote my composition for school tomorrow about what my life will be like in ten years, using the future and progressive tenses. Then I continued reading my story for tomorrow. Soon, it was time for me to leave so I could meet the girls at 7:30.

I had to ring the doorbell three times and knock a couple of times before they heard me. We were supposed to bring snacks to share, so we stopped by a tienda, but they did not have much. We had to walk past La Dispensa Familiar (the grocery store), so Andrea and I bought microwave popcorn and Holly bought gummy bears. We then walked to Celas Maya, Andrea’s school. When we got there, we tried to make our popcorn, but apparently the microwave does not work! So much for microwave popcorn! We went and sat down on the couch and talked while we waited. It turned out that we were the only three who showed up for the movie, Voces Inocentes (Innocent Voices) about the Civil War in El Salvador. It was a horrific movie following the story of a boy named Chava. The violence the children and families experienced was unbelievable. Many nights, the entire family had to hurriedly duck under the bed and hide behind a mattress to avoid the shooting. The soldiers entered the schools and took away all the boys aged 12 or older. It is so incredibly sad that so many people have to live in the face of such terrible violence. Sometime during the movie, the guy working at Celas Maya came and brought us very rich hot chocolate. When the movie was over, the atmosphere was very solemn. We walked slowly back to my apartment discussing the movie. It is definitely worth watching but very sad. The girls walked me to my apartment and then they headed back to where they are staying.

I wrote the rest of today’s blog and I still need to finish about 8 pages of my short story for tomorrow, and it’s 10:45. My mind is still filled with the movie that we watched. I don’t think I’ll sleep for a while…

July 23, 2013

I woke up around 4:15 and couldn't really get back to sleep. I tossed and turned waiting for Amber to wake up. The heavy metal doors are so noisy that I didn't want to wake up Amber and Katie. However, Amber never got up at 5. We ended up sleeping (ish) until almost 6. I got up and got ready. We went down with Sanne to buy bread. We got sweet bread (pan de mantequilla), galletas (cookies), and cubiletes (muffins). When we got back upstairs, the Rufinos were there. They did not want the bean soup they were served until we put crema and cheese on it. We all were eating it, too. I found a rock in my portion and bit down on it. I think my tooth is okay. I also had a salsa-sized jar of coffee (they use glass jars to drink out of because there are not enough cups or mugs), the rest of my strawberry soy milk, and some bread. Then I finished getting ready and Amber checked my hair for lice. I have tried to be careful to keep my hair away from children as much as possible and have worn it in a ponytail every day to school. Still, lice are a big problem with the children and most of the long-term volunteers (except Amber) have had lice. I also checked my email and my school email and set up a shared Dropbox folder for Amber and me so we can more easily share resources. I looked at Amber's Guatemala photos which are nicely organized in folders while Amber gave me a shoulder massage. I finished packing up and then we worked on setting due dates for Amber's curriculum project. I ate my chocolate soy ice cream which was good and kind of icy but did not really taste like ice cream. I said goodbye to Auralia who is the sweet grandmotherly woman who cleans the school. I took a picture with her and then she took one of Amber and me. I brushed my teeth and went to the bathroom and then Rachel showed up. I grabbed my stuff and we went downstairs to get our taxi. They have a favorite taxi driver who was going to drive us to the airport. He was not there when we went down so Rachel went to tell Lukas something and then he showed up. He loaded my backpack in the back and I lingered with Amber who was talking to Estella. We said goodbye and Rachel showed up and we were off. We talked in English for most of the ride. I think Luis must have left the windows open when it rained because the back seat was soaked. I noticed when I got in that he had a bath towel on the seat, but his car looked fairly new so I thought he was just trying to protect the seats. However, partway to the airport, I realized that the back of my pants were damp. I picked up my bag that was sitting on the seat, and it was damp, too. I held it on my lap the rest of the way to the airport, but there was nothing I could do about my jeans. It took about 40 minutes to get to the airport because there was a lot of traffic. Wen we got there, Rachel told Luis when she was coming back so he could pick her up. Then we said goodbye and Rachel and I went to check in. She was flying Spirit and I was flying United. The Guatemala City airport is not that big. Our ticket counters were actually right next to each other. My line took much longer, but we had plenty of time. I remembered at the last minute that you are supposed to put coffee in your checked luggage. I put it in the water bottle pocket on the side of my big backpack which was covered by the rain cobpver. When I got to the counter, they told me they would put it in a large plastic bag for more protection. Rachel waited while I filled out my departure form and then we went through security together. We walked through the whole terminal (20 gates or so) looking for a place for Rachel to get a sandwich or something. The prices were high by Guatemala standards, but she decided on a bagel with crema. I sat with her while she ate it and then we went to the bathroom and on to our separate flights. It was perfect that we could ride together and hang out until it was time to go. We couldn't have planned it better!

I sat next to a really old man. Later I found out he is 92! He and his wife live in Guatemala and they were going to visit their children in Texas, Florida, and Tempe. They get to fly free since their son works for United. They live at the end of the runway in Guatemala City. At first I did not know if he was Guatemalan or American. Later I found out that he and his wife have lived in Guatemala for 50 years and before that they lived in Peru and Nicaragua. He was originally from Minnesota and she was from Quebec which is where they met. They are U.S citizens and still have to leave the country every 3 months like tourists, but they just come to the States every 2 months and stay for 2 months and then repeat. He said that he would like to just stay in Guatemala but his wife wants to go to the U.S. to see their children. They have 7 kids all of which live in the U.S. he worked in mining, mostly gold. Now his son owns two mines, one in Mexico and one in northern Arizona. He was a fascinating man. He told me about the leader of Nicaragua and how he came to a dance they had at the mining town. When they lived in Peru, his wife was about to have their first kid and because the elevation was 15,000-17,000 feet, she had to stay in Lima until the baby was six months old. He recommended an author if I like to read biographies in Spanish. He gave me his business card and told me to contact him if I come back to Guatemala and he and his wife will invite me to lunch at the aviation club. He was incredibly with-it for 92 and he said his wife is in better shape than him! 

When we landed, I hurried as fast as I could to get to border patrol and start going through the line. For some reason I had it in my mind that my next flight was at 5:40. As I entered the line, I saw a woman ahead of me who looked like Natanya. As I went closer, I saw it was her! Se had left Guatemala City at 7am, flown to Managua, and then on to Houston! What a coincidence, not only that we were at the same airport but also that we were in the border control line together. I talked to her more than I did the entire week at UPAVIM! We took a picture together. I was resigned to missing my plane when I double-checked my boarding pass and it said the boarding time was 5:40 and the flight didn't leave until 6:25. I was much relieved. I felt silly that I had gotten confused. I grabbed my backpack that was inside a plastic bag for protection (which meant that I had to carry it like a baby) and hustled through customs. I met back up with Natanya after security. I had forgotten to charge my cell phone before leaving Guatemala and it was nearly dead, so I wanted to find an outlet to charge it so I could contact Tammy when I landed in Chicago. I found one and Natanya hung out with me until it was time to board my plane. I walked to my gate about 20 minutes before departure and was surprised that they had not started boarding yet. I stood near the counter and after a few minutes, I asked if they had already boarded and they had. I got to walk right onto the plane. The plane was fairly empty. I found my seat next to an older Latina woman. She pointed at my window seat and looking questioningly at me. I assumed that she didn't speak English. As I sat down, I said something to her in Spanish. She immediately lit up and we started a conversation that did not end until we landed at O'Hare. She is from Honduras and her name was Adela. She doesn't speak any English and she was very nervous about flying and that she would get lost when we arrived. I translated for her to help her get a drink and we talked about all kinds of things. She told me that she had prayed that God would send an angel to help her on her journey and that she thought that He had sent me. She was very sweet. When we got to Chicago, I helped her carry her suitcase on the way to the baggage claim. She was terrified of going on the escalator and there were two escalators that we had to go on with no option for stairs. I went ahead because I did not realize that she was afraid and I wondered if she was going to be able to muster up the courage to come down. She did and survived the experience. When we got to the baggage claim, we found her good-looking son (who is married and has a daughter). Tammy called right as she was trying to introduce me. Her son was very appreciative of the help I gave his mom. I said goodbye and went to find my backpack. It took a while to appear but it came out without any wear and tear. Tammy met me in my car outside the baggage claim. It was wonderful to see her again. It was a great ending to a fabulous trip!

July 22, 2013

It is hard to believe that I am already to the final day of my trip. I enjoyed all of my trip, but being here at the school with Amber, living in the community of La Esperanza, and getting to know the volunteers has exceeded my expectations.

Today was Lukas' birthday. Someone thought it would be fun to wake Lukas up in the morning with fireworks. We all got up at 5:45 for the experience. They were the kind that make a lot of smoke and loud pops like gunfire. Natonia was the one who wanted to light them. Fireworks scare me, so Laura and I stayed far away by the stairs. The first one scared Natonia when it started going off and she kind of threw it. It burned her hands a little but not badly. The second one would not light. It was kind of windy and so Natonia took the firework inside the door of the kitchen to light it. Laura and I thought she was crazy and wanted her to abandon the task, but she was determined. She went in the kitchen and got olive oil to put on the fuse. It still was difficult to light but finally can't and went off with the characteristic POP, POP, POP, POP, POP that sounds like gunfire. Lukas still did. It appear so we started singing happy birthday. He finally came out, sleepy, confused, and slightly annoyed. Happy birthday! Some people had made cake the night before with bananas, oats, a little bit of Belgium chocolate, and the usual cake ingredients. It was decorated with red, white, and blue star sprinkles. We showed it to him and got a cup of coffee before heading down to the English office to work on curriculum for a while. We used the big dry erase board from the prepa classroom and Amber drew a grid on it with a column for each subject and rows for each month. We then placed the post-it notes in a sensible progression. We worked until 8:30 or so and then went down to the bakery to get fresh bread. By the time we arrived, though, they did not have any French bread (which we needed for dinner) or muffins or sweet bread. We bought polvocitos or something like that. They were crumbly tostada-like cookies with a dollop of jam baked on them. We then went to the sad lady across the street and bought 3 pounds of tomatoes for the soup and to the man to buy 2 pounds of onions. We went upstairs and got ready. Then we went back to the English office to do a bit more work and then reviewed our plans for the day.

We read The Little Red Hen in preschool. We had all the kids together again. They were very talkative. It is difficult to control twenty preschoolers when you are not their teacher. The funniest part of preschool today was when Amber told them that it was my last day. She said, "Let's all wave goodbye to Seno Carolyn" and proceeded to wave enthusiastically at me while all of the kids looked on. She said, "Or just Seno Amber will wave to her." It was really funny. We had a few minutes before lunch so we just waited downstairs and talked about our plans for the rest of the day. Then we picked up the lunch and went upstairs. Unfortunately the lunch was soupy black beans and rice with shredded carrots, radishes, and lettuce salad with lime juice on it, and tamarind juice. This was unfortunate because we had already planned to make three bean chili for dinner and the beans were already soaking upstairs. We dished up our food and went to prepa. It was a pretty good day with the kiddos. They read The Little Red Hen also and decorated the bodies of their animals. We waited until the last minute to get a picture with them, so we got a crazy one with the kids ready to go with their backpacks on. I talked to Jazmin and she wrote down my name to add me on Facebook. We then went to the English office to start working on brainstorming sample activities. Soon, we went down to buy bread. The line was long, so Amber decided to go upstairs and turn on the beans. I wasn't feeling great. I almost felt a little feverish and my stomach was a bit queasy. I felt better within a few hours, so that was good. I really didn't want to be sick on the plane. I told the lady that I wanted 9Q of French bread. She looked at me with a concerned expression on her face and asked me if I realized that that would be 27 pieces. I told her we were cooking dinner for all the volunteers on the roof. I also bought galletas (cookies) for Katie and two chocolate soy ice creams for Amber and me. I went back inside through the security doors. They have a camera outside, so if the UPAVIM office is open, all you have to do is stand in front of it and the secretary will see you and let you in. Amber had to go help with sign-ups for community English classes, so I stayed and washed the onions and tomatoes and chopped all 3 pounds of tomatoes. Amber came back and started on the onions. Rachel had cleaned the green beans during her lunch break, so they were ready. We needed tomato sauce (all we had was tomato paste) and cilantro. Laura wanted one tomato, as well I offered to go buy the items. I went to the man first and asked for tomato sauce. they tried to give me tomato paste and did not understand what I was wanting. Finally a teenager who was working there handed me Ranchero sauce. It was not quite what I wanted , but I thought it might be wrong (too runny) in the right direction since we also had tomato paste. i bought two instead of the requested three in case it was not what they wanted. I went to the sad vegetable lady across the street and asked if she had cilantro. She said she did and pulled it out from under a pile of veggies. It was brown and wilted and covered with gnats. She looked at it and said no, no then asked me if I still wanted the cilantro with a sheepish look on her face. I said no thanks and walked up the road to the two vegetable stands and bought cilantro from the two ladies who work at the first stand. It wasn't the greatest cilantro either, but it was much better than the sad lady's. I let myself in the preschool door and ran into Natonia who was leaving to spend the night close to the airport since her flight was first thing on the morning.

I went back up and helped a bit more with dinner. Amber said we were going to go to the English office, but since she was on the computer, I decided to go ahead and take my shower. When I finished, I went downstairs to meet her and work for a bit. Then we went back up for dinner. The white beans were not as cooked as the black and red ones, but the chili had good flavor. I like cooking for the roof dwellers because they are not picky and like vegetarian dishes. We all sat around the kitchen and ate together and talked afterward. We had Lukas' cake that people had been nibbling on all day and he blew out twos used tea light candles since he was turning twenty. I wrote down people's names so I could find them on Facebook. Some of us decided to play games. Sanne is so adorable. She is quite the social coordinator. She made out a "fun week" schedule. Sadly, I was only able to participate in Lukas' birthday celebration. We played Psychiatrist with first Sanne and then Barb (who was in bed) as the psychiatrist. It was hysterical. Amber and Darlene were hilarious and I was told that I did a good impression of Sanne. Afterward, they wanted to play more games, but it was already 8:30 and I still needed to pack. Amber brought out her list of standards she wanted to brainstorm and then we discussed them as I packed. We were going to give each other massages, but I took too long packing and Amber was too sleepy. Katie came in and we three talked for a while as Amber was drifting in and out of sleep. She went to bed for real and we turned off the Christmas lights that give our room such a homey feel. Katie and I continued using the Internet which had unexpectedly started working in our room again. I decided I did not need to write the whole blog post right then since I would have so much time on the plane the next day. I did check email and add a few people as friends on Facebook. I think I turned off my iPad around 12:30. I couldn't fall asleep very quickly because I was thinking about all the things I wanted to make sure I did in the morning. I did not sleep in my earplugs because I wanted to wake up at 5 when Amber got up to exercise. I was freezing and kept waking up all night. I am not ready to leave Guatemala!

July 21, 2013

We woke up at 8:15. The house was still dark and quiet. Unfortunately, Jess, Kasper, and Linda were still sleeping when Amber and I left. Kasper and Linda are staying in Antigua for another day and then going to Lake Atitlan so I won't get to say goodbye to them. We also did not get a group picture. Amber and I found a place to eat breakfast called Cafe Colonial. I think it was on seventh avenue (if not, it was on sixth). We both got huevos rancheros that came with coffee, beans, plantains, crema, a thin slice of strawberry, and bread. It only cost 25Q ($3). We then headed to Dona Luisa's to buy bread. They were having a half marathon in Antigua. As each runner passed by, all the people on the street clapped. The finish line was on the north side of Central Park. Of course, that is exactly where we had to walk. We had to weave our way through hordes of people clamping to congratulate their friends and relatives. We finally bought our bread and headed to the bus terminal by means of a different route. We found the bus to Chimaltenango as it was leaving. We hopped aboard and found a place for use to sit together. We were the second and third people on the seat so it was not like we had the seat to ourselves, but we were happy to get a seat together. At Chimaltenango, we got off and were searching for the bus that goes through Patzicia on its way to Patzun. Amber found a different bus that was going to Patzicia, so we took that one instead. That turned out to be a bad idea because unbeknownst to us, this bus did not take the same route through Patzicia. Because the bus stop was not the one Amber knew, we rode too far and were chatting away when the cobrador (person who collects the fare) came over to us and asked if we were going to Patzicia. We said yes and he told us that we had already passed Patzicia. We were annoyed that we had missed it, so we got off the next place we could and crossed over the highway on a huge bridge with ramps that went over the road. We had to wait at least twenty minutes for the bus to arrive. We climbed aboard and had to pay 5Q each which was an awful lot to go just a few miles. When we got to Patzicia, we were not sure where to get off. Amber did not think any of it looked familiar. She thought Patzicia was a small town and this was a large town. We asked where the buses go to Patzun and decided to get off near there. We didn't want to ride too far out of the city the other direction. Amber did not know how to describe where Bernabe lives. The biggest clue she had was that they live kind of near a water park of sorts. We asked a man on the street for help and he did not know. All he could tell us was that the buses to Patzun passed in the street we were on. We asked a group of older men sitting on a step and it was the same story. Amber did not remember going through Patzicia so we decided to start walking toward the outskirts of town on the Chimaltenango side. We followed a parade of horses and continued walking out of Patzicia. We walked for 30-40 minutes until we came to the realization that we were not going to find it. Amber had called Bernabe earlier in the week and left a voicemail and she had also sent him a Facebook message, but she never heard back. We decided to wait for a bus to Guate. We had been walking along the highway this while time. Amber decided to try Bernabe's phone one more time. She called him and he answered. She said, "Bernabe!" and then the call dropped. Se looked at the phone and realized that it did not have any saldo (credit) on it. Fortunately, Bernabe called her back and he said that he was on his way home from Chimaltenango and would be there in 20 minutes. We crossed to the opposite side of the road and waited there with a woman wearing a green traje (traditional outit). We though Bernabe was on the bus, but he surprised us by pulling off the road in a red pick-up. We rode with him to where they live, which was on the other side of Patzicia. It was pretty far outside the city (5-10 minutes driving time). He went to park the truck and we went up to the house to surprise Nirma. She was very surprised. We greeted all the family and were given two chairs to sit in. We gave Nirma the photo. Sadly, the picture frame broke on the journey. Three of the pegs that held the picture in fell off and the frame cracked. They liked the picture a lot. Amber showed it to Bernabe when he came in. We saw Kayla and Anderson and the extended family. We could only stay about two hours because the last bus heads back to Guate at 4pm. Nirma walked us to the bus stop. We got to see their church, too. The bus came soon and we got on. Amber and I had some good deep conversations on the bus ride. It was nice on the way back that we only had to take one bus to Guate and then the usual two home from there. There were a lot of people at Trebol trying to get on the bus, but the line at Cenma was not bad. The entire journey took just under three hours. We bought some tomatoes and bananas and then walked with Rachel to buy beans to make chili for dinner tomorrow. It is Lucas' birthday tomorrow, too. We came inside and scrounged around for dinner. I had a bit of leftover rice, tomatoes, and basil with a piece of toast. I washed dishes while Amber washed and soaked the beans. Then we finished up writing the standard on post-it notes. Tomorrow we begin the more fun job of manipulating all the standards into the correct month for the curriculum map. I wish Amber and I lived closer together so we could continue to work on it. We were working on the stairs because the Internet signal is not very strong right now, although it is working. I took a shower and then sat outside Barb's door and checked my email. I then started typing my two blog entries which I had already written out highlights on the bus ride. Katie, Amber, and I talked and then I finished typing. I went to bed about 11:30.

July 20, 2013

I slept in until

8:30

which kind of surprised and annoyed me. I got up, took a shower, got ready, and ate breakfast. By the time we had done all this and talked to people who were sitting in the kitchen, it was already 10. I had the rice and lentil mixture with refried black beans, avocado, and a mango. We went down to the prepa classroom and worked on writing out all of the standards for Amber's curriculum project. We used a different color post-it note for each subject. We are using the Guatemalan standards for math and science, the Arizona English Language Proficiency standards for language, speaking and listening, writing, and reading, and supplementing with the Common Core math and reading standards. We got a lot done, but we decided to take a break to go to Cenma (pronounced SEG-muh) to cash Amber's check. It had been raining while we worked on standards, but it began to rain in earnest when we got ready to leave. I decided to change into a different skirt so I wouldn't get my salsa dancing skirt wet. While we were in Cenma, we went to La Torre, which is a supermarket, to enlarge a photo for Bernabe and Nirma. We then went next door to a store called El Mismo Precio. Each item in the store has two prices. If you buy at least six items, you pay the lower price. We bought a picture frame to go with the picture and some strawberry nougat candy and a surprise souvenir for my family. There was a very long line for the Cenma bus. We got home just in time to quickly finish the Guatemalan science and math standards. We packed quickly and left about

4:45

with Kasper, Linda, and Jess. It was pouring down rain. I decided that I really need to get a decent raincoat for traveling since my favorite one died. We had to take 3 buses to get to Antigua. It was an uneventful trip until we arrived on Antigua.  Jess knew a hostel called La Casa Amarilla that they had stayed in before where breakfast is included. She thought it was at the southernmost street in Antigua so we walked all the way down there in the sprinkling rain just to find out that it actually was in the northern part of Antigua (which is where we had just come from). We found a few other hostels, all of which were full. We went to OnVisa II which was also full, but the man (named Byron) said he might know a place to stay. He called a family he knows right down the street (first street west of seventh avenue) and they did have space. We were not sure what we were getting into, but we went to see. It was a family's house and they rent out three rooms, which was perfect for our group. Linda and Kasper shared a room, Amber and I shared a room, and Jess had a single room to herself. It was nice and looked clean, but we were concerned with how much it was going to cost because we did have private rooms. We were shocked and pleased to find out they were still charging the hostel price which was 50 quetzals a person ($6). We got ready for the evening and went to find food. I was really hungry. We found a restaurant near the house called Los Nazarenos. We ordered nachos as an appetizer. I had grilled eggplant, and veggies and a pineapple licuado which only cost 10Q. We went to Central Park to find an ATM for Jess and then we went to Las Palmas to salsa dance

at 9:45. I really liked the atmosphere of the place. It was all salsa with a bit of merengue, bachata, and one song of cha cha. The majority of the time, the live band played. when they took breaks and near the end, they played CDs. Amber and Jess were picked to dance right away. I was surprised when a guy came up right after and asked me to dance. His name was Jorge. I felt horribly out of practice since I had not salsa danced since the last time in Guatemala. I do enjoy dancing so much, even though I am not very good. I don't really know why, but Jorge continued dancing with me the entire evening. He was a really good dancer. We only stopped for a few minutes at a time and when we weren't dancing, we were speaking Spanish, so that was good practice, too. Altogether it was a very fun evening. We went back to where we were staying when Las Palmas closed
at 1am

. Amber and I stayed up and talked I until

2:30

. Amber was going to sleep in the twin bed, but she was freezing so we decided to share the big bed. I wore a most unusual assortment of clothing to bed: socks, capri pajama pants, tank top, and water resistant jacket which got really hot and sweaty in the night. 

July 19, 2013

Last night after I went to bed, Sahne, a volunteer from Belgium who was here last year, arrived. She was the one who got the Rufinos started coming up here to shower and have breakfast. Everyone was eager to see how excited they were going to be when they saw Sahne since they did not know she was coming. I got up

at 6:15

to see their reaction. I met Sahne and talked to her for a few minutes. However, the Rufinos' reaction was kind of anti-climactic. They were not sure who she was, but they were happy when they realized it was her. They were actually calmer and quieter than usual. The kitchen was overflowing with people so Amber and I ate outside with the Belgian couple who also arrived last night (Linda and Kasper). We had toast with avocado on it, leftover rice with lentils, and coffee. I also drank some of my cinnamon soy milk. We got ready and headed downstairs before 9. I realized yesterday that we are actually on the fourth floor, not the fifth. The tricky thing about the building is that it actually has two parts that connect. Therefore, we sometimes have to go downstairs to go upstairs in the other part. It sounds confusing, but suffice it to say that we do a lot of stairs! I decided to count each stair today that I went up or down and the grand total was 390 and I think I did fewer stairs today than other days! Crazy! I think I know why my leg muscles are sore.

Amber and I worked in the English office, planning and preparing the lessons for today. Then we went down to the Montessori preschool. We had the whole group again today. I taught them 5 Green and Speckled Frogs. We did the usual weather, emotions, and questions. We also read Somebody and the 3 Bears. We got done early since we only taught the lesson once so we sat downstairs and worked on planning tomorrow and part of next week while we waited for lunch to be ready to carry upstairs. For lunch we had carne asada that was grilled outside and smelled delicious all during the preschool lesson, salad with cucumbers and avocados, rice, and oatmeal juice (which sounds nasty but is really quite delicious). While we were still dishing up our lunches, the kindergarten (preparatoria) teacher came out and said they were ready in a circle. We hurried in and got started. I pulled kids in pairs to practice sorting animal picture cards by the type of covering they have. It worked really well for the most part because the rest of the kids were eating. We read the Goldilocks shape book and did new stations. I helped with an ending sound sorting station. I think it is really good for the native Spanish speakers to work on ending sounds because I have noticed that they often to do say the ending sound in a word. Mauricio did not want to come with me so I just worked with Nicole and Josue for most of the time. During recess the kids ran and played on the concrete patio. It is amazing to me that more of them do not hurt themselves because there is loose wire covering the windows of the other building and rusty loose chain link fencing that has holes in some places that the children reach through. There is also a small step in the middle of the patio and a metal screw that sticks out of the cement in another place. It is less than ideal but certainly better than nothing. The other grades spend the whole day in their classrooms (including recess and lunch). We started making animals (real or pretend) out of toilet paper tubes. Today we just did the eyes, cut out of scrap paper and glued to a circle that I cut out earlier. There were lots of behavior problems during the day, especially from a few students. We watched about ten minutes of Magic English, which is a Disney video that is made for students learning English. They use scenes from Disney movies and use simple repetitive phrases with the video clips. There are also songs to go with the theme. The one we watched was about cooking. Next they had another recess and then it was time to go home. There were two boys who did not want to put their shoes back on and get ready to go home. Today for some reasons, many children kept sneaking back in the classroom and tried not to leave. We eventually got them all out and Amber had to talk to one boy's mother. He will. It be allowed to goto the park with his class tomorrow morning as a punishment for his behavior. He did not appear to care about this consequence because Amber reminded him multiple times that he needed to change his behavior or he would not be able to go to the park. Jazmin and I cleaned up the classroom together. She is Amber's Guatemalan bilingual assistant. She is a very interesting person. She has been to the U.S. ten times! 

Then Amber and I took her stuff to the English office amped got ready to work on curriculum. The Internet was not working well there, so we moved back to the prepa classroom. We sat on the kids' tiny tables and tried to look up the Guatemalan academic standards. We were still having trouble getting it to download which may have been Amber's computer. She is going to curriculum map English conversation (speaking, listening, grammar, and vocabulary), English reading, math, and science because those are the subjects the English-speaking teacher will teach next year. The Spanish-speaking teacher will teach Spanish reading, social studies, and probably reinforce math. We decided to quit for the day and go walk over to the trash dump. However, just as we were about to,eave, Lukas came and told us that dinner was ready. Sanne had made guacamole, pico de gallo, and refried black beans in addition to heating up leftovers. We put all of this on tostadas. Dina (the Guatemalan preschool teacher) and her daughter came up to eat with us. Linda is very close with Dina. Dina was sharing Guatemalan traditions surrounding marriage since Linda brought her boyfriend with her. One of the traditions involves the bride-to-be having to do all the in-laws laundry for two weeks. Linda and Kasper shared delicious Belgian chocolate that they brought to share. it was Carrefour chocolate, dear father who sometimes travels to Belgium for business. After dinner, we put on jackets because it was getting cool and headed to see the trash dump with Lukas and Darlene. I thought we were going to the one we can see from the English office, but the one we went to was much smaller and much closer to the school. It was right down the street. We walked through the neighborhood and saw lots of children out. It was getting dark so we did not go far. We walked over to see where the Rufinos live. We saw Hilda. She was wearing a different outfit and smelled like she had just showered. Linda showed her a picture of Hilda's older brother from when she was here 6 or 7 years ago. I ate a few jelly beans and started working on my blog. Then Amber suggested foot massages so I washed my feet and we lay on my mattress and talked for a long time. I really enjoy Amber! She is such a insightful, positive, and encouraging presence in my life! Amber went to bed and I got ready for bed and finished writing my blog. Katie was still downstairs. I went to bed about 11:30.