I'm not sure if I have blogged about this before, but when my family went to Africa this summer on a mission trip my dad caught Malaria. It took the doctors more than a month to figure out what he had before he could start taking the right medicine. He's finally on the right meds and is starting to feel better.
My parents are leading down a team from my church that is arriving on Saturday and will spend the week working construction at our main site in Camanchaj and staying in Pana where I live. The last couple of weeks have been hard because I didn't know if my dad was going to be able to make the trip. Then I started thinking that if my dad had to stay home then my mom would probably stay home to take care of him. My dad left the decision whether he could come or not up to the doctor and after getting some more test run yesterday he finally got the OK to come!!
So now I know for sure that BOTH of my parents and my uncle are coming on Saturday for a week! I am most excited to spend the week with them and to have them experience what it is like to be on a team. Since I am the Team Coordinator I work with all the teams that come down and I love that my parents will experience that.
Saturday I will head to Guatemala City in the morning to pick up their team. Let's just hope they don't miss their flight this time. :)
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Guatemala's Independence Day and booking of flights!
Saturday was Guatemala's Independence Day (September 15th) which I celebrated by going with the other volunteers up to Camanchaj to help out with the parade. I thought about going to Xela or just staying in Pana to watch the parades then I thought about how cute the kids at the school were going to be and made the right decision to spend the day with the kids. The teachers had been decorating all week and when I got to the clinic that morning both cars were decorated as floats and all the kids started showing up in their costumes. This year the teachers decided the kids should dress up as different modes of transportation. All the parents were responsible for coming up with their own costumes and they all did an amazing job. Not only did all the kids have a cardboard or styrofoam vehicles, but then they all had matching outfits. I cannot even begin to describe how adorable the kids were. Hopefully these pictures can help you imagine how great of a day it was and how much laughter was had.
Some of the first grade girls were sailors. They were so adorable and came up with a little dance with their boats. Their sailor hats were my favorite part of their whole outfits. The parents really did an amazing job making the boats.
These little biker chicks are in the first grade. They were the first kids behind our car in the parade, so they led all the other kids. For the first half of the parade (which lasted about 3 1/2 hours even though we only drove up one hill) then got too tired and just started walking and pushing their bikes. Going up the hill at the very end was really hard for them, so I had to take turns helping the girls with their bikes. Adorable.
Our job for most of the parade was to drive in the car which led our school in the parade. Our car drove after the kids in the public school and in front of our school kids. Heather drove the car while I was in charge of music. All I had to do was put in a CD and hold the player in my lap. We had a loud speaker on top of the car which was blaring the music. Heather and I just watched the parade in front of us and laughed at the ridiculous kid music that was playing. Half way through Wayne took over driving and we were able to jump out and play with our kids and walk through the village watching the rest of the parade.
This was one of the 2 cars we had in the parade for our organization. No one could explain to me why this truck was decorated like this dog looking thing. Who knows. The 3 princesses from our school rode in the back of the truck and were super adorable doing their little princess waves.
After the parade was done all the participants gathered at the public school down the road from Salud y Paz and watched the princess crowning ceremony. During the ceremony I kept looking around at our kids and after they finished eating their snack most of them were either sitting or laying on the floor. Such a hard day walking through town as cute little vehicles.
Now here are just some cute pictures of me with random kids. After the ceremony we all went back to our school and took down the decorations. While the parents and teachers were cleaning up I played with the kids (in my defense I did my share of cleaning after everyone left). The kids at the school love taking pictures with my camera. So while sitting on the steps I had so many kids come up to me and want to sit in my lap and play with my camera. Very easy way to entertain them for hours.
These sailor girls were super cute! We took about 20 pictures of us on the playground. They were both wearing make up for the first time and loved to take their picture and then zoom in and look at their eyes. They then kept touching my eyes and saying something in Spanish. I am sure they were talking about how I never wear make up. Who knows.
Karla Marlany as a chicken bus with her little daisy sun hat was a clear winner for my favorite. At one point during the parade she reached out her arm from one of the windows of the bus and grabbed my hand. It was really difficult to walk and hold her hand through the window because of the angle, but she held on so tightly. She has been one of my favorite kids since she had surgery in our clinic last year. She sat in my lap for a long time before hand then when she was waking up she held my hand again really tightly. Such a special little girl to me.
On a random note I booked 2 flights this week. The first one is to Costa Rica the first week in October. The group that was just in Guatemala that I went to Tikal with are volunteering down in Costa Rica right now. However, both Scott and Carol Ann are moving back to the States in November. They finally convinced me to come visit them (even though I am a little concerned about spending the money right now) because in the long run it will be my cheapest chance to go. If I go now then I can stay with them for free and cook some meals at their apartments, so I wouldn't be spending so much money. I set aside some money out of my savings to travel this year and am glad I can take advantage of this "slow" time at work. Pretty soon my schedule is going to be crazy busy and I won't have time to do any traveling. Hopefully it will be a great trip with great new friends!
The second plane ticket was home to Houston. The last week in October Salud y Paz is having both a benefit and board meeting in Houston. Wayne mentioned this summer the possibility of all the volunteers going, but honestly I didn't think it would ever be possible. Then after booking my ticket to Costa Rica I had pretty much made up my mind that I couldn't afford to go to Houston for that week. Then I got the news that a couple of donations came in and were going to be able to cover both my plane ticket and Heather's. Janet and Wayne are also going to the benefit and I am very excited to have them all in Houston! It is going to be a lot of fun showing them my home and having them see where I am from. I am also more than excited to have a trip home next month! This is going to seem way lame, but I was actually sad I wouldn't get to see the pumpkin patch this year so just for that reason alone this makes me really happy! :)
Tomorrow I'll go up to the clinic and hopefully conquer my MASSIVE to do list. However, I am constantly being told by the other volunteers that it is laughable to make to do lists here in Guatemala because you'll always be disappointed. Hopefully I can prove them all wrong tomorrow. :)
Some of the first grade girls were sailors. They were so adorable and came up with a little dance with their boats. Their sailor hats were my favorite part of their whole outfits. The parents really did an amazing job making the boats. 
The pilots were another favorite. Please notice Rena and how over the parade she is. She is one of my favorites and was so tired. I ended up walking by her and holding her hand just so she wouldn't pass out. All the kids were so exhausted by the end of the parade.
After the parade was done all the participants gathered at the public school down the road from Salud y Paz and watched the princess crowning ceremony. During the ceremony I kept looking around at our kids and after they finished eating their snack most of them were either sitting or laying on the floor. Such a hard day walking through town as cute little vehicles.
These 2 sisters are my favorites. Luisa Elaina is in first grade and Rena is in kindergarten. I walked by them and they grabbed my hand and pulled me in for a hug. Both of them are really big on hugging and kissing on the cheek. They do it daily and it always makes me smile. Their mom is extremely nice and also always hugs me when she sees me. She reached for the camera in my hand and asked if she could take a picture of us. I love that even though I technically don't work in the school anymore I still have that connection with the children and parents. Walking through town in the parade also helped me realize the connection I have with the community of Camanchaj. Sometimes I hate that I don't serve in the community that I live in. I think it would be a completely different experience if I both lived and served in the same village. However, even though it is different I feel a real sense of community in both villages. Just something I need to get over.
These sailor girls were super cute! We took about 20 pictures of us on the playground. They were both wearing make up for the first time and loved to take their picture and then zoom in and look at their eyes. They then kept touching my eyes and saying something in Spanish. I am sure they were talking about how I never wear make up. Who knows.
This little girl is Saydie. She is in kindergarten and was one of the princesses for our school. She was also really excited about wearing makeup. Heather told me she talked about how they had "painted her lips and eyes" that morning. Just precious.
Some of the kids had already left, but here are most of them after the parade which is why they are not smiling that much. Man were they all really exhausted. I can not imagine them looking any cuter than they were on Saturday. They bring so much joy to my life.
The second plane ticket was home to Houston. The last week in October Salud y Paz is having both a benefit and board meeting in Houston. Wayne mentioned this summer the possibility of all the volunteers going, but honestly I didn't think it would ever be possible. Then after booking my ticket to Costa Rica I had pretty much made up my mind that I couldn't afford to go to Houston for that week. Then I got the news that a couple of donations came in and were going to be able to cover both my plane ticket and Heather's. Janet and Wayne are also going to the benefit and I am very excited to have them all in Houston! It is going to be a lot of fun showing them my home and having them see where I am from. I am also more than excited to have a trip home next month! This is going to seem way lame, but I was actually sad I wouldn't get to see the pumpkin patch this year so just for that reason alone this makes me really happy! :)
Tomorrow I'll go up to the clinic and hopefully conquer my MASSIVE to do list. However, I am constantly being told by the other volunteers that it is laughable to make to do lists here in Guatemala because you'll always be disappointed. Hopefully I can prove them all wrong tomorrow. :)
Friday, September 14, 2012
Rio Dulce Lake Trip!
Last Friday the other volunteers (Heather, Janet, and Wayne) and I left to drive to Rio Dulce which is a river running from Lake Izabal (biggest lake in Guatemala) to the Carribean Sea. I couldn't have asked for a better vacation with my volunteer family. We were gone for a total of 5 days spending 3 of them in Rio Dulce and the other 2 as car traveling days since it took about 10 hours to get there. We took one of our company cars and the other 3 peeps shared in the driving. I have yet to learn fully how to drive a stick shift down here, so I skipped my turns driving.
On the way to Rio Dulce we stopped at Quirigua Archaeological Park. We had to drive through a banana plantation to get to the park then when we arrived we parked and walked around the sites. This site is known for it's sculptures. At Tikal most of what I saw were huge temples while at this park there were many more stone tablets and sculptures. I have decided I need to visit every Mayan site in Guatemala. I have been to 3 so far and apparently there are more than 1,500 located around Guatemala. It's going to be a busy year. :) Here are some pictures from Quirigua.
Heather and I got one cute picture before it started to rain on us. However, luckily it was the only time it rained on our vacation. Really good for rainy season!
When we arrived in Rio Dulce we parked our car at a restaurant and got picked up by our hotel's boat and traveled for about 10 minutes down the river to our hotel. We stayed at Tortugal Marina Hotel which was really great. Janet and Wayne rented out a house to themselves while Heather and I stayed in the La Casa Natural. It has beds for 9 people, so we rented one of the bedrooms for 2. The walls of the rooms were mesh, so there really wasn't any privacy. Luckily there was only one dude staying downstairs and we had the whole upstairs to ourselves. Not bad for $14 a night! I think it would be fun to go with a bigger group and fill up the whole house. I also learned that the shuttles there and back would cost about $50. I would absolutely be up for going back another time with more people.
One of the stops we made with the boat was to this lily pad area. There were hundreds of lily pads that we drove through. I have never seen so many in one place before and was grateful for the opportunity to stop and take pictures.
While we were stopped taking pictures these girls canoed over to our boat to sell random sea shells and other random things. I thought it was so funny that they were there waiting for the boat of gringos to sell to. I ended up buying a starfish for a friend which later I was told that I was killing the environment by buying it. Who knew that my buying one little starfish was the reason why the environment is going downhill.
Our next stop on our boat ride was to a little area on the side of the river where there was a natural hot spring. We swam around for a little bit then hiked to a cave that cost 15Q to tour. A man who was standing outside the cave gave us flashlights and led us through the cave. Here is our group outside the cave.
The cave was super cool and super dark. At one point we all turned off our flashlights and couldn't see anything (duh). However, pictures turned out ok inside the cave when you used flash. I thought I would be more claustrophobic than I was, but surprisingly I was actually really calm while hiking through.
When we finally arrived in Livingston this dude Charlie met us at our boat. He kept saying he was with the tourist center in Livingston and started following us around even though we kept saying we were not interested. He learned my name and kept saying "Kelly, come this way" and after awhile we just started following him. He kept referring to Janet and Wayne as my parents which I thought was hilarious. He walked us to the other side of town, so we could eat lunch on the Carribean Sea coast. Here is a picture of some wild Livingston Carribean Sea pigs.
This was the view from where we ate lunch. In the distance we could see Belize. It made me think about my trip there last Spring with my cousin. Such a beautiful place that I hope to return to someday.
After our lunch and tour of Livingston we took the boat back down the river to another restaurant because Heather wanted us to try a special soup that this area is known for called Topado. When Heather was explaining it to us before hand I thought it sounded really gross, but it actually was really good. Here is Janet and Wayne at the restaurant.
Other side of the table.
The soup. It may look gross, but it was so good. We split it since we had all just had lunch. I would absolutely order it again.
Heather went to the bathroom and came back saying that there was a cage of monkeys along the way, so naturally I ran to play with the monkeys. When I got to the cage I started taking pictures and when I was looking down at my camera one monkey reached through the cage and grabbed my foot which made me jump. Then the other monkey grabbed my hand. It was like I was being attacked by the cute little monkeys!
On the way back to the kayak at the castle I spotted a little stand selling these floats. Heather and I had been talking for days about wanting floats to use while swimming off our dock, but the hotel didn't have any. I bought both of these floats for Q55 which turns into about $3 each. On one of the first days I met Heather we were walking in the market and saw a Hannah Montana backpack to which Heather says we are kind of like Miley Cyrus and Hannah Montana. She is Hannah Montana because she has blond straight hair and I would be Miley Cyrus because of my brown curly hair. It made me laugh then and also when I saw the Hannah Montana float. Well worth it and maybe the best purchase of the trip.
When we arrived in Rio Dulce we parked our car at a restaurant and got picked up by our hotel's boat and traveled for about 10 minutes down the river to our hotel. We stayed at Tortugal Marina Hotel which was really great. Janet and Wayne rented out a house to themselves while Heather and I stayed in the La Casa Natural. It has beds for 9 people, so we rented one of the bedrooms for 2. The walls of the rooms were mesh, so there really wasn't any privacy. Luckily there was only one dude staying downstairs and we had the whole upstairs to ourselves. Not bad for $14 a night! I think it would be fun to go with a bigger group and fill up the whole house. I also learned that the shuttles there and back would cost about $50. I would absolutely be up for going back another time with more people.
The first full day we were there we took a river boat to Livingston which is a town located down the river on the Carribean Sea. I loved the ride along the river. I got to sit in the front of the boat because I was willing to sit in the sun, and the views all around were beautiful. Such a pretty location.
The next morning we took the boat back to where our car was parked and drove to Finca Paraiso which is a waterfall of natural hot springs. There is a river on top of the waterfall which was almost too hot to get into. That hot water flows down into the cold water of the river below. It cost Q10 to get into the park which made me laugh thinking of course that was worth the $1.20 to get in. We swam around for awhile and attempted to climb up the cold river behind the waterfall. However, the current was too strong to get far up the river.
Next up Heather and I climbed up the side of the rocks to the top of the waterfall to see the hot springs river above. I decided it would be less scary to jump off the waterfall than to attempt to climb down the slippery rocks, so we decided to jump. Heather jumped first then I went right after her. We had Janet take our pictures jumping, but then decided we needed video proof, so we each took turns climbing back up and jumping again. First, be impressed I jumped off a 40 foot waterfall TWICE. Second, be even more impressed I did it with a sprained foot (still hurts a lot and I am debating if I need to figure out how to get an x-ray) and didn't hurt myself. Enjoy the video below. :)
On our last full day Janet and I kayaked to Castillo de San Felipe which is a pirate castle which was built by the Spanish in 1652 in an attempt to defer the pirates who would come to Rio Dulce to raid supplies. Heather and Wayne didn't want to go to the castle, so Janet and I took a 2 person kayak and made our way down the lake. It took us about 45 minutes to get there because the current was going the wrong way, but on the way home it only took us 25 minutes to get back to the marina. When we arrived at the castle we walked around taking pictures for about an hour. I thought the trip was well worth it. I can now say I've been to a real pirate castle. :)
Overall Rio Dulce was such a great trip! I really enjoyed experiencing all the other volunteers outside of work. For the most part we had a no talk about work policy which was great because then I got to know them better while talking about other random subjects. It is however good to be back in Pana for a little bit. Tomorrow is actually Guatemala's Independence Day, so there have been crazy parades going on all week. I am going to go up to Camanchaj tomorrow to watch the school kids who are in a parade through the town. Expect a blog full of cute pictures of them coming soon. :)
Right now I am sitting with Lungi at Crossroads Cafe. Because of the parades down the street there are no other customers, so we have been sitting here for about an hour taking random photobooth pictures. Man do I adore my friendship with Lungi. Hanging out with her and laughing reminds me of the youth back home. Such a blessing.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Blessed...
Often times I have a day where I look around and realize how blessed I am. Today was one of those days. And always since I use this blog as my personal journal as well as a way to keep loved ones updated I thought I would share why today I realized once again how blessed I am.
For those hoping to see fun picks from my trip to Rio Dulce check back probably tomorrow. Here is a sneak preview... I jumped off a 40 foot waterfall into natural hot springs! And I didn't break anything! :)
Back to why today was a great day. Today I was just really reminded of what an amazing community I have been accepted into down here. One of my biggest worries moving down here was that I would be lonely. Back home I was constantly surrounded by loved ones. I lived with my grandfather who would hug me everyday. Then I would go to work where youth would hug me everyday. Then when I got home I would either hang out with friends or other family who (yep you guessed it) would do some hugging. Even if it was a quiet night at home I would probably be doing some snuggling with my pup and cat while watching stupid TV (which is probably one of the things I am most embarrassed about missing). I was used to everyday being shown that I was loved and honestly I was worried about loosing that down here. However, today I was reminded that after only about 5 months in country I feel loved by those around me. Here are some special moments I had today.
First up this morning I had a Spanish lesson over Skype with Silvia from Guatemala Tours. The owner Hembert offered me free Skype Spanish lessons which I am taking advantage of. All the other volunteers are amazed that he offered them for free. Apparently that is a very unGuatemalan (should be a word) thing to do. It is amazing to me that this company that we partner with a lot cares that much that I learn Spanish because they know it will make my life easier down here. I am very grateful to have made that connection and have been given that offer.
Next, I talked to my friend Archy on the phone. I have probably blogged about my friendship with Archy before, but he is one of the driver/translators with Guatemala Tours that we work with a lot at Salud y Paz. I worked with him several times last Spring and he became a great friend. He would always be so patient with me with all my stupid questions I would ask and really went out of his way to help me understand both how to be better at my job and how to relate to the Guatemalan culture better. His younger son has a milk allergy which causes him to have to drink this special formula that is crazy expensive and can only be bought in the States. He has never asked me for help with purchasing it, but I felt called to help my friend out and have been blessed to have different family members donate money to bring down many cases of formula for him. When my family was here last March Archy came and hung out with them for about an hour and brought gifts for them for bringing down the formula. Both him and his wife Jacky have always had such kind words for my family and towards me.
Anyways, all that being said this is why I felt blessed today. I have been thinking about going to Xela (2nd biggest city in Guatemala) to attend Spanish School. I really feel like I need to get out of my comfort zone (Pana) to be fully immersed. I told Archy of my plan when I worked with him on a team a couple of weeks ago and he offered for me to come stay with his family for a month (or really as long as I could get away from work for). I kind of laughed like yeah right when he offered, but this morning on the phone we talked it through and now I know that I am officially going to go for the month of November and live with his family in Xela. Everyone down here has told me that being invited to someones house here in the Guatemalan culture isn't the same as back in the States. It means a lot to be invited into someones home and I feel extremely blessed that Archy and Jacky have invited me to live with them for a month. Archy also keeps telling me that I won't have to pay for anything while I'm there to which I keep telling him we will have to talk about that later which just makes him laugh. No way would I move in for a month and not help pay for anything, but again blessed that that is the offer they are giving me. The plan is for me to both attend Spanish School in Xela and for me to use their home as a home stay. Also Jacky is going to help teach me on the days that I don't attend classes. They both have to go into Guatemala Tours in the mornings, so during that time I think I can do a lesson with Silvia who is doing my Skype lessons now. I feel really blessed to have Archy as a friend and to have this amazing offer to live in their home for a whole month. Hopefully everything will work out with work to allow this to happen. I think not only will it help me tremendously with my Spanish, but it will also give me the opportunity to learn about another community. Also think about how much I will learn about the Guatemalan culture by living with a Guatemalan family for a month.
Next, I walked to town to meet up with the girls at the coffee shop. When I walked into the coffee shop I was welcomed with warm smiles like I always am. Crossroads Cafe is by far my favorite place in Pana. I love that everyday I go there I am met with smiles, hugs, and great conversations. When the girls arrived they ran inside and gave me huge hugs. I think I mentioned once back in Spring that I missed hugging people everyday, so now every time I see Kaisa and Lungi they greet me with giant hugs. I know I have talked about it before, but I love this family so very much. The girls asked me about my trip to Rio Dulce and shared with me about their trip to the beach. Again I got sad that I had to make a decision to go to the lake with the other volunteers and not to the beach with them. However, then the more I thought about it I realized what a great problem that is to have. I had been so upset that both of the trips were on the same weekend and that I had to make a decision, but really how cool is it that 2 different groups invited me to join their vacations. I even talked to them about going to a water park on the coast before Kaisa leaves in November. Again blessed moment.
I really feel blessed to have made all the connections I have here in my short amount of time here. Sometimes it seems like I have been down here for so long and haven't achieved everything I'm wanted to, but then other times I am amazed with the friendships I have been able to establish in just 5 months in country. There are days where I break down and really miss my family and life back in the States. Then I open my eyes and look around me and realize that I have an amazing community around me down here also. Both my life and community down here is completely different than back in the States, but I love it just as much.
Speaking of my community back in the States I miss them like crazy, but again today I was reminded how even though I am far away people back home are still keeping up with me. When I logged on to write this blog I went into the settings to try to change something and ended up checking out the statistics page on my blog. It has been awhile since I looked at it and I couldn't help but smiling. My overall views of my blog is at 4,264 (great job folks!). It is such a blessing to me to know that people from back home are keeping up with my mission down here through my blog. As I said in the beginning of this blog I use it as a personal journal and sometimes forget that other people read it. It was funny this summer running into random people and everyone telling me that they read my blog. Sometimes I would go back and reread the last few just to remember what all I wrote about. I have also had team members tell me that they read my blog, so I guess I need to always be careful about what I write on here. :)
This also made me laugh. Here is the breakdown per country of who reads my blog.
Ok... So I know that I have loved ones in the States and that a few of my friends down here in Guatemala tell me they have read this. I have a friend in Tanzania who I know sometimes reads my blog, but other than that who the heck are all these other people reading this? I mean seriously 235 people in Russia? What the heck?! Who knew I was such a big deal in Russia?? :)
Anyways, all this being said that I had a great day today being reminded that not only do I have a really strong support group back home (and apparently in Russia), but that I also have an amazing community around me down here in Guatemala. It makes me excited to think about how these current relationships are going to grown this year and how I will hopefully form others that will develop to be just as strong. I know I am a lucky girl and it is fun to be reminded of that sometimes.
But seriously if you are one of my Russia followers (and apparently there are lots of you... I'm kind of a big deal over there) know that I have always wanted to be a Russian celebrity, so thanks for making that dream come true. :)
For those hoping to see fun picks from my trip to Rio Dulce check back probably tomorrow. Here is a sneak preview... I jumped off a 40 foot waterfall into natural hot springs! And I didn't break anything! :)
Back to why today was a great day. Today I was just really reminded of what an amazing community I have been accepted into down here. One of my biggest worries moving down here was that I would be lonely. Back home I was constantly surrounded by loved ones. I lived with my grandfather who would hug me everyday. Then I would go to work where youth would hug me everyday. Then when I got home I would either hang out with friends or other family who (yep you guessed it) would do some hugging. Even if it was a quiet night at home I would probably be doing some snuggling with my pup and cat while watching stupid TV (which is probably one of the things I am most embarrassed about missing). I was used to everyday being shown that I was loved and honestly I was worried about loosing that down here. However, today I was reminded that after only about 5 months in country I feel loved by those around me. Here are some special moments I had today.
First up this morning I had a Spanish lesson over Skype with Silvia from Guatemala Tours. The owner Hembert offered me free Skype Spanish lessons which I am taking advantage of. All the other volunteers are amazed that he offered them for free. Apparently that is a very unGuatemalan (should be a word) thing to do. It is amazing to me that this company that we partner with a lot cares that much that I learn Spanish because they know it will make my life easier down here. I am very grateful to have made that connection and have been given that offer.
Next, I talked to my friend Archy on the phone. I have probably blogged about my friendship with Archy before, but he is one of the driver/translators with Guatemala Tours that we work with a lot at Salud y Paz. I worked with him several times last Spring and he became a great friend. He would always be so patient with me with all my stupid questions I would ask and really went out of his way to help me understand both how to be better at my job and how to relate to the Guatemalan culture better. His younger son has a milk allergy which causes him to have to drink this special formula that is crazy expensive and can only be bought in the States. He has never asked me for help with purchasing it, but I felt called to help my friend out and have been blessed to have different family members donate money to bring down many cases of formula for him. When my family was here last March Archy came and hung out with them for about an hour and brought gifts for them for bringing down the formula. Both him and his wife Jacky have always had such kind words for my family and towards me.
Anyways, all that being said this is why I felt blessed today. I have been thinking about going to Xela (2nd biggest city in Guatemala) to attend Spanish School. I really feel like I need to get out of my comfort zone (Pana) to be fully immersed. I told Archy of my plan when I worked with him on a team a couple of weeks ago and he offered for me to come stay with his family for a month (or really as long as I could get away from work for). I kind of laughed like yeah right when he offered, but this morning on the phone we talked it through and now I know that I am officially going to go for the month of November and live with his family in Xela. Everyone down here has told me that being invited to someones house here in the Guatemalan culture isn't the same as back in the States. It means a lot to be invited into someones home and I feel extremely blessed that Archy and Jacky have invited me to live with them for a month. Archy also keeps telling me that I won't have to pay for anything while I'm there to which I keep telling him we will have to talk about that later which just makes him laugh. No way would I move in for a month and not help pay for anything, but again blessed that that is the offer they are giving me. The plan is for me to both attend Spanish School in Xela and for me to use their home as a home stay. Also Jacky is going to help teach me on the days that I don't attend classes. They both have to go into Guatemala Tours in the mornings, so during that time I think I can do a lesson with Silvia who is doing my Skype lessons now. I feel really blessed to have Archy as a friend and to have this amazing offer to live in their home for a whole month. Hopefully everything will work out with work to allow this to happen. I think not only will it help me tremendously with my Spanish, but it will also give me the opportunity to learn about another community. Also think about how much I will learn about the Guatemalan culture by living with a Guatemalan family for a month.
Next, I walked to town to meet up with the girls at the coffee shop. When I walked into the coffee shop I was welcomed with warm smiles like I always am. Crossroads Cafe is by far my favorite place in Pana. I love that everyday I go there I am met with smiles, hugs, and great conversations. When the girls arrived they ran inside and gave me huge hugs. I think I mentioned once back in Spring that I missed hugging people everyday, so now every time I see Kaisa and Lungi they greet me with giant hugs. I know I have talked about it before, but I love this family so very much. The girls asked me about my trip to Rio Dulce and shared with me about their trip to the beach. Again I got sad that I had to make a decision to go to the lake with the other volunteers and not to the beach with them. However, then the more I thought about it I realized what a great problem that is to have. I had been so upset that both of the trips were on the same weekend and that I had to make a decision, but really how cool is it that 2 different groups invited me to join their vacations. I even talked to them about going to a water park on the coast before Kaisa leaves in November. Again blessed moment.
I really feel blessed to have made all the connections I have here in my short amount of time here. Sometimes it seems like I have been down here for so long and haven't achieved everything I'm wanted to, but then other times I am amazed with the friendships I have been able to establish in just 5 months in country. There are days where I break down and really miss my family and life back in the States. Then I open my eyes and look around me and realize that I have an amazing community around me down here also. Both my life and community down here is completely different than back in the States, but I love it just as much.
Speaking of my community back in the States I miss them like crazy, but again today I was reminded how even though I am far away people back home are still keeping up with me. When I logged on to write this blog I went into the settings to try to change something and ended up checking out the statistics page on my blog. It has been awhile since I looked at it and I couldn't help but smiling. My overall views of my blog is at 4,264 (great job folks!). It is such a blessing to me to know that people from back home are keeping up with my mission down here through my blog. As I said in the beginning of this blog I use it as a personal journal and sometimes forget that other people read it. It was funny this summer running into random people and everyone telling me that they read my blog. Sometimes I would go back and reread the last few just to remember what all I wrote about. I have also had team members tell me that they read my blog, so I guess I need to always be careful about what I write on here. :)
This also made me laugh. Here is the breakdown per country of who reads my blog.
Ok... So I know that I have loved ones in the States and that a few of my friends down here in Guatemala tell me they have read this. I have a friend in Tanzania who I know sometimes reads my blog, but other than that who the heck are all these other people reading this? I mean seriously 235 people in Russia? What the heck?! Who knew I was such a big deal in Russia?? :)
Anyways, all this being said that I had a great day today being reminded that not only do I have a really strong support group back home (and apparently in Russia), but that I also have an amazing community around me down here in Guatemala. It makes me excited to think about how these current relationships are going to grown this year and how I will hopefully form others that will develop to be just as strong. I know I am a lucky girl and it is fun to be reminded of that sometimes.
But seriously if you are one of my Russia followers (and apparently there are lots of you... I'm kind of a big deal over there) know that I have always wanted to be a Russian celebrity, so thanks for making that dream come true. :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)