Spanish school, Hike to San Jorge, and a Mayan cave...

I love Spanish school (yes I am just as shocked as you are that I would ever write that sentence), but I really do for 2 reasons. The first reason is Gladys. She is my teacher and is simply amazing. I am just as close to her as I am to anyone else down here if not closer because when we have our lessons it is just the 2 of us talking for 4 hours at a time. I have had 6 lessons so far, so we have spent 24 hours sitting together and talking since I've been here. The lessons are really more like having a coffee date with a friend than actual class. She teaches me words and then we practice them through questions and answers which just leads to us talking about our lives and me telling her about Texas and her teaching me about Guatemala. The thing I like most about Gladys is her sense of humor. She has a very similar one to mine which results in us spending most of the 4 hours a day laughing and joking around. It is becoming a beautiful friendship that I am blessed to have.

The second reason why I love going to Spanish school is that some afternoons they have activities for the students for great prices. I have been on a couple of the activities, and am always amazed at how cheap it is. Last week I visited 2 other villages, went to several churches, and visited a pottery factory all for $2.20. This afternoon we went to San Jorge to go on a hike and visit a Mayan ritual cave and it only cost me $2. Tomorrow we are going to a Nature Reserve (where they have monkeys!!!!!!!!) and it is only costing $5.80. I love that the school offers these trips because they are teaching me so much about the area of Guatemala that I'm living in. Not to mention all the beautiful photography opportunities I am most grateful for.

So after an hour of Spanish lessons Gladys, a few other students and their teachers, and I walked across town to catch a chicken bus (it's actually what it's called) to San Jorge which the village to the right of Pana on the lake. The chicken bus was crazy packed when we got on it, and I sat there amazed when about 40 other people got on after us. After about 15 minutes we got off and started our hike up the mountain. We hiked for about 25 minutes to get to the cave. The path we went on (if you can even call it that) was right on the cliff overlooking the lake. I basically hugged the mountain and prayed the entire hike. At one point one of the other students slipped a little and I freaked out. If you've ever spent more than 2 minutes with me you know how big of a klutz I am and how much I fall down. Thankfully we finally made it to the cave and it was well worth it.

It was impossible to get the entire opening of the cave into one picture, because the trail wasn't that far away from it, but you can sort of tell from these how big it was.

When we walked into the cave there was a Sacerdote (person who does the rituals) speaking in Kaqchikel (Mayan language for this village) and lighting candles. Gladys taught me what each candle meant and why it was important the order he lit them in.

The inside of the cave was beautiful. When you touched the ceiling of the cave sut would come off in your hand. I don't know if that is just what the layers on the ceiling is made of, or it there is just so much sut because of all the flames they have in the cave. At almost every ritual some kind of animal (usually a chicken/bird) is sacrificed. There were several different spots that were still smoking from the last sacrifice. When I was in Chichicastenago in August with the mission trip we walked through a cemetery and I saw a couple of chickens being sacrificed. Surprisingly enough I wasn't grossed out like I thought I would be, but rather I thought it was beautiful to watch the ritual. I got the same feeling today in the cave. I have always been fascinated by other religions, and loved being able to witness their sacred rituals first hand. However, of course I do wish the poor chickens could just be there to watch the ritual with me and not play the starring role.

 After we hiked back up to the road we walked over to Gladys' house, so I could meet her sons. Gladys and her husband both work at the Spanish school in Pana, and their 2 boys are adorable. They came on the second part of the hike with us. I started to walk behind Gladys so I could wave and make the baby smile. From her house it took us about 20 minutes to get to the very top of the mountain. The paths were just as scary as before, so Gladys stayed behind with her sons and didn't go to the very top with us.

 The last 5 minutes of the hike was just climbing up lots of boulders like this one. Yes I did start praying again and when it was time to come down I scooted down on my butt to you know keep from falling off the mountain. I tried to take a picture of the cliff below me, but it didn't come across as steep or terrifying as it looked while up there.

 When I made it to the top I was a little disappointed by how foggy it was, so I couldn't see the volcanoes on the other side of the lake. I took several pictures of the view that are not really worth sharing, which is sad but I did get a picture of me standing on top of a VERY tall mountain! If you could zoom out in the picture below you would see on the right of me the boulders from the picture above and on the right a drop off of about 400 feet. The rock I was standing on was about 2 feet wide, so after I took my picture I then immediately sat down as to not fall off the mountain. :)

 After we got back down the mountain to Gladys' house she ran inside to drop off the baby and I walked over to this little fruit stand these kids were having. I couldn't buy the fruit (because it would make me sick if I ate fruit here that I didn't disinfect), but I had enough conversation skills to talk to them. Also I took their picture and showed them on the camera. That is always a big crown pleaser with kids here.

Check back tomorrow for a blog all about monkeys. :)

Just a beautiful day...

Today was one of the most beautiful and peaceful days I've had in a long time. I didn't go up to the village today to work, so I decided instead of sleeping in and wasting such a beautiful day I would walk to the lake. It is about a 2 mile walk from my apartment to the lake. I walked through town and stopped along the way at a bakery to grab breakfast and coffee. Even though I know I have a very LONG way to come on my Spanish I've realized that after only 4 lessons I've learned enough to at least get by when buying things and asking simple questions. To them it probably sounds like a 5 year old is speaking, but at least they can understand what I'm trying to say.

 When I finally made it to the lake I was astonished by how beautiful it was. I look at it everyday and saw it from the hilltop a few days ago, but standing level with it was breathtaking. There is a little road that goes along the lake and ends at an harbor. I found what used to be a stone staircase into the lake which was destroyed by a tree that fell down, and sat there for hours drinking my coffee, people watching, boat and duck watching, and going over some Spanish notecards (my goal is to at least sound like a 7 year old when I leave). I've decided this is going to be my special Guatemala place (see picture of it below). I foresee myself coming here when I need to feel calm and peaceful, or maybe when I just want to look at something beautiful.

I am not going up to the village again until Friday (because I'm going to Spanish school in the afternoons this week), so I think I'll go back to my secret place again tomorrow morning. I think it will be the perfect study/devotional/picture taking/listening to music and Guatemalan watching location.

On a side note I went up to the school yesterday and met the rest of the staff at the school and clinic. It was the first day the teachers were back and that the clinic was open since Christmas. It was amazing being introduced to everyone and getting hugs and kisses for just being there. It seams like such a close family community and I'm grateful to be a part of it. I was going to post some pictures, but thought I would wait until everything was set up and ready for the school year. That way you can see how cute all the classrooms are. I was also going to blog about it last night, but didn't feel well. I think I got sick from the change in altitude. Pana is around 3,000 and Salud y Paz is around 7,000. It takes 45 minutes to drive the very windy and bumpy road up the the village. I'll be better prepared next time I go with lots of water and advil, but I'm hoping I'll get used to it.  I wanted to wait to blog about how it's set up there until I get some descent pictures to show.

Anyways, when I left the lake I walked back to the part of town that I knew and grabbed lunch at a little cafe where I could sit outside and watch the people passing by. There was a girl sitting at the table right next to me who was waiting for a shuttle to go to Antigua. We started talking about Antigua and why we were both in Guatemala. I love how many missionaries/volunteers/random people just there to hang out there are around town.

After lunch I stopped at the coffee shop to study for a little over an hour before I went to Spanish school. The coffee shop is owned by Mike and his wife (can't remember her name) who have been living and raising their kids in Pana for 15 years. I was invited last Saturday to a knitting (no I don't know how to knitt) club in their apartment upstairs. They seam like a great couple to know and I think like my spot at the lake I'll be going to this coffee shop a lot on my days off.

I am loving my time in Guatemala so far. Right now I feel like I am just a tourist playing around town and going to Spanish school everyday. I am really looking forward to the school year starting in a couple of weeks and the start of me going up to the clinic/school 4 (usually) days a week. I can't wait to be with the kids everyday and hopefully be of help at the school. Janet wants me to have a couple of weeks of Spanish lessons before I start going up a lot, so I'll be more helpful once I'm there (you know it may be good to be able to talk to the kids/teachers/anyone). However, until that starts I guess I'll just have to settle for spending my days exploring this new town of mine.

And as if today wasn't perfect enough I got a Facetime (think skype for IPhones and IPods) from everyone I love and miss at The Refuge. I had been thinking all day about missing Fat Tuesday tonight and it made me cry (shocker) that they called to say they missed me being there also. If any of you read this know how much I love you.

Today was a beautiful day. I pray tomorrow will be just as amazing.

Spanish school and Exporing

 I had my first Spanish lesson yesterday morning. I went from 8 to 12 with one 15 minute break at 10. My tutor was a lady named Gladys and she was great. She had a great sense of humor, so we were able to laugh mainly at how bad at Spanish I was. At the school the students sit a tables with their teacher in this beautiful court yard. I really think that if Katy/Stratford had taught me one on one in a beautiful court yard with fruit trees, flowers, and parrots I would have been a straight A student. :) This morning I had another 4 hour lesson. I am impressed with how much is coming back from high school, but it is still difficult. I have never been good at learning languages, so I know this is going to be a challenge.

Anyways, after Spanish school yesterday Janet and I walked to the market. Think of our farmer's market in Houston then imagine if it was 10 times bigger. Every time I thought we were towards the end of the market Janet would lead me into another massive room filled with different vendors. I bought a lot of fruits and vegetables that I then had to take home and disinfect. I bought some organic cleaner and soaked everything in water for about 15 minutes. Hopefully it did the trip. I haven't been sick yet, so at least I'm having a good start.

 In the market there were about 20 of these meat stands all along the walls. This is just one of the reasons why I don't like a lot of meat... gross.

 Yesterday afternoon I went with a couple of other Spanish students (one who refused to speak English and one who was from Germany and didn't know English, so I pretty much just spoke broken Spanish to the tuk tuk driver) went to a couple of other towns on the lake near Pana. On the drive we pulled over a few times to take pictures. The view is breathtaking. There are 3 volcanoes around the lake which is probably one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen.

 This is the town of Santa Catarina Palopo which is the town closest to Pana. We stopped here and went into one of the churches.

 The next town we came to was San Antoinio Palopo (yes I pronounce it wrong because I always say it like our San Antonio in Texas). This town is known for it's pottery and weaving. We went to the local pottery factory where every thing is handmade. I bought a pretty cross and would have bought more, but I figured I've only been here for 3 days and would probably find lots of stuff I would want to buy. That and I was running out of money because the atm hasn't worked since I got here.

We visited a couple of churches while in San Antoinio Palopo and they both had a big Christmas tree and nativity scene in front. In all of the nativities the baby Jesus were actually size baby dolls while everything else was miniature in comparison. Found it interesting.

 Lastly on our trip we stopped at some stores where they sell their weaving that they are known for. I know this is a bad picture, but you can still see how they make these weavings. When you walk down the streets there are dozens of children and women trying to sell you things. I bought one when I was at the market in Chichi this Summer. They are beautiful, but it gets old when you are trying to just walk around and you are constantly harassed to buy something.

Today was a great days also. After Spanish school this morning I went with Janet and Wayne to Salud y Paz to make a list of everything we want to construction mission team that gets here Monday to do to get the school ready to open in 2 weeks. I can't wait for the school year to start and to be working with the kids everyday. Tonight I had dinner with Janet, Wayne, and another married couple who work in the clinic. I am realizing quickly how blessed I am to be working with these amazing people.

Ok... I'm exhausted and have a lot of Spanish homework to do before I can go to bed. If you've been wondering why this blog may not be up to its charming self it's because I'm about to fall asleep while typing. Night blog peeps.

I now live in Guatemala... (mom don't cry).

I'm finally here...

After flying into Guatemala City and making the trip to Panajachel I finally got to my house last night. I love it. Everything about it. My roommate is hosting a mission trip this week, so I have the place to myself to get all set up and settled in. When Janet and Wayne dropped me off at my house yesterday I thought I would just fall asleep, but I ended up staying up late unpacking and organizing my room. I got almost everything done last night before going to bed. I also met my upstairs neighbors. A retired couple from Maine live in the apartment above me and have been here for 8 years. They spend 4 months out of the year here then go back to Maine. They couldn't be nicer. I wasn't scared at all last night staying by myself because I knew they were there.

The house is AMAZING!! I'll post the pictures below, but they don't even come close to capturing how beautiful it is here. This morning when I woke up I walked around our yard and took lots of pictures. There is a little path that goes up the hill behind our house and in front there are 2 other houses (one is for rent and the other is where Roberto (the grounds keeper) and his family live). There are orange trees all over the yard and lots of beautiful plants. About 2 miles down the road from my house is the lake and across the lake you can see one of the volcanoes (I think there are 3 around the lake). I spent about an hour sitting outside doing my daily devotional. So peaceful.

 This is the view from the front porch.

Here are some pictures (as if the first ones were not enough to prove how beautiful it is here) of inside the house.

 Living room.

 Kitchen.

 My room... I love it!

 I went to the market today and bought this quilt. It is made from pieces of traditional Mayan clothing.

 My closet and picture wall. I wanted to bring a lot of pictures of everyone I love to make me smile.

 Shelving/desk area.

I feel like after living here for the Spring I'm going to get used to not having a lot of stuff around. I just did a major clean out of my apartment before moving, but I imagine I'll do a bigger one once I get home.

Anyways, this morning Janet came and picked me up and took me over to the Spanish school to register. I signed up to go to class the next 3 days from 8 to 12. I can't imagine that will be a lot of fun, but hopefully I'll pick it up quickly. I'll go most of next week also then when I have to start going to work I'll do Spanish school just a couple of days a week or get a tutor. After we left the school we walked all around the town. Janet showed me all the grocery stores I will shop at and we went on the search for hangers, baskets for the bathroom, and a quilt. Next we got a cell phone for me to use while I'm down here then met up with Wayne to eat lunch. We sat outside at this little cafe called The Patio. While we were eating people would come up to us asking us to buy something from them. It reminded me of the market when I was in Chichicastenago in August. You just have to learn to ignore them.

While we were walking around town I was so surprised by how many people were walking around from the United States or Europe. Most of the people I saw looked either my age or retired. Janet kept running into people she knew. There seams to be a good community of tourist who live here. Apparently this town has 18,000 living in it and they say 1 out of 8 people are not from Guatemala.

After lunch we went grocery shopping. There are 4 different stores then a farmers type market. We are going to the market tomorrow, so today we just went to the stores. I was so shocked by what was in the stores. When I was in Chichicastenago we went to the grocery store once and there was hardly anything I recognized. Here all the stores are well kept and stocked with food that looks familiar (yet in Spanish). Janet explained that when you go shopping you go to all 4 because you know what to get from each one. Different things are better at one store or you can only find certain things at one, so you have to go to all 4 to complete your list. At one store I bought some tofu (who knew they would have tofu in Guatemala??) and another store we shopped at had all sorts of fancy stuff. On one shelf they had truffle oil and avocado oil. Janet said that if you see something you want you need to go ahead and buy it because who knows when they will have it again. Pana has one big road that most of the shops are on, so all the stores are in walking distance of each other and our houses.

When I got back to the house I finished setting up my magic jack. With it I can call home for free. If you want to call me the number is 281 670 7821. If I'm not home or our internet isn't working you can just leave a message. Also if you have an IPhone or IPod Touch you can use heytell or facetime to call me at kecragg@gmail.com.

Tomorrow morning David (one of the neighbors from Maine) is going to walk me to Spanish school, so I'll learn how to get there. Then when I'm done Janet is going to pick me up and we are going to the market to buy fresh fruits and vegetables. I think in the afternoon we are going to start working on planning for the school year to start. A mission team is coming this weekend and they will be at the school helping us get everything ready for the following week.

So far I love everything. I feel settled in the house and have amazing people around me. Janet and Wayne are so nice and have been talking me through everything. I can't imagine being in a better situation down here. I guess I made me right decision. :)

Last day in Houston...

So the count down is on... Tomorrow morning we are leaving around 7:00 am to head to the airport for me to catch my 9:30 flight to Guatemala City. I am being met at the airport by Janet and Wayne who will then travel with me to Pana. Janet and I have sent many emails back and forth coming up with every scenario that could happen... What if I miss my flight? What if they miss their flight? What if the flights are delayed? What if they just never show up? I know who to call if that happens and where to go. Hopefully I won't need any of our backup plans, but since I won't have a phone or internet access at the airport it is good to know what to do in case anything happens.

Tonight we ate dinner at my parents house and had all the family come over to say goodbye. I was good until I had to say bye to my grandfather. I live in his garage apartment and see him everyday. I can't imagine not being able to just walk through the backdoor into the house to give him a hug everyday. Just one of the many things I'm going to miss very much.

Tomorrow morning my dad is leaving to go on our college mission trip, so it's up to my mom and brother to take me to the airport. I know I am going to cry again in the morning saying bye to the 3 of them, but that once I get inside the airport I'll be ok. I remember when my parents dropped me off at college I cried and they were worried about leaving me. Then when they were about 20 minutes down the road they called to check on me and I told them I couldn't talk because I was hanging out with some friends I had just met. I've learned throughout the years that this is how I work. I get really upset at first then I snap out of it when I realize I'll be ok and then I'm fine.

Hopefully I come to that realization before I get on the plane tomorrow or I'll be that idiot crying in first class (yes I am flying first class because it was the only seat left on the plane when my uncle booked my ticket... deal).

Ok... I'm off to do some last minute packing then to head to bed. Be praying that everything works out tomorrow and that I somehow make it to my house in Pana without much hassle. I'll update when I get to Guatemala as soon as I get the internet all set up.

Perfect Timing...

So I'm been a little sad the past couple of days. Since Christmas is over and I've really been able to fully focus on Guatemala I've realized that my departure date is coming up way faster that I was expecting. I leave on January 3rd which is in 5 days. If you were sitting next to me on my couch looking at all my Guatemala stuff scattered all over the floor and not packed yet you would understand why that is such a scary sentence to type.

Anyways like I said earlier I've been getting really nervous and sad as the day approaches. The main thing that I am nervous about (you know besides having to learn and speak in Spanish) is being away from my family and friends. I have been fortunate to grow up in an amazing supportive bubble that is made up by my family and church family. I get sad everyday that Guatemala gets closer thinking about how I am going to do without being surrounded by them like I am used to.

This leads me to why this blog is called perfect timing. Today was my last day of work, so the youth staff took me out to lunch to say goodbye. At lunch they gave me a journal that they made filled with notes from everyone I love. If you look at the picture below you will see how the journal has so many notes in it it doesn't even come close to closing. I was toying around with the idea of taking a 2nd carry-on and after seeing the journal we all agreed the extra bag may be necessary. Every page is labeled with a date that I'm going to be in Guatemala for. Some days have an envelope that says "when just one note won't do" and on those days the envelope has several notes in it. There are letters in it from staff members at the church, family, and youth (can't express how excited I am to read these notes... It will be just like having my very own personal workcamp mailbox everyday!!). I can't even imagine how long it took Sedonia (hopefully this makes you smile when you read this since you love shout outs :) ) to put it all together. It was just what I needed to pull me out of my depressed state that I was slipping into. What a beautiful gift to be able to read a special note from someone I love everyday I'm gone.

I know I am blessed to have such a strong support system here that will be lifting me up in prayers while I am gone. If you are reading this and you were one of the people who wrote me a note please know how much it truly means to me. I know that with this journal if I start feeling a little sad all I have to do is open it up and read a couple of notes from loved ones and it will brighten my day. Thank you all so very much!!

Meeting Mary...

So a couple of weeks ago I got an email saying that a teacher from the school in Guatemala was coming to Houston for Christmas to visit her dad. I jumped at the chance to meet her and worked it out for her to come to my church yesterday and do a presentation for the church staff about Guatemala. It was amazing to get to actually talk face to face with someone who I will be working with while I'm down there.

Yesterday morning I went to pick Mary and her father up to bring them to the church. After talking to Mary on the phone for about 20 minutes and driving around in circles I finally spotted her standing on the corner. I really believe that if she wasn't wearing her traditional Mayan clothing I wouldn't have found her. Me not knowing the part of Houston she was in combined with her never having been here before and therefor having no idea where she was wasn't a great combination. Luckily I was finally about to find her.

When Mary and her father, Tomas, got into my car she told me how this was her first time to visit the United States. Her father had moved to Houston from Guatemala 9 years ago and she hadn't seen him since. I loved listening to her talk about her life in Guatemala and how the getting a job at the school really changed her life.

When we got to the church we walked around and I gave them a tour. It made me laugh when they both took out their cameras to take pictures of the sanctuary. Mary kept telling me how beautiful it was and said that it was her first time to be in a church in the States. I told her that to me it was funny that people would take pictures at my church and around Houston because I don't think about it as a touristy place. She then said that she always laughs when people from the States take pictures of things in Guatemala. When I was there in August I took pictures of everything. Even their grocery stores. It would probably make me laugh a lot if I saw someone taking pictures in HEB. :)

After the tour it was time for Mary to do her presentation. She talked for about 10 minutes about the school and Salud y Paz. She said how at 21 she was proud to have worked at the school for the past 3 years as the first grade teacher. Mary also talked about how opening the school in her village was changing the lives of the children there. She expressed how they are always in need of scholarships for the students.

On a side note to sponsor a child at the school it cost $550. If you are sitting at home right now in anguish because you can't decide what to get me for Christmas what I really want is for you to sign up to sponsor a child. I promise if you do I'll send you lots of adorable pictures of your student. What could be better than that?? Let me know if you are interested or contact the director of the school at Janet@saludypaz.org

Ok... Back to Mary. She did an AMAZING job talking about Guatemala. She talked about how getting a scholarship herself to learn English is why she is now able to teach at the school and give a presentation like this. She was most proud of having her father be able to be there to see her talk about the school. She got emotional at the end while talking about how special it was to be here to spend Christmas with him.


It was a blessing to have met Mary and to have her speak to the staff here. I am always thankful to them for allowing me to take the Spring off and go to Guatemala. It is great to know that they now have a better idea of where I will be working while I'm down there. It is also a blessing to know that when I get to Guatemala I will see at least one familiar face.