Monday, September 27, 2010
Last Day in Antigua
There has been a whirlwind of events in the last week or so. We all finished Spanish School. Mary Kate got several friends in her tummy aka parasites and was deathly ill but after about two weeks, several doctors and almost Q1,000 later she is doing great! I also had my own doctor visit for a cough I had for four weeks and a cold for two weeks. Only Q150 got me my consult, exam, and three different meds. I am on my way to being completely recovered, yeah! Sunday morning I woke up at 5:30am to about 1/2 an inch of water all over our bedroom floor- the toilet overflowed! And the boys had to be rescued by a tractor on their way back from the beach (glad I didn't go) but that night we found an excellent ice cream shop so we were ok :D Tomorrow is our last full day in Antigua and then Wednesday morning we will be off to La Ceiba to buy last minute things for the Farm and Friday we will finally be at the Farm. Word on the street is we have two weeks of "profound" question asking and community building and then the real work as a nurse for me will start! But I am not sure when I will have interent connection next once I get there. So pray for safe travels for us all and a great start to Finca Life!
Much Love to you All!
Much Love to you All!
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
Rojos! Rojos!
Well it has been an exciting last couple of days. Yesterday was El dia de independencia for Guatemala, wa-hoo! So on Tuesday night we went to an international futbol game-Guatemala vs. Mexico-so it was pretty intense, we rooted for the Rojos or the reds. Lily, one of the volunteers is Mexicana so she wore her Mexican jeresy and the school told her she couldn't wear it because she and the rest of us would get harrassed pretty bad. For $20 we got our transportation there and back plus our ticket. I learned all sorts of malas palabras (bad words) as the guy next to me was pretty umm shall we say passionate about the game, we all enjoyed him, really. At one point all of us girls went to the bathroom, there was music playing and I said to Amanda, "doesn't this just make you want to dance?" and so she started to dance and then literally the whole section started to hoot and holler and exlaim something about American women! So now the inside joke is Amanda are you sure you don't want to dance? It was a great cultural experience and fun to see how Guatemaltecos get into their sport.
Then on Wednesday for class my teacher and I watched the desfila or parade, all FOUR hours of it! All the schools in Antigua have a band and all schools participate. It is very different than the states though: less focus on the formations and more on feeling the spirit of the music. The last "float" was a representation of "rock" music where the jovenes dressed in 50's dress and danced a number to Elvis Presley.
For dinner on Wednesday Lily made us all her favorite Mexican dish because today is actually Mexico's independence day. It was wonderful, plus all the tostados and frijoles you could ever want, and chocolate caliente for dessert with banana bread from our favorite Panadaria (bread store) Dona Luisa.
We have two more weeks here and then we will be in Honduras! On the bucket list of Antigua still to do is: climb Pacaya (a volcano about 2 hours away), visit the coffee farm, investigate some other well know panadarias, and meander through San Fransico's Ruins of a meer $0.75, the prices here boggle my mind!
All the vols are wonderful and we have been having such great conversations. They are aldready my family and I just want to take them home to meet everyone! Here is a small introduction to those here in Guate:
Jacob & Rachel: They are like our mom and dad away from home. They are here with their three boys, Jonah is five, Isaac is three and Ruben is one! They are a bundle of joy and energy and have a adjusted really well to Guate and practice their futbol skills all the time.
Lily: Is from Southern California and is Jonah's Godmother! She is our mexican ganster as she says. She is very faithfilled and LOVES Mother Theresa, as well as Negritos, a chocolate filled hot dog bun, much like a Little Debbie treat in the States.
Tami: A teacher from Southern California as well. Her sister and Lily's brother just got engaged beofre coming. Her and I have had many great conversations about life experience and I feel like we will be life long friends.
Mary Kate: My travel buddy and now roommate here in Guate. She recently graduated from Notre Dame and loves Notre Dame and sports which is quite the understatement. She is our talker of the group and is trying to drop her "gringa" accent which is very thick.
Betsy: Also recent grad from Notre Dame. Loves to read and has been the instigator of most "book discussions", travel trips, and evening events. She has really challenged us in our "bible studies" by asking whatever is on her mind.
Amanda: Is very quiet like myself from University of Illinois. Her and I spend a lot of time studying since we are the least farthest along in our spanish! She is excited to hopefully use her teaching degree at the Farm.
Phil: He is our crazy member, we can always rely on him for a good laugh as well as saying some of the most profound things. Ironically he reminds me much of Jesse and his manurisms. Phil is from Washington state and went to school in Southern Cali as well.
Nils: Recent grad of University of Portland with like three degrees, and originally from Spokane, WA so him and Phil naturally agrue all the time about being from the wrong part of the state. He is a mere 6 feet 4 inches and works as a nice body guard on our late night walks through Antigua.
Hopefully this gives a breif review of teh vols so you kinda know who I am talking about when I mention them. Off to study more espanol. Hope all is well with everyone, thank you for sending me emails and your love I really appreciate it!! Deirdre
Then on Wednesday for class my teacher and I watched the desfila or parade, all FOUR hours of it! All the schools in Antigua have a band and all schools participate. It is very different than the states though: less focus on the formations and more on feeling the spirit of the music. The last "float" was a representation of "rock" music where the jovenes dressed in 50's dress and danced a number to Elvis Presley.
For dinner on Wednesday Lily made us all her favorite Mexican dish because today is actually Mexico's independence day. It was wonderful, plus all the tostados and frijoles you could ever want, and chocolate caliente for dessert with banana bread from our favorite Panadaria (bread store) Dona Luisa.
We have two more weeks here and then we will be in Honduras! On the bucket list of Antigua still to do is: climb Pacaya (a volcano about 2 hours away), visit the coffee farm, investigate some other well know panadarias, and meander through San Fransico's Ruins of a meer $0.75, the prices here boggle my mind!
All the vols are wonderful and we have been having such great conversations. They are aldready my family and I just want to take them home to meet everyone! Here is a small introduction to those here in Guate:
Jacob & Rachel: They are like our mom and dad away from home. They are here with their three boys, Jonah is five, Isaac is three and Ruben is one! They are a bundle of joy and energy and have a adjusted really well to Guate and practice their futbol skills all the time.
Lily: Is from Southern California and is Jonah's Godmother! She is our mexican ganster as she says. She is very faithfilled and LOVES Mother Theresa, as well as Negritos, a chocolate filled hot dog bun, much like a Little Debbie treat in the States.
Tami: A teacher from Southern California as well. Her sister and Lily's brother just got engaged beofre coming. Her and I have had many great conversations about life experience and I feel like we will be life long friends.
Mary Kate: My travel buddy and now roommate here in Guate. She recently graduated from Notre Dame and loves Notre Dame and sports which is quite the understatement. She is our talker of the group and is trying to drop her "gringa" accent which is very thick.
Betsy: Also recent grad from Notre Dame. Loves to read and has been the instigator of most "book discussions", travel trips, and evening events. She has really challenged us in our "bible studies" by asking whatever is on her mind.
Amanda: Is very quiet like myself from University of Illinois. Her and I spend a lot of time studying since we are the least farthest along in our spanish! She is excited to hopefully use her teaching degree at the Farm.
Phil: He is our crazy member, we can always rely on him for a good laugh as well as saying some of the most profound things. Ironically he reminds me much of Jesse and his manurisms. Phil is from Washington state and went to school in Southern Cali as well.
Nils: Recent grad of University of Portland with like three degrees, and originally from Spokane, WA so him and Phil naturally agrue all the time about being from the wrong part of the state. He is a mere 6 feet 4 inches and works as a nice body guard on our late night walks through Antigua.
Hopefully this gives a breif review of teh vols so you kinda know who I am talking about when I mention them. Off to study more espanol. Hope all is well with everyone, thank you for sending me emails and your love I really appreciate it!! Deirdre
Saturday, September 4, 2010
On the Move
Day 11 in Antigua: all of the volunteers are here! It has been great getting to know everyone and hanging out around el centro. Today another volunteer and myself are moving into a VERY NICE house to hopefully speak more Spanish then where I am right now in the student house. There is an older woman that lives there by herself, she does have a younger woman help her with chores around the house but I think she is very excited to have us. I feel like we are her grandchildren!
My typical day now looks as such: I get up and have breakfast and get ready for 4 hours of speaking Spanish from 8-12 (which by the way is coming along much better!). Really it is only three and a half because everyone gets a break from 10-10:30am for coffee/tea. Lunch is at 1pm and then we all meet up around 2pm, usually at Bagel Barn a very Americanize cafe with free Internet. Even though it is one of the more expensive places I can get excellent Guatemalan hot chocolate and large cinnamon roll for Q20/twenty quetzales or a little less than $3! Then dinner at 7pm and meeting up with the volunteers again in the evening. We discovered this great cine (movie theater) where you can see the movie for "gratis" or free but you have to buy a drink. So for Q15 or a little less than $2 I saw Avitar in Spanish while sipping my moka (mocha). I know this is the life of luxury! Not to mention how beautiful the city of Antigua is, surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, bright colored houses and tiendas/stores, and old ruins makes me feel like I am walking the streets of Europe! Most days I think how lucky I am to be here.
We are all anticipating our arrive to the Farm and trying to be patient while enjoying the last few weeks here in Antigua. Raul, a former Finca Volunteer (FFV) has come to spend a week with us here before he heads to the Farm to help them get ready for us. So we have been asking him tons of questions about jobs, what things look like there, etc., so we learned very quickly that life on the Farm will be much different.
Today we were going to hike up the el Volcan Pacaya with a guide of course but yesterday a tropical storm started to pass through Antigua. It rained in the morning, which is never does, and stopped this morning! But buses going out and coming in were cancelled and my maestra said it would be very dangerous to go up the volcan because of the rain. These storms are know to cause mudslides as well as damage just from the large amount of rainfall in such a short time period. So we decided not to go. There is un festival de maiz, a corn festival, today which is put on by the high school kids and is supposed to demonstrate the importance of maiz in the Mayan culture, which we will check out instead.
Even though I have only been here for a little over a week I have already felt and seen myself change. Life here is so simple and there is nothing for me to worry about. The more you have the more you worry, or the less you have the more you have, those frases are so true. Each day I am here I like it more and become skeptical of the way people live their lives in America. I am going to be challenged in many more difficult ways but I can tell this is just the beginning!
Three more weeks here and then a 10-12 hour bus ride to La Cieba, our welcoming and then to the Finca/Farm in Trujillo! It is hard to believe I am actually here now, it is so amazing! Thanks for all your prayers and words of encouragement, I am praying for you all daily!
My typical day now looks as such: I get up and have breakfast and get ready for 4 hours of speaking Spanish from 8-12 (which by the way is coming along much better!). Really it is only three and a half because everyone gets a break from 10-10:30am for coffee/tea. Lunch is at 1pm and then we all meet up around 2pm, usually at Bagel Barn a very Americanize cafe with free Internet. Even though it is one of the more expensive places I can get excellent Guatemalan hot chocolate and large cinnamon roll for Q20/twenty quetzales or a little less than $3! Then dinner at 7pm and meeting up with the volunteers again in the evening. We discovered this great cine (movie theater) where you can see the movie for "gratis" or free but you have to buy a drink. So for Q15 or a little less than $2 I saw Avitar in Spanish while sipping my moka (mocha). I know this is the life of luxury! Not to mention how beautiful the city of Antigua is, surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, bright colored houses and tiendas/stores, and old ruins makes me feel like I am walking the streets of Europe! Most days I think how lucky I am to be here.
We are all anticipating our arrive to the Farm and trying to be patient while enjoying the last few weeks here in Antigua. Raul, a former Finca Volunteer (FFV) has come to spend a week with us here before he heads to the Farm to help them get ready for us. So we have been asking him tons of questions about jobs, what things look like there, etc., so we learned very quickly that life on the Farm will be much different.
Today we were going to hike up the el Volcan Pacaya with a guide of course but yesterday a tropical storm started to pass through Antigua. It rained in the morning, which is never does, and stopped this morning! But buses going out and coming in were cancelled and my maestra said it would be very dangerous to go up the volcan because of the rain. These storms are know to cause mudslides as well as damage just from the large amount of rainfall in such a short time period. So we decided not to go. There is un festival de maiz, a corn festival, today which is put on by the high school kids and is supposed to demonstrate the importance of maiz in the Mayan culture, which we will check out instead.
Even though I have only been here for a little over a week I have already felt and seen myself change. Life here is so simple and there is nothing for me to worry about. The more you have the more you worry, or the less you have the more you have, those frases are so true. Each day I am here I like it more and become skeptical of the way people live their lives in America. I am going to be challenged in many more difficult ways but I can tell this is just the beginning!
Three more weeks here and then a 10-12 hour bus ride to La Cieba, our welcoming and then to the Finca/Farm in Trujillo! It is hard to believe I am actually here now, it is so amazing! Thanks for all your prayers and words of encouragement, I am praying for you all daily!
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