true life planet

So, I think it´s about time I talked about what I´m doing here in Xela, as far as volunteer work, that is. [read on]

Everyone, here´s the basic update on me:

1. I am still at El Nahual Spanish School. Earlier this week, I was planning on changing schools but after a talk with the directors, have decided to stay on there for the remainder of my time here.

2. I am still volunteering with El Nahual, teaching art classes to tons of kids twice a week, until the end of December.(Maybe a bit longer) [read on]

On Sunday morning, the day began as usual with coffee and mosh, and a lovely hike in the mountains nearby with mi amor, Simon, in tow, and numerous little girls, who did the Hokey Pokey the entire way up. [read on]

My hostesses had asked me to prepare Italian food for dinner (cena). I was very nervous after looking at Doña Mina´s kitchen(which was apparently the only working kitchen in the place). Her kitchen consisted of a table, a few battered chairs, and two stoves. [read on]

So, Sorry there haven´t been tons of entries this past week..
As some of you know, I was sick as a dog with who knows what..but now am miraculously healed.

This past weekend, i was very lucky to have an invitation to my new friends Alma and Anna´s home, located in the tiny pueblo of La Espernaza. It is located about forty five minutes from Xela by bus. [read on]

Hola amigos!

So today my fanily invited me to go to church with them here. I actually had two choices of churches…the Padre and Madre of the house are fervent Catholics, and the daughter-in-law and son are Evangelicals. I decided to choose the latter, as I was very curious about the services and had heard they are like a big fiesta. I also have been reading a reasonably current book that I bought here about the history of religion in Guatemala: Mayan, Catholic, and Evangelical. The Evangelical churches here have a very big presence, particularly with the indigenous people. [read on]

Miss:
1. friends
2. my wonderful dog, and Jerry´s wonderful dogs, and my cat
3. well fed dogs and cats who are lazy and spoiled!
4. heat: as in heaters, wood stoves..it´s freezing here at night
5. wheat bread
6. speaking in english
7. bank atms that are not behind a locked door/gate with an armed guard by the door
8. no crazy exchange rate to figure out
9. steady eddies coffee
10. crosswalks
11. driving my car
12. vitamins
13. raw vegies and salads(this should almost be at the top of the list!)
14. silence. There is always music, television, everything..on all the time here.

Well, it´s about time for my second entry I think! [read on]

So..my first post from Guatemala..
Well, it was a truly amazing expereince getting to my current location, Xela.
I had a very long wait in the airport since I was very early. This ended up being a real blessing, because I met the most interesting Guatemalans in the airport, all heading home. Additionally, somehow I got upgraded to first class for every flight-and therefore got to sit next to the most imteresting man on the plane. He was in the process of translating the entire Mayan language into a dictionary..just absolutely fascinating conversation.
When I arrived in Guatemala City, there was supposed to be a person from the school to meet me-but there was no one. My friend from the flight came to my rescue, and loaned me his cell phone, and I called the school to see what was happening. About 15 minutes later, someone showed up and after waiting for one more student to arrive, off we went. We ended up at the bus station, where we boarded the bus.
The bus itself was not a chicken bus-it was pretty upscale. We then started off on our journey thru Guatemala City to our eventual destination of Xela. [read on]