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“Colibri” by Ann Cameron

Thursday, June 29th, 2006

(^^^ Photo from Amazon.com)

I am so tempted to copy and paste one of the heartfelt and yet cerebral reviews I found on this book. Even though I read this book weeks ago, I feel too emotionally touched by it to do the book justice, but also feel like it deserves the time and effort, so here goes.

The young girl in the story travels around with her “uncle” helping him scam people for money by begging near him while he often times pretends he is blind and poor. He treats her awful and yet somehow she holds onto her strong honesty and goodness that was instilled in her before her parents “lost” her years before. Glimpses of her time with her family as well as the strong bond she makes with a local psychic in one of the villages they visit create such a good, whole, person you cant help but fall in love with.

The compassion and intimate detail that Ms. Cameron displays so unjudgementally in this book is at the least impressive at most a work of art. I found this book by accident (as if thats ever really possible!) and noticed that its as a kids book. Shame. Yes, the main character is a child, but she has such a heightened sense of self that I think anyone interested in Guatemalan culture will completely bathe in her words.

Enjoy!  

Personal; Guate cravings

Monday, June 26th, 2006

I guess I am feeling a little better today (this is post #7 for today). No news from the doctor (did I dream that whole appointment) yet,but I am calling on Wed to check in and see if they have named my tapeworm yet (assumption still, not sure).

Truth be told, I am about a week away from a new writing class that is going to kick my butt (into magazines, I hope!) So good health or not, I am going to buckle down and get my Gute notes on here by then. I hope. Deseo.

Still super sleepy all the time, grumpy as hell, and my stomach is playing its own friggin world cup. The only difference is that now, after almost 2 months of trying to be careful with what I ate, trying not to aggitate the stomach more than needed, I am ignoring the pain altogether. Coffee? Bring it on. Chocolate, yum, thanks. And I even had Indian food recently. Ok. I guess me eating Indian food once a month in SF is still being somewhat careful, but hey, am trying to act like I am not worried that I am dying from Mr. Tapeworm. (Most people dont, but what fun is that thought!)

As much as I dont want to go back to Guate anytime soon, I miss some things….

1. Fried plantains (how did I know food would be first!)

2. him

3. not working

4. the humidity (for my hair, not for any other reason. My hair here in Cali is back to straw, nice)

5. the people in Guate. I never noticed before how so many folks in the city here dont even look at ya when they are talking to you. I am a busy, low word user kinda person, so if I complain about abrupt social interactions then, WHOA, Guate had an affect on me.

6. roaches

haha. Just kidding. But I have been really good about washing my dishes since I got home. I have never had roaches in this apt, but I am so aware of their presence after Guate that I dont want to EVER give them an open invite to take up residence in my SF home

7. newness, interesting scenery. I am way too familiar with SF now. Geesh.

8. Not hearing Spanish daily, naturally, everywhere

Sure, I can head down to the mission and listen away. But, I dont work or live there and I wouldnt get the same friendly, non-perverted interactions there that I had in Guate. I love being in a place where I am lost linguistically. And I love the sound of the Spanish language. Man I am odd.

9. The smallness of Guatemala, being able to go somewhere in a relatively small amount of time. What I dont miss are the winding roads. Whew, there is no way I was going to get used to them.

10. Cost of living. SF kills me. Guate was so cheap. Even my “expensive” hotels were cheap. And my coffee, internet time and transportation. I will be working on the “cost” page here soon, so you will have more specifics than “hey, that was cheap.” But its painful to come back to this pricing system.

Tuk tuks Galore

Monday, June 26th, 2006
I wrote a lot about tuk tuk's when I was in Antigua, but I never did show ya any pics, did I? This is one of those things (like to TD and other illnesses I picked up in Guate) ... [Continue reading this entry]

Personal; What do you do when…

Monday, June 26th, 2006
(^^^ Above; painting I bought in a small town around Lake Aititlan) What do you do when you meet someone who doesnt speak your language, you dont speak theirs, you live thousands of miles away from each other geographically ... [Continue reading this entry]

Excerpts from “Time Among the Maya” by Ronald Wright

Monday, June 26th, 2006
(^^^ Above: Street mirror hanging on lamppost at the newly revamped 4 Grados Norte section of Guate City) I cant say that I have read this book. The writing style doesnt gel with me, a very strong personal reading ... [Continue reading this entry]

Recommended Panajachel Hotel

Monday, June 26th, 2006
As you can see, I dont post many hotel and restaurants on this blog. I really prefer that folks find their own niche, something that fits what they need to experience on their own journey. BUT, a few ... [Continue reading this entry]

How’d you do that?

Monday, June 26th, 2006
  Some of ya are asking me what I needed to make this blog, so here goes:  1. Blog host I decided to try Bootsnall.com for my blog host this time. Am sick of pretending I wanna be a web designer, ... [Continue reading this entry]

Adrenalina Tours (Shuttle bus recommendation)

Sunday, June 18th, 2006
(^^^ Above: My fuzzy, our of focus photo of a comfy Adrenalina shuttle bus) I stumbed onto this company completely by accident, but really like them, so I ended up using their shuttle bus service a few times while ... [Continue reading this entry]

On the way to Huehue (pronounced way-way)

Tuesday, June 13th, 2006
Cudos to the tourist board in Huehuetenango! This is one of those surreal moments I wont soon forget about my travels in Guate. I booked a shuttle bus from Panajachel to Huehue and was told from there I needed to take a ... [Continue reading this entry]

Superb Guatemala City Hostel; Xamanek

Monday, June 12th, 2006
  (^^^ Above; dining and living room of hostel, facing front door.)  Spoiled me for my first 3 days in the country! Ana, the woman that runs the joint is super nice, helpful, and speaks English well. When I checked in there ... [Continue reading this entry]