"Where we're going, we don't need roads..."

“where we‘re going, we don‘t need roads” sorry about that…Back to the Future is on the brain.

That’s why we run these tests!

I have tried to do a few things recently that have just simply crashed and burned. One of those things was trying to make a compost heap which apparently is more complex than I initially thought (don’t worry…I’ll figure it out) and the other was getting in 30 minutes to an hour of cardio on a daily basis which seemed possible until my elliptical broke last week (yep…I put an elliptical on a bus and brought it up to Mexico so that I wouldn’t have to run in the streets with dogs chasing me and everyone staring) well, the pedal came completely detached from the rest of the bike (the bolt broke in half…) and I fell to the ground, thankful that no one was here to see. I believe that both of these things are repairable…but will not know for sure until I buy some plastic and new boards for my compost heap and a wrench and a new bolt for the elliptical…both of which are going t to take some organization and funds on my part…so…there’s that.

Here are some vocabulary words I never thought I’d need to know…

Llavero - Keychain
Manguera -Hose (like for watering plants)
Pelechar- to shed (like shed hair)
Agitar(se)- to fluster
Voz ronco- husky voice
Sudar- to sweat
Teclado- keyboard
Lancha- boat
Chippy- choppy (like the quality of the surface of water of a lake)
　
There are more…but I can’t seem to recall them right now.

Speaking of the quality of the surface of water of a lake…

I went to the lake! FINALLY! Here’s what that looks like.



El Lago.


 I had a wonderful time. I stayed in Santa Cruz La Laguna (which is right on the lake, and you must take a boat to get there…because there are no roads…)

I went on a Monday and a Tuesday and it was pretty calm at the Hostal which I generally prefer. I spent Monday traveling to the lake and then on Tuesday we went Hiking at this nature reserve in Pana where there was a Mariposario (a butterfly house) and lots of trails, bridges, and monkeys…see à

Hammock bridge...in cartoons people always fall through them...so i was naturally, very worried.

monkey.

I also played a lot of cards…which reaffirmed my love for gin-rummy and was audience to some pretty sweet magic tricks…which I had no idea I was so fascinated by; in case there is any debate: magic = awesome. End of story.

I feel like my hand looks weird here...

After my mini-vacay at the Lake I was off to Antigua for a doctor's appt. and a celebration at the Ambassador’s house to mark the swearing-in of new volunteers, the closing of service for the group 1 year my senior, my group’s 1 year in service anniversary and the 50 years of Peace Corps celebration.

My friend, Mark, who just had his Close-of-Service, did a photo comparison of people in his training group, entitled, “Rapid Aging as Illustrated by Picasa Collages” and shows pictures of people from training versus at their closing of service conference…and the general consensus is that Peace Corps ages you…so I have that to look forward to. Ha-ha

So, I went to the Dermatologist…concerned with rapid aging and scars from my cool face infection and he told me to wear more sunscreen…and I laughed because of the way he said it…like no one has ever told me to wear sunscreen before; dad beat him to the punch like 20 years ago...so i'm going to stay the course with that. ha ha.

As for the party at the Ambassador’s house….that guy’s got some nice digs. How do I get a gig like that? Foreign Service and being friendly seem to be some of the pre-req’s there…I wonder how long that would take…

There were a lot of speeches (wow…auto-correct just changed speeches from how I was trying to spell it “speaches” so…so wrong, embarrassing) by Peace Corps Guatemala Staff, The Ambassador and a representative from Washington DC…which was pretty neat. Then we had a snack…which they underestimated in a big way…as it was lunchtime and everyone was starving. So by the time I got to the front of the line I grabbed about 4 chips that were left on one of the platters and we all stood around, agitated, waiting for them to bus us back to the office so we could all go get some food ha-ha. Other than that tiny hiccup I thought the party was awesome, it was outrageous how many Volunteers were there; so many of whom I had never met, it was nice.

It was a pretty big to-do. We made the cover page of the Prensa Libre (the newspaper).

Más de un centenar de estadounidenses, entre nuevos y ex voluntarios, participaron en la celebración, en la residencia del embajador de EE. UU

Then we all went out in Antigua…which was pretty great also. And then I got up on Saturday morning and traveled back to site…which SUCKED. Lately I HATE riding on Camionetas…I’m really over it. 10 hours is entirely too long and my body can’t take it like it used to. I literally can not sit down in a chair right now because my tailbone hurts so bad- I have to lie on my stomach and then roll over on to my back to be comfortable. It’s horrible. I could really go for a soak in a hot tub.

And the best thing ever- I get to get back on a bus on Wednesday to be at a security meeting in Huehue on Thursday and then, Thursday night, go to Antigua to be at mid-service conference on Friday morning… nice one; I’m going to seek reparations for the psychological and physical pain that comes with traveling that distance twice in two weeks… I’m not pleased, I think it could very well be an aging factor, those “free radicals“ that age skin have nothing on a Camioneta ride.
To make the second trip worthwhile I have elected to take Spanish classes the week of the 4^th-8^th and am very much looking forward to improving my ability to tell stories in Spanish…and brushing up on some of the fancier conjugations. Should be good.

Bueno pues…


I’m ready to sign-off; It’s time. Until next time, I’ll be thinking of you all…
Wash your hands, wear sunscreen, make good choices etc. etc.

XOXO!

i think. i just ate. a bug.

i think. i just ate. a bug.
I just choked on something in my water...and i dont know what is worse, that I (a) swallowed it or (b) am not really concerned about it ...meh.

Moving on…

Today Peace Corps Celebrates it’s 50^th anniversary… so…I thought I’d do an update and support that 3^rd goal by sharing some more of my experiences with you…my friends, family and fellow AMUR-KINS.

Yeah…
Please say Americans exactly as written above, thanks.

It’s funny how often I go back and fourth with being ready to leave Guatemala and wanting to stay here forever.
At times, I think to myself: Peace Corps Guatemala has been great for figuring out my next steps- I know what I want to do when I leave here…so I should just like, do that. Sometimes I get so excited thinking about the future that I make lists and research deadlines for applications and mark them on my calendar (even though they are about a year away) and stare longingly at it envisioning my new life in a post bac pre med program walking around, crunching dry leaves under my boots and feeling very smart on a campus that looks like a Harry Potter book.

Then, there are other times when I feel like my life is suspended in a good way here. There’s this little part of me that gets all anxious thinking about the future; what if I know what I want to do but what I want to do does not fit? Like the admission counselors are going to go, “okay, we’ve got a returned Peace Corps Volunteer, good college grades, good high school…oh, wait, would you look at that, 11 years ago she received a C+ in Advanced Earth Science? This girl would be entirely out of her league here. NEXT.”
I knew that Mr. Goodrich was going to be trouble…
Actually, now that I think about it I’m pretty sure I got a B in that class and the C+ in Spanish with Mr. Stewart…yes, that is exactly right.
Well, looks like I showed him.

I also go back and fourth between thinking the transition back to living in the US will be easy for me and conversely worrying that I will be overwhelmed and pushed to a nervous break from pretending I have any idea about what’s going on. Like someone will start to talk about a pop culture reference or anything about politics and the news and I will nod my head noncommittally and look like a real poser.
I figure it’ll be kind of like what happens when my computer performs a background scan and tells me it has fixed detected threats and gives me the option to click to view the them. Naturally, I click this link and it takes me to the data about the virus’ that my computer found and I have no idea what it means; I have no idea what I did to get that virus and I think to myself, “okay the next time I see a link that says, ‘download Trojan virus backdoor/E$Mca‘…I do not click it(?) problem solved. good talk, see you out there!”
I have to wonder, what good does that information do me if I have no idea what it means- and why am I compelled to click that link when I know that in no way will that information be useful to me? I kind of feel like the same logic applies to my catching up on current events from down here…once I have that information- what will I do with it? Is there a window where you can talk about something without coming off like a total jerk? Or are you more of a jerk if you say, “I have no idea what you’re talking about, can we go bowling?”
I was thinking maybe I should just start with events that are happening now and try and put those into my conversations but, a part of me doesn’t seem to want to rise to the occasion: excusing myself from reading the news online with the logic that, “if I’m going to watch that movie, I need to watch it from the beginning, otherwise it wont make sense.”

*Sigh* sometimes it’s just so much easier to just talk about the weather in Guatemala.

Speaking of the weather in Guatemala- it’s been lovely. Currently working with a temp of 85 degrees and sunshine for miles.

The dry season is here and it’s making me feel like I really should be traveling and seeing some more of this beautiful country before the rainy season comes and takes away my reliable transportation (the term, “reliable” is of course, relative). So here are the things I need to do before the rain arrives:
1. panajachel (the lake)
2. alta verapaz (the jungle)
3. My friends’ sites (everywhere)

I’d also really like to get up into Peten and see some ruins…but I’ve got a lot on my plate, better pace myself.

As for the state of things in Guatemala, the “state of seige” has officially been lifted and the volunteers who were evacuated from their sites have been given permission to return to the coban/alta verapaz area which is excellent news.
I have since heard murmurings about the possibility of the army coming to huehue now that they are leaving the alta verapaz region...and this causes some concern for me, but i dont know how much truth there is to that rumor and am tempted to call, "baloney."
…this is one of those times where I really have no idea what is going on but I try and talk about it like I do… My lines to the news, aka misc. chatty people in my town, have been known to be unreliable…(especially when concerning bus schedules) so please, rest easy; i'm safe and sound!

In other news, I have been having a pretty incredible time in Guatemala recently… I feel really lucky to have made so many great friends here and have been having a wonderful time with them. I also feel really lucky to have the support of my friends and family back home- thank you guys so much for the packages and cards! You have no idea how nice it is when the postman waves me in to his office and tells me I have something waiting for me; it’s such a lovely surprise.

As for my in-site life, we just had our Feria last month…and I took some pictures so here are a few...




the people in the masks are the "spanish"



the worlds scariest ferris wheel.





bulls covered in fireworks...

 I decided that Feria is not really for me…it was nice to buy stuff from all of the vendors but other than that there were a lot of drunk people everywhere…suffice it to say I didn’t leave the house past-dark without Damian and Juan Jose and I’m glad that it’s over haha.

Concerning my career as a budding musical sensation…I abandoned the guitar all together after I hurt my fingers a few months ago but have decided to take it back up with more discipline this month.

In my, “I miss the US” life… I miss the following things:
- washing machines (but especially dryers…specifically for my socks).
- ethnic food (or American versions of): Greek, Mediterranean, Japanese, Thai, Chinese, Mexican…mmm
- Driving
- Shopping trips in target
- reasonably priced cosmetics in shades that match my skin tone…
- drive thru coffee windows
- shower heads that are high enough and won’t electrocute me.
- garbage disposals.
- walking around with my camera or ipod/ not worrying about being robbed all the time.
- being able to tell when people are joking/witty repartee (wishing I could do it in Spanish).

Things I’m loving in Guatemala right now:
- pretty much everything about Xela
- less cat-calls on a daily basis in my site.
- PACAs (the used clothing/goods stores)
- the weather
- avocados: they’re awesome right now
- my new place
- having a shower: it’s INCREDIBLE.
- latin pop music
- free Peace Corps Volunteer to Peace Corps Volunteer calls
- roses blooming around my patio
- la hora de hygiene song one of my directors sang for me
- collaboration on projects with other volunteers.

Here’s a picture of an adorable Rincon de Salud that one of my classes had up…

Yes that is Bam-Bam in the background...no big deal.

In my intellectual life (would we call it that? Intellectual? *sigh) I just finished reading (for the second time) a Marian Keyes book, “Rachael’s Holiday“…and I loved it; I like it when it has been so long since I’ve read something that I can enjoy it again like it was the first time. I also just finished reading a new book by Mike Birbiglia (the comedian) called, “Sleepwalk With Me” and it was really funny…if you like Mike Birbiglia’s stand-up…you’ll probably like this book. I also re-read (shameful…) “Twilight” and…I still like it; I don’t care if it makes me a pre-teen.

In my social life…well…it’s going well; I think my Spanish is going to really improve this year…
　
I will conclude this entry for now. those pictures took forever and three of them mysteriously disappeared...which is annoying. I will try and update again soon!

In the meantime thank you for reading; I hope everyone is doing well! Miss you all!

Peace & Love!

XOXO,
Kristin