Hello again all... Sorry it has been so long. I wrote the first half of this post about two weeks ago, then proceeded to lose (temporarily, ptl) my USB until today. As the amount of time that has lapsed has doubled, so has the length of this blog post. My apologies… :) Three big things happened that I thought were worth sharing. Number one: our first MCC retreat; two: Guatemala’s Independence Day; and three: a quick little trip to the beach!!! I’ll begin with the first.
Thursday (Sept 10) all of us MCCer’s in Guat met up took a bus down to El Salvador. It was a Greyhound type bus and was quite comfortable, AC and all. The ride was about 4 hours after all was said and done. Three hours in we crossed the border into El Salvador, requiring us to get off the bus to make our way through immigration. Once we were all back in the bus a flood of venders filled the isle, all yelling out what they had to offer. We shared some pupusas. I must say, they do taste better in their motherland. Yum. Before too long we were in Santa Ana and transferring from our “Greyhound” to a microbus. This is where we intercepted another MCCer who is working in El Salvador. And off we went to Cerro Verde. I don’t know all the details but what I can tell you is that Cerro Verde is a beautiful park, surrounded by volcanoes and lots of green. I also heard that it is in a cloud forest which made it absolutely gorgeous…and unexpectedly frigid! At times, due to the high altitude we were actually above the clouds, looking down onto a blanket of white. Quite surreal. At other times, it was so socked in we could hardly see past 20ft in front of us. And…we saw one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve seen in a long time. And…we also saw one of the most perfectly cone-shaped volcanoes. Words, nor pictures, can really do justice to the beauty we were surrounded by, but just so you have an idea…
We spent our evenings chatting, singing, laughing and playing…our days defrosting, getting acquainted and down to business. To finish off the weekend, we got to visit the newest member of the MCC Guatemala/El Salvador team, just 13 days old, and his parents who are volunteers in Metapan, El Salvador. It is amazing how entertaining and therapeutic babies can be. Despite being human icicles, the weekend was great. I’m thrilled to be part of such a dynamic team of people.
On to Independence Day, September 15th. I took the following excerpt in quotes directly from my journal entry from the night before. “What a day. Today is the eve of the day of independence for Guatemala. As I write I can still hear the horns honking, the whistles blowing…the rhythm of a city that has come alive. We went down to the Obelisco to celebrate. As we drove down the Roosevelt to get there, we rode along side entorches, parades of people running with the person in front holding a torch, in celebration of their country. My host mom told me some of these people run all the way to Antigua (which is a 35 minute mountainous car ride, imagine that). Once we arrived we dove into the sea of people, shoulder to shoulder, all dawning their best Guate garb. As I was surrounded by such patriotism, I found myself feeling slightly uncomfortable. In all honesty, I tend to be skeptical of US Americans who are deeply patriotic, as I tend not to be. As I absorbed the energy, I was brought back to the feelings of pride that I had for my country when Obama won the presidential election. I’ll never forget how overwhelming it was to feel proud to be a US American for the 1st time ever. And with that, I joined in the celebration.” Just a thought.
As for the beach, we went to Monte Rico on the Pacific side. It was a quick trip yet very recharging. We left early Saturday morning and came back yesterday; just a little over 24hrs. Unfortunately the sun didn’t really shine at all the first day. We spent a good chunk of time sitting on a balcony overlooking the grandeur of the ocean and the black sand leading up to it, enjoying the breeze and chatting about life. The cool thing about the three of us was that we all have very different stories and are in different chapters of life. One woman is 35 and has two daughters ages 14 and 4. The other is about to turn 28, single, lived in Canada for a year about 5 years ago and is now settled into a work routine, and then there’s me. One thing is for certain, I love to hear people’s stories. We never know where someone has come from and what they can teach us about life. Sunday morning we woke up early to a shining sun, strolled around town, and floated in the pool. I often forget how comforting it is to be in the water. Sometimes I think I should just live at the beach. Why not, right?
And so begins our last week of Spanish classes. Although it is a bit nerve wracking to think about not having a personal Spanish tutor any longer, it feels like the right time for me to be pushed out of the nest. I’ll let you know how it goes. And next Monday, I’m off to Nebaj! It’s game time.
I’ll leave you with just a bit of miscellany:
*Shout out to modern technology. In two days I received two international phone calls, one from Germany and one from Korea. I love Skype.
*I have eaten more fried chicken in the last week or so than I’ve ever eaten before in my life. I never thought I liked it that much and am wondering now what the heck I was thinking! :)
*I’ve officially re-addicted myself to caffeine. It is nearly impossible to avoid drinking coffee here. Que lastima, verdad?
*Live soccer games in Guate are a total hoot. Fanaticism has officially been taken to a whole other level.
That’s all for now friends. I’d love to hear what is going on in your life. Quidense mucho!
As for the beach, we went to Monte Rico on the Pacific side. It was a quick trip yet very recharging. We left early Saturday morning and came back yesterday; just a little over 24hrs. Unfortunately the sun didn’t really shine at all the first day. We spent a good chunk of time sitting on a balcony overlooking the grandeur of the ocean and the black sand leading up to it, enjoying the breeze and chatting about life. The cool thing about the three of us was that we all have very different stories and are in different chapters of life. One woman is 35 and has two daughters ages 14 and 4. The other is about to turn 28, single, lived in Canada for a year about 5 years ago and is now settled into a work routine, and then there’s me. One thing is for certain, I love to hear people’s stories. We never know where someone has come from and what they can teach us about life. Sunday morning we woke up early to a shining sun, strolled around town, and floated in the pool. I often forget how comforting it is to be in the water. Sometimes I think I should just live at the beach. Why not, right?
And so begins our last week of Spanish classes. Although it is a bit nerve wracking to think about not having a personal Spanish tutor any longer, it feels like the right time for me to be pushed out of the nest. I’ll let you know how it goes. And next Monday, I’m off to Nebaj! It’s game time.
I’ll leave you with just a bit of miscellany:
*Shout out to modern technology. In two days I received two international phone calls, one from Germany and one from Korea. I love Skype.
*I have eaten more fried chicken in the last week or so than I’ve ever eaten before in my life. I never thought I liked it that much and am wondering now what the heck I was thinking! :)
*I’ve officially re-addicted myself to caffeine. It is nearly impossible to avoid drinking coffee here. Que lastima, verdad?
*Live soccer games in Guate are a total hoot. Fanaticism has officially been taken to a whole other level.
That’s all for now friends. I’d love to hear what is going on in your life. Quidense mucho!
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