Grizzly Adams and His Dreaded Wife
Drew and Sarah Collins Joined: February 3rd 2007
Logged in: February 17th 2010
Logged in: February 17th 2010
Travel Blog Posts
Celas Maya
We've realized through receiving many questions about language school that we haven't said much about it. I guess since it was day to day routine, we never really thought writing about it. Oops. Since it is the primary reason we came to Guatemala, we thought we should fill you in. We attended school for a total of 15 weeks for 25 hours a week, and graduated the last weekend of November. People around here are usually shocked to hear that, as language school is so intense, and the normal span for a student is between 2 and 6 weeks. The classes are set up as one-on-one instruction for 5 hours a day. You can have a different teacher each week, or remain with the same teacher for as many weeks as you like. Between the both ... read more
Coming into Livingston, Guatemala
Finally, another funny blog. Man, some of the last ones have been sleepers, so here is one that should put your knickers in a knot. When we left Belize we took a boat to Guatemala, landing in Livingston. Man, Guatemala is so cool. We landed in Livingston and were promptly met by several guys happy to bring us to "the best hotel in Livingston." Of course, they all worked for different "best hotels in Livingston" which makes it so much harder to decide. I think a few of them also wanted to sell us the best ganga in Livingston too. From the way a few of them were acting, I think they had already tried the free samples. Yep. If you don't know what ganga is, ask your parents. If they don't know what it is, ... read more
Austin and the Sweet Handmade Drum
It was the weirdest thing in the world to cross the boarder into Belize and all the sudden be reading signs in English. We had to adjust to speaking English, although the local language is Garifuna, the people also speak using a sing-song English that is a blast to listen to. The bottom line is that we don't know which language to use. While here in Belize we plan to spend copious amounts of time on the beach. I am also having a drum handmade by a drum maker here in Dangriga, the town we are at. The drum maker's name is Austin Rodriguez. He has been making drums for 37 years. Mahogany shell and deer skin drum head. Pretty exciting! Life is slow here in Belize. Nobody is in a hurry...ever. I am wearing a ... read more
Enjoying the Ocean Sunset
Belize is just so laid back that we really didn't do much once we got to our next destination. We enjoyed walking around this small town of Punta Gorda, talking to some kids that were swimming off a dock, and just sitting and looking at the ocean. Yep, life is hard here.... read more
Temples
We finally made it! After our failed attempt to visit Tikal back in July, we spent over four months regrouping so we could make the journey to the jungle. We went with John and Mel to Guatemala City last Friday. They flew out on Saturday afternoon, and that evening we boarded an overnight bus that took us 8 hours to the north of the City to Flores, an island town in the middle of a lake. WOW! We were greeted at 6:00 am by several guys more than willing to take us the rest of the way to Tikal...for a price. Not the funnest way to wake up, but it is part of the experience. The pictures of Tikal should show you just how great the place is. Tikal is currently the largest Mayan archaelogical site ... read more
Happy Reunion!
We just spent a wonderful week with my (Sarah) Dad, John, and his wife, Meleny! What a blessing it was to have them down here and to be able to spend time with family after months in a foreign country. We enjoyed a fun-filled week of traveling and seeing sights. Drew and I came down to Guatemala city from Xela to meet them. The plan was to go to Antigua the very next morning, but their luggage didn't come in, so we spent an extra day in Guatemala City. It turned out to be a fun day of seeing the city, visiting a market, and eating wonderful Mexican food. As we were walking around, we saw a building that looked like it may have been an art museum, but when we went inside, found that it ... read more
Fun on Slides
Happy belated Turkey Day! What a fun time we had during Thanksgiving week. Our good friend, Phil, came to visit us, and we lived it up. First, some backgroung on our friend, Phil. To begin with, we will no longer refer to him in this blog as Phil, but as Philip Johnny Bob. Why you may ask? Because we are huge fans of a children's book series called Junie B. Jones. Junie B. Jones is a hysterical first grader who has a pet stuffed elephant named Philip Johnny Bob. They are great friends, and because we are great friends with our friend Philip he is now Philip Johnny Bob or PJB for short. (By the way, our friend Philip is not an elephant). We met Philip Johnny Bob this summer when we were all studying at ... read more
San Simon in His Shrine
We recently had the opportunity to see some of the religious activites that take place in and around Xela. One was in a little town called Zunil where the resident saint is called San Simon. He is essentially a manequin that is dressed in an assortment of clothing including a ties, a bandana, and sunglasses. Some refer to him as the evil saint, perhaps because you can visit him and wish ill on people. Or maybe it is because of the insane amounts of cigarettes and rum he consumes on a daily basis thanks to those who visit him. The way it works is that you each time you visit San Simon you have to bring something with you by way of offering to ensure that he hears your requests. Apparently Marlboros and a local rum ... read more
We just found out recently that Sarah's dad, John, and his wife Meleny are going to be able to come down and visit us for a week in December! To prepare them for the cultural change, we wrote out a little list of things to do to help get them ready. We hope that you enjoy, and if you ever come to Guatemala, you'll be ready! Disclaimer: The intention of this list is in no way to make fun of Guatemalan culture or people. These are merely differences that we have noticed between two different countries. We have had many opportunities to laugh at ourselves and our own cultural oddities thanks to our time here. Enjoy! Eating: - Eat lots of beans and corn products (canned corn, corn tortillas, corn flakes ect.). In fact, if you ... read more
I added updated information below this first blog.... Wednesday, Oct. 24 I thought I should update everyone on why Drew is doing such a fantastic job with the 'in sickness' part of our vows. If you remember reading the blog about our almost-trip to Tikal that ended up in Guatemala City at the Dr., this is somewhat of an extension, though nowhere near as traumatic. Since that trip to the Dr. at the end of July, I haven't gotten nearly as sick, but I've had many many days where I've woken up and just felt bad, and the symptoms were almost always a bit different. I just figured that my body was still getting used to the environment and food. Well, 2 weekends ago, the sickness began to drag out over a few days and I ... read more
