Swells939

I have gotten about 65 bugbites within the last week. ... read more

To start of this blog, I thought I would write about the most unimaginable thing known to mankind. That´s right...today, for lunch, I ate an entire plate of mushrooms. Sorry Dad, the hobbits weren´t what finally convinced me, but rather manners. My host family served me up a whopping plate of ´hongos´ today (spanish for fungus). When they first handed me the plate, the mushrooms, long and slimy, covered in a tomato and onion sauce, actually looked like pasta. As I was right about to take my first bite, my host mom assured me, ´No se preocupe...no es carne...son hongos´(Don´t worry...it´s not meat...they´re mushrooms)...oh how that eased my nerves!!! (Anyone that knows me should be able to sense the extreme sarcasm in that sentence). She seemed very happy to make sure I knew that it was ... read more

Hello everyone! Sorry I haven´t written in awhile! I have been working this week training in Xela...as well as dancing (I went to the Buena Vista Social Club concert and it was AMAZING! Danced the night away!) Tomorrow I leave to start working on my own in San Marcos. I will be the only foreigner there...talk about good Spanish practice! I have to go for lunchnow...but just wanted to say that I am fine and dandy! Love you all!... read more

As I said in my previous blog....I´m in Xela!!!!!!!!! As much as I love the adventure of traveling around the country (amazing), it feels so nice to be in a place I am familiar with and catch up with old friends. It's like they say... home (even though San Jose is my 1st home, don't worry mom and dad) is where the heart is. My friends are here, of all the places in Guatemala, my heart is here. Meeting people along the way is great, but you can only get to know someone so much on a few hour busride or cave tour. There is nothing like being able to spend worthy amounts of time with people here and making true, lifelong friends. It is so great to be back. Surprisingly, I actually remember where a ... read more

After El Remate, we took the bus to Semuc Champey. We stayed at a place not too far from the river, and spent the evening lathering on insect repellent and playing cards with a Swiss couple and a guy from Quebec, listening to the rain and the Red Hot Chili Peppers ad the power went out about every five minutes. The next morning has to have been one of my favorite parts of the trip so far. Nathaniel (the Canadian), Pat and I started walking down to where the pools (natural limestone turquoise pools and falls), but on the way we got an offer to join in on a tour of the caves in the area. So we hopped on the boat up the river, swung a few times on the rope swing into the river, ... read more

I realize it has been awhile since I last wrote...and wow, so much has passed since then! I am now in Xela (my Guatemalan home town)!!!! The day after I wrote my last blog Pat and I spent the day exploring Tikal. That place is spectacular. I feel I was able to appreciate it much more than I would have if I had gone last summer, because I recognized a lot of things from my Anthropology class. We had a great guide who took us up every temple (or rather he waited at the bottom as we climbed) and described the most important as well as random details of the ancient Mayas. The views were unreal. Amongst thick vegetation and a variety of animals stands an entire city, its tallest temple towering over the trees. We ... read more

From Casa Perico (our place in Rio Dulce) we took the lancha across Lake Izabal and down the river to the town of Livingston, which is very different from the rest of Guatemala. The majority of people in Livingston are of African decent... the Garifuna. The majority of people there spoke Spanish, their own Garifuna language, and English with a caribbean accent. ...I have never heard so much Bob Marley in my life. We had a great time, which I must attribute much of to Emily and her friend Karim, who is Garifuna from Livingston. Without Karim, I don't know if we would have found the beach we went swimming at, which was a 10 minute taxi drive and a 10 minute walk away to a little hut on a dock with hammocks and lots of ... read more

I wanted to let you know that I am safe and sound and wonderfulñ! Yesterday we just traveled on the bus most of the day to Rio Dulce (East Guatemala, on Lake Izabal). To get to any hotel we have to take a little 8 minute boat ride across the lake. The lace we are staying at is really cool! We are in Bungalows that have oen windows and are along a dock kind of set back from the lake in a swampy area. We have to climb up ladder-type stairs to get to our oroom, and our beds have mosquito nets over them. Today we took the bus to a lace called Finca Paraiso. We walked a little ways to a place to swim with hot waterfalls! Its really warm here, so the thought of ... read more

We are here! Im not feeling like writing much at the moment (One because I need to figure out the keys, two because I am a bit under the weather and want to sleep :) But just wanted to say that... it feels good (but a little strange) to be back! And we are here safe and sound. Saludos a todos!... read more