Here's a little something so I can share all of my adventures from Guatemala! If you don't want to be on the e-mail list or if you know someone who wants to be added lemme know!
Hola! It's been a while! So much to tell you all about! Three Friday's ago (May 16th) there was a celebration in the Parque Central for schools from certain zones in the city, including ours! A few of our kids went up and rapped and another group got up and danced! Also there was a dance-off and one of the kids from our school got up and danced! It was very adorable! That night we left for Quetzaltenango (aka Xela) the second biggest city in the country which is in the highlands of Guatemala. It was a five hour bus ride and the driver didn't stop once! By the time we got into the city limits I was pretty sure my bladder was going to explode, but I lived. That night we went to a benefit ... read more
Hola! Long time no blog! The last few weeks has been pretty good and not quite as hectic as my first few weeks! Two weekends ago we went back to Antigua and then to Chichicastenango which is known for it's big market on Sundays. It was crazy! There were people everywhere and some were carrying tables or baskets of chickens on their heads, very overwhelming at first. That weekend we said goodbye to one of our volunteers and also got two new ones! Last week we didn't do very much teaching. We spent a few days making decorations and invitations for a big Mother's Day celebration they were having. Also on Wednesday there were no classes because the kids got their haircuts and nails trimmed and I got to help by putting anti-lice shampoo on their ... read more
Hola! Last Friday we took a five hour bus ride to Coban! It was quite intense because the driver loved to pick up speed as we went around corners, which is always fun in a giant bus! Anyways we arrived there safely and stayed the night in a nice hotel. On Saturday morning we took a two hour ride to Semuc Champey. It is a beautiful area where there is a river and waterfalls and pools of water. We went swimming in the morning and in afternoon we explored a waterfall! We climbed down on a rope ladder and went underneath and around back to where there was a small cave, it was crazy to think that we were essentially underneath a river! That night we stayed in a little place just a few minutes down ... read more
Hola! What a crazy week it has been! On Thursday it was one of the other volunteers´ birthday so we had a big celebration where we made piñatas (and then smashed one later), had cake and they set off some fire crackers, a very common Guatemalan birthday tradition. That night we went out to Zona Viva (Zone 10) for supper which is known for it´s nightlife and it's a place where a lot of tourists go. On Friday afternoon we went for a tour through one of the Cathedrals downtown and said good bye to three of our fellow volunteers who only stayed for only a week. At 9pm that night the remaining four of us took a bus to Flores and we arrived Saturday morning at about 5:45am. It was already about 25 degrees by ... read more
Hola! I have survived my first week, yay! It has flown by so quickly it is ridiculous! My placement (ie. job) here is to teach English. Me and another volunteer both work at the same school which is awesome and a lot less stressful. We have two classes the first has kids from 7-12 and the other 12-20. The kids are really great and are eager to learn English which is exciting. The younger kids are really cute and affectionate. Even after the first day they were giving us hugs and kisses goodbye! The other teachers are really nice and cooperative, even though none of them speak a word of english! We go to school from 8-12 then we have a cultural activity and then free time. On Monday we had a guest speaker who came ... read more
Hello everyone! Just wanted to let you know I arrived safely (and didn't have to run like mad through the Houston airport!) although my luggage is "delayed" and I won't be getting it until tomorrow. It is fantastically beautiful down here and very warm which is a nice change from the foot of snow I left behind yesterday. All that we've really done is explore the city which I cannot even begin to describe, I'll have to show you pictures later. Anyways hope all is well and expect to hear from me in a week! Amanda... read more
¡Hola! Just wanted to test and make sure this thing works! If you don't want to be on this e-mail list or if you know anyone who wants to be added, lemme know! Anyways I'll keep everyone posted on my adventures! -Amanda... read more