Here is the shortcut to finding out everything you need to know that has happened in the last few weeks, since I havent had any time to blog!
1) There was a spider with a body the size of a quarter in my bathroom the other night
2) I woke up a 1am to an earthquake that shook the whole house! But nothing fell
3) I have been spending all my time doing schoolwork lately and cannot WAIT for spring break!
4) For Spring break, since we have to be out of our families houses, me and 3 girlfriends are traveling to Honduras to get scuba-diving certified!! The second most beautiul reef in the world, the Carribbean Islands of Honduras. And the cheapest place in the world to get certified.
5) Last weekend, we were in Atitlan. The biggest and most beautiful mountain lake in Guatemala. It was heaven. And no Dad I did not set foot in the lake for one minute. Other people jumped off our boat, but I was smart. Everyone is ok though!
6) I did go kayaking in lake Atitlan, which has waves comparable to Lake Superior. It was amazing.
7) I do not ever want to leave Guatemala, but am so excited for American food in ONE MONTH!
8) Jenni asked me recently to be a bridesmaid in her wedding!!! :) Date set for May 2010. I cannot wait.
9) For those of you who dont know, I am now single and ready to conquer the world. I have learned that long distance relationships are sadly hard and not vale la pena. But thats what dating is for!
10) I spent 3 days last week with my kids at school and loved it. They have grown on me so fast. Now we have really special relationships and I absolutely adore those kids.
11) I cannot believe that I will be returning home in a month. Time has absoluely flown, and this is about the time that I start to reflect on my trip already. I think I reflect too much, actually. I still have one month left!
12) LOVE YOU ALL and hope to get pictures up on here before next weekend!
Love,
Brianna
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Xela Trash Dump
This morning we went to the garbage dump in Xela. It was about the same as an American trash dump--except for one thing.
In Xela, people live in the trash dump.
The way they earn their living is by digging through garbage bags, looking for glass, plastic, paper, aluminum, and etc. that can be sold and recycled. They were all dirty, picking through the garbage with their bare hands, and with those same hands, little kids eating leftover food that they could salvage from the trash.
Right now I smell like burnt garbage. They burn garbage instead of burying it. (Not sure which one is better for the environment, but the burning has got to be terrible for the health of the people.)
Our guide told us that by being there for an hour, our lungs suffered as much as if we had smoked 40 cigarettes. My poor lungs.
On the bright side, we brought 50 pounds of rice and 50 pounds of beans and distributed them to the people of the dump. One old man who I gave a bag to said ¨Dios te bendiga, estrellita¨(God bless you, little star.)
It was definitely an experience like no other in my life.
In Xela, people live in the trash dump.
The way they earn their living is by digging through garbage bags, looking for glass, plastic, paper, aluminum, and etc. that can be sold and recycled. They were all dirty, picking through the garbage with their bare hands, and with those same hands, little kids eating leftover food that they could salvage from the trash.
Right now I smell like burnt garbage. They burn garbage instead of burying it. (Not sure which one is better for the environment, but the burning has got to be terrible for the health of the people.)
Our guide told us that by being there for an hour, our lungs suffered as much as if we had smoked 40 cigarettes. My poor lungs.
On the bright side, we brought 50 pounds of rice and 50 pounds of beans and distributed them to the people of the dump. One old man who I gave a bag to said ¨Dios te bendiga, estrellita¨(God bless you, little star.)
It was definitely an experience like no other in my life.
Monday, March 16, 2009
My First Letter!
I got my first letter in the mail today!!!!! Thanks Dad!!!! I felt so special when the desk worker came over with a letter! It was just fun to get mail.
However, note the date: March 16th. The letter was dated March 4th. That´s not too bad I guess, only 2 weeks!
Anyways, I was really excited :)
Thanks for the letter! Love you!
However, note the date: March 16th. The letter was dated March 4th. That´s not too bad I guess, only 2 weeks!
Anyways, I was really excited :)
Thanks for the letter! Love you!
Friday, March 13, 2009
More Pictures
Weaving in Mayan Cosmovision class
and the beautiful waterfalls of Semuq Champey
Me jumping off a rope swing in Semuq Champey
and the beautiful waterfalls of Semuq Champey
Me jumping off a rope swing in Semuq Champey
The street that I live on :)
Parque Central!
Homesick...Finally
For the first time since January, I am homesick. And I didn’t even realize it until my friend Shannon asked me if I thought maybe I was homesick. I was telling her how I was just angry all the time, and sick, (physically) and missing food in the states. She goes “do you think maybe you’re homesick?” And immediately I was like “Noo, that couldn’t be. I haven’t had any problems with that.” Cause I tend to adapt generally well. But Shan reminded me that one of the first things our director told us when we were talking about homesickness was how he gets angry when he’s homesick. Just little things irritate the hell out of him. He’s been abroad multiple times now, for many years, and he knows. For some people, he said, homesickness doesn’t affect them in the sad way. It affects them in the angry way. Which is definitely the case with me. I am highly irritable and unmotivated. But at least now I have identified it and am ready to kick it in the butt!
I never thought of myself as a homesick person, but I guess it can happen to anybody! It’s not so much homesickness for 2155 Antler Drive, (though I do miss the carpet) but more of for the states in general. I miss the food. BIG TIME. I miss the fast coffee. I miss the CLEAN ROADS! I miss driving. I miss shopping with Karsten for clothes and shoes that we really do not need (but really want) and fulfilling our caffeine addictions at the nearest Starbucks. I miss normal smells of our house! Mom’s cooking! Chocolate ganache cake. Heck I even miss looking out my window and seeing Dad vacuuming the grass for bird seed. (Yes this really does happen and yes he really was wearing a helmet while doing so)
Yep ok. Special family. But I miss you!! J
I never thought of myself as a homesick person, but I guess it can happen to anybody! It’s not so much homesickness for 2155 Antler Drive, (though I do miss the carpet) but more of for the states in general. I miss the food. BIG TIME. I miss the fast coffee. I miss the CLEAN ROADS! I miss driving. I miss shopping with Karsten for clothes and shoes that we really do not need (but really want) and fulfilling our caffeine addictions at the nearest Starbucks. I miss normal smells of our house! Mom’s cooking! Chocolate ganache cake. Heck I even miss looking out my window and seeing Dad vacuuming the grass for bird seed. (Yes this really does happen and yes he really was wearing a helmet while doing so)
Yep ok. Special family. But I miss you!! J
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Teaching
Today was a great day in the classroom. I had one class really behind, cause we missed a day, so I worked double time with them today and caught them up. We learned numbers 1 through 20 and then by tens to 100. They did great.
In the other class, we played jeopardy to review.
It was a little difficult, because they have never heard of jeopardy in guatemala, but once they got the hang of it, they absolutely loved it. I remember jeopardy days in 6th and 7th grade, and remembered how much i loved them, so I thought my 6th graders would love it too. It was a HIT. And it was great review for them for everything we had learned so far.
Our director´s wife came in to observe my teaching today, and she told me she was impressed! After I was done, she said "Brianna, what a perfect personality you have to be a teacher! And it´s not even your major! Whats your major? Political science? You command the kids so well"
I was like, yes, duh, I know.
(haha kidding)
But in all honesty it felt really good to hear. Cause I never know how I am doing in comparison with other teachers, I just stand up there and flail my arms around and write on the board...
In the other class, we played jeopardy to review.
It was a little difficult, because they have never heard of jeopardy in guatemala, but once they got the hang of it, they absolutely loved it. I remember jeopardy days in 6th and 7th grade, and remembered how much i loved them, so I thought my 6th graders would love it too. It was a HIT. And it was great review for them for everything we had learned so far.
Our director´s wife came in to observe my teaching today, and she told me she was impressed! After I was done, she said "Brianna, what a perfect personality you have to be a teacher! And it´s not even your major! Whats your major? Political science? You command the kids so well"
I was like, yes, duh, I know.
(haha kidding)
But in all honesty it felt really good to hear. Cause I never know how I am doing in comparison with other teachers, I just stand up there and flail my arms around and write on the board...
Monday, March 9, 2009
Español!
Yo sé que la mayoria de Ustedes no pueden leer este en español, pero también algunos pueden! y para el resto, puedes traducir esta pagina a ingles si quieres. Pero solamente es para mostrarles como rápido mi español esta mejorando! Ahora, cuando quiero escribir en ingles, me cuesta mucho. Las palabras no son tan natural como antes. Es increíble, en serio, como mi mente puede hacer eso. Ahora, no necesito parrar y pensar cada palabra cuando estoy escribiendo ese, es natural. Escribiendo todavia está más facil que hablando, claro, pero es muy increíble como mi cabeza puede cambiar entre español e ingles. Nosotros usamos mucho spanglish ahora cuando estamos hablando, porque a veces hay palabras en español que hay más perfecto para describir algo que las palabras en ingles. La palabra ¨fuerte¨for example. En español, fuerte significa ¨strong¨. Pero tiene ¨connotations¨(no se la palabra en español) más que solo strong. La palabra fuerte es más...pues...fuerte! que la palabra strong. Prefiero usar fuerte cuando hablo en ingles porque es más exacto. Pero me encanta el idioma. Estoy enamorado!
Sick Again...
...But worse this time! First time having thrown up in Guatemala, which is actually pretty lucky. The unlucky part is that I threw up for 8 hours. Well, only once every half hour, but after about the 7th time, I had had about enough. I have never thrown up so much in my life!! And no Dad, it wasn´t malaria. Just food poisoning. We had aguacate (avocado) salad for lunch on Saturday, and there was one little bite that I ate and thought ¨EWW¨but swallowed anyway. Well, turns out that one bite cleared my body of everything I had eaten and drank for the entire weekend. I was very sick.
Luckily, my mom knows natural medicine, and she has all the herbal remedies one could need. She, however, wanted to make clear (especially to Mom and Dad) that this does NOT mean she is a witch doctor. She simply knows what herbs help cleanse the body the natural way. Yesterday I spent the day in bed, and my mom spent all her night saturday and all day sunday checking on me every hour. It´s really like she is my real mom. Last night, she spent about an hour in my room with me, telling me story after story of renters she has had (she rents out a hostal here) in effort to make me laugh :) It worked. She is such a funny little lady! When she tells a story, she uses props (she stuck my thermometer in her mouth to imitate a cigar) and acts out everything with her hands. And OH her facial expressions! I really wish I had a video. She is a dear.
Anyway, today I have broken the fever, and have finally started to eat solid food. I didn´t go to work this morning, and my afternoon one on one spanish got canceled cause my teacher is sick, too. Which works out perfectly. I am about to go take another nap. But tomorrow, I know I will be all better.
Luckily, my mom knows natural medicine, and she has all the herbal remedies one could need. She, however, wanted to make clear (especially to Mom and Dad) that this does NOT mean she is a witch doctor. She simply knows what herbs help cleanse the body the natural way. Yesterday I spent the day in bed, and my mom spent all her night saturday and all day sunday checking on me every hour. It´s really like she is my real mom. Last night, she spent about an hour in my room with me, telling me story after story of renters she has had (she rents out a hostal here) in effort to make me laugh :) It worked. She is such a funny little lady! When she tells a story, she uses props (she stuck my thermometer in her mouth to imitate a cigar) and acts out everything with her hands. And OH her facial expressions! I really wish I had a video. She is a dear.
Anyway, today I have broken the fever, and have finally started to eat solid food. I didn´t go to work this morning, and my afternoon one on one spanish got canceled cause my teacher is sick, too. Which works out perfectly. I am about to go take another nap. But tomorrow, I know I will be all better.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Teaching
For those of you who don´t already know, part of the program down here is 10 weeks of volunteer work with the Guatemalans. A very rewarding experience, and one of the reasons I chose the Guatemalan program over Spain or Chile.
My volunteer work is more like a part time job than a volunteer job. I teach english to 80 6th grade children. I have 2 classes, with 40 in each class. I work with them on Monday and Wednesday mornings, from 9 to 11. They know absolutely no english. It is really like a job. I feel like a schoolteacher every morning and the night before, when I make the lesson plans and dread going to school the next day.....(Ok well its not that I DREAD it, its just that most Monday and Wednesday mornings I would rather stay in bed than go deal with 80 energetic Latino kids.)The ages of the ¨6th graders¨range from 10 to 15. Yes. I have already been asked out by my 6th grade boys, and asked if I have a sister. Hahahhahah.
Most of the time, the kids are really well-behaved. I have worked with them twice now, and the first day went flawlessly. They listened, were respectful, and only laughed at my Spanish once or twice, when I laughed at myself. The second day, however, I had more unruly kids in one class. Some of the older boys didn´t want to learn the alphabet song, (even though I clearly explained to everybody that i KNOW its a kids song, but its SO much easier to learn the alphabet and remember it with a song) so when they were busting a gut in the back of the classroom, I marched back there and asked them ¨¿que es chistozo?¨(what is so funny?) And asked them to recite the alphabet in ingles for me. When they turned red and mumbled ¨no sé señora¨ (i don´t know) I told them that they better not laugh throughout the alphabet then!
Another time when the class was getting loud, and my spanish wasn´t getting them quiet, I just started speaking loudly and rapidly in English. All I said was things like ¨If you don´t start paying attention now, you are NEVER going to learn English, and you are NEVER going to be able to understand what I am saying right now but if you DO listen EVENTUALLY you will understand every word that I am saying...¨and etc etc. Just freaked out on them in English. And when I was done? Silence. Complete, awe-filled silence. Ha. Thank you very much.
Then I continued in Spanish and asked if anybody knew what I had said....and I once again had newfound respect. Take that, little Spanish rascals...
My volunteer work is more like a part time job than a volunteer job. I teach english to 80 6th grade children. I have 2 classes, with 40 in each class. I work with them on Monday and Wednesday mornings, from 9 to 11. They know absolutely no english. It is really like a job. I feel like a schoolteacher every morning and the night before, when I make the lesson plans and dread going to school the next day.....(Ok well its not that I DREAD it, its just that most Monday and Wednesday mornings I would rather stay in bed than go deal with 80 energetic Latino kids.)The ages of the ¨6th graders¨range from 10 to 15. Yes. I have already been asked out by my 6th grade boys, and asked if I have a sister. Hahahhahah.
Most of the time, the kids are really well-behaved. I have worked with them twice now, and the first day went flawlessly. They listened, were respectful, and only laughed at my Spanish once or twice, when I laughed at myself. The second day, however, I had more unruly kids in one class. Some of the older boys didn´t want to learn the alphabet song, (even though I clearly explained to everybody that i KNOW its a kids song, but its SO much easier to learn the alphabet and remember it with a song) so when they were busting a gut in the back of the classroom, I marched back there and asked them ¨¿que es chistozo?¨(what is so funny?) And asked them to recite the alphabet in ingles for me. When they turned red and mumbled ¨no sé señora¨ (i don´t know) I told them that they better not laugh throughout the alphabet then!
Another time when the class was getting loud, and my spanish wasn´t getting them quiet, I just started speaking loudly and rapidly in English. All I said was things like ¨If you don´t start paying attention now, you are NEVER going to learn English, and you are NEVER going to be able to understand what I am saying right now but if you DO listen EVENTUALLY you will understand every word that I am saying...¨and etc etc. Just freaked out on them in English. And when I was done? Silence. Complete, awe-filled silence. Ha. Thank you very much.
Then I continued in Spanish and asked if anybody knew what I had said....and I once again had newfound respect. Take that, little Spanish rascals...
Things I Miss (after 2 months)
1) Driving. ARGH I miss driving!
2) Playing piano!! There is a piano in my house here, but it must be for decoration, because the keys do not play notes known to the human ear. Each key sounds about 3 different pitches. At the same time.
3) Music at church.
4) My closet full of amazing clothes. I have been wearing the same 10 shirts for 2 months.
5) Driving the boat with Bartek at work on beautiful Gull Lake...
6) Waterskiing.
7) My computer working without problems
8) Walking down the street without being called ¨mamasita¨ and hearing ssstttts
9) My pillow that is more than 2 inches in width. (Seriously)
10) Keebler crackers with toffee. Mmmmmmm. Mom if you just send them US Mail it will be really cheap..... :D
2) Playing piano!! There is a piano in my house here, but it must be for decoration, because the keys do not play notes known to the human ear. Each key sounds about 3 different pitches. At the same time.
3) Music at church.
4) My closet full of amazing clothes. I have been wearing the same 10 shirts for 2 months.
5) Driving the boat with Bartek at work on beautiful Gull Lake...
6) Waterskiing.
7) My computer working without problems
8) Walking down the street without being called ¨mamasita¨ and hearing ssstttts
9) My pillow that is more than 2 inches in width. (Seriously)
10) Keebler crackers with toffee. Mmmmmmm. Mom if you just send them US Mail it will be really cheap..... :D
Long Excursion sobre Guatemala: Semuq Champey
2 weeks ago, in between phrase one and phrase 2 of the program, we took a long trip around Guatemala to Tikal, Flores, Cobán, and Semuq Champey. (Pictures to come)
The highlights of the trip:
1) the mayan ruins. One of the 7 wonders of the world--and we were climbing them! (In the states it would be illegal to climb such monuments, but in Guat, we climbed to the top of the piramids, complete with no railings or protection or anything!) Dad you would have been freaking out. But we were very safe. And the view from the top of the temples is unlike any other. From one of them, we could see Mexico. The ruins were located in the jungle--my first time in a jungle, seeing real monkeys that were not in a zoo! They were so cute! And yes, mom and dad, i had been taking my malaria medicine.
2) The second highlight was Semuq Champey. It is probably one of the most beautiful natural sites I have ever seen. The first day, we hiked up a mountain to see a view of the waterfalls, (pictures to come) and swam through the natural ¨pools¨of the waterfalls. It was honestly like paradise. The second day, we explored the underwater caves. The caves was the scariest thing I have ever done in my life. When we entered the first cave in the chain, we couldnt see anything. All we could hear were bats above us. One girl even got pooped on. (ick) We had a guide--but we had no light except for the candles we carried. And we had to swim with one hand and hold the candle with the other-definitely scary. My knees encountered quite a few underwater rocks, because we couldnt see where we were swimming. I do not really like not knowing where I am swimming. And all we could hear was the rush of the waterfalls--it was overwhelming. 3 hours later, upon emerging from the caves, my body was in a state of shock. I was shaking from being wet for 3 hours, scared, and with handicapped knees. But after about an hour, as we were floating down the river to our cabins, in innertubes, relaxing in the sun, I started to realize what I had just accomplished and appreciate the experience. I mean, how many people can say they scaled waterfalls (we literally used a rope to climb up and down the waterfall) and explored underwater caves? It was definitely the experience of a lifetime. And definitely adventure tourism that I probably will never do again! Only in Guat...
The highlights of the trip:
1) the mayan ruins. One of the 7 wonders of the world--and we were climbing them! (In the states it would be illegal to climb such monuments, but in Guat, we climbed to the top of the piramids, complete with no railings or protection or anything!) Dad you would have been freaking out. But we were very safe. And the view from the top of the temples is unlike any other. From one of them, we could see Mexico. The ruins were located in the jungle--my first time in a jungle, seeing real monkeys that were not in a zoo! They were so cute! And yes, mom and dad, i had been taking my malaria medicine.
2) The second highlight was Semuq Champey. It is probably one of the most beautiful natural sites I have ever seen. The first day, we hiked up a mountain to see a view of the waterfalls, (pictures to come) and swam through the natural ¨pools¨of the waterfalls. It was honestly like paradise. The second day, we explored the underwater caves. The caves was the scariest thing I have ever done in my life. When we entered the first cave in the chain, we couldnt see anything. All we could hear were bats above us. One girl even got pooped on. (ick) We had a guide--but we had no light except for the candles we carried. And we had to swim with one hand and hold the candle with the other-definitely scary. My knees encountered quite a few underwater rocks, because we couldnt see where we were swimming. I do not really like not knowing where I am swimming. And all we could hear was the rush of the waterfalls--it was overwhelming. 3 hours later, upon emerging from the caves, my body was in a state of shock. I was shaking from being wet for 3 hours, scared, and with handicapped knees. But after about an hour, as we were floating down the river to our cabins, in innertubes, relaxing in the sun, I started to realize what I had just accomplished and appreciate the experience. I mean, how many people can say they scaled waterfalls (we literally used a rope to climb up and down the waterfall) and explored underwater caves? It was definitely the experience of a lifetime. And definitely adventure tourism that I probably will never do again! Only in Guat...
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