Adventures in the lost world: Tikal

The whole time I've been in Guatemala I've been excited for one thing: Tikal. Ok, fine. I've been excited for a lot of things, but I was really super excited for Tikal! I've always heard of people who have gone there, or who have put in on their bucket lists to visit before they die. And in every history book I think I've ever opened, there's been at least one picture of the Temple of the Jaguar Priest, or a paragraph or two on the innovations of this civilization. The schedule we were given early in the semester had the date listed for the Tikal visit, and I kept thinking, "That's so long from now!" But then all of a sudden, it was time to board a tiny little plane, in which I really thought my head might explode from the pressure, and go explore some Mayan ruins!

We left last Saturday at around 4am. Awesome, right? No. Not at all actually...Took a bus to Guate (Guatemala City) where we boarded the afore mentioned tiny plane. I'm not sure if it wasn't pressurized or what exactly, but I've never been in so much pain while on a plane. It simultaneously felt like my head was being crushed and ready to explode. Luckily that didn't last too long, and before too long we were in the region of Petén. From the airport it was about an hour and a half drive to the Tikal National Park, including a stop to learn about how gum was made. Look it up, kind of interesting. And then, Tikal!

I don't think I ever realized how much jungle would be around the ruins. I mean, I've seen Star Wars and I guess there was jungle on the Fourth Moon of Yavin... ;) but I kind of just assumed we'd pull up and there would be the ruins! Not so much. First you have to take a walk through the jungle, which was pretty cool too. Don't think I've ever been in a jungle before. Saw some monkeys swinging around, some cool plants... And then after awhile you start to find the ruins. Let me just tell you. They are incredible. Without you visiting, my words will not do them justice, unfortunately. Huge, amazingly preserved pyramids. Built by a society that had no machinery. No horses. Not even a donkey. Just pure manpower. And brilliance. Every pyramid in the park is perfectly aligned with a specific constellation. They all have perfect acoustics, so that when a big festival or something was being held, the common people who weren't anywhere close to the pyramids could hear what was going on just as if they were standing in front of it themselves. (They area surrounding the pyramids was specifically for royalty and priests. The commoners would have lived away from the main plaza, closer to the jungle, which at that time would not have been anywhere close to the pyramids.) And it's not like these are little pyramids that didn't take much work to create. They're huge, towering way above your heads, and built with giant stones that they dug out of quarries miles away. Keep in mind, no machinery. No horses. Just brute strength. They've only uncovered some of the pyramids because nearly every pyramid has an exact counterpart. Since it can take anywhere from 5-15 years to uncover a pyramid, costs a lot to go through this process and even more to maintain, most of the pyramids remain, and may forever remain covered by  a layer of earth. A lot haven't even been discovered yet. They just found another set of pyramids in another area of Guatemala that are proving to be the biggest pyramids on the planet. The ones they have uncovered you can climb up, and the view from the top of each one is amazing (Well, I guess you can't climb up all the ones they've uncovered. They're worried people will fall off or something so they closed a few off to the public. Lame.) And yes, the view from Temple IV looks just like it does in Star Wars: Episode IV. :)

I've seen a lot of cool things in my travels. But so far, nothing has compared to Tikal. I was absolutely blown away by the pyramids, their size and the ingenuity behind them. I can't imagine the thought it took to create these monuments, nor can I understand how exactly this so called "primitive" civilization was able to build things of such magnitude. I can understand now why the locals here say they had help from aliens. It's positively unreal. Here's a few pics, but keep in mind they in no way do the park justice.

itty bitty plane!

some really amazing plants and trees make their home in the jungles of Guatemala

Star Wars: Episode IV: Rebel Base on the Fourth Moon of Yavin

they're just a tad steep

Jaguar Pyramid!

incredible.

hope you enjoyed! :)

Because He lives: Semana Santa

Well, I’ve successfully completed my first Lent and Easter time afuera de los EE.UU [outside of the U.S.]. (PS. This post will come with a small Spanish lesson! Hope you're ready. Look for the square brackets [ ] for new words!) I thought about adding to my list of "things I’m learning in Guatemala" something along the lines of, “Lent and Easter are celebrated in vastly different ways here than they are back home.” But let’s be honest, that really doesn’t even begin to cut it. After having experienced this world renown celebration time, I can now not only detail for you this time of year, but can also share my thoughts and opinions on the matter. Spending Easter here has caused me to think about what exactly I believe, and how this holiday in Guatemala fits into that. I don’t claim to have all the answers, nor do I claim to have this whole celebration figured out, but I can share with you what I’ve been observing and working out in my brain.

Semana Santa:

I say Semana Santa, but I actually refer to the whole Cuaresma [Lent] period that I’ve now lived through. Let me just start off by saying, it’s a BIG deal here. You cannot even begin imagine. I’ll attempt to give you a taste, but without being here, it will inevitably fall short. Sorry. Plan a trip to Guate? And if you do, let me know so I can come with? :) Anyways. We have to look back approximately 40 days to find the start of these aforementioned Lenten celebrations. Makes sense, right? Since that’s when Lent started? Right. So anyways... Guatemala, like the majority of Latin America, is predominantly Catholic. In my limited understanding of Catholicism, I think I can safely say that the Lenten season is kind of important. And it is here even more so than other places perhaps. Approx. 40 days ago, as previously mentioned, brought the start of what I will from here on out refer to as Semana Santa ([Holy Week], but it kind of encompasses all of Lent. At least in my mind...). Every weekend, in the weeks leading up to Easter, brings something different. Processions leaving from one church or another, consisting of large platforms [andas] carried by at least 30-40 men dressed in purple robes (or women depending on the figure on top) and carrying a figure of either Jesus in one of the various stages of the cross, or the virgin Mary crying for her son. Velaciones [translates to wake, but it's more of a display] are displayed in the various Catholic churches, depicting scenes from Jesus life and death. And alfombras [carpets]. Always alfombras. Think Rose Bowl, but carpets instead of floats and cartoon characters. They’re usually made in the streets so that the processions can pass over them, but they are also found in the churches in front of the velaciones. I don't entirely understand their purpose, other than tradition. As you get closer to the actual Semana Santa, the processions get bigger, the velaciones have more special affects, and more and more work gets put into the alfombras. And every weekend, more and more people arrive in Antigua. Miles de miles de personas [thousands upon thousands of people, pronounced meeles rather than miles], as our host dad commonly says. And he’s right. I thought they were joking when I first heard how many people come to this little ten block by ten block city, but in all actuality, they weren’t kidding at all. I’ve never seen such a large concentration of people in such a small area in my whole life. Miles de personas indeed. After all the hustle and bustle in the weeks leading up to Semana Santa, all the hotel rooms being reserved, all the venders getting ready their wares, the REAL festivities begin. I’ve never been to Brazil for Carnival, but I imagine it’s a lot like Semana Santa in Antigua, only I guess Semana Santa has a slightly more religious flavor. At least in theory... These miles de personas begin to arrive Wednesday of Semana Santa. There’s processions every day during the week, velaciones with lines so long you may never actually see the velación, and alfombras so ornate you might think it was a rug imported from Persia. We're talking work all night to make these alfombras. Sometimes there are dramatizations where people in period dress act out various stages of the cross in the streets of Antigua. The processions keep getting bigger, and they go for longer periods of time. Some of the processions leave their respective churches in the wee early hours of the morning, and walk the streets of Antigua for up to 15 hours; they just keep switching people in and out every couple of blocks. My host dad told us he used to carry the andas, and that they are HEAVY. You pay to get your spot in the procession (not sure where that’s Biblical?) and the more you can pay the “holier” you are. Behind every procession follows a band blasting the same type of somber music. The biggest processions are Thursday- Saturday, but the real party is Holy Thursday night, or as I like to call it: Stay up all night and walk around Antigua Fest. Because that’s pretty much what everyone does. And since we want to embrace the culture as much as possible, so did we. I’m pretty sure that was my first successful all nighter. I don’t typically do well with no sleep, but I had to try it. Had to be like the Guatemaltecos [Guatemalans]. I’m not sure how religious Holy Thursday actually is, because mostly it’s just a big party. You walk around, look at alfombras or you help make one if your family or a family you know is making one, there’s a big procession that leaves at 4am, you look at more alfombras, you eat street food (well the Guatemalans do. That’s one part of the culture I’ll leave to the locals. Because as fun as a parasite sounds...), you eat cake and drink coffee at all hours of the night at one of the cafes that stays open all night, you watch a dramatization of the Romans reading the sentence, and you party. Again, we didn’t do that, because drinking and discotecas are frowned upon on the Bethel trip. ;) Like I said, I don’t know how much of a spiritual significance there is to all of that. But that’s the cultural thing to do. And in theory, it's a religious/spiritual time. And then if you make it all the way to Friday morning, you promptly go to sleep. For many hours. At least that’s what I did...I can’t speak for the rest of the population, because I was oblivious to the world until shortly before lunch, and then for much time after lunch. 

What saddens me about all these festivities, is that they’re virtually over come Saturday. The celebrations all but stop with the death of Christ, and part of me, well a lot of me actually, wants to shout out, “You’re missing the most important part!” Yeah, there is a procession on Resurrection Sunday celebrating the risen Lord, but it’s small, and by that time most people who came to Antigua for the festivities have already gone home. True, they light of fireworks throughout the day on Sunday to further celebrate his resurrection, but I’ve seen bigger displays for a little kid’s birthday than for the risen Lord. I don’t understand everything about Catholicism, and so I don’t know for sure that they always place more emphasis on Christ’s death than his resurrection, but to me Christ’s rising from the dead is the most important thing. It’s the pinnacle of what we believe. Dying for our sins is important, and I’m not trying to undermine his death. But without the resurrection, is he anything more than another man who died? Death comes to us all, but if you check my grave a few days after I’ve died, chances are you’ll find my body. (Please don’t think this is an invitation to dig up my body after I’ve died. Not that I’d care so much... so I guess if you really want to, feel free.) That isn’t the case with Christ. They found the tomb empty. “He’s not here, he is risen!” Christ has conquered the grave. So that I, and you, and anyone else who believes in their heart and confesses with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, can live in heaven with our Savior. Forever. By dying, and then rising again He broke the barrier that stood between Him and I, between Him and humanity. I’m not saying the people of Guatemala don’t believe in the risen Lord, obviously that is key to what we all believe. And it’s not that I disagree with all the celebrations that go on during this time. I don’t understand them all, and I’m not sure that I agree with some of the things that go on. But I like that they do celebrate this time. We should celebrate Easter, at least to the extent of recognizing that it’s about more than a bunny who gives out candy in brightly colored eggs. I just feel like maybe the celebrations should focus on the resurrection just as much as the death of Christ. Both are key to what I believe, and one without the other doesn’t really work. Death without a resurrection after is just another man who was buried in a grave. And you can’t very well raise someone from the dead if they haven’t died first. You can’t separate the two, and maybe that’s the issue I have with the Semana Santa celebrations. We should, by all means celebrate what Christ did for us. His death and resurrection broke down the barrier that stood between us and God. Where we did not have access previously, now we can enter freely. Yes, please let us celebrate this fact. With everything we have in us we should daily celebrate this, not just at Easter.  Nothing I’ve done, or ever can hope to do is enough to give me the access to God that Christ provided by going willingly to his death. For me. So that I may have life, and have it to the full. So that I may be able to experience the amazing love of God. So that I may be able to live eternally with Him. 

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because he lives all fear is gone. Because I know he holds the future, my life is worth the living just because he lives. 

And that, my friends, is worth celebrating.

For if, while we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, shall we be saved through his life! Romans 5:10

working on an alfombra late Thursday night

one of my favorite alfombras of the night. So ornate and pretty! All made out of layers and layers of sand.

part of one of the processions

procession that left at 4:30 am and went the rest of Friday 

Things I'm learning: Numero tres

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. Before I came on this trip I would wonder why people who were on similar trips didn't blog more. But since I've been here I'm starting to understand. Because when you're here, like anywhere else, moments turn to hours, hours turn into days, and days into life. And suddenly something that seemed noteworthy is now just life, and it's not something as interesting any more. Or it is, but life's still going and you don't just stop to record it. You just keep living. Day in and day out. Like you do when you're at home, or school or wherever. It's life, every little moment of it. All the little moments squish together to make the whole, and sometimes it's hard to pick apart the various pieces. So that's my excuse for not blogging a ton. That being said, I have another list of things I've learned recently for you:

61) Unlike Magdalena, in Antigua you can probably get away with not greeting every person you meet. If you're, unsure, however, you can still let out a buenos dias and be just fine.
62) Any noise made to the Lord is a joyful noise. Thus, church is loud!
63) You can celebrate just about anything with fireworks and firecrackers. But the favorite is birthdays.
64) Birthdays can, apparently, be celebrated in the above mentioned way at any time of the night. Any time.
65) It's not a good firework celebration unless the car alarms get set off by it.
66) I like spicy chocolate. Like dark chocolate with chili powder baked in. Mmm.
67) Guatemalans tend to favor spoons over other utensils.
68) Guatemalans don't really run. Ever. So when my roommate and I run later than our normal six a.m. we tend to make somewhat of a spectacale. Though I'm sure by now they're used to all the things us crazy gringos do.
69) Antigua was established around 1500, and looks much the same as it did then.
70) I like egg plant. Who knew?
71) The "there's always room for one more" rule applies to buses, cars, van, and yes, even mopeds. Sometimes especially mopeds.
72) Thinking about life after graduation is terrifying. But in a really exciting way. Can't believe how quickly that's becoming a reality.
73) I'm not allergic to mangoes like I once thought. Or if I am, I'm combatting it with eating more mangoes.
74) Carbs are apparently an option for breakfast in our house.
75) If served to me I would eat fried plantains and guacamole every day.
76) I really miss dairy products.
76) Sometimes there is really only room for one more (see #71), but they will still pack in about 20 more. (Check out this post on riding the bus for more on that!)
77) Riding the bus is awkward. And uncomfortable. Personal space doesn't exist on the bus. But it's a part of life, very much necessary for many Guatemalans.
78) To a non-native English speaker, the 8 and H sounds are very similar. My kindergarteners in Magdalena say them both the same, and I'm not entirely sure they realize there's a difference.
79) Black sand is HOT! (They weren't kidding when they warned us!)
80) The ocean is far more powerful than I ever imagined.
81) I kind of love bartering. I don't always walk away with the best end of the deal, but at least I had some say in the final price of whatever I'm buying. Bartering is expected in many, but not all, places around here.
82) It's not actually grammatically correct to say "can I have" ("puedo tener") in Spanish. Now that I've learned this, I've been trying to not say it, but it's really hard! We use it all the time in English. Now every time I go to ask for something I get caught up on my words.

How Things are done in Guatemala #Ridingthebus

I know it's hard to believe, but not everything runs the way it does in the U.S. when you're in other countries. And I know it's even harder to believe that sometimes there are some things that are run better in other countries than they are in the U.S.

I would not put riding the bus in Guatemala in that category. 

Different? Yes. Very much so. Better?...far from. Let me just explain to you this process a little bit so you can better understand where I'm coming from:

Riding the Bus:

There are at least two people you will see on every bus in Guatemala, and sometimes a third:

• You will for sure encounter a driver, no surprise there. He, as I'm sure you can guess, drives the bus! Shocking, I know! But that is the extent of his duties. The surprising part is that he sometimes looks like he is about 15. Aside from driving the bus he is also in charge of the radio. It's a most important job, and the tastes in music are about as varied as the passengers that ride the bus.
• The second person you will meet on a bus in Guatemala is the person I like to call the caller. I don't know if he has a more technical title, but his principle job is to get people onto the bus. He stands at the bus stop and loudly shouts out the destination as many times as he can in a single breath. "Antigua, Antigua, Antigua, Antigua!" "Guate, Guate, Guate!" "Santa Lucia, Santa, Santa, Santa, Santa Lucia!" etc. When you make eye contact with this person he quickly ushers you onto his specific bus, before you have time to question if that's your actual destination or not. 
• The third person is the ayudante, or helper. His job responsibilities often include those of the caller, thus sometimes eliminating the need of a separate caller and giving you the two people I mentioned earlier. The ayudante's [helper's] job is to... help the driver! (It's funny how these descriptions and titles work together, don't you think?) But he actually has several clear responsibilities from what I can tell: The first, if there's no separate caller, is to get people on the bus. As I mentioned, the driver's only job is to drive. He pulls up to a stop, and if there's not a caller, the ayudante hops of the bus and takes on this very important role of ushering people onto his bus. Can't make money if there's no one to ride! After he squeezes on as many people as can possibly fit, and then a few more he swiftly gets back into his position at the front of the bus. This usually happens as the bus is pulling away from the curb; he's pretty skilled. His next job is to collect the money, which is easier said than done. Since the bus has now been packed to beyond capacity, he somehow has to squeeze his way all the way to the back of the bus collecting money as he goes, and making sure he gives the correct change. It's an impressive feat, because the bus is literally packed full, and I'm still not entirely sure how the ayudantes can make it through the extra narrow isle. After collecting the money he somehow makes his way back to the front of the bus, and takes his place at the open door of the bus, somehow managing to not fall out of the bus as it careens around corners and mountains. Sometimes the ayudante has the important job of honking the horn on the bus, because clearly the driver can't do this himself. Also if there's something wrong with the bus, it's the ayudante who jumps off to check it out, because the driver doesn't seem to be able to leave his seat while the bus is on.

Filling the bus:
There's always room for one more is a general rule for just about everything here in Guatemala, but especially with the buses, which are commonly called chicken buses. Couldn't tell you the reason why for that one...The ayudante will have the driver stop any time he sees someone who looks like they might need a ride, even (especially?) when they aren't standing at a specified bus stop. Oh, I should mention that these buses are just old school buses (as in elementary school buses, not "old school" buses!) from the states. Sometimes you can still see the name of the school painted on the side. They're usually covered with a bright coat of paint and Barcelona soccer stickers. I guess the drivers can decorate however they want. So the ayudante just keeps filling the bus with more people. And sometimes you think, "Now there's really only room for one more", but he proceeds to add about 20 more. You know how school buses in the states have one side with bigger seats, and one side with smaller? Well, in Guatemala they've replaced the smaller side with big seats. And you ALWAYS sit three to a seat. In fact, if the ayudante thinks you're purposely only sitting two to a seat, he may chose to charge you the fare for two people. After all the seats are filled, you fill the isles, naturally. Because, what fun would it be to just fill the seats? Once the isles are filled you start putting people in the overhead racks....kidding. But sometimes it feels like that's what they're doing! I honestly don't where they put all the people they fit onto one bus. Especially when our group is involved, because we add about 20 to an already full bus.


When I ride the bus, I just have to laugh. There is no such thing as personal space bubbles, and sometimes you're standing in the most awkward places, right up close and personal with some person you've never met before. Every bump and turn (of which there are many on the road between Antigua and Magdalena, and I imagine every other bus route in the country) shoves you closer to said stranger until you're standing so close you'd think you've been best friends, or siamese twins, your whole life, but yet you haven't met, and probably never will. And then the bus stops and more people get on, and you get even closer to your neighbor, and you just sit there not making eye contact- though their eyes are only inches from your own. On less crowded rides I like to talk to the people around me, learn their stories and whatnot. That's a rarity, unfortunately.  Yes, I have to just laugh as I ride the bus. But as I'm laughing, I look around me and don't see anyone else (save for my fellow gringos) laughing. In fact, I see a lot of Guatemalan faces staring at me as I laugh, and I know they're thinking, "Crazy gringo." Riding the bus isn't humorous to a Guatemalan. It's just life. Cars and gas are expensive, jobs aren't always right in your pueblo, so riding the bus is a part of life. Buses are packed, and that's a part of life. The ride is usually uncomfortable, and that's part of life. The road is bumpy, and twisty and turny, and that's a part of life. You do what you have to, and you don't think anything of it. Every day. Because that's life. You don't complain, because what would the point be?  For me, life doesn't usually include riding a chicken bus to and from work and home. It's a great experience, but one I'll reserve for Guatemala. So for now, I just have to laugh. And hope the Guatemalans don't mind this crazy gringo too much. :)

21st Birthday!

Well, I'm officially, officially an adult now! I turned 21 yesterday which means I can do just about anything! haha! Just about because I still can't drive a bus or rent a car. :) I can definitely say it will be a birthday I won't soon forget. This week (and next) I've been teaching English at a private school in Magdalena, and was warned ahead of time that birthdays are a big deal at the school. And so for the celebrations yesterday I got sung to by several of the classes and received some very cute cards from my even cuter kindergarteners. (The kindergarten class is the one I teach English to. There's four of us girls working up at the school and we each have our own class to be teaching with the help of each other and our site leader, Abbey.) At dinner my host parents had some brownies for us with a candle for me to blow out, and I got some gifts from my two host sisters, as well as a delicious loaf of bread and a cute journal from my two sweet friends, Beth and Alison. Oh! Back up. After working at the school for the day the girls that work at the school with me and our site leader went out for ice cream. And then after dinner our whole team went out for ice cream again! Two ice creams in one day, doesn't get much better than that! :) And then I got to skype with my parents, Kirsten, and Kayla! Great birthday if you ask me! Then today after recess the kids all lined up instead of going in like they normally do and they all sung to me again, but this time as a whole group and not individual classes. After that they gave me a hug one by one. LOTS of birthday hugs! But I love all those kids, so it was a lot of fun. Like I said, definitely not a birthday I will be forgetting any time soon. I had a great time hanging out with the kiddos and teachers at the school, and celebrating with the new friends I've made down here. So blessed to have so many people that love and care about me. Thanks for all the well wishes! :)

Card from one of my sweet kindergarteners!

Getting sung to by 80+ elementary school kids:

"ya queremos pastel, ya queremos pastel, aunque sea un pedacito, ya queremos pastel!"

(that's verse two. Then they clap and count until they reach your age)

LOTS of birthday hugs!

And that was my 21st birthday! 

Thoughts about Democracy and Dictators

I am happy to announce that this morning's class marked the beginning of my last week of Ibero-American History! I've never loved history classes. I enjoy certain aspects of history, but I often find the texts to be dry and boring, and the classes generally just a difficult time of lots of studying and memorizing dates. And so I was especially not looking forward to a full college history course crammed into four weeks, and was very excited to realize that this is my last week of said class! Ok, fine. It hasn't been that bad... And probably better that I took it here rather than a similar class at Greenville.

In my studies of the history of Spain and Latin America these past three weeks, I've come across several striking similarities amongst the various countries histories (more in Latin America than Spain). Those similarities being, the hand the US has played (good and bad, but really a lot of bad...) in the political turmoil in this part of the world, and the continual cycle of dictators and military coups.

In nearly every country I've looked at in Central and South America there has been, since the days of their independence from Spain, a history and vicious cycle of dictators overthrowing the ideas of democracy, and the struggles democratic leaders have faced in their various countries. I'm not saying the US model of democracy has got it completely correct, nor are we absolved from our crimes in these nations' histories. But we have sustained a democratic government and the same constitution for 200+ years, and that's pretty impressive. The countries in this area of the world haven't even been independent nations for that long, let alone democratic nations with a sustained functioning constitution.

Like I said though, I've come across a lot of issues that came from the hands of my government. Stable governments being overthrown by the CIA, dictators put in power and supported by our presidents and legislature, economies thrown into near crisis states because of actions our government took against them, support of military coups and brutal regimes...the list goes on. Most of this was done in the name of "stopping communism from spreading" and while this was probably true in some cases, we were also protecting our monopolies on land and companies that were held in these countries. Guatemala was thrust into a 36 year war because the CIA was sent in to remove a president who was, in all reality, a good leader of this country. Our (being the US government, but being a citizen of that country I can't remove myself from their actions. The color of my skin, and the accent I retain will always align me with that same government.) reasoning was that we were overthrowing a communistic leader, but the underlying issue is that the United Fruit Company, an American owned fruit monopoly, was worried that the land reform the president was working towards would potentially cause the collapse of their company. (PS. That president wasn't a communist.) Don't worry, the new president of Guatemala seems to be doing good things for the country and they've moved on past their civil war days. They also, in the grand scheme of things, don't harbor ill-will towards the US for our involvement in their country. But the fact of the matter is, in our quest to create countries just like our own, we've done some pretty terrible things (I would say check out the histories, closely, of the Dominican Republic, Chile, and Bolivia if you want more on this.).

Our past foreign policies are not something I'm necessarily proud of, as has been made more apparent by this class. That being said the more I learn about these countries, I can see how living in the States is a blessing. I have never lived under anything but a democratic leader. I have never had my rights taken away, nor has my family been taken away from me because of our beliefs. I can live in the security of knowing that our constitution will not allow for my civil liberties or basic human rights to be stripped from me. I am able to practice my religion openly. The media in my country is not censured (though perhaps a bit more censuring there would be a good thing! haha), and I am able to write my opinions about my country in this blog without having to worry about who might be reading it. Yes, there are aspects of our history that I cannot take pride in, and it hurts my heart to see some of the things my government has caused. But I am blessed. Hopelessly blessed by all the freedoms I have been given and enjoy without even thinking twice. Blessed indeed.

Things I'm learning: Take 2

26) Hot water does not, in fact, come out of the sink. I still try every time to get hot water.
27) The climb to the Parque Ecologico is long and hard. But so, so worth it.
28) The lake you can see from the Parque is not, in fact, Lake Atitlan, but rather Lake Amatitlan.
29) People walk up and down the mountain every day carrying logs on their head.
30) Language school is kind of intimidating. But in a good way.
31) Pilas are for washing clothes by day, and making out by night. (At least this is the case with the big pila we have to pass any time we want to go somewhere.)
32) You can also wash children in the pila.
33) A good cup of coffee is totally worth the long walk to find it.
34) Lavandarias are kind of expensive. But clean clothes are really nice.
35) The awesome car at our house is a '57 Pontiac.
36) We have a maid. Also a cook.
37) Soccer se mueve el mundo.
38) Guatemalans love the European soccer leagues. You can't go anywhere without seeing a Barcelona or a Real Madrid jersey. Our host dad loves both, but Real Madrid most.
39) Lunch (at least at our house) is the biggest meal of the day typically.
40) Cafe Barista makes a great latte.
41) I still love Fun Dips.
42) Our house kind of reminds me of the hotel in The Shining. I have to try to not think about this when I go to the bathroom at night so as to not scare myself.
43) God is so much bigger than the box I put him in.
44) Running in the afternoon: not smart.
45) "Coffee should be black as night, strong as passion, sweet as love, and hot as hell." (I think this needs to hang in my house someday.)
46) Dark chocolate with orange is perhaps one of the best things ever.
47) Latin American soccer fans do it right!
48) If you want to learn to swear in another language, go to a soccer game in a country that speaks that language.
49) Wear sunscreen to soccer games.
50) The market is amazing and overstimulating, all at the same time.
51) Bartering is mildly frightening. But expected. And necessary to get a decent price.
52) I don't love sushi. But I don't hate it either.
53) Fresh fruit is perhaps the best thing ever. Especially when you bought it at a market directly from the hands that grew it.
54) The unidentified purple fruit we bought at the market kind of looks like an alien from War of the Worlds inside. Can't say I'll get that one again.
55) Soccer really is the world's sport.
56) Wearing a skirt like the native women wear is harder than it looks! (I bought one at the market!)
57) I could probably spend a lot of money at the artisan's market...
58) I love finding new coffee shops. Especially ones that play Gungor and make fun shapes in my coffee.
59) The maid does not come every day. Especially on the weekends. But also not today.
60) I do not love history classes. But my teacher at the language school thinks I do...

Lake Amatitlan

The pila near our house

I think this would be a good life skill to have.

Soccer love!