The Adventures of April

Flippin’ Philippines

2010-04-02T22:50:00.002-05:00

One of the best parts of the business school experience at Michigan are M-Treks – outdoor adventure trips that happen prior to school for bonding and relaxation before the craziness of school begins. I scored a spot on a trip to the Philippines and it was one of the most amazing trips of my life. We spent six days on a boat, hopping around uninhabited islands, snorkeling, scuba diving, camping, and getting to know one another.

The pictures don't even begin to do it justice, but just to give you a taste...

Spring & Summer Highlights

2010-04-02T22:43:00.002-05:00

I took two months off between leaving Atlanta and moving to Ann Arbor to relax with my

family in Grand Rapids. Despite some personal family setbacks (thank goodness for emergency laparoscopic surgery!) I managed to have some fun, uninhibited by vacation time and location.

Going away shindig with my ATL friends themed “it’s my party and we’ll play charades if I want to”
Camped and hiked along the Appalachian trail despite some serious fears of a bear

Ghandi roti in Toronto… mmm…
Wandered around Chicago with my cousin from Seattle, photo ops at the bean and quality time with the DePotty’s new family addition, Sadie
Two weeks in Santa Fe studying climate change… urgh… what a downer…
Camped in Holland with my favorite sisters and children
Attended Udall scholar orientation as an alum… got completely inspired by the class of 2009 and had a blast teaching swing dance classes

A New Chapter of Adventures

2009-03-24T20:37:00.003-05:00

I'm thrilled to announce that next fall I will be attending the University of Michigan to earn my MBA and MS in sustainability. It has been a dream of mine to do this program ever since I learned about it as a sophomore in college. Sustainable business is my passion and I can't wait to learn more about it so I can become a more effective advocate for change. I feel so incredibly blessed and excited! I'm so thankful to my family, friends, mentors, and professors who supported me in this sometimes exhausting process.

Of course, half of my family is going to disown me because I'm going to U of M. Oh well!

Keep reading because there are many many adventures ahead for me!

2009-02-27T19:20:00.001-05:00

I finally solved this dang puzzle... Joyce would be proud.

25 Things

2009-02-19T20:28:00.002-05:00

So since the New York Times has now covered the phenom known as "25 Things" I've decided to share my own list here.

25 Random Things About Me... in no particular order:

1. If you know me you probably know that I have three sisters who are my best friends, with my youngest sister adopted from Guatemala. She’s six (seven next week) and a hoot!

2. When I feel really sad my gums go numb.

3. I write with my left hand but my “handedness” is on my right side – I cut, throw (rarely), and see better with my right side.

4. My favorite kind of movie/book is survival stories. One of my favorite movies is ALIVE and in high school I used to daydream about having to take care of the survivors if they got dropped off at my doorstep.

5. I thought “The Notebook” was the worst movie ever created and I have absolutely no idea why people like it so much.

6. When I get extremely nervous/excited in a good way my mouth gets dry like the Serengeti. It’s only happened three times in my life, but enough to recognize a pattern.

7. One time I hitched hiked down half of Belize.

8. I also had fleas in Belize.

9. I’m named April because I was conceived in April. My birthday is in January.

10. A bowl of cereal can solve almost all of my problems.

11. I recently did a silent retreat – no speaking, phones, internet, or music for 48 hours. It was amazing and I highly recommend it.

12. I run partially so I can eat all the junk food I want.

13. I backpacked from Mexico to Costa Rica over the course of three months alone. It was amazing, extremely lonely, and I would never ever let my kids do that.

14. What I want most are the simple things in life – a family, community, and the opportunity to serve God.

15. I think Stephen Colbert is funnier than John Stewart.

16. It kind of annoys me that I’m always the one that calls my friends, not vice versa. Oh well. BUT - my friends excel at sending packages!! (And I like sending them, too!)

17. Even though I work in the environmental field, I just can’t read news about environmental destruction. It’s way too depressing when all day long I have to be up beat about turning the crisis around.

18. One of my closest friends from college and one of the few people I keep in touch with from that time in my life is a professor.

19. I heard the founder of the company I now work for speak when I was in the 9th grade; he inspired me and it’s a life dream come true that I now work at Interface.

20. I’m very loyal to my crushes. One crush in elementary school for four years, one crush in middle school for three years, one crush in high school for three years, and one crush since then for five years. Phew!

21. I can’t spell worth a darn.

22. Saugatuck is one of my most favorite places in the world. I love Lake Michigan.

23. I used to do this weird thing in high school called performance art – basically I would get really hyper and do silly things in front of my friends and they would laugh.

24. Seeing Gloria for the first time in the airport in Grand Rapids was one of the best moments of my life.

25. I love making people laugh and I’m not afraid to make fun of myself.

Retro Travel Email

2009-02-03T16:51:00.004-05:00

I was checking my old hotmail account and stumbled upon an email I'd written home my first week in Belize in 2003. As many of you know Belize was really tough, and I laughed when I read how I tried to put a positive slant on everything (apologies for the spelling). I thought I'd add what I was REALLY thinking in blue italics below...

--------------------------------------

Hello everybody!

I returned home from Ecuador last week and had a nice but busy week at home. I just arrived in Belize this past Tuesday. It is very very hot and humid here but I think I am (slowly) adjusting.

I'm not adjusting at all. It is so freaking hot here I think I might actually die.

I live in a pretty nice cabana/hut in the middle of jungle.

Oxymoron, hello! How nice can a hut be in the middle of the freakin' jungle?!?! But I am a world traveler. Maintain happy face/outlook.

It was pretty comical when the directors were showing us around. For instance, it's always a good idea to check the shower curtain before you get in just in case there isn't a tarantula or scorpian hanging out at the bottom.

Holy s*** I almost crapped my pants, but that would've required me using the composting toilet, which is equally as scary as stinging vermin in the shower.

You also get to see a lot of "predetor/prey" relationships in action, sometimes right on your mosquito net!

I'm seriously concerned about being on the "prey" side that equation. I'm pretty sure there are monkeys with pointy teeth like in "Outbreak" that want to kill me.

So it's a tid bit different here.

Happy face, April. Happy face.

This weekend I need to decide where I will have an internship at for the next 7 weeks here. I have some pretty exciting options. I can work from the United Nations Development Project and help with small loan programs, or this organization called Trees Belize that does reforestation/sustainable development projects, or Belize Enterprise for Sustainable Technology, an organization which provides grants and education to small, mainly women co-ops or a project with the Peace Corps volunteer here in the village of Armenia through the Armenia Development Center that will perform a census and figure out the need for toliets to improve health. I really don't know what to choose!

They all scare/intimidate me equally. Seriously, I have no idea what to do.

I am going around to visit them on Monday but all of them sound like really exciting opportunities.

More happy face.

The culture is pretty different here - it is so loose and laid back which is nice in comparison to the US.

For instance, I love how those "laid back" buses sometimes leave you waiting on the side of highway for two hours.

We have a lot of interesting activites planed and myself and some other people at Jaguer Creek where we are staying may actually get to go to Guatemala to the center of the Mayan civilization in a couple weekends (although not to see Gloria!). Please send me an email and let me know how life in the US is.

Specifically elaborate on the merits of refridgeration, air conditioning, electricity in general, and cereal.

Everybody have great weekends!

Because I'm about to go spend it in the hospital due to heatstroke.

Love,

April

How did I get here?

2009-01-31T23:32:00.004-05:00

I was watching this weird set of videos on a local cable channel when the video for Talking Heads "Once in a Lifetime" came on. I've never seen the video but it's one of my favorite songs of all time. I'd love to learn these wicked dance moves!

Honestly I think Beyonce ripped off the concept for her recent video from Talking Heads.

Blessed Be Your Name

2009-01-04T11:31:00.002-05:00

The lyrics of this song have a special meaning to me this year... I feel like it's been a year of giving and taking away, of abundance and wilderness, but still God is good.

Blessed Be Your Name

In the land that is plentiful

Where Your streams of abundance flow

Blessed be Your name

Blessed Be Your name

When I'm found in the desert place

Though I walk through the wilderness

Blessed Be Your name

Every blessing You pour out

I'll turn back to praise

When the darkness closes in, Lord

Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your name

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name

When the sun's shining down on me

When the world's 'all as it should be'

Blessed be Your name

On the road marked with suffering

Though there's pain in the offering

Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out

I'll turn back to praise

When the darkness closes in, Lord

Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your name

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your name

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your glorious name

You give and take away

My heart will choose to say

Lord, blessed be Your name

Not very surprising.

2009-01-04T11:27:00.001-05:00

I took the 43 Things Personality Quiz and found out I'm an

Extroverted Organized Self-Improver

But I like the idea of a book that helps me make lists! Because April loves lists.

Halloween

2009-01-02T09:11:00.007-05:00

This year I had an awesome Halloween party. I was inspired by my great new house and my own costume (see below). About fifty friends from work, church, and volunteering came. There were even a few people that wandered in from the street - that was a bit strange. Only a few people weren't brave enough to wear costumes! Otherwise, I was impressed to see the creativity of my friends.

We ate, we drank, we danced, we had a costume contest, we bobbed for apples, all until the wee hours of the morning. It was a highlight to my otherwise dismal fall. Enjoy the photos!

Sarah Palin Bobs for Apples

Photos from top to bottom: Me rocking it out as Sarah Palin, complete with a $150,000 price tag on my jacket, an anti-earth button, a PALIN-mccain button and copious amounts of lip liner; roommates; John and Marilyn are sickos; Laura was the lady from Columbia Pictures; dry ice never ceases to amaze; costume contest where Mimo won with the big fish head; Matt and Katie as the couple from Juno - costume contest runner-ups!; friends from church; more friends from church who are Arrested Development fans!; this guy really wanted a picture with me on my bed and it was even creepier than it sounds.

Greenbuild

2008-11-19T08:48:00.000-05:00

Desmond Tutu

2008-11-19T08:10:00.001-05:00

There are a lot of people in this room.

Health Day

2008-10-24T11:37:00.003-05:00

Many of you may know that I volunteer regularly with a homeless ministry, Lazarus. One of my favorite events is Health Day where we close off a block in downtown in Atlanta and provide health services, hair cuts, manicures, pedicures, clothing, food and friendship.

The calling of my church is to be the "hands and feet of Jesus". Being part of a serving community has been one of my most rewarding experiences during my time in Atlanta. Frankly I don't know how some people enjoy life at all without pursuing service to others!

Please watch the video below to get just a glimpse!

PS. I'm in there but very hard to find!

PPS. There are very artsy cool people at my church who made this.

2008-10-21T11:25:00.001-05:00

Pagoda in San Francisco

2008-10-20T20:33:00.000-05:00

San Francisco

2008-10-03T19:41:00.001-05:00

Eminen and Elton John Russian dolls at the Greek festival.

Gratefulness

2008-09-30T20:30:00.004-05:00

"How happy a person is depends on the depth of his gratefulness."
John Miller

The past few months have taught me that I have so much to be grateful for. Many of you whom I keep in touch with regularly know that despite the relative stability of my current situation my life as of late has been chock-full of adventures, with some falling in the "good" category, others in the "bad" and most falling in both depending on the moment!

I've been struck by how God has provided through the Church and my friends and family. Here is a much abbreviated list of the many things I have to be thankful for:

Safety whistles, safety whistles, and neighbors who respond to safety whistles
Parents who drive eight hours to pick you up at the airport
Friends who send you a replacement copy of "Hello Dolly" after yours is stolen from your apartment
People who write me long emails, and people who read my long emails
Friends that help me move at the last minute - twice in ten days
Friends that help me paint my room which has approximately 82 awkward corners
Finding an AWESOME house in Midtown two days into my impromtu housing search
Cooler weather
A co-worker who lets me live at her house for two weeks
Friends who let me lay on their futon and watch "What About Bob" on a Monday afternoon
A friend's roommate whom I just met made me a bunch of awesome CDs (since my computer/music was stolen)
Chocolate
Safety
Delicious French press coffee
The library and books books books
Gmail chat
****My small group and community at Trinity****
A gift of tickets to see the Indigo Girls at Chastain
Popeye's friend chicken and biscuits
Running
Turmeric chapstick!
Sisters who listen
Mix CDs from friends
Health Day for the Homeless
Oktoberfest party and a hooligan costume...

2008-03-30T15:22:00.001-05:00

Miami - on the beach listening to Jaunes.

2008-03-12T15:24:00.002-05:00

Pompoms + John's new snazzy BlackBerry make for fun in cubicle land.

The Interface Story

2008-03-12T15:00:00.000-05:00

If you're interested in learning more about the awesome company I work for, watch this great little video!

Here is video of our founder, Ray Anderson. It ends on a negative note, so watch the video above to see how we've succeeded!

2008-01-22T22:33:00.000-05:00

The holidays have past and I've resettled back into my little life here in Atlanta. We had an inch of snow a few days ago and everybody freaked out!

Thanks to everybody who sent me birthday wishes today. It truly has been a great birthday and I feel very grateful to have such wonderful friends and family.

Many of you know that I have been swing dancing a bit lately. It's a tradition at my regular swing locale to do a birthday dance for those who celebrated the past week. Everybody stands in a circle, and the people whose birthday it is stand in the middle. As the music plays people cut in and out so by the end of the song you've danced with about a dozen people! I had a blast and my friend Bela was kind enough to take this video.

I still get a big smile on my face thinking about how fun that was! Maybe I can trick them in the month of April into thinking it's my birthday again....

For my birthday I baked scones for my office, went out to lunch with my coworkers, and got lovely flowers from my parents and my roommate, Melissa. I also had a classroom full of Salvadorian high school students sing happy birthday to me thanks to my cousin Andrea! I was cleaning up the living room this evening when all of a sudden I heard banging on the french doors. Outside John (co-worker), Marilyn (wife of John/friend) and Telia (I'm protecting your name, T) were standing on my porch waving sparklers with a cake! It was so touching and I'm so lucky to have friends like them! Thanks so much! I'm really touched!

2007-11-07T13:53:00.000-05:00

BILL BILL BILL!

2007-11-07T09:54:00.000-05:00

We will be close since I ran to our seats...

2007-11-07T09:45:00.000-05:00

2007-11-07T09:40:00.000-05:00

This is one big room! One fourth of it!

2007-11-07T09:20:00.001-05:00

Waiting to see Bill Clinton - American Idol style.

Twinners

2007-10-24T20:57:00.001-05:00

This was not planned. Note on the second picture John and I are both wearing blue and white stripped shirts. I think we spend a little too much time in the office, and I spend a little too much time making silly poses.

2007-09-21T17:54:00.001-05:00

I'm sorry I just can't Belize it...

2007-09-08T13:45:00.001-05:00

Melissa and I saw this strange painting at a flea market... wha??

2007-08-19T20:17:00.000-05:00

All I've ever wanted is a 5 ft metal rooster....

It's very warm and humid here.

2007-08-19T20:01:00.001-05:00

They don't call it HOTlanta fur nuthin'. I can't wait for fall!

I'm been slowly getting more settled in. I moved into my apartment two weeks ago and honestly it's been crazy ever since. I don't think it's going to let up for a few more weeks!

My parents came and visited, and we had a lot of fun even though all the moving and Ikea-ing was extremely exhausting.

My prima Andrea came and visited the next weekend en route to El Salvador where she is now living. We went to the Coke Museum and paid $15 to be marketed at for two hours.

Me with Inca Cola (yes, it is owned by Coke.) Mmmmmm.... yummy?

This weekend my friend Brent had a dinner party. The night degenerated to fun with socks and sandals, an 'arm-off' between myself and Marilyn, and a series of dance sequences that shall remain nameless except by the varieties of 'the Elaine,' 'at a party,' 'revolving', 'robot', and the 'traditional.'

Marilyn and I are both silly enough to do the swinging arm trick; it's all fun and games until you get thwacked; socks are powerful weapons and John is terrified; we are environmentalists and allegedly John has creepy feet.

2007-07-20T16:39:00.000-05:00

So a 20 minute drive to happy hour with work friends turned into an hour and fifteen minute unhappy hour in the Atlanta traffic. Luckily we entertained ourselves with Listerine breath strips, girl-power music, a short introduction to Arrested Development for John, some nasty apply chips, dancing (me only), and scary quintessential hicks staring us down in the truck next to us.

2007-07-20T16:33:00.000-05:00

This is after an hour of atl traffic: yeehaw!

Viva Atlanta!

2007-07-16T17:34:00.000-05:00

So after about two solid months of sittin' on the couch at my extended stay hotel watching Sienfeld re-runs and eating honey straight from the bottle I finally have started to make some friends. The people I work with are really cool and have been very hospitable. I've also met a few people through church. In recent weeks I've been out to swing dance, barbecues, wine tasting, church classes, volunteering, and even a stint with spreading mulch in other people's yards.

One of the coolest things I've done was the Atlanta Soap Box Derby. My co-worker and his engineering friends from Georgia Tech decided to enter the contest. It was a blast, and I'm pretty sure we had the slowest and possible the most dangerous vehicle there. Nice.

Go team!

It's a tough job to fasten pieces of carpet to John's arm using pink twine, but somebody's gotta do it. I look really bad ass with those strips of pink fabric around my arm.

Brent laughing gleefully in the background as John bites it on the way down.

Leaving Lima

2007-07-15T17:13:00.000-05:00

As is evident by this blog, I had a great experience in Lima and really enjoyed my time in South America. This is a list a wrote a while back but haven't had a chance to publish. (Machu Picchu trip is below.)

Things I'll Miss:

Riding the length of Angamos in a combi
Limonada (Limade)
Ceviche
Fruit juices in general
The ocean
My fancy badge
Fellow interns
Mummies
Interesting characters at the Embassy
The oceanfront parks in Miraflores
The smell of diesel
Plaza de Armas
Cheap transportation
Walking through the big doors of the Embassy every morning
Hairless dogs... sigh... and here.
Wong (the grocery store)
Tamales
Speaking in Spanish
Buddy (Boss' dog)
Eating lunch behind the Embassy
The occasional Pisco Sour
Tequenos
Easily #1: Having *daily* adventures

Things I Won't Miss:

Riding the length of Angamos in a combi
Negotiating cab fares
Smog
The Embassy Cafeteria
Clinica San Borja
Statistics
Being solicited for everything under the sun every two minutes

Me at my desk; the Embassy in Lima.

Trek to Machu Picchu!

2007-07-15T14:00:00.000-05:00

This is about my trek to Machu Picchu, one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. You can see my pictures of my trip and of all the photos I've posted on this blog here. All pictures can be magnified simply by clicking on them.

Day 1
I left my hotel at 5:30 AM to board a bus and meet my fellow trekkers. Our group was a couple in their 40s from Australia, two women traveling together (one from Australia the other from New Zealand), a couple from the US and a student from the University of British Colombia. They were a great group and I enjoyed their company immensely.

In the morning we drove and began hiking through the Canyon. It was beautiful. We hide a guide and several porters who not only carried our larger belongings but prepared large hot meals for us.

Eating a hot, tasty meal; a young girl herding her sheep; the canyon; the view.

We camped in the valley under a full moon. The moon was so bright that it lit up the entire valley - you didn't even need a flash light! The stars were beautiful as well and one of the Australians in the group was a novice astronomer and taught us some of the basic southern hemisphere constellations.

Our camp site; a family outside of their house.

Definitely one of those moments where you are simply in awe of creation and your life in general....

Day 2

We started the morning hiking directly out of the valley, which was at 3,700 meters. It took us 4 hours to hike up to the pass, or the highest point between the mountains on our route. The pass was at 4,400 meters. Even though we were only carrying our day packs, the upward incline and the lack of oxygen made the climb quite literally breathtaking. The views along the way did their part as well. As we got higher we could more and more snow capped peaks appeared in the distance. It was sunny and gorgeous. At the pass it was quite cold and very very windy. I took this video and you can tell how exhausted I am!

The valley we hiked out of; at the pass; horses grazing; snow-capped peaks of the Andes; by a beautiful mountain spring.

From here it was all a downward hike. Coming from such a height we had a marvelous view of the mountains as far at the eye could see. I felt happy at every moment to personally be looking at such amazing beauty.

Coming down from the pass; Peruvian children at a school we saw along the way.

Day 3

On Thursday we hiked to the town of Ollantaytambo. On the neighboring mountain facing the village is an ancient Incan fortress. In this town we caught a train to Aguas Calientes, the town a the base of Machu Picchu. Train and foot are the only ways into the town.

The train ride was one of enjoyable parts of the experience for me. It was so breathtakingly beautiful, and sitting there looking out the window listening to music is pretty much as good as it gets! In those moments I was feeling especially thankful for all of the ways I've been blessed.

On Thursday night we stayed in Aguas Calientes at a hotel. I was excited for a much-needed shower. Unfortunately the water was icy cold and quickly reduced itself to a practically non-existent dribble - but after three days of hiking I was determined to get the job done!

Day 4

Macchu Pichu day! We caught the first bus up at 5:30 AM. By now the anticipation was growing! We got into the gates and hiked ten minutes up to the vista point. We were so excited! We got to the top, and this was our view:

We all had a good laugh about the fog.

Luckily it slowly began to break.

And then all the anticipation of the days of hiking was satisfied with a beautiful view of the ruins. The city that the Incas took years to build in a remote mountain top in the Peruvian Andes and that thankfully the Spaniards never found.

The classic photo opp.

We took a tour around the ruins and climbed Huayna Picchu, a forty-five minute ascent up stairs carved into the side of the mountain. Had some brief mini panic attacks but luckily chats about the weather got me down.

The life-harrowing stairs of Huayna Picchu; Huayna Picchu; me at the top of Huayna Picchu looking down on the ruins.

Neat parts of the ruins.

The return trip to Cusco was on an old passenger train, filled with all the eccentric traveler types - the Australians backpacking for an entire year - the wealthy European couple - the quintessential Germans - the Israelis fresh out of their army commitment - Grandma and Gramps in a little over the head - the hippie couple with their kids - the American college students - the Canadians with their flags proudly displayed - the Commies with their mass produced Che t-shirts - and all the other people I've spent so much time with over the past year. The stars were brilliant.

It was a wonderful experience and a great finish to an amazing year of wandering. So that's the end of my travels... for now...

Boarding the train to leave Aguas Calientes.

Cusco

2007-05-13T20:12:00.000-05:00

I arrived in Cusco on Saturday and had a lovely day wondering around the city and resting up to become acclimatized.

On Saturday night my fellow intern, Jeff, his wife Carolyn and their visiting friend Linda returned from Machu Picchu so we were able to enjoy a nice dinner. On Sunday we visited the Incan ruins of Sacsaywaman, which always gives the gringos a laugh (try saying it a few times!). The ruin was a fortress with massize zig zag walls made of ginormous stones that left invader's backs always exposed.

Can you find me?

After a bit of shopping we visited a famous stone. Incans are well known for their masonry - creating walls and entire structures out of stones perfectly sanded to fit together and requiring no sealant between the stones. There is one stone that has twelve different edges and is famous because the masons fitted all of angles perfectly. Without electricity, the wheel, or beasts of burdens.Some random men were standing around trying to charge people for touching the stone. Sorry buds, I'm not falling for your little ploy. I'm fully entitled to touch that stone and I'm even going to have my picture taken while doing it.

That evening we had a wonderful dinner and it was great to spend some time with friends instead of traveling alone. The city was quite beautiful during both the day and the night.

Ever recognize somebody on CNN?

2007-04-28T16:28:00.000-05:00

I was (briefly) checking CNN.com today and noticed this story about a certain Ambassador that visited the Embassy back in March. Opps.

My Schedule

2007-04-25T10:09:00.000-05:00

For those of you might want to know when I'm going to be where, here is the timeline of my upcoming transition. As you can see, as of this past Monday it is go-go-go for a couple weeks! I will do my best to keep this updated, especially with my adventures in Cusco.

Friday, April 27: First and foremost, Happy Birthday Deidre! My last day of work at the Embassy.

Saturday, April 28: Fly to Cusco. Hang out with Jeff and Carolyn and acclimatize for a few days.

Tuesday, May 1: Four-day hike to Machu Picchu.

Saturday, May 5: Return to Lima. One last delicious Peruvian dinner!

Sunday, May 6: Clean and pack like crazy; head to the airport for my overnight flight to Atlanta.

Monday, May 7: Arrive in Atlanta. Sleep and eat bagels and sushi and Diet Coke.

Tuesday, May 8: First day of work. I don't miss a beat!

Saturday, May 12: Take a deep breath. Take in my surrondings. Be thankful to hang out with Katie, a friend from college. Begin new chapter of life, etc.

Change is Afoot

2007-04-23T20:24:00.000-05:00

On Friday my entire office went out to lunch together. It was the last time we would all be in the office due to travel schedules. We also made it my despidida, or going away party.

What, you might say, your going away party?! Yes, I have big news! I now have a job and will be leaving Peru early. I will be working at InterfaceRAISE, a consulting firm that helps businesses adopt increasingly sustainable practices! It's a wonderful opportunity and I'm looking forward to becoming established in Atlanta.

Unfortunately, I have had to cancel my month-long trip in June with my friend Anna. I'm very disappointed because I was looking forward to traveling with her but I'm lucky to have such a good friend who is very understanding of the value of full-time employment.

I'll keep you all updated with my new contact information and moving plans. I will be in Atlanta two weeks from now.

P.S. There are more posts below - sorry I've been taking a while to get posts up! The internet is so slow here and it tries my patience.

Baila!

2007-04-23T20:22:00.000-05:00

On Saturday night I hung out with Jeff (Consular Section Intern) and his wife Carolyn. We went to Manos Morenos, a restaurant that features dancing and music. Peruvians eat very late. Our reservation was at 9 PM, and the place didn't start to fill up until 10:30! The dancing and music was great!

Ayacucho

2007-04-23T20:03:00.000-05:00

My boss at the Foreign Agricultural Service has repeatedly said that the worst day in the field is better than the best day in the office. It wasn't until this week that I got to experience the truth of this adage! My boss, Gene, Gaspar (the highest FSN, Foreign Service National, i.e. Peruvian in the office) and I went to Ayacucho for the week to meet with the agricultural ministers there to see how our programs were functioning and where we could be of additional assistance.

Day 1 - Monday

It is a seven hour drive to Ayacucho. The first three hours are along the coast south of Lima. Hot and lifeless sand dunes and desert stretch for miles and miles. Once you reach Pisco, you turn and drive directly into the interior through the Andes. Most of this area was entirely off limits until a few years. Terrorism inflicted by the Shining Path and the Senderos left the area depopulated with bodies of victims lying by the road. More than 70,000 people were killed in the violence that lasted until the 90s and ended with the capture of Guzman, their leader. Now the area is dramatically safer otherwise we would not have ventured in!

Once we were headed inland, we began climbing very quickly. The highest point we reached was 15,600 ft. This number means nothing to me, so let me give you some context. The highest point in the contiguous 48 states is Mount Whitney which only rises to 14,505 ft! Mount McKinley in Alaska goes to 20,320 ft. Mount Everest is 29,028 ft. So, we climbed from sea level (0 ft.) to halfway up Mount Everest in a manner of 1 1/2 hours. Needless to say, I had a raging headache and some difficultly putting my thoughts together due to the lack of oxygen!

My boss' brother was in town and accompanied us for the first part of the trip. He was an interesting character and was just like the John Candy character Uncle Buck. As you can imagine, traveling around Peru with Uncle Buck has its humorous moments.

Day 2 - Tuesday
On Tuesday we headed south. An entourage of about 15 Peruvians in three vehicles arrived to accompany us; it's a big deal when visitors from the US Embassy come to the area. We stopped at several projects that our office had funded, including three little cheese factories. They served us fresh cheese, yogurt, manjar blanco (caramel), indigenous potatoes, choclo (indigenous corn), and bread. It was delicious!

Gene and I rode horses to check out a dam that had been recently constructed to irrigate the valley. The situation was immediately funny to me. People gathered around to see the two gringos ride horses. They gave us the slowest horses and no combination of sounds would make my horse speed up. Gene joked that we were riding through the shire - the little farms, rivers, stone fences and whatnot certainly looked like a place Frodo Baggins might hang out!

Day 3 - Wednesday

On Wednesday we headed to the North. Part of the day included a beautiful hike to a pre-Incan site. From that height I could see the valley for miles and miles; one river flowed to the Pacific, the other to the Atlantic. Ayacucho is renowned for its musicians, and so at the end of the day one of our travel companions invited us to his house for some excellent guitar playing.

Day 4 - Thursday

We spent the day driving back to Lima. Once again I enjoyed the dramatic views of the rapidly changing scenery. We stopped at a hacienda Gaspar had interned at and had an amazing traditional Peruvian lunch.

It was a wonderful trip and I learned a lot!

El Perro Necesita su Sueño de Belleza

2007-04-15T13:20:00.000-05:00

One thing I didn't realize until I started traveling more around Latin America is that these countries are incredibly diverse and are home to not only indigenous Americans, descendants of Europeans, and mestizos (indigenous + European) but also people from Asia and Africa as well.

Saturday another intern, Adam, and I went down to Barrio Chino - Chinatown, located in central Lima. The area is much like other Chinatowns I've visited of Toronto and New York, except a bit smaller and with a Latin twist. Peruvians love Chinese food and their version of it is called chifa.

We went to a fantastic restaurant for dim sum, a type of meal where you are served little miniature appetizers (like tapas) for the entire meal. The waiter brings you little dishes that you can either pass on or try. I don't know the name of almost everything we ate, but it was absolutely delicious and I plan on going back.

I wrote last week that I saw another great hairless dog at an Incan pyramid in Lima. I returned there on Saturday, camera in tow, to try and snap a picture of myself with the fine specimen. Unfortunately the dog was sleeping somewhere and was not to be found. However, there was this poster of the dog whose name is Urpi, and so I settled for a picture with that.

Last night I saw a little hairless dog outside of a grocery store, but thought it might be too socially unacceptable to take a picture with somebody else's dog. I guess I could've blamed it on gringo-ness ("we take pictures with other people's dogs all the time in the US!") but I wasn't that creative at the moment.

This week has been an interesting week for me health-wise. Luckily, I have not been in too much pain and I got some very powerful drugs on Thursday that I think will do the trick. I imagine by this time next week I should be back to normal.

Tomorrow I leave for a work trip to Ayacucho. I'm really excited - Ayacucho is a beautiful colonial city up in the mountains. I will take plenty of pictures and have an update for you all next week!

Yet Another Great Reason to Get Travel Insurance

2007-04-09T20:12:00.000-05:00

This is what kidney stones look like. It's a great way to enjoy new sensations and experiences with your body, and to get to know the joys of a Peruvian hospital on a holiday such as Easter. Thanks, Kidney Stones!!

This past weekend was one for the books! Pretty much everybody I knew was out of town, which left me to my own devices for the entire 4-day weekend. I planned a host of productive endeavors (beading! baking! cleaning! sight-seeing!) to keep myself occupied.

The marathon 'o fun began on Thursday. While I was sitting in the cab, some lovely man decided to stick his hand in the window, grab me and try to steal my stuff. Luckily I escaped unscathed and with enough adrenaline to run a marathon.

That pretty much deflated my enthusiasm to get out into those crowds in neighborhoods I don't know and partake in the Semana Santa (Holy Week) activities. Saturday I recovered my will and went and saw an Incan pyramid that is located in Lima. The best part was, of course, the hairless dog. I really liked this one, but unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me because I was still paranoid from Thursday. I might have to revisit it because this dog is running a close second to the first hairless dog I met.

I'll spare you the gory details of Sunday, but basically I spent most of the day in the hospital trying to figure out what was going on with me. Luckily I wasn't in too much pain and after I had the echogram (ultrasound) we determined that I didn't need to be hospitalized.

Most of the day I was overwhelmed to be sitting alone in a hospital in a foreign country, not knowing what was wrong and trying to speak in Spanish to the doctors and nurses. However, there was a part of me that was thinking 'what an adventure!' and so the day was not completely lost.

(I'd like to do a little advert here for travel insurance (www.worldnomads.com). My little ordeal cost me several hundred dollars which will all be reimbursed. Phew! The insurance has been worth it - don't leave home without it, because even healthy people can get sick!)

Unfortunately, I had to miss out on a work trip this week. We were going to go over the Andes, stopping in a beautiful mountain town called Tarma and continuing down to the coffee plantations in Chanchamayo, the beginnings of the Amazon jungle. Thankfully I'm not in too much pain (as of now) so I'm praying that the situation will peacefully remedy itself.

Well, I hope your holiday was a tad better than mine and that you had a chance to reflect upon and appreciate the significance of the day!

And thanks always for taking the time to read my blog. I really appreciate it! Feel free to leave a comment if you feel so inclined!

Everybody's Working for the Weekend

2007-04-05T21:20:00.000-05:00

As you can tell by the lack on entries on this blog, the last few weeks have been crazy. Last weekend was a good opportunity to relax a bit around Lima. On Friday night we went to see this group called Mayoonuna. It was similar to Stomp (or the finale of STRIKE for readers who go way back!) and was highly entertaining for only $5. The seating was kind of cramped; let's just say that one awesome shoulder massage line could've been started up and down the bleachers.

On Saturday Adam, Gabe, a Peace Corps volunteer that was in town and I met in central Lima to see some of the sights. We ended up in Plaza Martin where we sat around and tried to figure out something funny to say to the drug dealer standing 20 feet away from us. All we could come up with is this picture, which I think might be one of my favorites so far.

This week is Semana Santa, or Holy Week. Last weekend we got to see a preview of some of the activities to come this weekend. Semana Santa in Latin America frequently involves elaborate and long processions of the crucifix and various symbols of the resurrecton throughout the villages and cities. Here is a taste of what's to come this weekend for your viewing pleasure. (Gabe had a hard time with the incense; I, however, was raised Catholic, and thus am accustomed to inhaling large amounts.)

My fellow intern and travel buddy who has frequently graced this blog, Gabe Fosson, returned to Utah on Monday evening since he completed his internship on Friday. He's been a great friend and has a heart of gold. He'll be missed!

Dinner at the Deputy Chief of Mission's House

2007-04-05T21:05:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago a new intern arrived in the Political Section, Adam. Like the rest of us, he didn't have a place to live and landed a sweet deal - staying with the Deputy Chief of Mission. The DCM is second in control on the Embassy, directly under the Ambassador. Needless to say, it is a very high position, and one that comes with a pretty nice pad. Every day, Adam is waited upon by six maids who serve him breakfast and dinner and pack him a jealousy-inspiring lunch.

The Interns, from left to right: Gabe (American Citizen Services), Jeff (Consular Services - Fraud), Carolyn (Jeff's Wife), Yours Truly, Anthony (Foreign Commercial Service), Adam (Political Section)

Adam was nice enough to arrange a dinner for the interns at the DCM's house. I think we were all little nervous and intimidated; it was formal and required that the guys wear suits and ties. The DCM's house was very nice and provided us with about a dozen different options for seating areas to enjoy some appetizers.

This time with feeling - jazz hands! Some people have a better understanding of the concept of jazz hands than others... way to rock, Carolyn!

There was a lot nervous energy among the interns - not wanting to screw up, trying to avoid awkward silences, choosing the right utensil, etc. We sat down to eat dinner and Gabe remarked "well, this is formal!" Smooth. During dinner we did a good job of keeping the conversation rolling. Second hand, the stories aren't funny, but at the time, I had tears in my eyes.

Relaxing after dinner - Gabe sabotaging my efforts at a candid photo.

I think we all did a great job eating the first few courses, but the desert provided more of a challenge. It was a pudding/fruit medley in a little chocolate cup. Screw the 'chocolate' part - that thing was cup-o'-steel. The little desert spoon was no match for its edges, and manners were not going to get in the way of me and a cup made of chocolate! At first I thought I was the only one having trouble, but then I looked over and Gabe was double fisting it with a fork and a spoon. I tried using the spoon like a chisel and hitting the top of it with my hand, but I think we all sucumbed to stuffing large, awkwardly shaped peices of chocolate into our mouths while the DCM was looking away.

The DCM excused herself after dinner and then nervous chatter and laughter ensued. We played Apples to Apples and had a good time. It was a great intern bonding experience and will make me chuckle for some time to come.

Las Islas Ballestas and Huacachina

2007-03-19T21:44:00.000-05:00

This past weekend Gabe and I ventured south to the Islas Ballestas and Huacachina. We wanted a bit of adventure, and unfortunately we got more than we bargained for. Gabe's nice 35 mm camera was stolen on the bus on the way down. It was a nice bus, and the bag was underneath his seat the entire time, but the robbers are extremely talented here.

Friday night we stayed in Pisco. After some somber moments in the police station to report the robbery, we found a place to stay and some dinner. We noticed that a lonely backpacker was about to eat dinner alone, so we invited him to eat with his. His name was something like Ido and he was from Israel. Interesting person, like all of the Israelis I met this fall he had just finished his mandatory time in the army. He did tell us in some detail about bootcamp. (At this moment I could use various references to Buster's time in Army, but I'll just leave you to reflect fondly.)

After a (short) night's sleep, we were up and at 'em for our 7 AM boat tour of the Islas Ballestas. It was great to be out on the ocean in the sun, and I always enjoy wearing things like orange life jackets and helmets. In the desert near the islands is a huge mysterious form of a candelabra that has been carved into the hill for hundreds of years. The islands were of course teaming with wildlife - hundreds of birds, sealions, and penguins. The boat was also quite peaceful for a little nap on the way back to land.

In the afternoon we jumped on the bus down to Ica. Ica is just a big dirty city (sorry, Icans.) I sat in the park and drank a milkshake while Gabe went to check out the stolen camera market. Unfortunately he did not find his camera. We then took a cab a short ride to the oasis of Huacachina, a little cluster of hotels and restaurants around a small oasis catering to backpackers and travelers.

At the hotel where our sand buggy tour was to start, I was standing at the counter and I looked over and recognized the couple standing next to me. I had ridden in a bus with them over 5 months ago from San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico to Panajachel, Guatemala! They have been traveling this entire time! We remembered each other and had a nice chat. Small world!

Okay, back to business. Saturday afternoon we went on a dune buggy and sand boarding ride. The dunes here are incredible - exactly how you'd imagine the Sahari desert. Literally mountains of sand stretching out into the distance. Sand boarding was a blast. I laid on the board on my stomach and went down the huge dunes face first. I was a bit scared at first, but the sand is more forgiving than snow. I was the first to try a new big hill that we arrived at. Without thinking I gave it a go. Wow - was I going fast! To let your elbows slip off the board is to get the skin sanded off! I was going so fast that I went down one hill, up the next, caught a few feet of air and slide down the rest of the hill! By the end of it I was laughing pretty hard because those airborne moments caught me off guard!

We flew around in the buggy for a bit, up and down steep hills. We watched the sunset and got a nice view of the oasis. On the way home I was literally coated with sand (darn that sun screen!) and ended up dipping in the pool at midnight when we finally got back to Lima.

Weekends like these always make Monday mornings a bit difficult, but I can't complain!

Pictures, from top to bottom: Penguins; sea lions; arches; Gabe striking his classic pose on dune; me lookin' h-o-t; Gabe and I with the dune buggy; the oasis; the sunset.

Canta!

2007-03-12T21:49:00.000-05:00

This weekend Gabe and I were intent on getting out of Lima. The dust, the dryness, the lack of life, the smog, the noise, the combis, the heat - everything - was getting a bit oppressive. We wanted to go somewhere green and mountainous.

After spending the week trying to find a reasonably proximate location that met our criteria, we struck out on Friday with practically no plan or information to find a bus that would take us to the town of Canta. After taking a taxi to the opposite side of Lima, we found a few bus companies. For the first three, all of the buses had left by 8:30 AM that morning. I was very pessimistic and was already picturing myself sulking around Lima for the weekend.

We found one last company who had a bus that left at 2:30 - and it was 2:15! I hate to use this awful word, but it was quite serendipitous. We boarded the bus and stopped about every twenty feet between Lima and Canta to pick up people along the way.

I had no idea what to expect. Neither of our guide books said a peep about Canta, and I hadn't been able to find anything definitive on the internet. No map, no hostel or hotel names, no information, no nothing!

Luckily, we were pleasantly surprised. Friday night was a bit dreary; it was only light for another 45 minutes or so once we got in and then it was rainy and dark. After an evening of wandering the few streets of Canta, eating some dodgy Lomo Saltado, building a small fire and playing some cards, the next morning was clear and we were surrounded by green and mountains.

We grabbed a quick breakfast during which was a miscommunication strictly Peruvian in nature (well, perhaps Colombian as well). I ordered (or thought I ordered) hot chocolate, 'coca.' Readers that have any knowledge of narcotics will know what kind of tea they brought me - coca tea, made from the leaves of coca plants, from which you derive cocaine. I was a little surprised and worried that I was moments away from becoming a hopelessly addicted druggie, so I explained my mistake and eventually got some hot chocolate.

We were going to hire a guide (a.k.a. an 11 year-old with nothing else to do) to bring us to the Incan ruins around Canta but we instead struck out on our own, wandering through the hills and farms that surrounded the area. It was a bit a challenge, due to the fact that Gabe was feverish and I'm out of shape. The change in altitude will leave you out of breath and with a dull headache. However, as you can see from the pictures, the scenery was worth it. We met a few nice folks along the way and ate lots of cookies for sustenance.

In the afternoon the fog rolled in. We were forced to take the long and winding road back to Canta instead of cutting through our shortcuts directly down the mountain. The rain soon followed. We walked for about two hours in the cold rain. A battle ensued between my belt and the heavy, soggy bottoms of my jeans. It was as though somebody had took my jeans, dunked the lower 3/4 in a cold, muddy pool and handed them to me to wear. It was also a bad time to discover that the waterproof qualities of my raincoat had worn out.

We made it back and promptly got into a colectivo heading back to Lima. This is basically a taxi with four people in it. It cost only 10 soles ($3) for the 2 1/2 hour trip to Lima! Granted, I was sitting in the back middle seat of a Tempo smushed between soggy Gabe and a Peruvian woman named Emelia for over two hours, but what a deal!

Although the taxi driver had horrible taste in music, it was great to get out of Lima and see more of Peru. On the way home I could see Canta was in this green and lush valley and how the landscape quickly progressed to cacti-covered mountains to the dirt hills of Lima. It's refreshing for my mind to know that not very far away green hills and flowers are waiting.

All in all, 'twas an adventure and great weekend.

Photos, loosely from top to bottom: Me striking a pose by some mountains; the village of Canta as we hiked up; me and a photo of Baby Jesus; Gabe and an Andean woman; somebody's not excited to hike in the rain, but glad they spent 2 soles on their tarp; fog.

April wants you to know...

2007-03-11T22:07:00.000-05:00

... that her normal weekend report will be posted by this Tuesday. In order to keep you interested, she would like you to know that this post will contain exciting topics such as:

1. Wool socks.

2. Cocaine derivatives.

3. What Jesus looked like as a child.

4. The meaning of life.

5. Mountains.

If you're board, I highly recommend you check out this website: www.postsecret.com.

Hasta martes!

Four Things

2007-03-07T21:52:00.000-05:00

1. In the U.S., we call small, tasty cakes wrapped in a paper cup a muffin and pretend it's healthy and acceptable to eat in the morning. Here is Peru, there is no denial. This morning (well, most mornings actually) I made my way down to the cafeteria for a little brunch. When I asked where was the bread that was usually out in the morning, they said oh, you mean the cake! Yes, "It's 9 AM and I'd like a large peice of cake, please."

2. Am I walking around with a sign on my forehead that says 'wink at me?' I feel like I've been getting winked at a lot lately. I think it's of the variety 'hey there, little lady!' and 'this is to signal that what I just said was witty,' so it's quite harmless, just perplexing.

But then again, I thought that one professor was winking at me and it turns out he just had a twitch. Maybe twitching is prevelant here in Peru.

3. Right now I am missing the Meeting House and Knox Pres in Toronto. It's so nice to walk into church and know most of the people there. I am for sure organizing a "Manzanas a Manzanas" (Apples to Apples) game night at my new church.

4. Whoever is able to make at least one substantial connection to Arrested Development in this post and writes a comment about it gets a prize!

My Life and Weekend

2007-03-04T18:20:00.000-05:00

This weekend was rather uneventful compared to others... no hairless dogs, no double decker buses or dead bodies. The Embassy has a baseball league and different agencies make up the different teams. I went to the games this Saturday and it was fun to see the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) cream just about every other team, including the team that Gabe was playing on, while I wrote postcards and met some more Embassy people.

I've decided that the Embassy is a bit like a college - there is a cafeteria and a doctor's office inside, there is a nice person to talk to if you're bored or having problems adjusting, there are weekend activities, informative events, intramural sports, and mandatory housing. If this place were to be a bit more like good 'ol Alma College all it would need was Dr. Lorenz and a huge hazardous waste contamination site!

As you can tell by this blog, things are going quite well for me. Some days are difficult and lonely, but most days I'm happy to be here and feel good about things. The experience has made me think a lot about living abroad. I don't think right now is the time for me to do it, but I could definitely see myself, once I am married, living abroad for a time. Vamos a ver (we will see). Thanks for all of your support!

God is Love

2007-03-04T18:11:00.000-05:00

I just have to say how good God has been to my while I've been in Lima. No matter what, He also provides. My tendency to worry just shows my lack of faith. As I enter into this next phase after my time in Peru, I know I'm going to need to trust in God even more to provide a meaningful job, a place to live, and a community.

Worry is so debilitating. When I was walking home from church today I saw these beautiful and brilliant yellow birds. Immediately I thought of the passage in the Bible that says

“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?" (Matthew 6:25-30)

Here is a list (non-exhaustive, of course!) of things that I am thankful for and clearly see the hand of God in:

* A safe and comfortable place to live. (See previous post.)

* Getting connected to a Bible study and an awesome group of women with whom I can grow and be friends.

* Easy and cheap communication with my friends and family in the states and Canada.

* Interesting and informative work at the Embassy.

* Good health and safety.

* Spanish lessons.

* A friend at the Embassy who likes to do the same activities I do and is fun.

* A church where I can worship and understand in Spanish, as well as met other Peruvians.

* A caring community at the Embassy.
None of this I got through my own merit or by my own work. God is so awesome that He gave me all of this. I'm excited to see what else He's going to do during my time here. Just wanted to give thanks where thanks is due!

I've been listening to the Mars Hill 'Worship in Every Direction' CD and it is great, the first time I've enjoyed listening to explicitly Christian music outside of a church service in many many years. Here are a few lines that are really powerful to me:

May we never stop this dreaming of a better world
May we never stop believing in the impossible

We love the way you are the way you love and lead the way recreate emancipate the way you love and love and love and love and love and love and love and love and love

Our God is love our God is love and love can change the world.

We have been changed - to bring change

and we sing

Holy holy holy
you are
so powerfully beyond me

From One Cottage to Another...

2007-03-04T17:59:00.000-05:00

At the eleventh hour, moments before I almost committed myself to an apartment over an hour away from the Embassy, I got a message from an Embassy family. This Friday I moved in with Debbi & Melvin and their three adorable children, Max, Davis, and Chloe. They live very close to the Embassy and are the nicest people.

The setup is pretty sweet. I am living in a casita, or a little house that is behind their home. I have my own room, bathroom, and even a living room stocked with air conditioning, a TV, and plenty of toys. :) I couldn't have asked for anything better!

It is a little bit comical to me because in Toronto I lived in a carriage house - a small, cottage-like abode behind the huge mansions on Madison Avenue in downtown Toronto. Thus, I am accustomed to living in other people's backyards and have grown to like it. The only thing my casita is lacking now is one awesome roommate named Sarah Jane. I guess I'll have to make do with the birds outside my window!

Pictures: The little gnome at my old house on Toronto. I've always wondered what put that smile on his face. Me outside of my house in Toronto.

But is he a never nude?

2007-03-01T21:08:00.001-05:00

Today the head of US Agency for International Development (US AID) was at our Embassy. US AID is the organization that implements all of the U.S.'s development and relief programs abroad. Ambassador Tobias (no relation to the Fünke's) spoke to us and it was quite interesting. He's pretty important considering he reports directly to Secretary Condi and Bush. It was ironic, however, that while he was talking about how far economically Peru has developed (which is indeed true, 7 % GDP growth!) just over his shoulder in the distance was a group of shacks on a hill without water, electricity, or sanitation. He took questions at the end, and I encouraged Gabe to ask him for a job, but he declined. (??)

When I stepped into the elevator to go back to my office this friendly man said "Hello! Who are you?" Turns out he was Ambassador Shapiro who is one rung lower than Ambassador Tobias. When Ambassador Struble introduced Ambassador Tobias we all had to stand because he didn't invite us to sit down, and I felt it bit like I was at church and we were about to sing a song. Alas, there was no singing.

The Cutest Child Ever. Period. No Discussion.

2007-02-28T22:41:00.000-05:00

My nephew is now pulling himself up. Look what a proud boy he is! Also look at how big his hands are! And that torso! He is going to be one tall guy! Love the red hair.

I miss him a bunch... please get a webcam, Deidre! Thanks for the picture! Keep them coming!

Sunday

2007-02-25T18:34:00.000-05:00

Right now I'm sitting in my room eating cookies covered with chocolate, writing in my blog and doing my Spanish homework. I spent three hours in combis (minivan-like public buses) this morning, got to church a half hour late after leaving an hour early and the trek royally wore me out. After a weekend of finding places, riding in combis, people, dirt, humidity, etc., I would like a momentary retreat. Sigh.

I would appreciate prayer on housing... I still haven't found a place to stay permanently. I have been trying many different avenues but to no avail. It is either an executive furnished apartment in Miraflores for $900 per month or a room without a bathroom or kitchen for $60. There is no in between!

Here's something creepy... over 9,000 people have watched the video I posted a few months back of Deidre in the hospital before she gave birth to Marek. Here is a link to all of the videos I have on YouTube. Aren't I so tech savvy? More material for my stalkers!

Also, Gabe has started his own blog, also linked on the right side of this page. If you like long words or well-focused pictures with fuzzy backgrounds, that's the page for you!

Pachamama!

2007-02-25T18:23:00.000-05:00

Our next stop of the day were the ruins of Huaca Pucllana in Miraflores. As I mentioned earlier, I was pretty stoked about seeing more hairless dogs since they are kept at all archaeological sites. After neglecting to turn our heads to look the other way twenty feet down the street, we walked all the way around the ruins to finally discover the entrance where we started at. We took an English tour so that I wouldn't force Gabe to translate the bits I didn't understand and also because there were these other Americans (Ohio!) and they seemed pretty entertaining.

The tour left much to be desired. What's interesting about the site is that it is smack dab in the middle of Miraflores/Lima. It was a fairly important ritual site for the Incas but otherwise, there isn't too much to look at. The guide was adamant about pointing out the holes in which archaeologists had discovered various remains and artifacts. But "this is a hole" gets kind of old after a while.

Luckily, we soon ran into the hairless dogs. The mohawk-type hair-do was pretty cool, but they unfortunately lacked the t-shirts that made the previous hairless dog so intriguing. After Gabe almost got spit on by a provoked llama, we hightailed it out of there to grab some dinner and chill by the ocean.

Dinner was a three sole ($.90) tamale from a grocery store. We took them down to one of the parks on the cliffs overlooking the ocean/huge mall built into a cliff. It turns out Gabe used to be a gymnast so he taught me some of his mad skillz. Maybe I'll rethink that career in environmental policy...

'Ello, Mummy!

2007-02-25T18:03:00.000-05:00

Say that with a British accent! So fun!

This Saturday Gabe and I went to Museo de la Nacion, quite a monumental building with endless rooms full of ancient pottery, carvings, tools, textiles, and more. We wandered for a bit, appreciating the handiness of civilizations that existed 4,500 years ago.

The coolest part of the visit was the mummy exhibit. That's right, mummies aren't just in Egypt! In some regions in Peru the environmental conditions facilitated the preservation of bodies, including the clothes, hair, skin, teeth, bones, nails, and more. The mummies were at least several hundred years old (possibly older) and most were wrapped in a crouched position with their hands around their head. There was also two baby mummies that would make perfect horror movie fodder.

Here are some pictures that we (illegally - I'm such a rebel!) took. Here's a lovely video of the experience.

The museum was so interesting and its outer steps so appealing that it inspired me to do this little dance on the way out. I'm never one to miss a chance to leap. Or to make a fool of myself.

UPDATE ON U.D.E

2007-02-20T20:51:00.000-05:00

I have an update on U.D.E. - Ugliest Dog Ever (see previous post). Apparently this is a famous Peruvian dog almost driven to extinction. The government has mandated at least two hairless dogs at each archaeological site in Peru. So there are a lot more U.D.E.'s coming up for me and I'm excited about it!

In other dog news, my fellow housemate right now in a dog named Buddy. Buddy has an abnormally large head but otherwise is quite jolly. He reminds me of my little sister - he follows me around everywhere, wants me to play with him and must be fed every once in a while. He sleeps in the same room as me although once in a while I have to wake him up because he's quite the snorer.

Here's a video of Buddy having a blast with his own tail.

Que Ocupado!

2007-02-18T22:11:00.000-05:00

On Saturday Gabe and I played tourists. First, we successfully caught combis (minivans that hold about 15 or so people) all the way out to the ancient ruins of Pachacamac (say that five times fast!). Most of the ruins were pre-Inca, constructed several hundred years before the birth of Christ. The vista was quite stunning: the hot sun bearing down on almost lifeless yellow sand. On one side it was rolling dunes into villages and hills. On the other side, it was a fertile valley fed by a river.

We took a tour to the Temple of the Sun, the highest point in the ruins. Along the way we passed an ancient cemetery where you could still see (I kid you not) pieces of bone, textiles, and hair that had been preserved in the dryness of the climate. Up on top of the temple you could see the coast and the ocean as well as a set of islands. (Pictures from left to right: Looking out into the desert, me pulling a double hawk/awkward moment at the Temple of the Sun.)

The Temple of the Sun housed the highest priests. Pilgrims would fast for twenty days outside of the complex, and then wait inside the complex for a year for their opportunity to ask the priests for favors. We also head a few stories recounting virgin sacrifices and the like.

The weather was pretty intense, and our two hour tour was pretty exhausting. While relaxing near the museum at the entrance, I saw the ugliest dog ever. It shocked me. First, I admit, I was laughing at it. But then I started to feel bad for it. The poor thing was wearing a t-shirt. It was practically hairless and had been suffering from sun damage. I still managed to take this picture for you all to behold the creativity of God. (Pictures from left to right: Gabe discovering the wonder of opposable thumbs, me avoiding looking directly at the camera, U.D.E (Ugliest Dog Ever). Do yourself a favor and click on that bad boy for a close-up view!)

Later in the day we took a Mirabus tour where you sit on top of a double decker bus and see the city. Yes, this was quite touristy. But it was nice, Gabe was ecstatic, and we drove a few kilometers along the beach and saw the beautiful parks and water. Muy tranquilo!

Apologies, right now I'm too tired to write in any more detail. Having some troubles sleeping... enjoy the photos and videos! Click on the pictures for a bigger view.

Pictures from top to bottom: Waiting for a combi to take us back to fertile land, sunset over the Pacific.

Life Goal #463: Completed!

2007-02-18T18:23:00.001-05:00

I'm happy to announce that I recently completed Life Goal of #463: Form a Kickin' Dance Circle with a Dozen Peruvian Mormons. Done!

On Friday night I was planning on going to the happy hour at the Marine's house to meet some new people but, alas, it was canceled. Instead, I went to a fiesta with Gabe at his church that brought together several regional Mormon churches for a night of salsa, Inca Cola, and streamers taped to ceiling fans.

People who know me know that my four favorite places for dancing are wedding receptions, my/your living room, fitting rooms, and circles. Salsa, however, is a dance where you pair off with a partner, and Gabe and I managed to cut the rug a bit by throwing in some swing and country moves.

But by the second time they played Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie," Gabe and I joined forces and coerced a bunch of innocent bystanders to be in a dance circle. There was some confusion as to what the crazy gringos were doing at first, but then the idea took off like wildfire.

While our circle was laying it down, another group just started to watch us, apparently in disbelief/confusion/awe. Gabe and I tried to break up the circle (end on a high, right?) but we had created a monster. Let's just say it spawned into a mambo line by the night's end.

It gives me great satisfaction to cross that off my list. I've already crossed off the previous Goal, #462, which was Lick Live Lemon-Flavored Ants off Tree in Amazon. Life Goal #464 might be a bit more difficult: Become Guinness Book of World Records Holder For Longest Toenails.

Viva Friday!

2007-02-09T22:07:00.000-05:00

Today I had my security briefing, which I have to admit, I was quite disappointed by. Everybody told me that they were going to scare the daylights out of me so that I wouldn't even step out the door but alas, it had no such effect.

I also had a little meeting with the DCM, the Deputy Chief of Mission, who is second in command to the Ambassador and runs the Embassy while Ambassador Struble is away. She is very nice and I was impressed that she took the time to met with a lowly intern like myself.

A few days ago I met Ambassador Struble. I went to an economic strategy meeting. Did you know that you must stand when an Ambassador steps into the room and wait until they invite you to sit down? Learn something new everyday! He advised me that I should change my name to 'La Cruz" while I am here. (Cruz and Croix is cross in Spanish and French, respectively.)

The Embassy has summer hours so on Friday we are off at 12:30 PM! Nice set up. Gabe and I went down to central Lima and walked around the Plaza de Armas and the area surrounding. We also went to Cathedral San Francisco, which was fascinating because of its ancient library with books from 1450 and its catacombs. The picture is of a little happy bird in the fountain in the Plaza de Armas. Below is a little video of the same local.

Beneath the church, two and three levels beneath the ground through little musty and damp passage ways are huge receptacles of the bones of over 70,000 humans. Skulls, legs, arms, hip bones, etc. Some arranged in circular patterns going 90 feet deep. Very creepy and very claustrophobic at the same time.

After our tour at the church we wandered around a bit and Gabe befriended some security guards who took this very blurry picture of us.

Offal

2007-02-07T18:56:00.000-05:00

Today was a good and productive day.

1. I researched offal exports, which is ironic since the cafeteria today was serving a lung stir fry.

2. I had a meeting at the Peruvian Ministry of Finance, which was a challenge for my Spanish abilities. Luckily, the office driver is very nice and he helped me with my questions on the way over.

3. After my meeting, we had some time to walk around central Lima. It was surreal to be in a suit amongst backpackers in dirty mismatched outfits and flip flops. I miss my people.

4. I have a Spanish tutor starting next week!

5. That is all. Hope you all have a lovely evening.

.... And now... En Español....

Hoy fue un buen y productivo día.

1. Investigué exportes de 'offal', lo cual es irónico porque hoy la cafetería estaba sirviendo pulmón.

2. Tuve un reunión en el peruano ministró de comercio, la cual fue un reto para mis abilidades de español. Con suerte, el chofer de la oficina es muy amable y el me ayudo con mis preguntas durante el paseo.

4. Después de mi reunión, tuvimos tiempo para caminar alrededor de parque central. Lo fue estrange estar en un traje entre viajeros en ropa sucio y 'flip flops.' Echo de menos mi gente.

4. Tengo un maestro de español empezando el próximo semana!

5. Es todo. Espero ustedes tienen un lindo noche.

Mi Trabajo

2007-02-06T21:58:00.000-05:00

I officially am working at gainful employment! Maybe next year I can actually file taxes, as opposed to this year when I had no US income... ah, the life of a vagabond.

(Si quieres leer la mayoría de este en español, se puede ir al ultimo parte de este carta para la translación.)

Everybody in the office is very friendly and everyday I met about a dozen more people who work in the Embassy. A couple hundred work here in total. Later this week I will meet the DSM (second in command to the Ambassador) and Ambassador himself. That picture is of the Embassy; I found it online, obviously you can't take you camera into the Embassy so that will have to do for now!

Embassy life is very fascinating. Every facet of central building is designed with security in mind: small, bullet and bomb proof windows, fortified doors, Marines at the entrances, codes for entering areas with classified information, etc. Friday I have a security briefing where they attempt to scare the daylights out of me so I won't do anything stupid. There is also a commissary where you can buy grocery products from the US that you can't get in Lima. I've got two words for you: Diet Coke. It's better than Coke Lite, and I refuse to debate the difference further.

Parts of the Embassy do look like how you'd imagine it in movies and whatnot with black marble walls and floors with huge golden US emblems and flags. Other parts, however, not so glamorous. Take my cubicle. Need I continue?

Today I had lunch with 50% of the interns at the Embassy, which means Gabe. We're making some plans and hopefully there will be more interns in the future to join us!

Finding housing is one of my biggest concerns right now. Definitely need to employ some strategery these next few weeks to find a place. Also I'm still working on a church, Spanish lessons, and a place to volunteer.

Lima is surrounded by mountains that can best be described as huge mounds of dirt. Since we are in a desert (see picture), the land is incredibly dry and nothing grows there. However, within the city there are flowers and trees and many birds to sing and wake you up in the morning.

Aside from clouds of smog and dust, Lima has a lovely smell of summer that is difficult to describe but reminds me of Cone City, Lake Michigan, and relaxation.

Twilight is the best part of the day - relatively peaceful and cool, with the sunset always in view. It's also very short due to our location on the equator where the sun sinks very fast, but nice nonetheless

Overall, everything is going well. I'm excited to learn more and met more people. Thanks to everybody for their prayers and support!

... And now... En español...

Todo la gente en la oficina es muy amable, y cada día encuentro aproximadamente diez mas personas a quien trabajan en la embajada. Creo que 100-200 personas trabajan acá en total. A finales de este semana voy encontrar el DSM (el segundo mas alta persona en la embajada) y el embajador.

La vida de la embajada es muy fascinante. Cada parte del edificio central esta diseñado para seguridad: pequeño ventanas, fortificado puertos, Marines en la entradas, clave secreta para entrar áreas con información clasificado, y mas. Viernes tengo un reunión sobre seguridad cuando ellos van a tratar a espantarme asi que no voy a hacer algo estúpido. Hay un 'commissary' donde se puede comprar productos de los Estados Unidos que no se puede comprar en Lima. Tengo dos palabras para ti: Diet Coke. Lo es mejor de Coke Lite, y la diferencia mas.

Partes de la embajada son como se lo imagina en películas y mas, con paredes de mármol negro y pisos con grande emblemas y banderas de los Estados Unidos. Otros partes no son atractivo. Por ejemplo, mi 'cubículo.' Necesito continuar?

Hoy, almorcé con 50 por ciento de los "interns" en la embajada, solamente Gabe. Estamos haciendo planes y esperanzado va a estar mas interns en el futuro!

Encontrando un lugar para vivir es uno de mi mas grande preocupaciones ahorrita. Tengo que usar "strategery" en los próximos semanas para encontrar un lugar. También, estoy trabajando para encontrar una iglesia, lecciones de español, y una grupo para voluntario.

No tengo la energía necesario para traducir el ultimo parte... lo siento... voy a mejorar... quiero dormir ahora.

En total, todo esta bien. Estoy conmocionada aprender mas y encontrar mas gente. Gracias para su oraciones y apoyo!

Skype Me!

2007-02-04T14:19:00.000-05:00

For the next few weeks, if not my entire trip, I'll have access to Skype and you will be able to catch me in the evenings. You can find me by going to 'Contacts' and searching for Skype users with my first and last name. My user name is my first and last name with a period in the middle. Click on the button below!

Get Skype and call me for free.

If you don't have Skype , you should get it! Visit www. skype.com. It's very easy and free. If your computer is a crappy Dell that won't even hardly run iTunes (Amy...), don't worry, I can just call you the old fashion way!

Estoy en Peru!

2007-02-04T13:53:00.000-05:00

Buenos tardes! Estoy en Peru!

It is warm and sunny summer day here in Lima - the grass is green, the flowers are in bloom, and palm trees line the streets. My body is in shock.

Yesterday was a very long day. I've forgotten that an 8 hour plane ride is quite long. Despite the fact that there is a blizzard in the Midwest, all of my flights went perfectly fine. In fact, when I was flying into Newark, it was sunny and I had a lovely view of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty!

When I arrived in Lima, I needed to find my ride, Julio, who had a sign with my name on it. It was pretty funny and overwhelming, as developing country airports usually are! You step out of customs, and there is a big space partitioned off by a metal rail. Behind the rail is about, oh, 400 people looking at you and waiting for the person they are picking up.

I finally did find my ride and another intern at Embassy came along which was nice. His name is Gabe, he's from California, he went to BYU and he likes to line dance. Go friends!

This afternoon I am relaxing. I met with my supervisors at the Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS) and they seem very nice. Everybody so far has been so welcoming. I'm excited to learn more about the Embassy system and Lima. So far, so good!

Goodbye, Michigan!

Hello, Lima! My backyard, next to the pool.
Anybody care for a jump?

Leaving Grand Rapids

2007-02-03T06:54:00.000-05:00

Right now I'm sitting in the airport in Grand Rapids, waiting for my first flight. It is very snowy outside and it's hard to believe that by tonight I will be stepping out into the summer and temperatures in the 80s.

Today is Gloria's birthday (5 years old!) and yesterday was Sarah's (26). Happy Birthday!

Videos from Central America

2007-01-31T10:34:00.000-05:00

Here are some interesting videos from my trip this fall. Enjoy!

Here is a video of my favorite form of transportation - pickup truck. It's me, my friend Joel, these two hilarious Swedish girls and the driver's son.

At the top of the carter of Volcan Tajulmuco at daybreak.

Howler monkeys in the forests surrounding Tikal, Guatemala. When I lived in Belize a pack would come and scream into our cabana every night! Oh, sweet memories.

I just have to say that all of this makes me feel very technologically advanced. I'm going to try and post more videos while I'm in Peru, which will be easier because I will have my computer with me.

Blogging 101

2007-01-29T12:15:00.000-05:00

Here are a few quick tips for happy blog reading:

* Blogs are written in reverse chronological order. What that means is that the entry at the top will be the most recent. Be sure to scroll down or look at the recent entries list to the right to make sure that you haven't missed an entry.

* Please include your name if you post a comment. While it was fun to figure out who wrote what last fall, it's nice to know definitively who posted!

* I always appreciate it when people take the time to send me updates about their life. I try to reciprocate, but sometimes it can be difficult. Please know that I love reading your emails even if I can't get back to you right away!

Thanks for reading!

Peru 101

2007-01-29T11:50:00.000-05:00

I've made it a personal goal of mine to try and help clear up some of the confusion regarding Latin America geography, specifically, the difference between Central America and South America. I understand that for those of you who aren't geographically inclined that this can be confusing (don't give yourself a hard time, the US educational system pays scant attention to our closest neighbors and allies to the south.)

Central America is the southern-most part of the North American continent, and it includes countries like Guatemala and Costa Rica. It narrows to an isthmus at Panama. That's where I was this fall.

South America is its own continent entirely - you guessed it - south of North America. That's where I'm going now. Peru is on the western coast of South America just below the equator. I've been to Brazil and Ecuador in S.A. already and I loved it.

Peru is notable for many reasons including it's sizable indigenous population and geographical diversity (deserts, rain forests, the Andes, etc.). Most people equate Peru with Machi Picchu (pictured) and if you've seen 'The Motorcycle Diaries,' you know what I'm talking about.

Peru is also in the same time zone as Grand Rapids! I know it sounds weird, but Lima (the capital city, not pronounced like the bean, but Lee-mha) is directly south of the US East Coast.

Hope that info was helpful! I'm sure I'll have more to post as I learn more as well!

My Nephew, the Author

2007-01-29T11:40:00.000-05:00

I am pleased to announce that my nephew, Marek Wolf Remtema, has become a published author. After taking such a scholarly photo at the Sears Photo Studio, it became obvious that the young man's inclinations and sweater vest collection were geared towards one career: writing. Indeed, at such a young age, Marek has captured a superb "About the Author" photo despite the fact that he can neither walk nor read.

Marek W. Remtema's upcoming titles include:

"The Art of Making Screeching Noises"

"The Birth Experience: See You On the Other Side"

"Successful Strategies for Combating Infant Pattern Baldness"

"Dress for Success - It's Never Too Soon!"

"Stalagmite Crystal Formations in the Mines of Mongolia & the Influence of Nocturnal Organisms on their Growth"

The Low-Down on Peru

2007-01-28T20:31:00.000-05:00

Some of you may be saying, why is April going to Peru? I know at times I'm hard to keep up with, so here's the bullet point version of my life:

- Graduated from University of Toronto in August. Wahoo!

- Traveled to Central America for 3 months. (See previous 46 posts...)

- Chilled in G-Rap with the fam for 3 more months.

- Leaving Saturday to work in Lima, Peru for four months. I'll be working in the US Embassy for the Foreign Agriculture Service. Exciting! I won't be blogging about my job, but if you'd like some details, email me!

- Traveling for a month afterwards with my friend from college, Anna Springsteen, to Machu Picchu, and Lake Titicaca (come on, say it out loud, it's fun!). Anna and I took a road trip down to New Orleans after we graduated with Val and Kelly. Anna likes to go to bed at 9:30 and has the driest sense of humor. I think we'll get along fine.

- Arriving home in Michigan June 24th. Start planning the airport party now!

- Life after that... TBD.

My Life in Bullet Points

2007-01-28T10:16:00.000-05:00

Thanks again to everybody who read my blog this fall. If you'd like to see my pictures and haven't been sent a link yet, just email me and I'll forward that to you.

Highlights of my extended stay in Grand Rapids:

* Trying out interesting restaurants on Division. Delicious, cheap, and adventurous!

* Coercing my friends and family to play social games like Apples to Apples and Charades.

* Carbon monoxide leak in the basement... that's why I had such a horrible headache!

* Staying on various beds and couches, including my parent's basement, my sister Deidre's, Terris', Kari-Leigh's, Grandma Gibson's, Emily Arents', and others. I've lost track and haven't had a permanent bed in six months. Thanks for your hospitality!

* Hanging out with/writing fake biographies for my nephew. See upcoming post for the hilarity.

* Getting a brutal stomach flu.

* Visiting my friend Val who is still in remission! And has a beautiful wedding dress!

As you can see, it's been quite an exciting three months. I'm just sure if Peru is going to be able to measure up. ;) It's been nice to be at home but I'm looking forward to the adventure and the challenge!

So Long, Central America

2006-10-30T11:04:00.000-05:00

Today I return to the U. S. of A. after two and a half months of traveling and learning. I´m very grateful that I have not had one serious incident with theft, safety or illness. The trip has gone well beyond my expectations.

When I get home I will be busy with getting my life in order but I hope to post some pictures and videos by the end of this week. Check back for the highlights.

And Toronto friends - I hope to make a trip out there soon to visit! It´s been strange going this long without sushi or small group.

Dios bendiga!

Manuel Antonio

2006-10-30T10:53:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was my last weekend abroad,as I am leaving Costa Rica today and getting into Michigan tomorrow.

On Friday I went and visited a friend from Alma who is Costa Rican. It was nice to see her town and meet her friends and family. And of course have the obligatory "why in the world did we go to Alma" conversation.

On Saturday I went to Manuel Antonio which is a national park on the Pacific coast. At first I was kind of bummed to arrive in a down pour and check into possibly one of the nastiest places I´ve stayed so far. I think that hostel would make an abosolutely lovely brothel/crack den.

I got up early Sunday morning to high tail it out of there and get to the park. Luckily, my endurance at the hostel paid off because the park was absolutely wonderful. A LOT of wildlife, monkeys, crabs, iguanas, some big furry thing that scared the daylights out of me when it casually walked up to me on the beach.

In the park the paths lead to several different beaches. It was very beautiful with the jungle to your back, Jurrasic-park-esque rocks and cliffs and the beach at your feet. I spent the entire day there before returning to San Jose. Very enjoyable! I´m excited to post some pictures.

Monteverde

2006-10-27T11:14:00.000-05:00

I spent the last two days in Monteverde, which is renowned for its cloud forest. On the bus on the way there I met a Japanese woman, Yuki, who was traveling by herself through Central and South America. She was really nice and funny so we ended up sharing a room at the hostel in Santa Elena. On the first day I went to a frog zoo type place, and saw a lot of frogs believe it or not. Let me tell you, there are some huge nasty looking frogs in the world! But there were also cool red and florescent green frogs as well. Good times!

On Thursday morning we did a zip line tour through the cloud forest. It was so cool! They strap this harness on you, and then you go whizzing waaaayyy above the rain forest at speeds of up to 50 mph! Some of the lines went right through the trees, so you were so close that you felt like you were about to run into everything. But obviously I never did, so it was really cool! I tried to take some pictures and videos, so we´ll have to see how those turn out. And since it is a cloud forest, sometimes you could disappear into the fog and then see the trees and platform rapidly approaching. It was really great and I wanted to do it again!

After that we walked around on these suspension bridges, way way above the ground. There were some howler monkeys and pretty birds as well. Yuki and I then went hiking in another part of the cloud forest. I´ve been in a lot of different types of rain forests, but this was definitely one of the coolest. Quite literally, as well. The temperature was nice for walking around, and the entire forest had an ethereal look with the fog, vines, trees, birds, and whatnot. Very cool!

Now I am chilling in Santa Anna. Today I am going to visit a friend from Alma College who is from here, and tomorrow I am going to beach for a few days before I fly home on Monday.

Hasta pronto!

More Photos

2006-10-25T17:59:00.000-05:00

Random moments from my trip: Lago Atitlan, Mountain School Potluck, hiking Volcan Tajulmuco, Antigua streetscape, etc.

The Rich Coast

2006-10-25T17:51:00.000-05:00

So the past few days I've been hanging out in Costa Rica, in Santa Anna to be exact. Santa Anna is a town outside of San Jose (the capital) where my cousin Andrea lived during her semester abroad. I'm actually staying with her old host family! It is very nice and comfortable, and they are very hospitable. I've been able to hang out with Joaquin, a friend of Andrea's, his wife (American) and their super cute puppy. Haven't been doing much that's interesting, the other day I went and sat by a huge pool in a country club. Nice!

San Jose is kind of a big dirty dangerous city. I was planning on walking around there a bit just to see what's to see, but I inadverdantly ended up in the red light district when a drag queen blotted up to me in broad daylight, sceamed bloody murder in my face and then ran away laughing. So then I hopped in a taxi and proceeded along my way.

Right now I am in Monteverde, which is about five hours away from San Jose. Tomorrow I am going to do something really cool that I have been really looking forward to, so check back for that blog post!

Good news about Val

2006-10-21T12:15:00.000-05:00

Good news about my friend Val, who was diagnosed with cancer a month and a half ago. She is in remission! After 40 very intense days in the hospital full of all kinds of treatment, she was discharged yesterday and could be heading back to Michigan this week! So wonderful! She also has her wedding date set for this August.

For more news on Val go to www.valerieann.net. Thanks to everybody who kept her and her family in her prayers during this time! In these next few months she needs to rest, moniter her progress and recooperate.

Nicaragua

2006-10-21T12:10:00.000-05:00

After San Salvador, I came to Managua, the capitol of Nicaragua. Not too impressed, the city is sprawled out and there isn´t that much to see. I stayed for only one night. In the morning, I had breakfast and a tour with a Jesuit priest from Detroit. He has been living in Nicaragua for twenty years. The city is strange because it is so desolate, even the downtown center with the Presidential Palace and everything is empty. An earthquake a while back rendered many buildings useless for a while, and the people haven´t returned. It was quite depressing.

We also saw an army tank that Italian dictator Mussolini had given Nicaraguan dictator General Somoza. I guess your friend really do reflect who you are!

After that meeting, I got ready to come to Granada, and much to my surprise, ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT was on TV! It was the season finally of the second season, where George puts Oscar in prison instead of himself, GOB accidentally washes black puppet Franklin, white ("Now he can have lunch at the country club!") and Tobias runs off with Kittie to Las Vegas to pursue his dream of being the Blue Man Group. Ahh, what an enjoyable 22 minutes! Who´s game for a marathon when I get home?

Granada is nice, one of the old colonial towns with the central park, old churches, and crap like that. As you can tell, I´ve done a lot of sight seeing! The hostel I am at is pretty cool though, it is an old colonial house with huge ceilings, old tiling and a garden in the middle. There are tons of backpackers here, but I swear they all just lie around, drink beer, smoke, and check their email (I´m two for four). Just been walking around the town a bit, and tomorrow I head to Costa Rica. Yippee! I´m staying with my cousin Andrea´s host family and looking forward to seeing a friend from college as well. Good stuff.

I changed my plane ticket so I am now coming home October 31 just in time for Halloween. I figured I could fit everything I wanted to do into this last week, and I´m kind of sick of traveling alone.

That´s all that´s new with me. Tienen un buen dia!

My Nephew, the Bat

2006-10-21T11:53:00.000-05:00

My nephew, Marek, is going to be a bat this halloween. As you can see, he is very very menacing. Beware!

Martyrs

2006-10-19T16:04:00.000-05:00

On Tuesday I spent the day going to museums. This was one of the main things I wanted to do on this trip, and one of the main reasons that I came to San Salvador. Ever since learning about Monsenor Oscar Romero, I have been captivated by his story and teachings. Romero was a Catholic Archbishop. He was originally a member of the conservative oligarchy that supported the civil war in El Salvador in the 1970s, but after several of his fellow priests were assassinated, his eyes were opened to the plight of the poor and oppressed. He became an outspoken critic of the government and the oligarchy, even calling for soldiers to lay their guns down forever and join the mass. While he was proclaiming this during a homily, US-backed assassins broke into the church and murdered him.

This type of occurrence was commonplace during most of Central America in the 1970s and 1980s. In the late 1980s, six Jesuit priests along with their maid and her daughter were murdered at the University of Central America in San Salvador. At the museum there, I was able to learn about their lives, see their bloodstained clothing, as well as tour their quarters.

I also had the opportunity to go to the church where Romero was murdered. It was very powerful. I think too what was amazing was that after he was killed, they made a little museum for him (the one I went to). But the government tried to annihilate this as well! Many of the pictures on display were meant to show not only who was in the photo but the melted glass of the frame from the heat of the bombs. It just amazes me that the powers of evil so grossly underestimate the power of love and the spirit of the people who will be testament to Romero and the other Jesuits even if they blew up the whole country.

Romero´s story inspires me because he was not the "activist type" and indeed came from a priviliged background. But his story demonstrates the power of conversion and of transformation to realizing that the point of this life is to be instruments to God´s grace in the here and now by doing the basic things that Jesus commanded like feeding and clothing the poor and standing up for injustice.

San Salvador

2006-10-16T10:46:00.000-05:00

So a lot has happened over the weekend! After putting up the last post, Andrea (my cousin) called her friend, Rony, in San Salvador and he came to pick me up at the hostel. Which means I lost my $8 to stay at somebody's nice house... shucks. ;)

Rony's dad is the director of transportation for Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America for Exxon Mobil. I know, I know, I don't even need to say it. Obviously their house was very nice, not like Princeton Estates nice, but like two live-in maids nice. Every morning I just "ordered" my breakfast from a window into the kitchen. It was a little strange for me to go from a hostel (Rony asked if we really all sleep in the same room when he came in) to staying at this nice house! But after traveling around for a while the hospitality was appreciated.

Now for something completely different. On Friday I met with this woman, Karla, whom I had been in contact with (it's a long story). She is a labor organizer here. We talked and visited CRISPAZ, this Christian Peace and Justice organization. There I met this nun from Boston who will give me some contacts for my time in Peru! I got to met Karla's boyfriend, Mateo, who is from Cincinnati, and another guy visiting here from Detroit working on a fair trade clothing company. Very cool stuff!

On Friday night Rony and I went out with a few of his friends to the clubs in San Salvador. I think I stuck out like a sore thumb one because I always seem awkward in clubs and two my backpacking clothes were far from appropriate. They were "members" of the club (I don't know what that means) so that got all these free drinks and whatnot. The clubs were very fancy and definitely a contrast to what I have been experiencing elsewhere in my travels.

On Saturday we went to a friend of Rony's, Camilla's house on a lake very close to San Salvador. It was very nice and ..errr... a little different than our digs at Pretty Lake! Her mother designed the furniture for the U.S. Embassy here which is about the size of Rivertown Shopping mall. I got to try ceviche with baby shark (!!) which was really good. The pool was very pretty as well and I managed to not get burnt!

So this is where it gets funny. Rony and his friends, especially Camilla, were very excited to go on something called the Bonga Bus Saturday night. This is the concept: retrofitted two story old American school bus, first floor with club, second floor with seating, lots of music and booze. It is something that could easily be satirized by Arrested Development or possibly made into a video store backroom movie (okay it wasn't that bad...). It was indeed entertaining, but it turned out to be more comical. In many North American cities wires and cables and whatnot are buried underground. Not so here. For two and a half hours we were dodging cables and trees and trying not to get decapitated on the top. Lots o' fun with about 50 drunk Salvadorians. But probably not something I will every do again, because as many of you know I have a hard enough time not spewing on normal bus much less a BONGA Bus. I didn't have anything to drink too!

Yesterday we just hung out, and last night I moved to stay with Karla and Mateo. They are closer to downtown so I can go to some museums and whatnot. And plus they have 5 baby kittens! Last night Karla and I got pupusas... yum.... traditional Salvadorian food that you eat from somebody's garage. That's the best way to get food. It is a hot tortilla/empanada filled with beans and cheese that you eat with a coleslaw salad type thing. Very good, I will try to make it when I get home.

So my time in San Salvador has been interesting because of the contrasts. Despite the people I was staying with, poverty is just an issue here as it is throughout Central America. People live in shacks in deplorable conditions next to huge shopping malls and fancy restaurants. But as my trip to the border of Mexico and the US taught me, just because we are living further away from poverty (as I am in Michigan) doesn't mean we are any less responsible than the people in poor countries who can afford to live well.

Not sure what my next step will be, I haven't decided whether I am going to go to Honduras and go straight to Nicaragua.

Hasta luego!

Sometimes things Suck

2006-10-12T17:17:00.000-05:00

I´ve run into a rash of bad luck lately. Fortunately, not the kind of dark alley back luck or all day in the bathroom bad luck, but bad luck nonetheless.

First, I accidently deleted all of the music off of my shuffle (music player, Mom and Dad). Anybody in my generation knows that this a death blow. Four more weeks and no more music. On the spot I downloaded ten songs that I´ve never heard of, and dozens of free NPR podcasts. Gotta love hours upon hours of old news, "This I Believe" and "Driveway Moments."

Second, my beloved digital camera broke. Fortunately, it´s only the screen, so I think I can still take pictures, I just can´t see them or adjust the settings of the camera. Or watch that video of Gloria I took when we first got here.

But I can´t complain, because on the whole I´ve had pretty good luck so far.

Just arrived to San Salvador today. Two Canadians (Calgary!) in my hostel as well as an English bloke. Tonight I´m planning on calling some of my cousin Andrea´s friends as well as some people from CRISPAZ (Christians for Peace and Justice). Tomorrow I´m going to the Oscar Romero Museum which has been one of the things I have been most excited for!!!

More soon!

Mexico

2006-10-10T20:17:00.000-05:00

The rest of my time in Mexico was pleasant but frankly I am glad to be in San Cristobal. Tulum was wonderful - the beach was perfect, few tourists and touristy things, etc. What screen savers are made of. Playa del Carmen, on the other hand, I did not like so much. WAY too many inebriated tourists and huge bins of cheap maracas and tequila. Not exactly my thing. At least I know now not to take a vacation there!

While in Playa I visited Chichen Itza, which is another Mayan ruin. It will be my last ruin because I am getting a bit "ruined-out" if you can believe it or not. While on the tour there the bus stopped at a buffet to have lunch. During the lunch, some kids did a traditional dance for some tips. To be honest with you, I was pretty disgusted. Here are families being forced to commoditize (make into a payable service) a special aspect of their cultural while rich gringos drank beers and ate from a buffet. You could see the humiliation/boredom on the faces. This kind of "cultural minsteralcy" is not glorifying to the culture but demeaning. Some people say that this is the only way for many cultures to survive, but I just don´t buy it. Yes, it is perhaps the only for it to survive within our economic system, but it was doing quite fine until we challenged it.

They do this because they have no other options, there is no way to "work up" and raise themselves up by there bootstraps. I think Mexicans and Latin Americans alike are some of the hardest working people I´ve ever met, people who will go to great lengths (quite literally) in time and toil to provide for their families.

Another ironic thing about the dance is that it was mestizo - derived from dances from Spain. The Spainish culture, who once "conquered" the area is now the subject, the lower class in relation to the gringos. If this is how the "conquerers" are living, then it´s tough to even think about the indigenous people. Irony irony irony.

Yesterday I made it to San Cristobal de las Casas. I really like it here, most likely because it is very similiar to Guatemala! It is a lovely colonial town with lots of great museums and the typical old stuff - churches, buildings, etc.

Yesterday I went to a Mayan Medicine Museum and it was very interesting. They use concepts of hot & cold, the cardinal directions (N, S, E, W), times of days, plants, and animals to diagnose and treat sickness. As strange as it all sounded to me, it must have had some legitimacy due to the fact that the civilization has survived for thousands of years! Also, at the end we got to see a fairly graphic video of the traditional method used in child birth. Nice!

On the Road

2006-10-05T18:16:00.000-05:00

On Monday I left Xela and took a bus to Guatemala City and then an overnight bus to Flores. It was a long long way. I got off the bus at 5 AM in Flores, and it was still dark and I needed to find my hotel. There was another gringa wandering around as well, a woman from Australia, so we ended up teaming up, seeing some sights together and sharing a room. An hour later at 6 AM we left to see Tikal. Tikal is one of the most magnificent places, it is the ruins of a huge Mayan city that dominated the region 1500 years ago. I had been there before because it is accessible from Belize, but it was nice to see it again.

Being a Tuesday morning in the hurricane season, there weren´t that many tourists there as well which was nice. The wildlife was amazing: howling monkeys, groups of monkeys moving in the trees above us, huge butterflies, and a creature that looked like a 25 pound gerbil. It was a nice visit, but naturally we were very tired from the overnight bus ride and early morning.

Yesterday I finished the rest of the trip to Tulum, Mexico. We had to go through Belize, which I was really interested in doing since I worked there three years ago. It was a little bit surreal; when we went past the turnoff for where I used to stay it just seemed so strange that it was so close. Belize is still exactly the same; bizarre, hot, and humid.

Many hours later, Tulum. Today was my first day at the beach at the ruins. It is so beautiful and has been very worth it! The sand is white, the water is blue, and there is this huge Mayan fortress right on the water. It was quite amazing.

While in Tulum, I am staying in the quint-essential hostel which means it has been easy to make friends. Today I hung out with a friendly German chap named Hardy (yes, as in the Hardy boys) who I guess probably suffers from many Americans comparing him to Ah-nold due to his accent and stature. Not too many Americans here.

Things are going well, tomorrow I´m going to Playa del Carmen!

Thanks for the emails and comments! Please remember to include your name with your comment!

Into the Belly of the Beast

2006-10-02T11:04:00.000-05:00

As some of you may know, I have accepted a job working for the Foreign Agricultural Service in Lima, Peru. I applied for this job literally hours before I left for Guatemala and had little idea what it would entail or that I actually had a chance in getting it. I will be working there for four months starting in February.

It isn´t for certain quite yet, because I still need to go through all of the security clearances to be able to work in the US Embassy.

Sounds great, huh? There is another side of it. To be honest, I don´t really agree with the work of the office, but I am viewing this as an excellent learning opportunity even though it is definitely not a career path for me. I really struggled over whether to take this position, and I think that I have made the right decision. I´m not foregoing some other opportunity to do this, and besides, the position will need to be filled by somebody, so why not me who will try to be a (tiny) force for good in the office?

So that´s my big news. At least now I know what I´m doing with the next 8 months of my life!

New Return Date

2006-10-02T11:00:00.000-05:00

I have officially changed my return date. I am coming home Sunday, November 5, at around 5 PM. I´m flying in from Costa Rica instead of Panama because I didn´t want to be rushed to get all the way down there - what´s the point of going if you´re spending all of your time on buses?

Anyways, now you can all change your welcome home party plans, right?! Just kidding.

April vs. the Volcano

2006-10-01T18:03:00.000-05:00

I just got back from my volcano trip this weekend and boy, am I exhausted. Most definitely the most physically grueling thing I have ever done. (Which I know isn´t saying much, but still...)

To begin, the volcano we were climbing is called Volcan Tajulmuco, which is not only the tallest volcano but the tallest point in all of Central America. It is near the western border of Guatemala with Chiapas, Mexico (Zapatistas!).

Our group was large - about 20 students from my Spanish school and two guides. The main guide (whose name I could unfortunately never pronounce) fought as a guerrilla in Guatemala´s horrid 30-year war and lived up in the mountains for years. His father, Pedro, was our second guide. He also fought as a guerrilla for many years and was captured and tortured relentlessly by the Guatemalan army for 5 days. So I guess it would suffice it to say that our guides knew these mountains! It was so interesting to hear all of their stories and about their way of the life during la Guerra (the war).

The hike was difficult for many reasons. One, we were carrying huge packs with tents, sleeping bags, water, food and any other necessities. Two, the altitude. No matter how hard you breathed, you could not get enough air in your lungs. I think that Mexico could hear us breathing! Plus it gave you a headache and made you want to throw up. Nice! Third, the ascent. In five hours we hiked up two miles in altitude - the path was much longer than this! Fourth, the accommodations. When we got to the camping spot, it was only 1 PM (we left Xela at 5 AM). I wanted to go to bed right then, but we had to stay awake so we would be able to sleep through the night. It was bitterly cold and wet and definitely a tough night´s sleep!

We got up at 4 AM to complete the hike to the top of the volcano and the rim of the crater. This was probably the hardest part because it was pitch black and you were on your hands and knees climbing up rocks, trying not to fall and puke at the same time!

When we got to the top we could just see the first glimmers of the morning. We could also see Mexico (which uses orange street lights) and huge expanses of Guatemala (which uses white street lights - did they plan that?!). Then we walked around to the highest part of the rim of the crater. This part I almost didn´t do because of the shocking heights on either side, the narrowness of the path and the darkness. But seeing as I had no choice, I made it to the highest part of the rim.

And it was worth it! It was so beautiful! I felt like I could see the entire country! Mountains, villages, a volcano erupting in the distance, the sunrise, it was stunning!

The walk down the volcano was much more pleasant, although still pretty rough on your legs and knees. The views were AMAZING since when we had climbed up the day before it was foggy and we were constantly looking up. Coming down you could see all of the mountains and trees around you. The environment was very interesting up there as well because it is so high up (and cold!)... coniferous trees, little flowers, brush and moss.

I guess before the hike I had forgetten that my favorite part of camping is eating yummy campfood and sitting around a fire. You live and you learn!
Would I have done it if I would have known what it entailed? Probably not.
Do I regret doing it? No!
Would I ever do it again? Absolutely not!

I´m excited to show you all my pictures!

I´m proud of myself for accomplishing something so grueling, but relieved that the week ahead is mainly intended for relaxation. Tomorrow I leave for Tikal and then on to the coast of Mexico.

Xela

2006-09-27T10:54:00.000-05:00

Hola! This week I am in Xela (shay-la), the second largest city in Guatemala. It is very pleasant, but all in all I am getting very READY to wrap up these intense spanish lessons and hit the road, especially to somewhere warmer! It is usually in the 50s or 60s here in the days, so I am wearing about half of my clothes all of the time!

This weekend I am doing something crazy - climbing a huge volcano and camping overnight! I´m not sure if I´m actually going to be able to do it, but I´m going to give it a go because it sounds like such an adventure! It is the trip that the school is organizing. The volcano is the highest point in Central America (=altitute sickness for me!) and you can see into Mexico from the top. I´m very excited! Then on Monday I start to move, first to Tekal, one of the largest and most wonderful Mayan cities, and then on to the Yucatan for a few days of sun and relaxation before I go to El Salvador.

Otherwise, not much new on my end. I did meet somebody from Michigan for the first time and I was surprised at how excited I got over this. You can take the girl out of Michigan, but you can´t take the Michigan out of the girl apparently. And he had heard of Alma College!

Okay, back to espanol. Thanks for all of your emails even if I can´t write back at length. I really appreciate it, and I am looking forward to spending time with you all when I return!

Imagine that... another great week

2006-09-24T17:48:00.000-05:00

I just finished up my time at the Mountain School and now I am studying in Xela for one week until I start to travel. Very sad to leave the school and all the wonderful people, but I am intent upon returning!

I thought I´d take the opportunity to share some humorous/memorable moments of the past two weeks.

* Kite flying is a major past time in the villages that I lived by. One of the most endearing sites was a little boy flying a kite made of half of a plastic bag of chips and a tattered piece of string.

* Guatemala, as you all probably know, is earthquake central. Last week at the school I was studying in my room when we had a pretty sizeable tremor for a couple seconds. Very exciting for a Michigan girl!

* My friend Joel and I went down to the nearest town to buy some food for cooking and check email. You can either get to the town by riding in the back of a pickup (my prefered way of travel!) or a camioneta, a chicken bus. Needless to say, these get very full. Joel and I rode part of the way to Colomba with me standing on the lowest step into the bus, Joel on the next step up, and my arms practically hugging his legs over the potholes. The door was open and about three more people were hanging out the side! Normal here, not so normal back home. We tried to continue with our conversation, but I was laughing too hard.

* The more you learn Spanish, the greater chances for an embarrasing misunderstanding. Instead of missing the whole boat in a conversation, you think you get part of it when you really don´t. Last week I was looking for some raisins at the market to make rice pudding. I was all excited to use a new verb tense that would make me sound more polite. I mean to ask a vender where the pasas (raisins) were, but instead I said this:

"Descuple, a donde yo podria encontrar los payasos?

Which means,

"Excuse me, where might I be able to find the clowns?

Apparently there were not any clowns in Colomba that day because we sure didn´t get any directions out of her.

Yesterday we went on a tour of some Mayan ruins. Our tour was in Spanish, and many of the statues were idols for "fertilidad," and I joked with Joel (whose Spanish is much better than mine) that I was going to get pregnant just walking around. Fortunately, he informed me, the idols were for SOIL fertility and unless I was planning on growing some corn, I was going to be alright. Those little details make all the difference...

* Mayans have a traditional sauna, called a chuj. The school fired up their chuh for the first time in many years and Joel, Falin and I enjoyed it immensly, although I think I am going to smell like a fire for a week.

More to come, I´m sure! I will have more regular access to email this week, so I´m looking forward to hearing from you all!

Also... I think I´m near/passing the half-way point! Crazy how time flies!

Val Update

2006-09-20T09:57:00.000-05:00

I have been grateful to receive an update on my friend, Val. You can read about her condition at the website her brother has set up, www.valerieann.net. All in all, she seems to be in good spirits despite the challenge she is facing. Feel free to leave her a comment to brighten her day!

New Host Family

2006-09-20T09:48:00.000-05:00

This week I am eating with a new host family and I like them a lot! The grandma prepares my meals in the dirt floor kitchen behind the cinder block house. She lives next to her two grandchildren, Liliana (9) and Evelyn (5). I know their mother, but currently she is living for two months in a larger city in the south because there is no work in their village and she must feed and clothe her kids.

The little girl Evelyn reminds me SO much of Gloria... all the professors at our school agree that she even looks a lot like Gloria. She has a very goofy and outgoing personality and is very intelligent. When I showed her pictures of Gloria in a swimming pool, she was very jealous because she does not know how to swim. I sense that she can tell that there is a difference in the quality and standard of living between Gloria and her. She even asked her mother one day why were they poor, and then proceeded to tell her that she wants to go to school so she can work with computers so they do not have to be poor anymore. Last night I brought over some books to read and the girls were so excited! Evelyn (like another little girl I know...) was memorizing each page I was reading even though she can not read and will not get to start school for two years.

This week there is a group from a college in Wisconsin at the Mountain School so it is just me, my friend Joel, and two girls from Sweden who do not speak very good english or spanish. So I have been hanging out a lot with Joel as well as Tim and Falin who run the Mountain School. Last night we hung out and talked in Tim and Falin{s house which was very nice.

All in all, I wish I could stay at the Mountain School longer (in fact I am already planning my return...). I feel like I am learning a lot of Spanish as well as a lot about Guatemala. I am overflowing with gratefulness!

Escuela de la Montana

2006-09-16T13:56:00.000-05:00

I have loved my time at the Escuela de la Montana. Getting here and finding the school went fine. In fact, I am liking it so much, that I am going to stay for an additional week here! Which means that I again will not have much access to email.

The school is located near several small villages. The profits from the school go to finance scholarships for over one hundred middle school and high school students, who otherwise could not afford to go to school. A couple from the US run the school. One is a nurse - one of two nurses in a district of 30,000 people! She helps out at a local clinic.

I live in a house with ten other students, most of them are from the US. They are wonderful people who are very committed to being agents of positive change in the world. One is a lawyer (and a former Fulbrighter!) from the US who is learning Spanish so he can better serve his clients at his migrant, immigrant and labor law firm. Another is a social worker from Chicago. It seems like all of the students are interested in putting their Spanish skills to work in some positive way!

I eat my meals with a family in one of the nearby villages. The food is excellent! My host family this past week was a mother with four sons and a daughter. The father is living in Houston Texas as an illegal immigrant in order so his kids can go to high school and hopefully university. He crossed the desert in Arizona, which is a very difficult and many times fatal journey, in order to work at below minimum wage so his kids could get out of the cycle of poverty. He has been gone for two and a half years. I can only imagine that it is very difficult on the family. He wants nothing more than to return to Guatemala, but cannot. Definitely enlightens your perspective on the immigration issue! Everybody deserves an education and the ability to support themselves!

I feel very fortunate to be here. This is exactly what I have been praying for - to have an authentic look at Guatemalan life. It is also amazing to know that my money is going to do good, instead of bad (which is unfortunately usually the case when you buy something in the US). It´s such a relief to feel like you are living within the bounds of the natural environment and that your presence is a benefit rather than a harm.

It makes me realize how much we are also oppressed in the US... to rarely feel like "all is right in the world" because so many of our consumption patterns and lifestyle choices directly and indirectly result in the oppression of other people. I hate that, and don´t want to live my life like that any longer! Hallelujah! God has something better for all of us!

I have been reading a book on the life of Oscar Romero. In it they quote one of his counterparts, Herbert Anaya, a passionate fighter for peace and justice in El Salvador, as saying

"The agony of not working for justice is stronger than the certain possibility of my death. The latter is but one instant, the other is one´s whole life."

What that means to me is that the risk involved in transforming your life to help the poor is much less than the certain suffering of not working for transformation in the world. In other words,

"Life is risk. If I do not risk, I cannot be." (Pauto Freire)

I have a strong desire and conviction to continue to change my life to be more in line with what the earth can handle, accompanying the poor, and working towards justice. God blessed me with this towards the end of my time in Toronto, and I am thankful that He continues to give me energy and desire - instead of guilt - to change. Change is scarey, and I don´t know exactly what I´ll do.

Hope this makes some sense. Probably sounds a bit crazy, but if the way things are in this world is sane, then I hope that I´ve perceived as a lunatic! Would love any comments or input.

This week a group is staying at the Mountain School who are studying liberation theology, which is based around the teaching in the Bible that God loves the poor and wants them to be delivered from their suffering. A priest is coming who is going to speak on his efforts to alleviate the dire poverty in Guatemala. Pretty great that it worked out for me to stay, eh? Wonder who had a hand in that... :)

Urgent Prayer Request

2006-09-16T12:40:00.000-05:00

I have just learned today that my friend from Alma, Valerie Lienhart, has been diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. I don´t know what stage it is at, but she is already in the hospital undergoing treatment. She had recently moved to Atlanta to start a teaching job. Her family is from Michigan and I can only guess that they have picked up everything and gone to Atlanta. Please remember her and her family in your prayers.

I love people... I don´t know if you knew that about me...

2006-09-09T19:41:00.000-05:00

So I am always limited in how much I can actually write in my posts, because I would like to spend more time outside of internet cafes than inside, but I would just like to take this moment to express how wonderful the people I have been meeting are.

Of course it gets lonely traveling alone, but the past two weeks I have felt so blessed by the people I have meet in Antigua. My roommates, the other students, my teacher (who invited me to stay at her house the next time I return to Antigua), my host family, etc.

Last night I went out for drinks and dancing with two friends from school. It´s something that I don´t do very often, either at home or while traveling. (Usually a couple of drinks and chatting, not much more!) But it was such a luxury to go out with male friends, one of which is a 6 ft 5 in Austrailian (people stop him to have their picture taken with him, not too many tall folks here) and the other is an energetic German. They areas good as gold and I didn´t need to worry as much about the usually female-traveling alone-at night worries. So much fun! Although I do think I cramped their style with the Latinas a bit at the clubs... sorry guys!

Today I met a CANADIAN! FINALLY! From Toronto! I was so excited. I got to use the following words in a conversation: Bloor, the Annex, U of T, Stephen Harper, Tim Hortons, Swiss Chalet, etc. Music to my little homesick ears! I do get sad listening to my Canadian music on my shuffle, thinking about how much I enjoyed simply walking down Bloor on a sunny day, Sarah Harmer as the soundtrack!

I´m sad to leave Antigua. It really is wonderful here and is one of my most favorite places I have traveled so far. God is so good.

My Typical Day

2006-09-08T14:54:00.000-05:00

In case any of you are wondering, this is what my typical day has looked like in Antigua:

6:10 Wake up, step outside room, which is literally outside since rooms of house are built around a garden terrace. Take shower. Shower is concrete stall with some tall on the walls, water pressure is suprisingly equal to gravity, and water is warmed through an electrified metal plate a few inches above your head.

6:45 Breakfast with the host fam. Usually eggs, rice, bread, indigenous vegetables. Watch Teletubbies dubbed in Spanish (they are annoying in any language). Make small talk.

7:00 Study and review Spanish for the day´s lesson.

7:45 Walk to school. Very busy on the streets in the morning!

7:50 Ride to school in delapidated van that unfortunately dumps the exhaust into the interior of the van. Use experience as a way to bond with other students.

8:00 Start lesson. Correct yesterday´s homework, learn new grammer.

10:30 Break! Walk to market, buy fruit, tortillas con queso, pancaques, sandwich, or candy. Chat with fellow students, drink coffee.

11:00 More Spanish. But only review because your mind can only learn so much new Spanish each day.

1:00 Class is done!

1:15 Lunch at host family´s.

Afternoon: Engage in a variety of activities, possibly excursions organizd by school, check email, take a nap, read, study Spanish, walk around, or, my favorite, get to know all of Antigua´s charming cafes (delicious Guatemalen coffee and chocolate!). Avoid torrents of rain that come down in the afternoon!

6:45 Dinner. Watch la noticias (news) or Los Simpsons over yummy Guatemalen food. Try to use in conversation what you learned that day.

8:00 Study, or go out with friends from school to pub.

10:00 Bedtime!

Not too shabby, considering all of this is done against the back drop of volcanos, green mountains, brightly painted colonial buildings, cobblestone roads and wonderful people!

This Week

2006-09-08T14:46:00.000-05:00

This week has been a relaxing time of study and reading for me. I have been learning a lot of Spanish and finished the book I was reading about the history of Latin America. One of the most exciting things is that I finally started to learn how to say things in past tense (e.g. "I live in Canada" vs. "I lived in Canada.")

All of the high school marching bands have been practicing for next week´s Independance Day, which should be quite a big deal. We got to see a parade this morning, and it made me reminisce over my old marching band days! The kids ranged from all ages, from some pretty rag-tag ensembles to groups with white uniforms and a diversity of instrumnts. It was cool to see that band nerds exist around the world!!

I was so excited yesterday... some context: In May, when I went to Mexico, I met this nun who know all these people in Central America that I could get together with to see more of their countries and safely leave the beaten patch. One organization she me about was CRISPAZ, a Christian Peace and Justice organization in El Salvador. I didn´t have a contact, but hoped to find people from the organization. Currently, there is another woman staying at my host family´s who is from San Salvador, the capital of Honduras. Last night she gave me some email addresses of her family members whom she said would be interested in showing me around. It turns out that they are organizers for CRISPAZ! So they are good people who will help me out while I am there and show me around! How (I hate to say it, but...) serendipitous!

Next Week

2006-09-08T14:42:00.000-05:00

Next week I am off to Escuela de la Montana. I´ve included some information below so you can see what I am getting myself into. As you will see, I will not have any internet access for that week. But I´m excited to move on and see a new place!

Escuela de la Montaña

Since 1988, the not-for-profit Proyecto Lingüístico Quezalteco (PLQ) has provided socially responsible Spanish language studies in the highland city of Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. Placing an emphasis on human rights and social justice, the PLQ has developed and supported projects in rural communities and with grassroots organizations using funds generated by the success of the Spanish school. The PLQ started the Escuela de la Montaña in 1997 in an effort to expand its work among the indigenous and campesino communities of Guatemala. The Escuela de la Montaña is unique in offering students the opportunity to live in Guatemala’s mountainous coffee plantation region while sharing daily life with the people of the surrounding communities.

Living accommodations are in the schoolhouse (sheets and blankets are provided; rooms have two to four beds). In addition to six bedrooms, the building has a library, kitchen/dining room and two large porches. The school has running water, indoor and outdoor bathrooms and showers. When the electricity is working, there is even a hot shower! (Bring a flashlight because the power frequently goes out.) The nearest telephone is a short walk away in Nuevo San José. There are two internet cafés about ten kilometers down the highway in the town of Colomba.

The families in Nuevo San José and Fátima provide students with three meals a day in their homes. They have been trained in the areas of health, nutrition and hygiene and have experience cooking for vegetarians. Diets are simple; often black beans and rice supplemented by eggs and vegetables. Every meal is accompanied by corn tortillas. The Escuela de la Montaña provides fruit or bread as well as coffee and tea during the morning and afternoon breaks.

The three-acre grounds include a steep ravine planted in coffee with a small quiet-house overlooking a stream, several barns, chickens, a fish pond, an organic garden and lots of banana and durazno trees. In addition to three affectionate dogs, we also have two cats to keep the house clear of mice. One of the barns has been converted to accommodate meetings, workshops and activities for children and youth. Students are welcome to participate in daily activities such as gardening, maintenance, and feeding and caring for the animals. There may be opportunities for volunteer work in neighboring communities for students with working Spanish who plan to stay for two weeks or more.

The climate is temperate so a sweater or fleece is usually adequate to keep you comfortable. Even during the dry season (verano) from November to April, it rains once or twice a month so bring raingear or an umbrella. You may wish to bring insect repellent (there are mosquitoes but not malaria).

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