First of all check out this video, it is a training video made while I was in Guatemala so it is of all the people I worked with!!! Seeing it made me miss the kids and volunteers so much!
http://vimeo.com/1624831

It was created by a volunteer from Texas, Greg, who traveled aroud to various different orphanages, and service projects throut Mexico down through Guatemala, Honduras and Costa Rica. He also created a non-profit organization called Full Hearts in Texas to help immigrants. WHile he was accepted in to NYU's film school in Singapor he declined to pursue independant ventures such as this:-)

Also I am getting excited as my interview approches in New York!

Thinking about the future

So, I announced to my family and friends a couple months ago about my intentions to work for the Maryknoll Lay missioner organization, specifically in Brazil. I loved working in Guatemala, and want to continue to do more of that kind of work. Brazil I see as a wonderful chance to learn Portuguese, see the natural beauty of this world, learn about a new culture, and meet new people. 

 I can't help but worry... one that I won't be accepted to the program... or that if I do get accepted I won't be placed where I want to go... or that once I get there- I will want to go home. I have family and friends that I love.... my nieces and nephew tug especially hard at my heart, because now they are so small- and they will continue to grow while I am away. I'll worry about all members of my family while I am away, and it will be very difficult for me to have peace in my heart unless I know they are in good spirits.

Four years is a long time. There is so much potential for change. hhhhmmmm... Four years ago I didn't have a single niece or nephew, I didn't have two brother in law(s). I couldn't speak spanish fluently. I wasn't a few credits away from graduating college. I hadn't faced some very difficult challenges that I now know I can survive.

Much change has taken place in the bigger world around me, in all the lives of the people, in the political and economic scene. I know that whatever happens change will take place. It's funny that while political candidates on both sides of all levels make political campaigns about "CHANGE" I can't help but think of the great changes they will make to the United States government system during my absence, undoubtedly bringing some positive change which I will be pleased to find upon my return, but the US as a whole and my family and friends will be facing new and different challenges. 

But I've got to fight the doubt, because 1. I KNOW that this kind of work is what I WANT, and that no matter where I am placed I will learn, grow, and I hope have something to offer. I think that that is one of the greatest worries is that I recognize my own shortcomings and know that there is so much need that I will have little to offer in comparison. That fear of my efforts being swallowed in a void of darkness and doubt, the daily tasks and offerings being in vain. I recognize my own tendency to focus on my own family, my own self and want to find a way to get beyond that. When I think of some of my heros I wonder how they accomplished all that they have in the face of such obstacles. People like Hanley Denning, and Mother Teresa, who were so bold as to take on tasks that are still not complete.

I find myself making nice lists of things to do that I can cross off and feel a sense of accomplishment. I like tasks that can be "DONE". the weekend I left Guatemala there was a huge landslide in the Garbage dump that in addition to releasing unhealthy amounts of methane gas in to the air crushed and killed several people, including some children. I felt so moved as I looked around my class on my last day as a volunteer knowing that these beautiful children would have been there too had it not been for SafePassage. I have a feeling that when i leave, as when I left Guatemala there will still be so much to do. When I return there will be so much I will have gained and so much change that I will have been witness to, but so much left  to do. and I wonder, will I be okay with that? And if I am "okay" with that, if I am able to return, what does that say?

Land slide

This past Friday was my last day. I went to work the morning in the Guarderia with the younger children. The building is located closer to the walled in part of the dump than the main building. We were just getting set up for the kids to come when a sudden wave of putrid air wafted up from the dump. Like I mentioned earlier, you can smell the dump from the project, especially after there has been rain. However, this was a particularly strong smell and came on so suddenly. All of us covered our noses and mouths with our shirts, and looked for some sort of mask. We settled for some paper towel from the bathroom to place over our faces and filter the air. The smell lingered, and was actually getting stronger in intensity. It gave us all headaches, made us feel sick to our stomachs, nauseous and then when we started hearing sirens, very concerned. At first it was just one or two police or ambulance sirens, but more and more fire trucks were entering zone three and seemed to be heading towards the garbage dump, where 95% of the safe passage student's parents work. We later found out that a large section of the dump experienced a landslide as a result of all the rain we have been getting. There were people working both above and below the area affected by the landslide. Some were buried alive, including at least four children, 2 around age 12 and 2 under age 10. Despite the fact that children are not legally permitted to enter the dump since the walls were erected after the 2005 fire, and all persons who work in the dump have to acquir an id card (which costs them 40 quetzales) it is not always enforced. I am still unsure of the numbers due to the fact that the media is not always reliable, but I gather that somewhere between 14 and 40 people were killed. (some sources say as many as 50, others only account for 5). The lack in reliable information is also due to the fact that those who were lost in the dump might not ever be found. There are many toxic gasses, methane gas and pollutants that cause the bodies to be destroyed and disintegrate in the trash. It was a very tense day because the students were all worried about their parents and family.

Fortunately by the end of the day Barbara, the executive director, had visited the site, and spoken with the families of the children who attend safe passage. NONE of their parents had been harmed!!!! And the children of safe passage were all safely at school or within the projects walls.

Like I said before, it gives me shivers every time I think about where these kids would be if the project didn't exist. But it does exist, and saved lives on friday. Many of the parents were walking their children to the project the time the landslide took place, additionally most of them work in the upper part of the dump that was unaffected by the disaster.

I spent the day working (playing:) with the young kids. We kept them inside for longer than usual and limited their time on the outside jungle gym because of the horrible smell.

I had really mixed feelings this last day- especially in light of the event. Yaelle the volunteer coordenator, brought in a cake to offer me a despedida at lunch, and here are all the volunteers pictured.

By the end of the day after breathing in what ever was in the air my lungs were feeling really tight and I was worried about asthma reactions, I had a headache, but I got to go back to Antigua. All the kids were still in zone 3 of Guatemala city being exposed to the toxic smell, and I felt guilty being safe. It is astonishing to me that they don't have more respiratory problems. I love Maine and am so happy to be home (I arrived in time to celebrate my mother's birthday) know that there is still so much more that needs to be done. While camino seguro helps over 500 kids, there are more in need. Reflecting back on my time at the project I recognize the actual work is easy, but that thinking about it is the challenge. Spending time with the kids is so rewarding, but once they have stolen your heart you can't help but worry about them.

My last morning in Guatemala I rode one of the public busses. I happened to sit next to a man who worked for a bus tour bus company that many times took the children on excursions when Hanley was still alive. It was really interesting hearing about his experiences with the project, and to share with him how much the project has continued to grow in the past years. I hope it continues, and pray that these and all the children who face such huge challenges learn to grow up with hope, and find real opportunity and full lives.

Ultima dia!

This is the first thing I see when I get off the bus from Guatemala city. And this is standing in the same place but aiming the camera more to the right.

I spent the morning at Colegio Maya, a private school which scholarships have been provided to a couple of the safe passage students to attend some of the time. Two girls Dalila and Alondres spent the morning with a group of about 15 to 20 kids from around the world. Many of these childrens parents are wealthy business people or diplomats. Almost all of them speak english and spanish very well, as well as another language.

The school is SO big, especially with regards to the size of the student population. It has students from grades k-12. The first thing that the girls joined in was a game, kind of relay race. They had to carry a wet sock to a bottle of water and squeeze out the sock and then hang it on a line. Whichever team filled up their water bottle first won.
They then played some other games in one of the fields.

The students then went into class which is taught in mostly english, but the teachers are (at least) bilingual as well. They were studying countries from the middle east. When the teacher began talking about camels and the difference between one humped and two humped camel one little girl piped up that one humped camels are called dromedary, even the teacher was impressed. The girl then said she only knew it because her family owns a couple camels in one of their other homes. Whoa. I think it is good for all the students involved to create a link between colegio maya and camino seguro.
The students then did an art project about camels. Below is Dalila's rendition of a dromedary arabian camel, from Egypt.

The girls were still really shy, and kept a bit to themselves. When they took out a string game and started playing another girl was watching. I encouraged them to teach her how to play too, and hope that in the next couple days they begin to make friends.

Here is some of the kids playiing hot potato. The teachers were all really nice, and many had worked for or been involved with service projects in Guatemala if not directly with Camino seguro.

This was my last day with my afternoon class! I don't think it has sunk in yet. It was an eventful day. We had activities and games, as well as worked on homework and reinforcement assignments. However, a HUGE lightning storm rolled in in the afternoon with impressive lightning and booming thunder. Water was leaking in to many of the classes, and then the power went out. While my classroom has big windows and is very lucky, one other volunteer has a huge group of 5 yearolds in a class where limited light enters. They were, of course all very dramatic. The biggest problem (besides the flooding and no light) was the fact that the bathrooms were out of order. Try telling a couple hundred kids to "hold it". Yeah, no. I like to go out with adventure though.
It was sad saying good bye to the kids. They all told me that they wouldn't forget me so I better not forget them. Don't think that that will happen. And that is a good thing.
Tomorrow after working the morning in the guarderia I will be taking an overnight bus to Tikal, which is about 11 hours away. Hopefully the weather is good! I am looking forward to seeing all my mainers soon!
mucho amor y paz y un abrazo bien fuerte!

Nobody said it was easy...

Today was my last day with my morning kids. whoa.
Tomorrow I will spend the morning at colegio Maya, a private school to see how things work. Friday morning I will be at la guarderia with little kids. Thank you to everyone who has sent me encouragement and messages since I've been here. I really appreciate all your thoughts and prayers.
Today when one student, Guillermo and myself were bringing the snack dishes back to the kitchen to wash we had to wait for other students to finish at the sink before we could do our dishes. While we were waiting I started playing the (badly tuned... a couple notes completly non functioning) piano. Guillermo is one of the ones that can be the most challenging. He's perfectly charming... when he wants to be, and has SO much potential. I am not just saying that. This kid has a brain. While most of the time he doesn't listen to Profe Johanna, or any other authority figure, he stopped to listen. I started to teach him to play coldplay's "The Scientist" (beautiful song) and he was very attentive, reflective, and patient. While most of the time he is preoccupied with getting his class mates to laugh, it was SO nice to have him be a little serious for once and concentrate his efforts on something. During my lunch a younger student (I want to say second grade) came up to me and said he heared us playing and singing. I went over to the piano to teach him a couple songs. He was great at immitating the one line melodies and rhythms I punched out. We were able to play a sort of made up duet by the end of lunch. I played the left hand and chords and he played a melody. Any time he messed up he would bury his head in my stomach. Today was a good day. It is nice to end on a good note.

The girls this afternoon were great. A couple of the girls and I were doing some research for a school insect project when a huge lightning storm started. It had been hot, hot, hot earlier in the day, and the storm produced hail. We are on the third floor of Safe passage, so everyone went to peak out the windows and watch the marble sized ice fall on the roof of the comedor below. Some of the girls got really excited and grabbed bowls to stick out the window to try to catch the hail before we pulled them back inside. There is still branch lightning going on outside right now and on our way driving home we passed a bus crash. It looked like everyone should be okay, everyone was out of the bus by the time we passed it. The guardrails for about 20 to 30 feet before where the bus ended up were torn up well, as well as the front and left hand side of the bus. Luckily the median was big enough that it didn't crash into any other cars (that I could see) and it didn't roll or go off the side of the mountain/volcano.

I didn't mention earlier but last friday the teachers had a football (as in what americans call soccer) match. They have one every friday at 8pm in antigua within walking distance from where I live. I was thinking about joining in... but I would be the only girl and they play a bit rough. Here is a picture... my camera doesn't really work in the dark. (PS thank you a million Missy! Not sarcastic... don't know what I'd do without you:)Its great because teachers of all ages participate, and the game moved fast because the field- which is a kind of false turf- is small.

You can see here a couple of the volunteer's cheering on the teams.

I went back to la alta cruz like I said to get a better view. It was worth it.

The beautiful Antgua City lies below. That's Volcan de agua behind me. It was named that after a Spanish settlement was destroyed by flooding and mudslides from off the dormant volcanos sides. There is also Volcan de fuego... that is the active volcano. Fuego is fire.

One week more.

Today on the bus ride to the pool the girls were singing a song "perfectamente" by a singer Miranda and now its stuck in my head. I am going to have to find it.
Today is Guatemala's dia de los padres, or father's day. While mother's day was HUGE at the project, fathers day was relativly small. This has to do with the fact many of the students don't have fathers around. Whenever we did activities like making presents or cards for fathers we just told the kids to make it for a father figure, uncle, male cousin, padrino, older brother, or someone that they want to show appreciation for.
At the project several of the teachers and a handful of volunteers are fathers so we celebrated them during a meeting at lunch today. At the meeting they reviewed measures that have been taken to improve the project since March with regards to security, communication, expectations, etc. Some of this including putting the armed guard at the entrance, cameras in the office, a phone in each room, and provding the volunteers with transportation.
This is my last week. I can not believe it. I need to find some sort of going away present to give to the kids.... hmmm.... (the afternoon class hinted at wanting cake or icecream and I think I'll have to find a way to arrange that.)
Fortunatly the volunteer who will be replacing me (waa.. but yay for her...) has come already. This is really good because when I told the kids that it was my last week some of them felt like i was abandoning them. I teased them saying that they were going to forget all about me with the new volunteer Vivian from Florida and have so much fun with her:-)
Yesterday, unfortunatly I was a tad bit underthe weather. I got up got dressed, ate breakfest, and then went back to bed until 3pm, at which pointe my host mother came in and was worried because she didn't know i was home. I had some tea, went back to bed until dinner, then went back to bed until 6 this morning. While I am not 100% better, I am mucho mejor!!! The change of diet affects all the volunteers at one point or another, some more frequently than others. Luckily, I have been good thus far. I think a full days rest did me well.
I want to make the most of my last week in Guate Guate!!
At dinner it is funny because here they say buen provecho (kind of like bon appetite) AFTER eating, where as in Puerto Rico everyone always says it before. It still throws me off.

One unfortunate bit of news: one girl in my morning class has had to drop out of the project since I have been here because she is the oldest in her family and her mother is now very sick with hepatitis (I am not sure which form). We all hope that we can find a way to get her back in school and back in the project. It's t0ugh.

Also the post below I wrote last week but the internet was acting strange and didn't let me post it (atleast it saved my draft). Sorry so late.
Hope everyone is well and enjoying the almost technically summer!
Love you!

Can't believe another week has passed!

The forest on our drive home today was absolutly gorgeous. There were pockets of fog and clouds, but still the sun was shining creating a true jungle in the mist effect.

Got to love that.

Yesterday's activity with the afternoon class was a lot of FUN! We did a kind of improve act, props, "wigs" (If you can call what we used wigs) and towel costumes:-) The girls came up in groups of 4 or 5 and played out scenes as la seno Johanna narrarated how they were supposed to act. I played the part of a teacher in one scene, la mama in another and Dona or lady in another. WE laughed to the point of tears, Johanna included! The girls had to cooperate inorder to execute the scenes, and they were role playing home situations- with one of them assigned to be the less cooperative or troublesome one.

I am slightly disappointed because this coming saturday I was planning on visiting a sunogouge with a friend. I have never been to one before and this would be especially interesting because its (congregation?) is comprised of descendents of German Jews who fled during early and mid 20th c. but who now consider themselves "guatemaltechos." However, when Jill, the volunteer who I was planning to go with, contacted them they drilled her about which synogouge she attends in the states as wll as the name of her Rabbi, and contact information so they could do a kind of background check. Not only that but she had to fax in a copy of her passport a couple days in advance of going for proof of identity and residence. whoa. it's easier to leave the country! While infront of many public buildings, banks, schools, grocerystores, atms and all around the city are armed guards... including at the entrance to Camino Seguro (manytimes with intimidating looking good sized machine guns) and all are safety measures... I don't quite pass the background check in this instance.

The morning class was.... difficult today. The students are all such great individuals.

But, atleast to me they seemed especially, as I said, difficult today. There was a big thunder and lightning storm in the afternoon and downpour, and I always feel like the kids are charged in anticipation of the electricity in the air.I am trying to figure out a way to help them take the time to discover their own passions, talents, and seek to make their world a little better. The time i value the most is when I get to talk to the kids individually. When we run errands, go get the snack, or carry back cups to wash them it is nice to just chat with the students about their interests, families, and day.

There are always some really cooperative hardworking students who really want to make something of themselves. One student in particular is especailly hardworking and his english skills are impressive. He goes to "english table" to practice during lunch and is always asking me questions during class.

This morning he spoke to the class because not all the students are respectful to him. I am glad that he was confident enough to address the situation in front of the class and we led in to a discussion about tolerance and respect towards students. Danielo is very friendly, optimistic, and out going. He did not seem to have any bad feelings toward the other students despite the poor treatment, and expressed a desire to get along well with them. I see good things for his future.

All the students are gifted, and have very strong personalities. Individually they have really grown on me... So I have posted pictures of a couple of the students. It is just when they are in a group it can be, as I said, challenging. I want these kids to not have to be afraid that if they invest themselves, their hearts, and their minds that they will be left empty handed. I feel like sometimes the reason they don't dedicate themselves is because they think "whats the point" That is a challenge faced by people of all ages, but the vultures of the Guatemala city dump are so close to the project, you can see them from the second fl0or looming, that it seems like a constant reminder.

Like, Feliciana, one of the girls borrowed my camera and took a couple pictueres of herself and the outside. This is ...her view. I keep trying to get inside these kids heads, because it feels like if I could understand more completly, than maybe I would have something more to offer.

At the same time I recognize that they don't neccesarily understand themselves. I forget whether or not I have mentioned this, but the students perception of themselves at the project is interesting. Like at the project the first internet site that pops up is http://www.safepassage.org/. On that there is a picture of students in school uniforms walking in front of the dump. Today when I was helping a student look up vocabulary words on an online encyclopedia she teased one of her class mates "Ay, Margarita, eres tu cuando estabas pequena" saying that the picture was of her friend when she was small. The sometimes look through the newsletters, sponser sites, or publications pointing out pictures of eachother, cousings, siblings, and friends featured.

But it is hard to believe I only have one week left. I keep reminding myself that I don't have time to think about the things I can't do so I might as well concentrate ALL my energies on doing what I can, when I can. But that can be difficult a veces.

This is some of the girls in my house doing dishes (obviously i was slacking off at this particular moment playing pappratzzi). Kim only has four weeks left, but her boyfriend left yesterday.They met at the project and weh was really upset when Mike had to leave. He had been working at the project too. All this leaving- waaa!

However, many more are coming too. Right now we have a FULL house at my homestay, as four highschool boys from California will be here for two weeks doing volunteer work at the hospital and for the environment. I wish I could have done some sort of service project like that when i was in highschool!

PS sorry for horrible spelling, but I rush (internet costs quetzales here), and spell check doesn't work in english. (thats no excuse for having bad spelling its just a disclosure/ apology)

NATACION!

Yesterday was a "Clinica" day. Michelle the little girl I brought to the clinic the other day for her foot had to go back today. She came in today with no bandage on her foot, no socks and soaking wet shoes with holes in them. They are her only pair other than her uniform shoes for school. Because of the daily rain they don´t dry out.
The nurse cleaned off her foot again, bandaged her up, gave her a pair of socks. After unsuccessfuly looking for a pair of shoes for her I grabbed some plastic bags from the kitchen to put over her feet before putting them into the well worn shoes.
She almost didn´t go to the nurse because she was scared again.
She was smily the whole time though and didn´t complain about her shoes. Actually she was prepared to just put them right back on after she got bandaged up and it was only when I pointed out to the nurse that they were so wet and dirty inside that she got the socks. I approached the volunteer coordinator to get shoes but it is hard because she isn´t the only one. While I especially worry about Michelle in this case because I don´t want her cut to get infected there are many other students who come in with soaking wet shoes and clothes this time of the year.
I took three other girls to la enfermera, the nurse, for coughs, colds, and headaches. It is likely due to the lack of rain gear and protection from the chilly weather, and staying in wet shoes and socks. Once you get wet it takes so long to dry out becuase of the frequency of rain, humidity and moisture in the air when it is not raining.
The older kids are better at staying dry but a couple of them have colds. Yesterday morning in english class Ross brought in a song that the kids could read the lyrics to and sing along with and translate. It went really well. The students got into it, and were activly translating.

This is some of the girls and I at lunch again. Today the teacher was a little late so I brought them in, and they called out ¨La gracia la gracia¨because the teacher always leads ¨grace¨. I didn´t know it in spanish so just free styled.

After lunch is always teeth brushing time.

This morning to continue with our theme of the month In the older class we discussed la tristeza, or sadness. Most of the kids actually came late today so they had to wait outside until we finished la programa de paz actividad. Those students that were on time participated well. They reflected and each contributed to discussion which I really appreciated. I talked a little about some tough times I had while I was in Puerto Rico, and about how having a negative view of the past can lead you to view the future in a negative way... but if you choose to take what you have learned and seek the positive in the past, you automatically have a more positive outlook about the future. It is also important to know that sadness is a part of life and don´t deny it trying to force yourself to be happy when you don´t feel it, but seek to understand it... and more importantly the best way to lift your spirits is to help someone else, to listen to others and get outside your self for a while.

For englsh today we continued translating the song with the older kids and most finished. I am going to pick out a song for next week... anyone got any suggestions. I want to find something that has a catchy tune, but clear pronounciation and useful verbs and nouns.... we'll see:-)

Today for the younger girls they played a game for english class with Jake their english teacher.

They make me laugh because they get so passionate and jump up and down. One girl who was a "finalista" in the game stood on her feet waving her hands in the air and jumping up and down. I couldn't imagine she could be more excited if she had just won a million dollar game show.

But nothing gets the kids more excited than GOING TO THE POOL!

It was crazy getting them lined up for the bus... Here I am trying to get them to not push eachother while we wait to get on. We were nervous it was going to be canceled again becuase of dark clouds and the threat of thunder... but luckily the afternoon storm held off long enough for us to have fun!!

It was impossible to keep them in their seats and organized. All the girls sat in the back and the boys up front. They borrowed my camera for a while too so I got some very candid random pictures:-0

(this photo was actually taken on the way back as you see their hair is always wet)

My friend Catherine came to visit the class today too, she is four seats back on the right hand side... and I have a feeling this is not her last experience with safe passage. She spent the morning in the Guarderia bathing the little kids, and then the afternoon with me and the girls. They were all giving her kisses and hugs before the day was done... even if she does only speak italian and limited spanish:-)

The kids swimming skills have improved so much even though they have only had about five or six classes. Every two minutes I had one calling me over to WATCH ME WATCH ME!! One little girl was soooo cute when she called me over and as I watched she got herself so nervous she just screamed out as if she was jumping, while just standing there:-) Above Catherine cheers on some of the kids... however the lifeguard in her says...WATCH OUT WHERE YOU JUMP!!! They didn't always look before leaping... but everyone survived:-)This is most of the kids lined up for warmups practicing their stroke movements....And kicking all together.But of ourse we couldn´t avoid.. la lluvia- rain rain rain! and more rain! Above is Johanna the teacher I work with, Catherine, and myself beside the pool. We were all SOAKED by the end of the day and we didn´t even jump in the pool. Between the girls cannon balls and jumps into the pool, and the rain even my umbrella didn´t save us.

Fortunatly the rain held off long enough for the lesson.

But we got wet.It is a big sized pool and some of the kids even went down to the deep end today and were showing off how long they can stay under water.

Here is Katy singing in the rainShe was soooo chilly after getting out. All the girls were shivering- but soo happy I don´t think they even noticed... they were too busy begging to stay longer!

It was a wonderful, busy day. Yanitza and Marta agree.

It was so much fun and such a happy time, yet still you can see in the background of this picture the yellow from the guatemala city garbage trucks. The smell from the dump was pretty strong today too from class- and turns my stomach a little bit. Along the drive home we always see el basurero, the dump, many people in the streets, and the kids neighborhood. I am so glad that these girls get to escape and just be kids enjoying time with eachother, learning to swim and all about felicidad!

volcan

I would like to add a disclosure to the beggnning of this blog.
One the internet cafe is closing in 10 minutes so I realize I won't be able to write all that I´d like to. Which is a lot. Two the picture above is a hint about some of the adventuras de la loquita llamada Rena.
Mom, Grandma, Dad, and all those worriers, I am writing this from inside where I am currently safe unscathed.
Read at your own risk.... with that:





So I just had the most amazing weekend. ever. hands down.






I'll go backwards in time to describe it though.



Today I climbed to a place called la alta cruz. It overlooks antigua and is he top.Alta cruz is about a 20 minute climb from where i live. It is gorgeous.... however in the picture you can't see the volcano due to clouds.... thats alright though because it just gives me an excuse to go up again.






This is some more ruins that are on the way. Its so neat how all the ruins are just in the middle of everything in Guatemala. There is a boy skateboarding on a basketball court right beside these ruins with a volcano and lush forest in the background. Its all just so much at once.

Hereyou can ACTUALLY see the volcano. This is a group of volunteers (Mike from Texas, Kharmika from North Carolina, and Alex from Germany) in front of the volcan de agua.

You can see it from anywhere in the city. It helps me navegate a lot of the time.. that is when it is not covered by clouds.

This morning following regular mass the church right near my homestay, San Francisco, had a procession celebrating Corpus Cristi. They laid down beds of flowers and petals to lead to the different stops along the way. At each sight prayes were recited and songs sung.While the official celebration according to the calander has already passed amd many places have already celebrated with processions in the past weeks, the churches each took a turn hosting a procession. There was music, a bunch of schools and people, priests and lots of firecracker/fireworks/bombs going off. Loud. Many times. The procession went to the different schools, and even a half hour after it was done you could still smell incense lingering in the streets. Almost all the houses have had yellow ribbons, cloths or bands decorating them, including my home stay. Other safe passage volunteers told me that all this celebration, music, procession and decoration was nothing in comparison to la semana santa or holy week.

The natural beauty of Guatemala is

overwhelming.
As you can see from this breathtaking view which was taken during a volcano hike.

I climbed one of Guatemala's active volcanoes Pacaya this past weekend. We left getting ready at 5 to depart at six. We got to the travel company at 6 am and asked when the bus was coming, as we had made reservations the night before. They told us it would be coming soon. We waited.

and waited.

and waited.

When it got to be about 7 and we began to realize that this was more than just the usual ¨Guatemala time¨tardiness. Finally they said that there MIGHT have been some confusion. hmmm.

So after a couple phonecalls and discussion it turned out that the bus had already left. They said we could go on the afternoon trip instead. Originally a group of four of us was planning to go. However, after all the drama of the morning two opted out so it was just me and a german volunteer Alex. That afternoon we headed up the mountain with long pants, flashlights, sun block, raingear, snacks and water, and of course our cameras.

On the advertisements for the travel company they advertised an armed guard would accompany our group as robberies and holdups have happened not infrequently on the mountain. However, when a climber asked where our guide was we were informed that it was just the police guards stationed throughout the park and along the path. A stray dog accompanied us along the journey and we joked that he was our guard dog.


Each tour group had a different name, jaguar, panthar, our group was the tigers.

The hike up was beautiful. The soil at the bottom is so rich and dark, and the plant life grows so fast. We had great weather on the way up luckily. We met other tourists making the climb along the way, from the states, holland, Hong Kong, Japan, and an Australian who actually knew one of my friends through distant connections funny enough. While traveling you always learn what a small world it is.

As we were climbing it was fun to think about all that was going on in the earth benieth us, and the different levels leading up to the top. I got to witness some acts of nature that I studied in eighth grade science.

Below is a picture of the power plant on the hill side. If you look there are lots of blue pipes leading up to that site. It relies on a process of steam, and geothermic energy but is powerful enough to provide energy to about 4million people, or all of Guatemala city.




While i anticipated that the end of the plant life would be gradual, as you can see it is sudden. Here I am standing at the edge of the point of no return. The grassy plateau just drops to black moulton rock. While the volcano is covered in clouds (hey, I knew I would be coming during the rainy season) it is right behind me.

You can see our guide groupstepping off the lush land, and into some dangerous territory. Now anyone who does not want to continue reading from here does not have to. Below is our group trekking onto the unpredictable side of the mountain.





It was so strange navegating the uneaven rocks, some were loose but this type of rock i have never seen before, some are sooo hard, while others crumble if you breath on them the wrong way. The wierdest sensation was just how warm it was. They warned us that our shoes could melt. You could feel the heat rising out of the crevices. Here Is a picture of the glowing beneith us.

It began to rain just as we hit the summit, here´s me with my umbrella on top of the black rocks,









However, it was so strange as I dried off as soon as the rain hit me because of the heat rising from below the surface. At some points I used my umbrella to sheild myself from the heat radiating from out of the earth and let the rain cool me.

So we just followed the guide, and I stuck with my fellow tigers. I figured as long as I stepped where the person in front of me stepped I should be resonably safe.

I walked over one area that was particularly hot and was headed toward another group that was ahead of us looking at a river of lava flowing down the side of the volcano. Then all the sudden we heared some shouting from above. All the guides were saying ¨Sube rapido Jaguars¨¨cougers aqui!¨¨Gather quickly tigers¨ ¨Climb quick.¨¨come¨I looked up at the path where I had just climbed and a new stream of lava was emerging from the surface.

Where that lava is coming out of I had steped on moments earlier. My heart was racing. Especially as the exit from the mountain was on the other side of that emerging lava. The australian who I had met that day has climbed volcanoes before, lived in Morrocco been traveling central and south america, been on many adventures including diving with sharks earlier that week without a cage (and sighted a bull shark) earlier in the week, but he said that this topped all of that.
yeah.



While the lava moved slowly, it was still difficult navegating the rocks to get back, and it moved steadily. At an increasing pace it flowed out both sides. By the time I reached the other side it had spread to about 15 or 20 feet.



I took the earlier photo from where the guy in the white t'shirt is, and it was just that little bubble of lava that had pushed a rock out to emerge.. It continued spreading. And it was flowing down both sides. I was terrified that the people on the other side wouldn´t make it around it in time and it would cut them off from the exit path. Fortunatly everyone made it out okay, including me and my German friend. You can see Alex´s hair standing on end. (Actually most peoples hair was standing up not from fear, but static. The earth is so charged there.).
Actually it turned out to be a double feature that day, as the rain turned into a thunderstorm. We started back down the mountain path. It was pouring and getting late. The path we had climbed turned to a river of mud, which presented another danger of slipping and sliding, but our group finally made it down safely. We were lucky though because it had been so sunny, beautiful and clear going up that we had gotten to witness the beautiful views.
On our (very wet) ride home it was downpouring still. As we were driving we saw police cars and hazard light notices. There were a bunch of orange cones and caution markers. While it was supposed to be a double lane road everyone had to move to the right hand side, as there had been a huge landslide on to the road. Talk about a full day.

Here is another picture of me in front of the lava. After a long, rainy, and challenging week it felt like this trip charged my batteries right up.


So to end on a different note entirely....
and much cooler... I had to share this Heladeria, or Ice Cream store





As a former cold stone employee and aficionada I couldn´t help but notice the striking similarities between them and this company. I hope that I won´t be charged with some sort of copyright infringement by posting these pictures but all I can say is WHAT?? Like the red and white theme they had going on in the store, and logos are not even pretending to be different.

Man.

I am excited to see the kids again, and hope that we can make some real progress this week. They are probably more unpredictable than the volcanoe, some times the sweetest hardworking dears, and other times.... impossible. I´m still learning with them:)