Home Sweet Home?

I'm back in the states where the water is warmer, the money smaller, and the toilets able to handle toilet paper.

Should Have Read the Guidebook

Just found this in a guidebook I clearly didn't look at very closely...It's about Hotel Backpacker, the place where we worked prior to going to Casa...

"Well-it's the cheapest place in town, which means its very popular with the backpackers who seem able to endure the impovershed foam beds in a large dormitory room with no privacy and brisk cold showers. The riverfront location is ideal, though, and the property even boasts a lakeside restaurant, a bar, and internet service. The staff isn't happy or helpful.

While staying at Hotel Backpackers, you may hear about Casa Guatemala Orphanage, which the hotel supports. There are rumors about whether the money actually makes it to the children, many of whom appear to be working here. The director has also started a rather controversial program where peoplee pay to volunteer at Casa Guatemala. There have been reports of volunteers being treated badly."

Guate, Guate!

While I personally use this word to refer to things that don't suck, it is also what is called out the doors of chicken buses on their way to Guatemala City, which is where I am. In Guatemala City. Not a chicken bus. Although that would be pretty cool too.

I didn't take a chicken bus here, I took a pullman bus. Is that what they're called in the states? I don't even know.

I am losing my english again, but only when talking about a few things, such as how long I have been here, why I am here, when I am leaving, and, for today only, why I am going to Guatemala City for less than a day. Pues, lo explico en espanol malo.

Llevo casi dos meses aqui. Estaba en Rio Dulce por tres semanas. Iba a ser voluntario en una casa de orfanos, pero me fui. No puedo explicar. Es complicado. Despues, pase una semana en Antigua, y dos semanas en Xela. Si, me gusta mucho.

Voy a Guate porque tengo que recoger (I'm not sure that's the right word...) una amiga que viene, y despues regresamos a Xela.

Now that I've gotten that out of my system...

For those of you who don't speak spanish, or who can't understand incorrect spanish, I am here in Guate to collect my girlfriend. Right now she has probably just stepped off the plane in Chicago, and will be here in just a few hours. It's unreal and amazing...

Today has been a fog bubble imaginary day. I've been floating around cooking oatmeal and fried rice, dropping off my laundry, and trying to set up a loom to weave on. I went to a panadaria today and only wanted some bread and instead got the life story of a woman whose boyfriend won't show her his house. I've relied on school children to help me cross the street. I feel a little like a puppy. It's kind of nice...

Revisiting Casa, at least a little.

During weaving today I met a girl from Holland who worked at Casa for three months. It was fun to revisit the place, although not so fun to visit there...Along those lines, here are some pictures from Casa...Most of them I took my last day there because I pretty much knew it would be my last day there...



Here's the inside of the classroom. It was hard teaching in a sideways classroom, but we did what we had to do. You may recognize the other teacher here. She was in the picture of us at the lake. She escaped shortly after I did.



Here's a shot of snack time. One day Marisol put her snack in her ear and told us that her mom put it there that morning. That was not really true.



Here are little people playing.

Here's Marisol, the precious little one who pooped her pants...

Here are my students, glowing like good students should



Leslie, Carla and Erica. Carla and Erica are sisters. You can tell because they have exactly the same face.

Mas Fotos!

I've become a foto posting freak! Hooray! I just went through and added pictures to a punch of different postings. If I added pictures I added (pics) next to the title, so if you're interested in seeing them, check it out.

Here are a few more for your viewing pleasure. Soon I will stop acting like a photo album and start acting like a blog again....




These little girls took over our cameras and hung out with us for hours. This is an awesome shot, obviously taken by the girl herself.






This is me playing with the special effects on the camera...






And here's a view from the pier at Casa. It wasn't all bad!!

Where we are now...

Here are some pictures of Xela. First, we deal with one of the best parts of this town: the food.



Here is the place where they make papusas. The local English language magazine here says of Papusas, "If you haven't ever had a papusa, take a moment to reevaluate your life." I completely agree. They are yummy, cheap, and haven't made any of us sick. Yet. Right now I am on a mission to get more foreigners to eat street food, as there is a rather irrational fear of it running around. Which means that if you are planning on visiting me in Guatemala, which I know you all want to, you will be highly encouraged to try a papusa.



Here are my lovely travel companions posing next to one of the many stands offering a variety of dulces. Most dulces consist of some sort of fruit and sugar. Yum.




Here is the view from our porch at night. Of course, a procession is going by. Also, I think the pictures might be upside down. Give me time people, give me time.



And here we are in the daytime. We're just on the second floor, so as you can see most of the regular buildings are just one story high. The churches and other important buildings are bigger of course...

That's a start. But I've got all day...Alllllllll day.

(I've actually gone back and added pictures to a couple other posts...Right now the coffee post has some new stuff, as does the Guate Part post...More to come...)

Pictures for sure!!

Here we are hiking from Santa Cruz to San Marcos.



And here I am chilling in a hammock in Santa Cruz.



Here's Becky and I at the foot of Pacaya, the active volcano in Antigua.

All these pictures of from Becky. Thanks Becky!!!

It's Semana Santa, Easter Sunday in fact, which means that there are processions all day every day (this town is addicted to processions!!), and that there is nothing else to do. Yesterday we spent five hours watching a Heroes marathon, playing Scrabble, and making friendship bracelets. Today our favorite internet place is open again, so expect more pictures soon!!