Hike to Tajulmoco and Misc.

Thanks Nolan for posting the correct link! OK, lets preface that my pics are no where near as professional, clear, or beautiful. I don't know how people got those. I'm totally jealous! LOL!

Emily, a classmate, slept over the eve of our hike as she is really into hiking and teaches outdoor ed. in Cali. She taught me how to use my hiking pack properly, what each buckle is used for, and how to proper pack it and position it on my body. It took us an hour and a half to pack for our trip! We got screwed when we picked up our gear last Friday because they told us to stand in front of a pile, but we were getting warmer clothes to borrow so everyone rushed to the lighter piles. We got stuck carrying tents in our packs a long with our snacks, sleeping bags, etc. The bag weighted about 50 to 60 lbs! I had to carry for two freaking days! I had bruises on my waist and my collar bones were tender for a few days. We hardly any sleep...we would hear the grandma yelling periodically...she is gone as of yesterday. Whew! We were beat when the cabbie picked us up at 4 a.m. I told the cabbie how to get to my other two friend's houses...in Spanish! What an acomplishment! Baby steps! Outside of school everyone talks so fast and I get dejected sometimes because I have no freaking clue what they are talking about. My teacher for the past two weeks tried to talk faster with me because that's how people really talk. Incredible! It's hard! I would just zone out sometimes or with my family when they talk I zone out and then they catch me because they ask me a question whoops! OK, back to the hike. When we got to Quetzaltrekkers, QT, people were still packing for their trip and not ready. We had to wait for people to get their shit together. It was annoying! The pick up showed up to take us from QT to Minerva to get a chicken bus, it was the tinest pick up ever it couldn't hold haft of the peeople we had...21 in total. We squeezed 6 people in the bed with 8 hiking packs. Lucky me! I was one of the sardines in the back of the truck. It was so bumpy too! We arrived at Minerva and waited for the rest of the people...an hour later for all to show up. Emily and I saw a man in a black ski mask with a machete walking around the market. The police came by a bit later. I couldn't sleep on the first chicken bus ride, but after we ate breakfast at San Marcos, I had a fully belly and slept on the second until we arrived at the base of Tajulmoco. As soon as we started hiking this hippy dude took off his shoes and started hiking barefoot. VILE! I thoguht he's going to get worms or something. I knew right then and there I was NOT sleeping with him and his girlfriend in a tent. He finally put his shoes back on when it started to rain and he couldn't get traction. I was in the middle or back of the group pacing myself the entire time as I didn't want my legs to start shaking or get ill from the altitude. However, I prepped myself as I've been working out like a mother! I fortunately didn't have any problems with my health. Some people were greatly affected and a few suffered from diarrhea the entire trip! ICK! I passed indigenous people tending to their land and children playing and watching us pass by. The hike was incredibly beautiful with rolling hills, pastures, flowers. We'd stop along the way for a quick break or snack. I used my handsanitizer like crazy as we were sharing food...not water, thank god! When we stopped to have lunch there were two cows nearby. I wasn't paying any attention and before I knew it one cow was right up on my and mooing aggressively. I shrieked! It wanted the bread in my back pack so I threw the loafs to the group and everyone was laughing. I was so scared...I closed up my back as I was afraid that it would get my snacks! It slobbered all over my leg and my water bottle. It was so think and gouppie! I don't know if that's a word or not...my english is getting a bit worse as I focus so much on my spanish. Finally, a guy came over and shewed it away. I disinfected my water bottle with handsanitizer. That was the talk of the day! My friend was about to snap a pic of the cow trying to get the bread out of my hand and my screaming but the guy scared him off...I do have some pics of the cows when the were more tranquil. LOL! I didn't offer to set up the tents in the rain as I was pooped and felt like since I carried it then others can set it up. Emily was all over the the place...she's a pro! She should've been leading the trek. She was a lot more helpful than the guides sometimes. The guides forgot to bring 4-6 men tents so we had to squeeze 8 people in our tent. There was a man who slept in our tent that snored like a bear. The wife warned me of it and their friends refused to sleep with them. There was this dutch guy who was violently ill from altitude sickness. I knew I wasn't going to sleep with him because he couldn't hold stuff down. So I could choose the snorer, hippy dude, or the dutch guy. I chose the snorer and figured I was beat and could fall asleep. Plus, I wanted to sleep in the same tent with my 3 girlfriends. I couldn't sleep worth a damn because his wife was laying next to me and constantly kicking him to stop snoring and he was sooooo loud. I finally told the guide, she was in our tent, I wanted to change tents because I couldn't sleep. She said that was impossible. Emily woke up and said she had ear plugs. She was my saving grace! I slept soundly...everyone else expect Emily had probs sleeping. I have no idea how she slept through it. I'm not down with sleeping outside, but I love hiking so I dealt with it. It was my first time and maybe my last time camping outside. It rained all night, but stopped at 5 a.m. when we got up to walk to the top of the volcanoe to watch the sun rise. I was well rested and was able to lead the pack! It was crazy hiking in the night, trying to balance, and shine my flash light. The people I was with had head lamps. Some of the people have hiked all around the world! They were psyched to see I was doing such a tough hike and sleeping outside for my first time. I've only done tiny hikes before that...I found out that the hippy guy was puking in the tent the entire night. ICK! I'm so glad I wasn't in that tent. I would've slept outside in the rain and underneath a tarp before I had to sleep and smell puke. We got to the top of the volcanoe you could see nearly 10 different volcanoes! It was truly incredible. I took about 80 pics from the entire hike. I took a picture of a volcanoe errupting from afar. You could see the smoke plume. I took pics of the volcanoes surrounding Lago de Atitlan...Nolan I can't wait to hike and enjoy the beautiful with you. Also, when we go to Antigua we're going to hike up a baby volcanoe where you can see a volcanoe errupting and lava below from another volcanoe. Crazy! I survived! It was incredible experience...aside from the the hick ups I had I would do it over again, but bring my own ear plugs! I truly love hiking and would've kicked myself had I not done it. At times I was so scared that I would sleep down the side when we walked up the peak in the a.m. We watched the sun rise and ate cookies atop the volcanoe. It was so incredibly beautiful. My pics wont' do it justice as it is so cloudy. We're walking in clouds the entire time. I tried to snap picks when the clouds burned off.


I forgot to bring the card for the link to the organization the lecturer founded. I have 2 more lectures with him. I promise I'll post it soon. I haven't written much about the lectures...I'm sorry. It's really incredible! I'm going to listen to a prisoner of war next week, he survived the Civil War. The the following week I'm going to listen to a man's experience in detail about crossing the border or attempting to cross the US and Mexico frontera with 15 other people and being imprisioned. I've talked too a 2 people about experiences, but not in detail...I don't want to probe. So I have 4 more lectures over the next two weeks! I'm looking foward to it.

I finally got off my ass and visited the med clinic that I wanted to volunteer for. I'm glad I haven't though because it's been rough lately with my grammar studies so I've been focusing on that and really talking to my family a lot. I'm so lucky they enjoy talking to me and allow me to watch soap operas with them. LOL! I've posted a link about the clinic...they said they never had a pharmacy student volunteer for them but would love it. They said their tiny pharmacy is in disarray...they have med students and nursing students usually. However, I really would like to do the public health talks. They go out to 11 different schools and give presentations about sex ed, nutrition, sanitary conditions, domestic violence, etc. I still want to get a masters in public health so that is up my alley. If I return then I definitely will volunteer for them. It's an incredible organization and the work they do is unbelievable with the budget they have...it's all donations. I can give more info if you have questions when I return.
http://www.primerospasos.psiguatemala.org/English/whoweare1.htm I wouldn't mind doing some fundraising for them before I return next summer and seeing if pharmacies or drug companies would donate meds or a fundraiser at Midwestern. Of course, that's if my future hubby is OK with this! LOL! However, I can have a fundraiser though!

I'm going out to celebrate my birthday tonight with some friends from school as tonight is their last day. My school cancelled the weekly dinner as no body was going as we're going to get indian food and to a concert afterwards. I'm psyched to go listen to latin music. I love it so much! My teacher is going to make me a CD before I leave. Tomorrow, for my bday Nilda and I were going to go to a movie, but Josefina told me that Nilda has to help her around the house with some things. Nilda and I are going to go to the movies sometime next week. I'm looking forward to watching a movie in Spanish. I told Josefina that it was no problem, I have no problem working out, studying, relaxing, and I need to find a dress to wear to a wedding. I'm excited to see how the weddings are here...I'm kind nervous and don't want to be a wedding crasher though. However, Josefina said that she invited the entire family and they know she hosts students. I'm really honored. My family is going to the wedding of Norma's best friend on 8/12 so I can't wear what I brought with me. LOL! I'll look like a total bum! I'm going to go to the mall tomorrow and try to find something. I'm glad I have my salsa shoes! I'm going to the montly Xela market on Sunday...it's my last one so I want to buy a few things. I'm going to go shopping with Josefina next Friday for a guipel, the tradional top she wears. Yesterday, I went shopping with Nilda to buy Norma a bday present. I bought her a red polo shirt, chocolate, and I have a lipsmackers lip gloss kit I was saving to give as a gift to someone that I brought from home. I found out that they all love that stuff so I'm going to give it to here. Nilda bought her a pair of black jeans! I learned how to sing happy birthday in Spanish...they sing two songs!

The highlight of my week was when I spoke to the director of the school and she complimented me on how good my spanish is right now. I still have SO MUCH to learn and improve on my fluidity...I pause a lot. I was on cloud 9. I'm just happy I can finally hold a decent convo. The grammar is so tough sometimes! I've really learned so much...it's incredible how much really. I have nearly 2 notebooks full of stuff. She said she's glad to see that I'm still hear at times she wondered if I'd make it because I'd come in crying because I was sick or in pain and I was pretty quite in the beginning. However, once I was able to hold a decent convo. I wasn't quite anymore. People learned quickly that I like to talk.

I'll type more next week! I still want to answer peoples questions that were posted! I love you and miss you all!

I'm looking forward to hearing fireworks outside our house tomorrow a.m. at 5 a.m.! LOL!

Info on Kristy's Hike

Kristy - Sorry I'm posting on your Blog.

The link you posted did not work so I'm posting the correct link and some photos I have found on the internet. They look amazing....I cant imagine the difficulty of this hike. Especially as I and the lazy pooch are lying on the couch watching the Yankees get their butts kicked. Can't wait to talk to you later tonight. I Love You!

http://www.quetzaltrekkers.com/guattajumulco.html

Hola! I'm alive and well!

Where do I begin? I can't believe the time is flying and I only have 4.5 weeks left of studying. I can't wait to be done though as I'm psyched about traveling with Nolan for nearly 3 weeks. I'm working out a plan of how to cover as much ground as possible and renew my visa in the capital. Spanish is going well, I'm not going to get as far as I wanted, but at least what I'm learing I hope I'll learn it well. I have a new teacher this week, Carlos, I asked the director if I could have him because he's really into pushing you to talk the entire time. My other teachers gave me a lot of book work so it's great that I'm thinking on my feet constantly. I'm at an intermediate level right now. People told me that to truly be proficient you need about 6 mo. in a foreign country so I'm probably going to return next summer to finish up. That depends on if my future hubby doesn't kill me! It sucks I can't do it for 6 moths straight through, but I intend to work on it when I'm at home. Luckily, one of my friends from pharm school speaks spanish. My writing, pronunciation, reading, and comprehension abilities far surpass my speaking abilities. It's sad! However, I want to continue taking spanish classes when I get home too. I can't remember what other activities I've done...I don't have my journal with and I haven't written in it for about 4 days as I've been so limited in time. It sucks because I don't want to forget anything.

Let see...I've been to a ton of lectures some on the legal and illegal immigration of Latin Americans, the peace accords, the order for arrest for parties responsible for the civil war and genocide here. I'm going to about 5 or so more lectures! I've seen the lawyer talk about 5 times so far. He's incredible! He said he's looking for volunteers for his organization and I feel since my spanish is better I could really help, but I can't really do that much during the remainder of my time here. He gave me his business card and said that if I come back next summer than to contact him. I'll post a link to his website next time, I forgot his business card at home if anyone is interested. He actually lived in Mexico for about 10 years during the civil war here.

I stopped my dance classes as my dance teacher, who was incredible, was very unreliable. He has a drinking problem so I just can't expect to have class and wait around for him to show and maybe he does and doesn't. I can be doing a lot of other things. I've been doing aerobics classes in the meantime. It's really intense. I bought a month membership since that's how much time I have left until Nolan arrives. The classes are incredibly intense, the instructors incorporate step aerobics, kick boxing, these bar things, weights, etc. It's wild though everytime I walk into the gym the guys stop lifting and stare at me. We get cat calls and whistles the entire time we're doing aerobics. Ick! LOL! We completely ignore it of course! I've been going with some girls from school.

I went to Chi Chi on Sunday with some friends it was a lot of fun. I bought a blouse, skirt, and a wooden carving to put on our wall. The skirt and blouse aren't indigenous, but we're hand made and I can't wait to wear them! However, it's too cold here. It was fun haggling for the best price. We also at lunch. On the 2.5 hour bus ride back I sat next to this guy and he and I talked the entire time. I just love how friendly people are here. He and I talked about our respective families and significant others.

I went walking around the city last Saturday with some friends from school. It was nice to walk around so I could really judge the distance of where everything is and to really get a handle on where stuff is when Nolan gets here. I prefer walking than taking the microbuses. Everytime I take them there are like 25 people crammed into a minivan. Last weekend, there were 3 people hanging outside by the sliding door. I was so scared for them! I had my ass in my friends face and hunched over. I kept elbowing this old lady in the head. Public transportation is wild here! Nolan, get ready!!!!

This Saturday, I'm going on a 2 day trek to the highest point in Central America with Quetzaltrekkers.http://http://www.quetzaltrekkers.com/guattajumulco.html I put the deposit down today and I'm going with 2 friends from school! I'm worried that I'm going to be freezing and it's going to rain the whole time. They have sweaters that we can borrow. I have to hike with my large pack as I have to carry food, tent, clothes, 4 L of water, etc. We have a meeting on friday to brief us and to get the equipment we need to shove in our packs. It can get down to 20 degrees at the top of the volcanoe. We leave at 5 a.m. on Saturday a.m. and take a bus for about 3 hours to another town have breakfast and then start hiking. We do nearly the entire hike in one day, but on Sunday we finish it and watch the sunrise at the top. I'm excited yet scared about being too cold and using the bathroom outside. However, I will hate myself if I don't do it. I'm also excited that I'm going with people I know too.

I walked around the city with another friend who goes to a different school and we hiked up to an incredible view of the city. Any trip can't go smoothly, right? We walked by a house where people were showering in their front yard with garden hoses! Why must I see naked people all the time? LOL! We saw some really cool lizards too, they were 1/2 turquoise and 1/2 flourescent green. I tried to get a pic of them, but the moved so fast.

I'm healthy, finally. I had a 2 or 3 day relapse, but took more amoxicillin. I new the duration the doctor recommended wasn't sufficient, but I followed his orders anyway. Oh! Got to the bottom of the prices of the drugs. The doctor owns one of the most expensive pharmacies in town so that's why it was so costly. The pharmacy I always go here is where Josefina goes and it's for the poor. I love the ladies there! I want to ask them if I can volunteer there some time.

The great grandma is staying with us. She yells through out the night so I haven't been getting much sleep. She only speaks Kiche and she's an alcoholic! It's been interesting.

Anyone have any ideas of a great gift idea for Norma, Jeremy's mom, we have the same birthday and it's in less than 2 weeks on Saturday the 29th! Norma still has to work! I think she'll have that Sunday off. It's going to be so bizarre celebrating my birthday without my friends and family...kinda sad...I'm looking forward to hearing fireworks outside our door early on Saturday a.m. LOL! Josefina said she's going to cook a gigantic cake! Geez, I really can't take anymore sweets...we've been having cake every week Josefina says it's unusual...I'm not sure why we continue...

Yesterday, I walked with two friends to a Mennonite bakery and invited Nilda, another daughter of Josefina, as she has 3 weeks of vacation. She's so sweet and always corrects me when I say something wrong. She may go to an aerobics class with me too. The bakery makes yogurt and I had peach! They are only open Tues. and Fri. and it's best to go there in the a.m., but I have class. I hope I can get back on Friday to buy some more yogurt. I want to buy some more yogurt, but it sells out fast! It was the best I've ever had and so fresh! I also I had the best hummus at this restaurant in town. Thank god I'm exercising here the food is too damn good to pass up!

I'm trying to work out the details for Nolan's arrival. I know a married couple that are missionaries that make monthly trips to Guate so I may bum a ride with them. However, if not, I'm going to stop my classes two days early and take a bus up on Thursday a.m. and meet him at the airport. I wish I would've been able to experience my first time here and bus rides with someone I knew. Plus, I want to see him ASAP! Everyone here is so excited to meet him! Everyone has seen pics of both him and Bernie and know a lot about them!

I can't think of anything else...this is an overview...I can't be too specific as too much time has past...

I love you and miss you!

Power Outage

I spoke with Kristy yesterday. She said she had typed a long entry for the blog and then the power went out at the internet cafe. So it might be a while until she posts an update. Today she was going to be getting on a chicken bus with some classmates at 7AM for a 3hr trip to Chi-Chi a very popular market.

She was feeling better but is once again having problems with her throat :(

Nolan

Side notes

I forgot to tell you guys about the ferral cats. About 2 to 3 nights per week I'm awoken by cats crying or fighting on the roof of the house! I'm not sure how they get up there and not get cut as the roofs here are covered in shards of glass to protect from the entrances of burglars. Especially since a lot of houses have an open patio in the center. I'm so scared to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night as I'm afraid a rabid cat is going to jump down and bite my jugular! Sometimes we hear them scurrying around during breakfast. I never see the cats during the day only the feral dogs...I always hear the cats though.

My bedroom has holes so they filled them with various types of bags to prevent then entrance of water when it rains. However, the holes don't impede the entrance of pollution. Everytime a car goes by the emission goes right into my bedroom. God, it's incredibly suffocating! The vehicles here emit so much pollution.

Josefina is going to her nephews in November and too bad I won't be here because she said I could've gone too. Damn! I would've worn my traditional clothes too! Her daughters normally wear them, but since their work forbades women to wear traditonal clothes they always wear their uniforms for work at home. I've seen pics of them with the attire on and always wondered why they don't have it on.

Norma's best friend is getting married in August. She isn't indigenous, but Josefina said that if Nolan and I want to go then we can attend the wedding. I'd feel like a wedding crasher! Nolan, it's up to you! It's on Aug. 19 or 20 what ever is the first Saturday you arrive. We may be at the finca so we'll see. I think that's nice they will let us go to the wedding though. I hope it's OK with Norma, Josefina said it was. I guess she's going too.

That's it, my hands are cramping from typing for 2 hours!

San Francisco cont.

OK, my laundry isn't ready yet so I told their girl that I'll be back in an hour and a half. I just don't want her to close up before I return. I need my laundry I barely have anything it's been about 1.5 weeks since I had my laundry done. I love not having to do my laundry!

I can't even tell you how many hundreds of types of fruits and veggies there are. Even some of them my teacher didn't know what they were so he'd ask about them. I was bad because I know a major rule of travel is not to eat fruit without disinfecting it. I had two types of fruit yesterday. One is my teachers favorite, I forgot then name of it. It had a similar flavor to an avocado, it was light green, and had a tough skin like avacado but no pit. Then we had these tiny fruits that he wasn't sure what they were. They were sweet and sour. They were awesome. He had a sweet potatoe. That's a common breakfast here. Josefina made it for me. She said a lot of students don't like sweet potatoes. I explained how it's popular during Thanksgiving and Xmas and we make pies. Who knows I may get some weird parasite from the fruit. I guess I'm not as careful as I should be. However, damn it, I want to experience as much as I can here! I'm not going to eat the food from the street vendors though. I do have a line, but I freaking love fruit! The names were impossible to remember and I didn't really take down many notes. I brought a large index card and a pen. I was just too amazed at watching the hustle and bustle of the market. We would watch transactions too. It was just great! There were maybe 20 gringos there during our 4 hours. It's very traditional and not many people visit it unless it's with the school. The textiles are much cheaper here too. However, they jack up the price for the gringos. I'm going to ChiChi next weekend. Damn, I just remembered so that means I can't go hiking...hmmm..decisions.

We were approaching a section with animals. My teacher asked me if I would like to go. I thought it was going to be livestock, but that was definitely not the case much to my surprise. I've never seen so many dead animals before. Every internal and external part is laying out on tables or hanging from strings above from a piece of wood for sale. I saw heads of cows, the brain was cleaned out and their faces were distorted as if it was screaming in pain before it died. There were heads of cows, sheep, pigs, some with the skin stripped to reveal the muscle and tissue below. There were chickens, turkeys some dead in various piles and some alive. Some babies shoved in canisters for sale. It was wild! I kept thinking, "oh god, i'm going to get bird flu!"

There was a large bowl with this black, thick goo. My teacher said it was big intestines with blood. My teacher said they eat it and it's really good but he tries not to think that he's eating pig blood and entrails when he eats it. He just tries to enjoy the tast. I was so creeped out at the thought! Next to the bowl were a bunch of pig kidneys! I was really creeped out at the large cow legs laying across tables or hanging around. Josefina has talked of how she makes a soup with it, but only she and her hubby eat it. Yuck! The abundance dead animals was quite overwhelming and I walked through it anyway. However, I didn't look all around as I was afraid of all that I would see. I think my teacher could tell I was a bit uncomfortable, but I wanted to see every part of the market. I'm freaking crazy! I know Jenny must be nearly passed out on the floor right now.

We walked through an area with livestock containing ducks, chickens, kittens, dogs, sheep, pigs, horses, you name it and it's sold there. There was this adorable indigenous girl standing amidst the chaos of the market with a precious boxer puppy. She had a rope tied around it's neck. Louis Fernando ask her, "how much for the puppy?" I was shocked, i thought it was her pet. A women was doing a transaction and a one of her puppies for sale hopped onto her lap and she whacked it and it soared in the air for about 1 foot. It let out a loud yelp. I wish I could've taken all the puppies and kitties home with me. It was crushing me to see how the animals are treated here. They really aren't a domestic pet...I'm not sure why people want them here. It really pained me to see all the animal stuff. I'm unsure why I did it. However, I figured that I want to experience everything I possibly can here. I've tried a lot of things I wouldn't normally try in the states here. I know some of them aren't the most pleasant, but I figured why not!

It's customary for the teacher and student to drink a warm drink made with milk, rice, sugar, and if you want chocolate they will put it in there. I forgot the name of it. Josefina warned me about it because the vendors often don't clean the cups and reuse it for the next customer. Luis Fernando bought one and asked me if I wanted one. I wanted to inspect to see if they were cleaning the glasses. They were, but I was questioning how clean that water is. I just decided that I wouldn't try it. However, I saw someone else ask for the drink and request a disposable cup. Whew! I know I shouldn't get the drink because I could get sick, but I said screw it because it sounded yummy and I want it! Josefina and others have spoke about it and I thought it sounded interesting and yummy. I bought one in a styrofoam cup. It was so good, sweet, and rich! I can make for anyone when you get home. Josefina said she wants to make that drink this weekend. I hope she does as I really want to have it again. There's also a warm drink made with corn which I want to try too. We shared some bread too. It's a stable with every snack or meal it seems here. The bread is so sweet I love it and I feel like I'm always eating a dessert.

I bought two beautiful aprons. They are traditional and they indigenous women wear them as part of their daily attire. Tehy are hand made, colorful, and gorgeous. I can't wait to use them! Josefina said she makes hers by hand, I always admired them. She has an antique sewing machine. She was greasing it the other day while I played with Jermey to distract him from hanging on it. Jenny, Aunt Gail, and Liz's mouths would drop if they saw it. It's metal, very old school. It must be 40 plus years old.

I'm really obsessed with the textiles here. I can't wait to buy more when Nolan gets here and we visit the markets together. I want to buy the traditional shirt and skirt. Josefina said she can't wait to see me in it. As my skin is so fair she said I'll look so pretty. LOL! We're going to go shopping for the clothes before I leave. The skirts can be pretty expensive raning from 30 to 300 dollares. I don't need a super fancy one. I'd rather have a fancier shirt. I don't know why I want this stuff, but I do! I'll never wear it.

I think that's my experience in a nutshell...Nolan, do you want to go? We can go to Chichi and/ or Panajachel instead.

San Francisco and dance

Yesterday, I went to San Francisco the largest market in Guatemala. It spans forever! You name it and it's sold there or if someone owns something you name a price and they will sell it to you! I write about my experience in my journal for about 1 hour last night so I've gotta make it concise for you. I'm glad I brought my journal because I just can't possibly write about everything I experience daily here.

The weather has been so beautiful and I've been feeling great. The Amoxicillin did its job. I plan on going on the two day hike next week. I'm scared about using the bathroom outside that and sleeping in a tent, but I must must hike up another volcanoe before I leave. I'm going to try to convince somone here to hike up the active one before I leave too. It spurts about every 20 minutes. I don't know how close we get to it...however, the hike is at 11 p.m. at night and you hike up it all night and watch the sunrise on the top and eat breakfast. Beautiful, huh? I've gotta do it!!!!

OK, I had an awesome time with my teacher at the market. I know how to get there so Nolan if you're up for experience a really traditional market not infiltrated with gringos than we can go. It's every Friday! We left school very early and go there in about 45 minutes. The bus ride is incredible and we passed the waterfall again. It's in the same direction, but before the mountain I visited in June, Momo. The chicken bus was packed and I was the only gringo on the bus. An adorable indigenous girl got on at a bus stop, it's really just the side of the road, there aren't any designated bus stops. She was carrying something wrapped up in a blanket. A few minutes later a head of a turkey popped out from under neather her arm! It kept trying to squirm it's way out of her grip but her hands weren't going to let it go! I ddin't see a chicken on the bus yet, but there were turkeys yesterday! When we got to the market she exited with her mom and two turkeys flew out of her moms purse. They wrestled them to the ground to stuff them back into the bag. Crazy!

Louis Fernando, my teacher, said that there aren't that many people here, but in about 1 more hour it would be packed. I thought, geez, it's packed now. We tried walking through some areas I thought I was in a mosh pit at a rock concert or a ping pong ball. People are pushing you around to pass you and get to their destination. It was scarying when we were walking up hills or stairs. I'm not sure what the hurry is, but everyone wants to get by and get by quickly. There are these tiny pathways and on each side are vendors. I thought, "how are the venders not getting trampled." I was practically so who knows! I didn't bring anything of value as pick pocketing is very prevelant here. I stuffed my money in my bra it was Josefina's recommendation. When I bought something I'd dig around for my $. I tried to slide it underneath my strap. All the women here keep there money in their bra. It's the safest place...the indigenous women anyway. A lady I bought something from had to dig around in her bra to get me change. She apologized, but I told her it's no big deal because I had to get my $ from there too. LOL! I had to bargain for my purchases, it reminds me of NYC. Nothing as an exact price...Josefina said that I got a good price and I did a good job! Whew!

I'll write more later as I have to pick up my laundry at the laundry mat. I found a cheaper one so I'm going to take it there instead of having someone pick it up from the school. I'll try to return later today to write about my experience.

One a quick note, my dance classes are good, when my teacher shows up. I feel as thought I'm at the level I was before I got very sick. He's tough and I llike it. I tell him off sometimes and he's quite rude. He speaks english so I can really express myself. My posture is bad, i'm not on rhythm, you can't lead because salsa is a very macho dance, I don't turn in one place, i don't read his hands correctly, i don't move my hips enough, i don't keep my head up enough to exude confidence. i'm so focused on my damn feet. the music is so complex and it has many, many instruments playing. you have to focus on the softest background music to get the beat of the entire song. I still can't hear it and I doubt I ever will. I'm just glad I'm a women and I follow and don't have to set the pace. My feet are getting pretty beat up, my shoes are comfy, but yesterday I danced for 2 hours. I'm going to try to have classes 4 to 5 hours per week until I leave. It's fun...if my teacher doesn't show up a lot again then I'm just going to take aerobics clases and resume my dancing in Chicago this fall.

San Francisco is to be cont...

I'm at the midpoint now

I just completed my 6th week and I have 6 more to go. Time really flies...I'm excited that I have 6 more weeks here, but excited to come home too. I miss everyone so much. I try to keep myself as busy as possible so I don't dwell on it too much. I just hang out with my family a lot. I haven't really made too many friends at the school as some are interested in finding love, partying, etc. I just want to experience the culture and learn as much as I can during my time here. I am going with a girl I met online who lives in Chicago tomorrow for a walk around the city. I want to go to this point where you walk up and there's a restaurant on top where you can look out at an entire view of the city. It's really beautiful here with the mountains, hills, lush vegetation, and the surroudning volcanoes. I really haven't taken many pics since I've been here. Only about 100. I guess because I was sick and because I frequently forget to bring it. Other times the places I go I don't feel comfy bringing it because pick pocketing and robbing is prevelant. I would die if my journal or camera was stolen. They hold my memories. I know I'll take a butt load of pics when Nolan and I travel for nearly 3 weeks.
So after I wrote the blog, I went home and I decided to look into my throat with a flashlight and I saw my throat was bright red and covered in pus. I decided I better see I doctor as I figured I better get my throat cultured to make sure Amoxicillin is sufficient in killing the bacterial infection. I wish I would've looked inside my throat sooner, I mean I had pain and redness for 8 days I'm unsure when the pus started to develop. Well, I went to the doctor, he was nice, but it was a complete scam. I was impressed with my ability to explain my woes in Spanish and I could understand him too. However, I have so far to go until I can ever say I'm fluent. We talked about various drugs since I'm in pharm school. He prescribed me other meds, I told his brother that I didn't want the meds, but the next a.m. he showed at school with the meds and wanted me to pay for them. It was expensive for Guatemalan standards...I know of cheap pharmacies here. I didn't want to affend him so I paid it, but I think he marked up the price. Whatever, I mean it was super cheap, but it's the principal. I didn't even take the meds...I've just been taking Amoxicillin. I gave them to Josefina. I don't like to take meds, it's ironic because I'm going to be working in the drug industry. LOL!

I went to two different talks this week. One on the 4th about the relationship between the U.S. and Guatemala and the issue that people are facing with immigration. I talk to people here and they are quite open about their experiences with trying to get across the border or about their family members who they haven't seen in years as they are working illegally in the U.S. It's quite unbelievable. I really was on the fence about the issue, but once I put faces with the stories it makes my heart ache for them. They wish their country was better, but the people who govern it are so corrupt and only want to better their own lives and pad their own pocket and could careless about the rest of the population who is suffering. The people are forced to risk their lives and never seeing their families again to work in sweat shops in the U.S. or in the agriculture industry. It's very expensive to try to get across too. People save and save and save and sometimes they never get across.

I went to a talk about the ethnic diversity of Guatemala. There are 22 different types of languages and groups of people here. There are 5 or 6 main cateogories. I'm pissed that I mixed up the time and I arrived a 30 mins late. The lecturer recommended a book about Guatemala to me.

Both lectureres were amazing and spoke with such intelligence and clarity. I can understand some people so well other times I have no idea what the hell people are talking about. It frustrates me so!

Hola!

Hi Everyone,

I'm still pretty sick, but I had a friend buy some Amoxicillin for me from the pharmacy. I hope that taking this will whip me back into shape. If not then I'm going to the doctor, a friend's host fathers brother is a doctor so I can see him anytime. I have tried so much stuff and I can't shake this cold. It freaking sucks because there is a break in the rain right now, it's call the canicula, for about 2 to 4 weeks. I'm going to try to go hiking this weekend since there's a pause in the rain. The weather couldn't be anymore gorgeous. I just wish I weren't sick! I've had every possible ailment in the past nearly 6 weeks.

Yes, hard to believe I've started my 6th week of Spanish. I'm somewhere in between level III and IV. I have Louis Fernando again. He's my favorite! I'm going to try to sweet talk the director again to get him for a 3rd week. He's so good, so strict, and I learn so much with him. I'm starting to learn future tense this week. We also reviewed the two past tenses they have in Spanish. If I'm feeling well enough I'm going to go to San Francisco on Friday. I've been trying to get there for a few weeks now, but miracuously I get sick every freaking Friday! It's the hugest market in Gautemala for the people of the highlands. I mean, it's not touristy, it has some texttiles, but mostly the stuff for the locals, live stock, fruits, veggies, etc. I mean there are veggies I've never seen before. I'm suppossed to go there to learn about veggies, fruits, and animals. I mean, not about them, but their names. The second interactive class, I'm going to go to before I leave is to Copa Vic, it's a glass blowing factory. They make beautiful vases, plates, etc. anything glass and pretty. It's going to be fun traveling for nearly 3 weeks with Nolan and trying not to break that stuff. I'm planning on going to Chichicastenango, which is the largets market in Central or Latin America, I think. It has beautiful textiles and you can hangle with the people there for a fair price. I can't wait to go there, of course when my friends went I was sick. LOL!

I've been hanging out with my family a lot. Obviously, since I can't do much. However, I really don't mind it. I'm not bored at all. I really enjoy hanging out with them. Last weekend, I went across town with Josefina and Jeremy to the market where Catarino works. It's really far and it's a newly built building the market is nice, but it's still slowly getting businesses. Josefina bought veggies from her hubby since it's cheaper and I took care of Jeremy. Let me tell you living with them is really getting me used to kids and how to deal with them. One minute he's an angel then the next minute he's throwing a hissy fit. Thank god he didn't cry he would just pout. The the next second he wants me to pick him up and I tell him that he's superman and he can fly. People kept asking me if he was my child. LOL! I think because he is so light skinned, but so is his mother, Norma. After they closed up shop, there weren't any microbuses around so we took a chicken bus back. It was by far the worst one I've taken in a while. My knees got pretty bashed up. At first I sat down with Jeremy on my lap, but I swapped with Josefina because I didn't want her to have to stand. So Catarino and I kinda held on for dear life. I felt so bad because everytime a seat became free he would try to tell me to sit there, but I'm not going to sit there with this tiny, nearly 70 year old, fragile man is hanging on for dear life. Someone else would quickly snatch the seat right up. Finally, he made a mad dash for a seat and we sat together. He was trying to orient me with were we were in Xela to teach me my surroundings. I felt like telling him he's wasting his time because I have no sense of direction. We all just held on and it was a like a rollercoaster. It was a white knuckle experience. My poor knees are black and blue. Somehow, Jeremy fell as sleep, but his head would bob up and down when we crossed the potholes, which was all the time. I thought his neck would snap.

I finally made pastel de tres leches for them! I was going to make it on Saturday, but the guy who has the oven that you can rent time from was too drunk or hung over and didn't open the shop up. Friday was a holiday so the drunks came out pretty early and partied all day long. I was walking around and these guys were trying to talk to me and I had no idea what they said. The classmates I was with, the girls, we quickly ran across the street and the guy we were with talked to them. They were all excited about the soccer games! This upcoming Sunday I'm going to watch the finale at school with everyone. It should be fun! I'm looking forward to it. Everyone wears Brazil tees here. The team here really sucks! Anyway, back to the cake. I go all of together and we took it over there. We we came back an hour later the guy said that the cake started to gush over the sides of the mold like a volcanoe. He scooped it up and just shoved it on top of it. It was the ugliest mess I've ever seen! The larger mold was ok, but the tiny mold was a freaking mess! We couldn't help, but crack up we we got out of there. The guy said we put to much yeast in the cake. Hell, I don't have control over that because I used an instant cake mix. Next time I'll use 2 boxes instead of 2.5 boxes since I have to add so much other stuff to it. Anyway, we at the cake for dessert last night. Everyone loved it! Josefina had 2.5 pieces and I ate 2.

All day yesterday, Josefina prepped for making chilli rellenos. Let me tell you these were the best freaking chilli rellenos I've had in my life! I couldn't resist to try the ones with the meat in it. I'm a sucker for chorizo! Jenny, I know you're going to kick my ass for it! It was so good! They weren't greasy either. I'm looking forward to making them when I get home too. So we swapped recipes yesterday.

Josefina said usually students don't incorporate into her family or hang out with them as much. I really enjoy it. She said she really can't believe I've been here for only 5 weeks because it seems like so much longer. The other night she called me in to show me a funny program. There were some American women in Spain dancing salsa contest to win $. They were wearing bikinis, shaking the chest, and butt. She said, "so is this how you dance shaking your stuff and practically naked?" I teased her and said, "I'm going to apply to be on that show and call you up while I'm in Spain so you call watch me on tv." She said she can't wait to tell all her friends in family that her former student is nearly naked on tv and salsa dancing. It was really funny! She said, "I bet Nolan can't wait to see you moves with you in your nearly naked outfit!" Yesterday, I bought a great pair of shoes to dance it and she wanted me to dance for her. I said, once I get a few more weeks under my belt. I feel like I'm starting over with a new instructor. He's so much better. He's trying to teach me rhythm. I told him he's going to have his work cut of for him because white people don't have rhythm. He started laughing, he said he never heard that expression before. My feet are already beat up after one hour in the heels. I have 5 hours of dance this week so one hour a day. Wish me luck! I wish I would've started with him in the beginning. He said he's going to teach me a bunch over the next 7 weeks. I think I have 7 weeks left. I can't remember if I'm studying for 11 or 12 weeks.

I can't think of anything else to wright right now. Keep your fingers crossed and that I get healthy!