“It is a strange thing to come home. While yet on the journey, you cannot at all realize how strange it will be.” – Selma Lagerlaf

Well, I returned to the States late Monday night/early Tuesday morning, and it was strange coming home to the "consumerized" and surplus holiday season after living in a part of the world where poverty is intrinsic and wide-spread on a scale than I have ever experienced. I am reconciling much of what I have seen and learned with how my life will be now that I have returned. There are many personal and social adjustments ahead for me, but I would not trade my experience in Guatemala for anything. My time there was incredible and I believe I am a more informed and better person as a result of it, but I am also just glad to be back home.

 The mountains south of Magdalena, where I did my internship

 Magdalena sky

 Magdalena

 Pacific Beach

 Pacific Coast

 Pacific Coast

 Sunset over the Pacific

 This reminds me of the opening scene of the Lion King :)

 Another Pacific sunset picture

 Yet another sunset picture

 View from a mountain hike

 Another view from the hike

 Top of the hike

 Yet another hike view

 Me trying to catch baby chickens to vaccinate them

Me injecting a bull

“Remember that happiness is a way of travel – not a destination.” – Roy M. Goodman

Two weekends ago, we visited Lake Atitlan in southwestern Guatemala. We were only there for two days, so the time literally flew by, but the scenery, boat ride around the lake, and fellowship was well worth it. Last weekend we went to Semuc Champey, a system of waterfalls in the middle of Guatemala. 15 people (plus our driver) rode in a 16 passenger van (not a bus, a van) for 6 hours to the city of Coban.  Then we drove for 2 more hours; one on a relatively paved road and another on a dirt road (if it can even be called a road) down the side of a mountain and through a valley in the thickest part of the jungle in Guatemala. When we reached a small village at the base of the mountain, we transferred to a four-wheel truck type vehicle and drove through the rain forest for another hour(ish), most of us had to stand and hold on for our lives in the bed of the truck because only four people could actually ride in the vehicle, so that was quite an adventure; much like a roller coaster, only our only safety restraints were each other, and I do not know how many people got hit in the face with branches or almost fell out. Finally, we reached our hotel in the park of Semuc Champey, which was very nice with gorgeous views looking down on the river. We hiked through the park and swam in the pools, and relaxed and lounged around with each other. Then, we had to go through the same transportation process for our return trip, and in total we spent more time traveling to and from our destination than at Semuc Champey itself. But it was worth it; we all had a blast and gained lots of interesting experiences and stories from it.

 Ground foliage at Semuc Champey

 My group swimming at Semuc Champey

 Lake Atitlan

 Artistic shot looking down on Lake Atitlan

 The falls of Semuc Champey that flow under the rocks

 View from my room at our hotel in Semuc Champey

 From our boat on Lake Atitlan

Lake Atitlan

What you've done becomes the judge of what you're going to do - especially in other people's minds. When you're traveling, you are what you are right there and then. People don't have your past to hold against you. No yesterdays on the road. ~William Least Heat Moon, Blue Highways

Hello to All!! I am sorry this is my first update in several weeks, but life for me here in Guatemala has been hectic to say the least. For the two weeks prior to last week I was in the town of Magdalena (which is close to Antigua) where I completed half of my internship working with a non-profit microfinance organization. My activities ranged from home visits to chicken vaccinations to accounting to painting the exterior of a local business. It was an incredible work and learning experience, and I will complete the second half of my internship next week. 

This weekend I visited Tikal (the Mayan ruins in the northern part of the country).

The ruins were awe-inspiring and breathtaking, especially the Jaguar Temple which is briefly featured in the original Star Wars movie. My group had a guided sunset tour of the park. It was light when we started and we visited several temples and ended at the main central square/plaza of the ancient city complex and watched the sunset from atop one of the temples. After the sunset we toured several other ruins in the dark (we all brought lights with us), and it was strangely tranquil and peaceful to be walking through the jungle at night. Our sunrise tour started at 4 in the morning, and it was breathtaking beyond words. We climbed to  the highest vantage point in the park, and the entire jungle was spread below us as far as the eye could see with distant ruins visible above the tree line. I just sat and watched and listened to the jungle come alive with light and life. We saw monkeys swing below us and birds fly by. It was truly magical. Tikal means the place of voices, and this is the most mystical, and spiritual, place that I have ever encountered. The sunrise scene seemed surreal, like it belonged in a movie or a dream instead of real life. After that we toured and hiked more until ending back at the hotel. We left at 2:30 for a flight back to Guatemala City and we were flying into the city just as the sun was setting, and all of the volcanos and mountains were visible and illuminated with color on my side of the plane, and the volcano Fuego actually erupted (by that I mean that it spewed smoke) while I was actually watching.

Yesterday was El Dia de Muerte (Day of the Dead), so I visited the famous cemetery of Saint James where people and festivities abounded. El Dia de Muerte is a day to honor to dead by bringing flowers to graves and flying kites with messages attached to them for the deceased. The sky was literally full of color and activity, almost as much as the ground.

 Me on top of one of the Ruins

My Group

A Wonderful Sight in the Jungle

Jungle Skyline

 El Dia de Muerte

 Jaguar Temple in the original Star Wars movie

 I watched this kid try for 10 minutes to get his kite to fly, and when he finally did it, this picture does not do his reaction justice

 Sunset over Tikal

 "Let's Go Fly a Kite..."

 The kites were intricately and incredibly made out of paper and wood

 More Sunset Rain Forest Shots

 Just a picture I took that I thought was cool

 Rain in the Rain Forest

 View from atop one of the ruins

Another picture that I just thought was cool

“Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey.” – Fitzhugh Mullan

Last Wednesday I completed the two SPU courses that I was taking in Guatemala, and to celebrate the end of this set of classes, myself, the other students, and our leaders spent the weekend at the retreat center of El Faro close to the town of Puerto Barrios on the eastern coast of Guatemala. It took us one van, one double-decker bus, one taxi (actually four taxis to fit all of our group), a boat, and six(ish) hours to reach our destination, but it was so very very worth. This resort was right on the Caribbean Sea and we swam, swung in the hammocks, and laid out on the dock for three days. I basically just lounged around and read and wrote all day every day. It was so hot and humid compared to central Guatemala, but it had nothing on a Southern Summer Day at home (or Camp Lookout where I work). On Friday we went hiking in the rainforest to a system of waterfalls, and other than this one planned activity, we are, slept, and relaxed the weekend away. I am so glad we were able to have this weekend, because we all started Spanish language school on Monday. From eight to twelve every weekday I take one-on-one Spanish lessons. In other words, I feel like an idiot every morning. I have two years of Spanish under my belt, but I am constantly confused and have to have things repeated. However, individual teachers are the way to go to learn a language, and as frustrated as I am sometimes, I can already tell a marked improvement in my Spanish, and I do enjoy learning another language. I hope Autumn and cooler weather is finding everybody!!

 View From the Retreat Center

 Sunset Over the Center

 This Parrot Lived Right Outside My Window

 The Beach Down the Hill From Where We Were Staying

 This picture is from our hike in the jungle, and it reminded me of the animated movie Fern Gully (if anybody has seen or remembers that film)

 This was taken on a trail at the Center looking North

 This is the Waterfall We Hiked To and Swam In

 Even this picture does not do the Center justice

 The rocks in the river and falls we hiked to were as stunning to me as the forest and water itself

This was just a cool shot that I took and did not realize how well it turned out until I was scrolling through pictures to post a few minutes ago

“As the traveler who has once been from home is wiser than he who has never left his own doorstep, so a knowledge of one other culture should sharpen our ability to scrutinize more steadily, to appreciate more lovingly, our own.” – Margaret Mead

Central America is absolutely fabulous, and I love it here!! Last Sunday was Election Day and last Thursday was Independence Day in Guatemala, and the city was ablaze with fiestas, color, flags, and exuberance. On Friday I and my global development class went into Guatemala City (which is about 45 minutes from Antigua) and visited a church supported by Compassion International, a non-profit NGO. This church is located in a very poor area of the city and does outreach ministry and services aimed primarily at surrounding communities that are established on and in landfills. People live and work in landfills all around this church, and my group and I visited one. The homes were built out of materials scrounged from the garbage piles and were constructed in and amongst piles of discarded materials. Children were running around everywhere, using the trash piles as their own expansive playground. It was heart-wrenching. No matter how many books you read, stories you hear, or pictures you see, the plight of others will never be apparent to you until you witness it with your own eyes. I blessed beyond belief for what I have been provided in life. As sad as this outing made me, it also confirmed to me that non-profit work is precisely what I need to do with my life occupationally and personally: helping people.
Yesterday I (along with the other students and our Professors) hiked the volcano of Pacaya, and it was incredible. The surrounding views from it were sweeping in scope and breathtaking, and the volcano itself was fascinating. This volcano erupted about a year and a half ago, but the eruption-side of the volcano is still newly formed barren volcanic rock with steam streaming from the ground every which away. The entire time we were hiking I was reminded of the scene at the end of Lord of the Rings Return of the King where Frodo and Sam were climbing Mount Doom, and you will just have to see for yourself the eeriness of the similarities between that scene and Pacaya.

In the landfill community

These two were so nice to us while we were at the landfill

 The community put a rainbow to shame with all of the clothes hanging everywhere, and I mean everywhere

An area of the landfill further away from where the people live

 This is on a cliff overlooking the landfill

 This is a picture of the landfill and people working in it from the cliff

 This is near the base of the volcano Pacaya

 This is about half way up Pacaya of the surrounding volcanos

 This shot is from about as far up Pacaya as anyone can hike safely

 Pacaya itself...I told you that it looked like the Mount Doom scene from Lord of the Rings. Haha

View from as close to the top of Pacaya as we could get