“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