Friday, December 14, 2007
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Colonia, URUGUAY!
Hi everyone,
Greetings from Uruguay! It feels like forever ago that I wrote my last entry from Bolivia. After leaving Bolivia, Rachel and I traveled to Argentina and spent two weeks volunteering on a small organic farm near Mendoza. We had a great time and wished that we could have had more time there. The family that we stayed with was really nice and we spent a few hours sitting around with them every day discussing politics and history (among other things). Ruben, the dad, loved to ask us impossible questions and thought that I should know all the answers since I was an international studies major...I think he was a little disappointed that I didn't.
Cherry season usually only lasts a few weeks so we were lucky that the season started a few days before we got to the farm. We spent many mornings picking cherries and then often spent the afternoons sorting them. We also planted corn, squash, and learned to bake delicious bread. Our friend Rebecca, who we met while volunteering on the farm in Costa Rica, came and met us on the farm our second week there and got to spend a couple days picking cherries before it was time to move on. After leaving the farm, we spent two days wandering around the beautiful tree lined streets of Mendoza and hanging out with my friend Dominic and his sister. I originally met Dominic while volunteering back in Peru and he and his sister were traveling in nearby Chile so they came to see us for the weekend. We loved Mendoza and would have liked more time there, but had to catch an overnight bus to Buenos Aires on Sunday to meet up with Leah. We hadn't seen her in almost a month so it was great to catch up with her and hear about how everything is going back in Pisco. She has taken on more responsibility now that Marc, the operations director, left about a month ago to respond to a disaster in Bangladesh. She agreed to stay through the end of the project in mid January with the condition that she could have this week off to come and visit us.
We spent a couple days in Buenos Aires, but quickly realized that none of us liked it there very much and the people were unfriendly compared to how nice everyone was in Mendoza. We woke up on Wednesday morning planning to go to the beach, but once we realized how far away it was, we decide to go to Uruguay which only took an hour to get to by boat. For me it was a dream come true because I've always been fascinated by Uruguay, though I'm not sure why and everyone was happy because it meant getting out of Buenos Aires. So far we like it a lot here. Colonia is a small colonial town and we've enjoyed just taking it easy and catching up with each other. We love everything about this place except for the food.
Tomorrow we're headed back to BA and then on Sunday Rachel flies to Panama, Leah flies back to Peru, and Rebecca flies to Costa Rica. The next day I fly to Colombia. We were all planning on going to Colombia originally, but plans change and now it turns out that I have to go by myself. It's not ideal, but I'm hoping to have a good time anyway and maybe meet up with a few people I volunteered with in Peru. Rachel and I will meet back up in Nicaragua in early January and then after about 10 days there we'll head to Guatemala and meet up with Leah and volunteer at Safe Passage until May. As much as I am loving seeing new places, I am also really excited to go back and spend a significant amount of time working with the kids that I care about so much.
Love, Katie
p.s. To see some pics from Argentina, click here. To see some from Uruguay, click here.
Greetings from Uruguay! It feels like forever ago that I wrote my last entry from Bolivia. After leaving Bolivia, Rachel and I traveled to Argentina and spent two weeks volunteering on a small organic farm near Mendoza. We had a great time and wished that we could have had more time there. The family that we stayed with was really nice and we spent a few hours sitting around with them every day discussing politics and history (among other things). Ruben, the dad, loved to ask us impossible questions and thought that I should know all the answers since I was an international studies major...I think he was a little disappointed that I didn't.
Cherry season usually only lasts a few weeks so we were lucky that the season started a few days before we got to the farm. We spent many mornings picking cherries and then often spent the afternoons sorting them. We also planted corn, squash, and learned to bake delicious bread. Our friend Rebecca, who we met while volunteering on the farm in Costa Rica, came and met us on the farm our second week there and got to spend a couple days picking cherries before it was time to move on. After leaving the farm, we spent two days wandering around the beautiful tree lined streets of Mendoza and hanging out with my friend Dominic and his sister. I originally met Dominic while volunteering back in Peru and he and his sister were traveling in nearby Chile so they came to see us for the weekend. We loved Mendoza and would have liked more time there, but had to catch an overnight bus to Buenos Aires on Sunday to meet up with Leah. We hadn't seen her in almost a month so it was great to catch up with her and hear about how everything is going back in Pisco. She has taken on more responsibility now that Marc, the operations director, left about a month ago to respond to a disaster in Bangladesh. She agreed to stay through the end of the project in mid January with the condition that she could have this week off to come and visit us.
We spent a couple days in Buenos Aires, but quickly realized that none of us liked it there very much and the people were unfriendly compared to how nice everyone was in Mendoza. We woke up on Wednesday morning planning to go to the beach, but once we realized how far away it was, we decide to go to Uruguay which only took an hour to get to by boat. For me it was a dream come true because I've always been fascinated by Uruguay, though I'm not sure why and everyone was happy because it meant getting out of Buenos Aires. So far we like it a lot here. Colonia is a small colonial town and we've enjoyed just taking it easy and catching up with each other. We love everything about this place except for the food.
Tomorrow we're headed back to BA and then on Sunday Rachel flies to Panama, Leah flies back to Peru, and Rebecca flies to Costa Rica. The next day I fly to Colombia. We were all planning on going to Colombia originally, but plans change and now it turns out that I have to go by myself. It's not ideal, but I'm hoping to have a good time anyway and maybe meet up with a few people I volunteered with in Peru. Rachel and I will meet back up in Nicaragua in early January and then after about 10 days there we'll head to Guatemala and meet up with Leah and volunteer at Safe Passage until May. As much as I am loving seeing new places, I am also really excited to go back and spend a significant amount of time working with the kids that I care about so much.
Love, Katie
p.s. To see some pics from Argentina, click here. To see some from Uruguay, click here.
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Tupiza, Bolivia
Hi everyone,
It has only been a little less than two weeks since I last wrote an entry, but it feels like longer since Rachel and I have been traveling quickly and haven't spent two consecutive nights in the same place this whole time. We've made it as far as southern Bolivia and tomorrow we're going to catch a 4am bus to the border of Argentina and from there look for a bus to Mendoza (which should take about 24 hours).
Our last few days in Peru went really well and we enjoyed Machu Picchu, Aguas Calientes, and Cuzco. We didn't have the best weather for Machu Picchu, but we made the best of it and spent about five hours wandering through the ruins and climbing Waynapicchu. It was really amazing, by far the most interesting ruins I've ever been to and I would love to go back some day if I get the chance. To see some pictures, click here.
From Cuzco we took an overnight bus to La Paz and after only one night there we took a bus to Tupiza. We liked La Paz and wish that we could have spent more time there. We wandered around the city, ran into a bunch of past Hands On volunteers, played cards in coffee shops and went to see a movie called Evo Pueblo about the life of Bolivia's president. The only unfortunate incident was when someone tried to grab Rachel's bag as we crossed the street and then when she held on to her bag tightly she got spit on. Usually people spit on you first and then try to grab your bag so we're thinking this thief must have been new to the job.
As soon as we got to Tupiza on Monday we signed up for a four day-three night southern circuit tour and left for that on Tuesday morning. We headed up the next morning in a jeep with our driver, Samuel, our cook, Augustina, and a Swiss couple and an Australian couple. Our first three days were more or less the same. We'd get up early and spend about 10 hours in the jeep, stopping for lunch and other places that were of interest. We saw lots of lakes (of all different colors), volcanoes, animals, mountains, and a few small towns sprinkled in the barren landscape. I was amazed that even the smallest of towns in the most remote areas had solar panels; apparently it is due to a recent government initiative to bring electricity to the rural areas.
We spent our last night in a small town on the edge of the Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt flat in the world. We slept in salt beds on a salt flour and got up early so that we could see the sunrise out on the salt flat. It was amazing to be out there and see white almost as far as we could see in every direction. We had fun taking all kinds of 'fotos locos' as our driver called them (I'll post one above). To look at the pictures I've uploaded of Bolivia so far, click here.
Our next destination is a small family farm in Argentina and we're looking forward to staying in one place for a little while and hoping that the farm is as nice as it sounds. We've heard that the organic cherries will be ripe so we're looking forward to eating lots of them (and picking a few too).
xoxo, Katie
It has only been a little less than two weeks since I last wrote an entry, but it feels like longer since Rachel and I have been traveling quickly and haven't spent two consecutive nights in the same place this whole time. We've made it as far as southern Bolivia and tomorrow we're going to catch a 4am bus to the border of Argentina and from there look for a bus to Mendoza (which should take about 24 hours).
Our last few days in Peru went really well and we enjoyed Machu Picchu, Aguas Calientes, and Cuzco. We didn't have the best weather for Machu Picchu, but we made the best of it and spent about five hours wandering through the ruins and climbing Waynapicchu. It was really amazing, by far the most interesting ruins I've ever been to and I would love to go back some day if I get the chance. To see some pictures, click here.
From Cuzco we took an overnight bus to La Paz and after only one night there we took a bus to Tupiza. We liked La Paz and wish that we could have spent more time there. We wandered around the city, ran into a bunch of past Hands On volunteers, played cards in coffee shops and went to see a movie called Evo Pueblo about the life of Bolivia's president. The only unfortunate incident was when someone tried to grab Rachel's bag as we crossed the street and then when she held on to her bag tightly she got spit on. Usually people spit on you first and then try to grab your bag so we're thinking this thief must have been new to the job.
As soon as we got to Tupiza on Monday we signed up for a four day-three night southern circuit tour and left for that on Tuesday morning. We headed up the next morning in a jeep with our driver, Samuel, our cook, Augustina, and a Swiss couple and an Australian couple. Our first three days were more or less the same. We'd get up early and spend about 10 hours in the jeep, stopping for lunch and other places that were of interest. We saw lots of lakes (of all different colors), volcanoes, animals, mountains, and a few small towns sprinkled in the barren landscape. I was amazed that even the smallest of towns in the most remote areas had solar panels; apparently it is due to a recent government initiative to bring electricity to the rural areas.
We spent our last night in a small town on the edge of the Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt flat in the world. We slept in salt beds on a salt flour and got up early so that we could see the sunrise out on the salt flat. It was amazing to be out there and see white almost as far as we could see in every direction. We had fun taking all kinds of 'fotos locos' as our driver called them (I'll post one above). To look at the pictures I've uploaded of Bolivia so far, click here.
Our next destination is a small family farm in Argentina and we're looking forward to staying in one place for a little while and hoping that the farm is as nice as it sounds. We've heard that the organic cherries will be ripe so we're looking forward to eating lots of them (and picking a few too).
xoxo, Katie
Friday, November 16, 2007
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Cuzco, Peru
Hi everyone,
Greetings from Cuzco! Last night Rachel and I took an overnight bus from Pisco to Cuzco and arrived around noon today after 16 hours on the bus. Leah decided to spend another few weeks in Pisco and is going to fly to Argentina to meet up with us in about three weeks.
I spent my last two weeks with HANDS ON mainly working finding the materials necessary to complete the potable water project in Con con and Ramadilla. Trying to find 23 cubic meters of small rounded rocks and 16 cubic meters of uniform medium sized sand proved to be quite difficult! By the time I went up to Con con with a group on Wednesday we had decided to carry the rocks and up from the river and sieve them. Luckily, however, a meeting the engineer and I had had the week before with the deputy of the district paid off and the mayor decided to pay for the sand and rocks to get delivered right to the job site. Even so, the sifting and washing of the rocks will probably still take about two weeks with 12 volunteers and some locals. I am really sad that I didn't get to see the project through to the end, but Rachel and I had already changed our leaving date multiple times and it we hadn't left when we did it would have meant skipping Bolivia which is where we are headed next.
I also spent my last few days in Con con helping to organize an inauguration of the canal ceremony and fiesta. I spent all day Friday with the family whose house we stayed in shopping in the market to buy everything needed for the party. On Saturday we had a turnout of over 100 people, including politicians, the press, donors, the director of Hands On, locals, and a bus load of volunteers that came up for the day for the celebration. The locals voted me the godmother of the canal and Marc (the director of Hands On) the godfather so we had to give on the spot speeches while a handful of microphones were shoved in our faces. Part of their tradition is to break a full beer bottle at the end of the ceremony and they gave it to me to break and wanting it to break on the first try I hit it pretty hard and got beer all over the mayor's shoes and pants (oops!). After the ceremony, which took place at the canal, we went back to the house and ate and danced to live music, while the locals proudly passed around their homemade pisco and cachina (a drink similar to wine). It was a bittersweet night for me because even though we were celebrating everything we had accomplished, it was also a night full of goodbyes and of the locals trying to convince me to stay. And they almost did! They also spent much of my last week there trying to find a husband for me so that I would stay forever.
It is amazing how my relationship with the community changed over the almost two months that I was with them on and off. The first time I went I enjoyed myself and loved the landscape, but found the locals hard to get to know. Each time I went back, however, they realized that we could be trusted and that we were going to do what we orignally planned to do and it just got easier and easier. By the end I had completely fallen in love with the community and I plan to keep in touch with them and visit again when I am able. My goodbye on Monday morning with the family was a tearful one and as I left I felt like I was leaving behind a second family.
Tomorrow Rachel and I are going to take an early morning train to Aguas Calientes and then on Thursday we'll go to Machu Picchu. It feels strange to be back in the land of tourists after volunteering for so long...but I'm sure we'll get back into traveling mode after a few days.
All for now,
xoxo, Katie
Greetings from Cuzco! Last night Rachel and I took an overnight bus from Pisco to Cuzco and arrived around noon today after 16 hours on the bus. Leah decided to spend another few weeks in Pisco and is going to fly to Argentina to meet up with us in about three weeks.
I spent my last two weeks with HANDS ON mainly working finding the materials necessary to complete the potable water project in Con con and Ramadilla. Trying to find 23 cubic meters of small rounded rocks and 16 cubic meters of uniform medium sized sand proved to be quite difficult! By the time I went up to Con con with a group on Wednesday we had decided to carry the rocks and up from the river and sieve them. Luckily, however, a meeting the engineer and I had had the week before with the deputy of the district paid off and the mayor decided to pay for the sand and rocks to get delivered right to the job site. Even so, the sifting and washing of the rocks will probably still take about two weeks with 12 volunteers and some locals. I am really sad that I didn't get to see the project through to the end, but Rachel and I had already changed our leaving date multiple times and it we hadn't left when we did it would have meant skipping Bolivia which is where we are headed next.
I also spent my last few days in Con con helping to organize an inauguration of the canal ceremony and fiesta. I spent all day Friday with the family whose house we stayed in shopping in the market to buy everything needed for the party. On Saturday we had a turnout of over 100 people, including politicians, the press, donors, the director of Hands On, locals, and a bus load of volunteers that came up for the day for the celebration. The locals voted me the godmother of the canal and Marc (the director of Hands On) the godfather so we had to give on the spot speeches while a handful of microphones were shoved in our faces. Part of their tradition is to break a full beer bottle at the end of the ceremony and they gave it to me to break and wanting it to break on the first try I hit it pretty hard and got beer all over the mayor's shoes and pants (oops!). After the ceremony, which took place at the canal, we went back to the house and ate and danced to live music, while the locals proudly passed around their homemade pisco and cachina (a drink similar to wine). It was a bittersweet night for me because even though we were celebrating everything we had accomplished, it was also a night full of goodbyes and of the locals trying to convince me to stay. And they almost did! They also spent much of my last week there trying to find a husband for me so that I would stay forever.
It is amazing how my relationship with the community changed over the almost two months that I was with them on and off. The first time I went I enjoyed myself and loved the landscape, but found the locals hard to get to know. Each time I went back, however, they realized that we could be trusted and that we were going to do what we orignally planned to do and it just got easier and easier. By the end I had completely fallen in love with the community and I plan to keep in touch with them and visit again when I am able. My goodbye on Monday morning with the family was a tearful one and as I left I felt like I was leaving behind a second family.
Tomorrow Rachel and I are going to take an early morning train to Aguas Calientes and then on Thursday we'll go to Machu Picchu. It feels strange to be back in the land of tourists after volunteering for so long...but I'm sure we'll get back into traveling mode after a few days.
All for now,
xoxo, Katie
Sunday, October 28, 2007
back in Pisco
Hi All,
I just got back to Pisco this afternoon after a very relaxing few days in Huacachina. Sandboarding turned out to be an exhilarating event that was fun, but also painful. We all felt sorer after that than after a day of rubble clearing! I just uploaded some photos from the trip so click here to see them.
xoxo, Katie
p.s. There is a new google based search engine called aidgle that has been created to raise money for disaster relief around the world. HANDS ON will be lucky enough to receive the revenue created from the first two months of aidgle's existence! So change your homepage to aidgle and every click that you make will help our efforts here in Peru (just go to www.aidgle.com). Please pass on the word!
I just got back to Pisco this afternoon after a very relaxing few days in Huacachina. Sandboarding turned out to be an exhilarating event that was fun, but also painful. We all felt sorer after that than after a day of rubble clearing! I just uploaded some photos from the trip so click here to see them.
xoxo, Katie
p.s. There is a new google based search engine called aidgle that has been created to raise money for disaster relief around the world. HANDS ON will be lucky enough to receive the revenue created from the first two months of aidgle's existence! So change your homepage to aidgle and every click that you make will help our efforts here in Peru (just go to www.aidgle.com). Please pass on the word!
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Friday, October 26, 2007
Huacachina, Peru
Hi everyone,
I've been volunteering in Peru for six weeks now and it looks like I'll be here for at least another couple weeks. Leah, Rachel, and I have all been given leadership roles because we have been here for awhile and because we are some of the only volunteers that speak Spanish. I just got back about a week ago from leading two groups of volunteers to Con con (just outside of Cañete) to continue work on the irrigation canal. This second part of the project was more difficult than the first because the canal was up high (from roughly 10 to 75 feet above the road) and so all the cement for the project (300 bags in total) had to be passed by chain all the way up. I don't think I've ever worked so physically hard in my life, but it was also very rewarding to be able to measure our progress each day and to get to know the 15 or so locals that worked with us most days. I found it much easier the second time to have conversations with the locals compared to the first time when most of them kept their distance from us and only answered questions when they had to. I think partly because they got used to us and also because we really had to work together to get the thousands of buckets of cement up to the canal. We were constantly yelling 'bucket' at each other and everyone, volunteers and locals alike, learned how to say it in English, Spanish, German, Romanian, and Dutch!
We finished the project last Friday morning and bringing up the last bucket of cement was a bittersweet moment. It was great to finish the project but I was also a little bit sad because that meant leaving Con con and the family that I was staying with, along with the beautiful views and the baths in the river. Once we finished the locals spent about an hour making a plaque near the endpoint for all of us to sign. After that we had lunch, rested up a bit and then spent the afternoon playing soccer. In the evening most of the guys that we had worked with came over to celebrate our despedida (goodbye party) and we danced late into the night with a couple of headlights flashing as our strobe light. On Saturday the group left for Pisco in the morning and I stayed for the day to go to a meeting about the possibility of Hands On fixing the existing drinking water plant for the town. The facility was built ten years ago and has been broken for almost as long so the people have not had safe drinking water for almost a decade. I'm hoping to go back to Con con on Monday to translate for an engineer that is volunteering with Hands On right now and it is our goal to have the plant in working order within the next week. We'll see what happens though because things usually take longer here than we think...
Transitioning back to Pisco was a little bit hard after two weeks away, especially since we now have about 70 volunteers so it was a crazy environment to come back to and I also realized how truly exhausted I felt. The director of Hands On strongly encourages everyone who has been volunteering for a month to take at least three days off so my friends and I decided to come to Huacachina for a couple of days. We arrived on Wednesday afternoon and aren't going back to Pisco until Sunday. Huacachina is a small resort area near Ica surrounded by huge sand dunes. We are staying in a really nice hostel and have been sleeping more than I thought possible. This afternoon we are going to go out on a dune buggy and sandboarding trip, I'm sure not the best thing to do from an ecological standpoint, but I was told it is something that we should try it once.
Lots of love,
Katie
p.s. I've started to upload some of my Cañete photos to facebook so to look at them click here. There's also some more photos and information about the irrigation canal on the Hands On website.
I've been volunteering in Peru for six weeks now and it looks like I'll be here for at least another couple weeks. Leah, Rachel, and I have all been given leadership roles because we have been here for awhile and because we are some of the only volunteers that speak Spanish. I just got back about a week ago from leading two groups of volunteers to Con con (just outside of Cañete) to continue work on the irrigation canal. This second part of the project was more difficult than the first because the canal was up high (from roughly 10 to 75 feet above the road) and so all the cement for the project (300 bags in total) had to be passed by chain all the way up. I don't think I've ever worked so physically hard in my life, but it was also very rewarding to be able to measure our progress each day and to get to know the 15 or so locals that worked with us most days. I found it much easier the second time to have conversations with the locals compared to the first time when most of them kept their distance from us and only answered questions when they had to. I think partly because they got used to us and also because we really had to work together to get the thousands of buckets of cement up to the canal. We were constantly yelling 'bucket' at each other and everyone, volunteers and locals alike, learned how to say it in English, Spanish, German, Romanian, and Dutch!
We finished the project last Friday morning and bringing up the last bucket of cement was a bittersweet moment. It was great to finish the project but I was also a little bit sad because that meant leaving Con con and the family that I was staying with, along with the beautiful views and the baths in the river. Once we finished the locals spent about an hour making a plaque near the endpoint for all of us to sign. After that we had lunch, rested up a bit and then spent the afternoon playing soccer. In the evening most of the guys that we had worked with came over to celebrate our despedida (goodbye party) and we danced late into the night with a couple of headlights flashing as our strobe light. On Saturday the group left for Pisco in the morning and I stayed for the day to go to a meeting about the possibility of Hands On fixing the existing drinking water plant for the town. The facility was built ten years ago and has been broken for almost as long so the people have not had safe drinking water for almost a decade. I'm hoping to go back to Con con on Monday to translate for an engineer that is volunteering with Hands On right now and it is our goal to have the plant in working order within the next week. We'll see what happens though because things usually take longer here than we think...
Transitioning back to Pisco was a little bit hard after two weeks away, especially since we now have about 70 volunteers so it was a crazy environment to come back to and I also realized how truly exhausted I felt. The director of Hands On strongly encourages everyone who has been volunteering for a month to take at least three days off so my friends and I decided to come to Huacachina for a couple of days. We arrived on Wednesday afternoon and aren't going back to Pisco until Sunday. Huacachina is a small resort area near Ica surrounded by huge sand dunes. We are staying in a really nice hostel and have been sleeping more than I thought possible. This afternoon we are going to go out on a dune buggy and sandboarding trip, I'm sure not the best thing to do from an ecological standpoint, but I was told it is something that we should try it once.
Lots of love,
Katie
p.s. I've started to upload some of my Cañete photos to facebook so to look at them click here. There's also some more photos and information about the irrigation canal on the Hands On website.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Monday, October 22, 2007
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Pisco
Hi everyone,
I've been volunteering with Hands On for three weeks now and we're not sure yet how much longer we are going to stay. It's hard to leave when there is so much work to be done, but we'll probably get back on the road within the next couple of weeks. About two weeks ago someone from Hands On made a short and funny video and the project and they just posted it on youtube. To look at it, click here. (Leah, Rachel, and I are in it, but it goes quick so I'm not sure if you'll be able to spot us).
Last week I went on a one week trip to a small town called Con-con outside of Cañete with nine other Hands On volunteers. We went to help the town rebuild an irrigation canal that was damaged in the earthquake. The town is very small and only has a population of about 30, but the families that live there base their whole livelihoods off of their crops so it was really nice to work with them on such an important project. To see some pictures from that trip, click here. We were only able to complete about 200 meters of the canal and tomorrow I am going to go back for another week. I'll write more about it when I get back next week.
xoxo, Katie
I've been volunteering with Hands On for three weeks now and we're not sure yet how much longer we are going to stay. It's hard to leave when there is so much work to be done, but we'll probably get back on the road within the next couple of weeks. About two weeks ago someone from Hands On made a short and funny video and the project and they just posted it on youtube. To look at it, click here. (Leah, Rachel, and I are in it, but it goes quick so I'm not sure if you'll be able to spot us).
Last week I went on a one week trip to a small town called Con-con outside of Cañete with nine other Hands On volunteers. We went to help the town rebuild an irrigation canal that was damaged in the earthquake. The town is very small and only has a population of about 30, but the families that live there base their whole livelihoods off of their crops so it was really nice to work with them on such an important project. To see some pictures from that trip, click here. We were only able to complete about 200 meters of the canal and tomorrow I am going to go back for another week. I'll write more about it when I get back next week.
xoxo, Katie
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Hi everyone!
We've been in Pisco for about a week now, though it feels like it has been a lot longer. The 8.0 earthquake that happened on August 15th destroyed about 80 percent of the city and ruined about 85,000 houses. Rachel, Leah, and I have been working with an NGO called Hands On Disaster Relief. The organization is great and I'm really glad we were able to find them. The work itself is pretty intense. We work from 8-12 and then from 1:30-5:30 and so far most of the work has been clearing rubble from houses that were destroyed and throwing all the contents in the street so that the bulldozers can come along and clear it all. Our goal at the moment is to clear spaces large enough so that the families can get tents or modular houses that are being donated and put them up to live in temporarily. My body is finally getting used to the work, but I could hardly move after the first few days because I was so sore!
In addition to clearing rubble, I also spent one day sorting clothes in a huge warehouse at the port. Donations have been flooding in and unfortunately, they are not getting to the people who need them as fast as they should. A couple volunteers from Hands On are trying to work it out so that we can help distribute some of the supplies to areas that have not yet received any aid. Yesterday I also spent a half day working at a UNICEF sponsored project with kids who are living in a refuge camp. It was a lot of fun and it was nice to be able to help provide a sense of normalcy for kids who have just had their worlds just turned upside down. I'm hoping to go back every week that I am here. We originally committed to a week, but I think we'll stay here for a month.
When we arrived there were about 25 other volunteers and now there are about 40 of us with more expected to arrive soon. It has been fun getting to meet people from all over and I've been impressed in general with how easy it has been to share a small space with so many people. Our lunch and dinners are prepared by two local women and we all take turns doing the dishes and all the general clean-up.
Love, Katie
We've been in Pisco for about a week now, though it feels like it has been a lot longer. The 8.0 earthquake that happened on August 15th destroyed about 80 percent of the city and ruined about 85,000 houses. Rachel, Leah, and I have been working with an NGO called Hands On Disaster Relief. The organization is great and I'm really glad we were able to find them. The work itself is pretty intense. We work from 8-12 and then from 1:30-5:30 and so far most of the work has been clearing rubble from houses that were destroyed and throwing all the contents in the street so that the bulldozers can come along and clear it all. Our goal at the moment is to clear spaces large enough so that the families can get tents or modular houses that are being donated and put them up to live in temporarily. My body is finally getting used to the work, but I could hardly move after the first few days because I was so sore!
In addition to clearing rubble, I also spent one day sorting clothes in a huge warehouse at the port. Donations have been flooding in and unfortunately, they are not getting to the people who need them as fast as they should. A couple volunteers from Hands On are trying to work it out so that we can help distribute some of the supplies to areas that have not yet received any aid. Yesterday I also spent a half day working at a UNICEF sponsored project with kids who are living in a refuge camp. It was a lot of fun and it was nice to be able to help provide a sense of normalcy for kids who have just had their worlds just turned upside down. I'm hoping to go back every week that I am here. We originally committed to a week, but I think we'll stay here for a month.
When we arrived there were about 25 other volunteers and now there are about 40 of us with more expected to arrive soon. It has been fun getting to meet people from all over and I've been impressed in general with how easy it has been to share a small space with so many people. Our lunch and dinners are prepared by two local women and we all take turns doing the dishes and all the general clean-up.
Love, Katie
Friday, September 21, 2007
Monday, September 17, 2007
Peru!
Greetings from Peru! We've been here for four days now and have been having a good time, except for the cold! We spent the past few days exploring Lima and trying to navigate our way around the city using public transportation. Lima is huge, sprawling city of about 8 million people (about a third of the total population of Peru) and since it is winter here it's overcast and cold everyday.
Jose Luis (the friend of a friend that we stayed with) was a great host and gave up his bedroom for us for a couple of nights. On Saturday night we went with him and some of his friends to a Salsa concert in Callao. The music was good, but it was outside and even though we each had on about 5 layers, we were still freezing. We were ready to leave by around 11pm, but had to wait for everyone else until 2:30am because we were told it was too dangerous for us to get a taxi by ourselves. We were pretty miserable by that point, but we made it home safely and happily crawled into our sleeping bags.
On Sunday we went to the National Museum and spent a couple hours looking at a photography exhibit about the history of Peru from 1980 to 2000. Most of you probably know about the Shining Path and the war that raged between them and the military for decades. It was a powerful exhibit with many images that were hard to look at, but it was also interesting and helped me to further understand some of Peru's complex history.
This morning we went off in search of sleeping mattresses and found a couple large inflatable mattresses that should work. Then we packed up all our stuff (we have a lot since we have our three large backpacks, three daypacks, and three suitcases of donations) and got a bus to Pisco. The bus ride took about three and a half hours and as we got close to Pisco we started seeing evidence of the recent earthquake. Piles of bricks and building materials litter the streets and some whole city blocks are completely destroyed.
After getting off the bus we took a taxi to our 'new house' and so far have only met a few other volunteers (most people are still working for the day). We'll be working six days a week, about 8 hours a day and I'm looking forward to plunging in tomorrow and getting into a routine.
I gotta go to dinner, but I'll try to write again soon,
xoxo, Katie
Jose Luis (the friend of a friend that we stayed with) was a great host and gave up his bedroom for us for a couple of nights. On Saturday night we went with him and some of his friends to a Salsa concert in Callao. The music was good, but it was outside and even though we each had on about 5 layers, we were still freezing. We were ready to leave by around 11pm, but had to wait for everyone else until 2:30am because we were told it was too dangerous for us to get a taxi by ourselves. We were pretty miserable by that point, but we made it home safely and happily crawled into our sleeping bags.
On Sunday we went to the National Museum and spent a couple hours looking at a photography exhibit about the history of Peru from 1980 to 2000. Most of you probably know about the Shining Path and the war that raged between them and the military for decades. It was a powerful exhibit with many images that were hard to look at, but it was also interesting and helped me to further understand some of Peru's complex history.
This morning we went off in search of sleeping mattresses and found a couple large inflatable mattresses that should work. Then we packed up all our stuff (we have a lot since we have our three large backpacks, three daypacks, and three suitcases of donations) and got a bus to Pisco. The bus ride took about three and a half hours and as we got close to Pisco we started seeing evidence of the recent earthquake. Piles of bricks and building materials litter the streets and some whole city blocks are completely destroyed.
After getting off the bus we took a taxi to our 'new house' and so far have only met a few other volunteers (most people are still working for the day). We'll be working six days a week, about 8 hours a day and I'm looking forward to plunging in tomorrow and getting into a routine.
I gotta go to dinner, but I'll try to write again soon,
xoxo, Katie
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Last night in NC
It's been just over two months since my last entry so this entry is way overdue! However, since I'm leaving the country for 8 months tomorrow and I haven't started packing yet, I'm going to have to keep this brief.
I last wrote in Costa Rica and from there Leah, Rachel, and I traveled to Panama and met up with Ruben (Rachel's boyfriend). We did a whirlwind tour of Panama and spent time in an indigenous community that Rachel had spent time with a few years ago when she studied abroad there. It was amazing few days and we were able to visit 4 out of the 11 Naso villages that are located close to the Costa Rican border. From there we went to Bocas del Toro and spent almost a week at the beach relaxing and doing some snorkeling. After that we went to David to visit Ruben's family and spent a few days with them and did some hiking. From there we went to Panama City for just a couple nights before flying back to the states.
I thought I might have some culture shock after being gone for about 7 months so I was a little surprised about how smooth my transition was to my life here. The biggest change was orienting myself to Carrboro since my mom moved here from Durham while I was away. I spent my first month back in NC working for a nonprofit in Durham and catching with friends and family. It was great to be back except for the NC heat and humidity!
Near the end of August I flew up to MA and spent about a week visiting friends from Clark and then spent a week in Keene visiting my dad and stepmom. I was able to do some hiking, boating, swimming, and blueberry picking so I was happy. Then this past weekend I went to my friend Rebecca's wedding in Provincetown and it was a beautiful event. It took place on the beach and was casual and fun. Rebecca and I have been friends since age four so it was not something that I wanted to miss!
I flew back to NC two days ago and tomorrow my friends and I will be flying to Peru. I've had a great six weeks in the states, but at the same time I'm feeling ready to hit the road again. I'm especially excited because this time I'm going to a continent that I've never been to before and I'm curious to see how different it is from Central America. The dad of a friend of a friend is going to pick us up at the airport and our plan is to stay in Lima for four nights and then head south to Pisco where we'll be doing earthquake relief work for a few weeks. I'll write more about that once I get there.
Take care and please keep in touch!
I last wrote in Costa Rica and from there Leah, Rachel, and I traveled to Panama and met up with Ruben (Rachel's boyfriend). We did a whirlwind tour of Panama and spent time in an indigenous community that Rachel had spent time with a few years ago when she studied abroad there. It was amazing few days and we were able to visit 4 out of the 11 Naso villages that are located close to the Costa Rican border. From there we went to Bocas del Toro and spent almost a week at the beach relaxing and doing some snorkeling. After that we went to David to visit Ruben's family and spent a few days with them and did some hiking. From there we went to Panama City for just a couple nights before flying back to the states.
I thought I might have some culture shock after being gone for about 7 months so I was a little surprised about how smooth my transition was to my life here. The biggest change was orienting myself to Carrboro since my mom moved here from Durham while I was away. I spent my first month back in NC working for a nonprofit in Durham and catching with friends and family. It was great to be back except for the NC heat and humidity!
Near the end of August I flew up to MA and spent about a week visiting friends from Clark and then spent a week in Keene visiting my dad and stepmom. I was able to do some hiking, boating, swimming, and blueberry picking so I was happy. Then this past weekend I went to my friend Rebecca's wedding in Provincetown and it was a beautiful event. It took place on the beach and was casual and fun. Rebecca and I have been friends since age four so it was not something that I wanted to miss!
I flew back to NC two days ago and tomorrow my friends and I will be flying to Peru. I've had a great six weeks in the states, but at the same time I'm feeling ready to hit the road again. I'm especially excited because this time I'm going to a continent that I've never been to before and I'm curious to see how different it is from Central America. The dad of a friend of a friend is going to pick us up at the airport and our plan is to stay in Lima for four nights and then head south to Pisco where we'll be doing earthquake relief work for a few weeks. I'll write more about that once I get there.
Take care and please keep in touch!
Monday, July 09, 2007
San Jose, Costa Rica
Our month at the farm went by really fast and now we're in San Jose for a few days before heading to Panama tomorrow. We made some good friends at the farm and so it was sad to say goodbye. Luckily, our friend Rebecca who is volunteering at the farm for a year bought a plane ticket while we were there to come visit us in Argentina in December and is also planning on visiting in Guatemala in February so we'll definitely see her again soon. The hardest part of this trip is getting attached to a place and people and then always having to move on. It is sad, but I know it's worth it because many more adventures await us in South America. We're hoping to also volunteer on organic farms in Argentina and Chile and I'm curious as to how they will compare with our experience at Rancho Margot. I really loved my daily routine on the farm with the animals and I miss it. It was amazing to see how much Sukia (the baby spider monkey) changed over the course of a month. She learned how to make new sounds and started swinging on her ropes and grew a lot more confident in general.
I want to write more but tomorrow we have to get up at 4:30 to catch our bus to Panama so I should get some rest. We're going to spend the rest of the week with an idigenous group in El Teribe (Rachel did her independent study with them a few years ago) and then head to the beach next weekend.
xoxo, Katie
I want to write more but tomorrow we have to get up at 4:30 to catch our bus to Panama so I should get some rest. We're going to spend the rest of the week with an idigenous group in El Teribe (Rachel did her independent study with them a few years ago) and then head to the beach next weekend.
xoxo, Katie
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Costa Rica!
Greetings from Costa Rica! A week ago at this time Rachel, Leah, and I were on a bus from Nicaragua to Cañas. The bus trip was fine, though the border crossing seemed to take forever, but once we got to Cañas we had a hard time finding where we were supposed to wait to catch our next bus. We waited for about an hour at a bus stop and when we gave up on the bus and stood up we realized that Rachel's daypack was gone. She lost a lot of stuff, but was most disappointed about losing her passport. Tomorrow she is going with someone from the farm to the embassy in San Jose and hopefully she'll be able to get another one quickly. We filed a report at the police station and with that document they said it would be easier to get it replaced. After leaving the police station we saw our bus go by and not wanting to wait another 3 hours until the next one we hitchhiked to Arenal, spent the night there and then went to the farm the next day. The guy that we hitched a ride with was very friendly and gave us a history lesson about the area as we drove along.
Apart from Rachel getting robbed, we've had a really positive experience in Costa Rica so far. The farm where we are volunteering is beautiful! There are about 50 employees at the farm and we live in a bunkhouse with most of them so we've found ourself in an interesting little community that we weren't expecting. Everyone has been very friendly and welcoming and our nickname here is Charlie's Angels (one of the cooks gives everyone a nickname when they arrive and considering some of the other nicknames we heard, we feel pretty lucky with ours).
I spend my mornings with the veternarian checking on all the animals and feeding them. The farm has a rescue center for animals and even though it isn't officially open yet, they already have 6 deer, 5 monkeys (3 capuchin monkeys and 2 spider monkeys), a tucan, a raccoon, and tepezcuintles (large rodents). They also have other animals that are not part of the center such as horses, cows, chickens, and dogs. My favorite is a baby spider monkey named Sukia that is 4-5 months old. She has a lot of personality and has been warming up to me more and more each day. The veternarian is leaving is leaving today for four days so it will be up to me take care of them for the next few days. In the afternoons I've been working on a reforestation project with a guy who knows everything about nature. So far I've mainly just been helping to fill small plastic bags with dirt to plant the seeds in, but I'm hoping that I'll get to plant more trees in the future. Leah has been working mainly on construction projects and Rachel has been in the gardens planting and weeding and also is in charge of the chickens (which often means chasing after them when they escape).
My work day starts at 6am and ends between 4-5pm with breaks for breakfast and lunch, Yoga class is offered every afternoon at 4:30 and I've been a few times so far. It feels great after a long day. Dinner is at 6 and by 8 we're usually in bed. We only have Sundays off so we won't be able to do much traveling while we're here, but we're planning on spending a couple days in San Jose after we finish at the farm and before we bus to Panama.
xoxo, Katie
Apart from Rachel getting robbed, we've had a really positive experience in Costa Rica so far. The farm where we are volunteering is beautiful! There are about 50 employees at the farm and we live in a bunkhouse with most of them so we've found ourself in an interesting little community that we weren't expecting. Everyone has been very friendly and welcoming and our nickname here is Charlie's Angels (one of the cooks gives everyone a nickname when they arrive and considering some of the other nicknames we heard, we feel pretty lucky with ours).
I spend my mornings with the veternarian checking on all the animals and feeding them. The farm has a rescue center for animals and even though it isn't officially open yet, they already have 6 deer, 5 monkeys (3 capuchin monkeys and 2 spider monkeys), a tucan, a raccoon, and tepezcuintles (large rodents). They also have other animals that are not part of the center such as horses, cows, chickens, and dogs. My favorite is a baby spider monkey named Sukia that is 4-5 months old. She has a lot of personality and has been warming up to me more and more each day. The veternarian is leaving is leaving today for four days so it will be up to me take care of them for the next few days. In the afternoons I've been working on a reforestation project with a guy who knows everything about nature. So far I've mainly just been helping to fill small plastic bags with dirt to plant the seeds in, but I'm hoping that I'll get to plant more trees in the future. Leah has been working mainly on construction projects and Rachel has been in the gardens planting and weeding and also is in charge of the chickens (which often means chasing after them when they escape).
My work day starts at 6am and ends between 4-5pm with breaks for breakfast and lunch, Yoga class is offered every afternoon at 4:30 and I've been a few times so far. It feels great after a long day. Dinner is at 6 and by 8 we're usually in bed. We only have Sundays off so we won't be able to do much traveling while we're here, but we're planning on spending a couple days in San Jose after we finish at the farm and before we bus to Panama.
xoxo, Katie
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Nicaragua
We've been in Nicaragua for about one month now and tomorrow morning we are going to take a bus to Costa Rica. Last week we agonized over whether to go back to Guatemala, go to Costa Rica, or go to Panama and finally decided to go spend a month on an organic farm in Costa Rica. The farm is called Rancho Margot and it is pretty close to the border with Nicaragua and it sounds really nice. We're looking forward to a cooler climate and spending some time in nature!
Our last week in Nica has been pretty hectic with getting a lot of last minute stuff done. Last weekend we took Engel, David, Marlon and his siblings and two nephews to Granada for the weekeend (14 people total). We spent the night in a nice hostel and in the morning went for a boat ride on Lake Nicaragua.
On Wednesday we went and visited the city garbage dump in Managua. We have a local friend who works with a project at the dump and so she arranged for someone to drive us through the dump and then drop us off at a school located within the dump to hang out and meet some of the kids. I was curious to see how the dump compares to the one in Guatemala City and it is completely different. The dump has not been walled off like the one in Guatemala so people live within the dump boundaries and can work whenever they want. When we first drove in, I was surprised to see cows grazing everywhere in trash. The guy we were with said that the people who work in the dump always graze their cows there during the day. The school was much smaller than Safe Passage, it only has about 250 students, but before it was built 7 years ago none of the children currently in the school had the opportunity to attend classes.
Yesterday we had planned to spend the day taking Engel's house apart and then putting it back together with more materials. Leah's mom donated some money to buy more wood and tin because water was constantly getting into his house. We bought the materials in the morning and then the boys arranged for a man with a horse and cart to carry the materials from the market to his house. It took the poor horse about an hour to get all the way to his house and when we got there his neighbor had bad news for us. First he said that he was going to sell the land and that Engel had to leave that same day. We considered buying the land ourselves when we found out how cheap it was (around $175), but then the man came back and said that his wife wouldn't let him sell the land and that Engel had to leave anyway. The man with the cart had stayed with us throughout all this and offered a place on his land for Engel to build a room. Engel seriousely considered it, but then at the last minute decided to move in with an aunt so we loaded all the materials back onto the cart and it took an hour and half to get from Engel's house to his aunts house. It was a crazy day! I'm just glad that Engel found out that he had to move out of his house before we spent the day working on the house.
I gotta run...tonight we are taking all the boys out to dinner.
xoxo, Katie
p.s. Keep in touch!
Our last week in Nica has been pretty hectic with getting a lot of last minute stuff done. Last weekend we took Engel, David, Marlon and his siblings and two nephews to Granada for the weekeend (14 people total). We spent the night in a nice hostel and in the morning went for a boat ride on Lake Nicaragua.
On Wednesday we went and visited the city garbage dump in Managua. We have a local friend who works with a project at the dump and so she arranged for someone to drive us through the dump and then drop us off at a school located within the dump to hang out and meet some of the kids. I was curious to see how the dump compares to the one in Guatemala City and it is completely different. The dump has not been walled off like the one in Guatemala so people live within the dump boundaries and can work whenever they want. When we first drove in, I was surprised to see cows grazing everywhere in trash. The guy we were with said that the people who work in the dump always graze their cows there during the day. The school was much smaller than Safe Passage, it only has about 250 students, but before it was built 7 years ago none of the children currently in the school had the opportunity to attend classes.
Yesterday we had planned to spend the day taking Engel's house apart and then putting it back together with more materials. Leah's mom donated some money to buy more wood and tin because water was constantly getting into his house. We bought the materials in the morning and then the boys arranged for a man with a horse and cart to carry the materials from the market to his house. It took the poor horse about an hour to get all the way to his house and when we got there his neighbor had bad news for us. First he said that he was going to sell the land and that Engel had to leave that same day. We considered buying the land ourselves when we found out how cheap it was (around $175), but then the man came back and said that his wife wouldn't let him sell the land and that Engel had to leave anyway. The man with the cart had stayed with us throughout all this and offered a place on his land for Engel to build a room. Engel seriousely considered it, but then at the last minute decided to move in with an aunt so we loaded all the materials back onto the cart and it took an hour and half to get from Engel's house to his aunts house. It was a crazy day! I'm just glad that Engel found out that he had to move out of his house before we spent the day working on the house.
I gotta run...tonight we are taking all the boys out to dinner.
xoxo, Katie
p.s. Keep in touch!
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Monday, May 28, 2007
Managua, Nicaragua
After close to five months of traveling we finally made it south of Guatemala! We've been in Nicaragua for two weeks now and have spent most of the time at the Quaker guest house where we usually stay. We stayed at the orphanage for two nights our first weekend here and it was strange to see how much the place has changed and how disconnected we feel from it now. Most of the kids that we were close with have either been adopted or kicked out and most of the staff has also changed. Even so, it was nice to see the kids we know and meet a few of the new kids. Marlon went with us (he flew in on the 18th) and I think it was especially fun for him to hang out with his friends that still live there.
This past weekend we went on our third annual trip to Esteli to visit Esmir's family. We took seven of the boys with us and spent two nights there. On Saturday we hiked to a river with a beautiful waterfall and after about half an hour it started raining so we hiked back up and since we didn't want to wait the three hours until the next bus, we walked for two hours out to the main road. The landscape was really pretty and after spending so much time in the city, it was nice to spend some time in the country and breath fresh air!
We're planning on spending another two weeks in Nicaragua and then either going to work on a WWOOF farm in Costa Rica for a few weeks or go straight to Panama. It's still up in the air. We did, however, buy our tickets back to the states. We're going home for 7 weeks (from July 25th-September 13) to visit friends and family, work, and Leah and I each have a wedding to go to. We're flying home from Panama and then from NC we are going to fly to Peru. I'm sad that we're going to skip Ecuador, but it makes the most sense in terms of time.
We've been really busy the past two weeks, but it is hard to explain exactly what we've been doing since every day has been different. A lot of the work has been related to Opening Doors. David, who we've been working with for almost four years graduated from high school in December and decided to take a year off before starting university. We registered him for English and computer classes and are hoping to help him pick out with university he wants to go to before we leave. We also tracked down our friend Engel who is now living by himself in a one bedroom room and working in a sweat factory. His life has been really hard, but he never ceases to amaze us with the philosophical things that he says. We are hoping to get him registered for the next school year for Saturday classes so that he can continue working during the week. Here's just a little update on what we've been up to and hopefully I'll post some photos soon!
xoxo, Katie
P.S. It is soooooooo hot here. I miss the climate in Guatemala.
This past weekend we went on our third annual trip to Esteli to visit Esmir's family. We took seven of the boys with us and spent two nights there. On Saturday we hiked to a river with a beautiful waterfall and after about half an hour it started raining so we hiked back up and since we didn't want to wait the three hours until the next bus, we walked for two hours out to the main road. The landscape was really pretty and after spending so much time in the city, it was nice to spend some time in the country and breath fresh air!
We're planning on spending another two weeks in Nicaragua and then either going to work on a WWOOF farm in Costa Rica for a few weeks or go straight to Panama. It's still up in the air. We did, however, buy our tickets back to the states. We're going home for 7 weeks (from July 25th-September 13) to visit friends and family, work, and Leah and I each have a wedding to go to. We're flying home from Panama and then from NC we are going to fly to Peru. I'm sad that we're going to skip Ecuador, but it makes the most sense in terms of time.
We've been really busy the past two weeks, but it is hard to explain exactly what we've been doing since every day has been different. A lot of the work has been related to Opening Doors. David, who we've been working with for almost four years graduated from high school in December and decided to take a year off before starting university. We registered him for English and computer classes and are hoping to help him pick out with university he wants to go to before we leave. We also tracked down our friend Engel who is now living by himself in a one bedroom room and working in a sweat factory. His life has been really hard, but he never ceases to amaze us with the philosophical things that he says. We are hoping to get him registered for the next school year for Saturday classes so that he can continue working during the week. Here's just a little update on what we've been up to and hopefully I'll post some photos soon!
xoxo, Katie
P.S. It is soooooooo hot here. I miss the climate in Guatemala.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Guatemala
I'm sorry I've been so bad about writing entries lately! We arrived back in Guatemala two weeks ago after spending almost a week in Oaxaca and then a night in San Cristobal de las Casas. After spending two and a half months at the project before, two weeks felt like almost nothing! It was fun to be back in classroom, but I wish we could have had more time. Leah and I had some conversations about going to Nicaragua and then coming back to Guatemala and spending the rest of the year here and skipping South America. Everyone we talk to advises us to keep going and to come back here for a year after our trip is finished. I feel really torn because I really want to stay, but at the same time I don't want to give up this once in a lifetime trip. I think we will keep going, but with the idea that we'll spend some more time here at the end of our trip.
Tomorrow we are going to spend the night with friends in Guatemala City and then on Tuesday morning we'll take a bus to Nicaragua. As sad as we are to leave Guatemala, we are also excited to get to Nicaragua and see our friends there. Marlon will be flying into Managua on Friday so we'll pick him up and then we're planning on spending next weekend at the orphanage. The only thing I'm not looking forward to is the climate change....Nicaragua is soo hot!
xoxo, Katie
P.S. Happy Mother's Mom!
Tomorrow we are going to spend the night with friends in Guatemala City and then on Tuesday morning we'll take a bus to Nicaragua. As sad as we are to leave Guatemala, we are also excited to get to Nicaragua and see our friends there. Marlon will be flying into Managua on Friday so we'll pick him up and then we're planning on spending next weekend at the orphanage. The only thing I'm not looking forward to is the climate change....Nicaragua is soo hot!
xoxo, Katie
P.S. Happy Mother's Mom!
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Mexico City
Since leaving Guatemala a few weeks ago we've spent lots of time on buses, one night in Oaxaca, about a week on the Oaxacan coast and close to a week in Mexico City. The beginning of the trip was challenging because we had it in our minds that we wanted to get to the beach as soon as possible. We bought tickets in Guatemala all the way to the beach, but once we got to Tapachula (the border town) we found out that the overnight bus we were planning to take was full. It turns out there was writing in very small letters on our tickets that said our tickets were dependent on available space. The bus for the following night was already full as well and not wanting to spent any more time than necessary in Tapachula, we bought tickets on a night bus to Oaxaca. We got to bus station what we thought was 45 minutes early, but when we got there we were told that the bus already left (it turns out there is a one hour time difference between Mexico and Guatemala). We really wanted to get out of Tapachula and so our only option was to get a taxi and try to catch up with our bus at the next stop 45 minutes away. The taxi driver seemed happy for the challenge and we sped towards the next town at around 100 km/hour. It was a bit scary, but we made it to Huixtla about 3 minutes before our bus. Whew!
After one night in Oaxaca we decided to head for the coast. We spent our first night at the beach in Puerto Escondido, but didn't like the feel of the place so the next day we headed to Zipolite. Leah and I had already been to Zipolite and knew that we liked it there. Zipolite is a small, laid back beach town with enormous waves. We spent the next few days playing cards (our rummy scores are up to about 3000 now), swimming, eating, and reading in the hammocks. William and Toño (the directors from Leah and my study abroad program) also happened to be at the beach in a nearby town at the same time so we were able to hang out with them a bit and meet the current SIT group. It was fun to see them and it felt like just yesterday that I was there as a student.
After a wonderful and relaxing week at the coast, we boarded a bus to Mexico City. We've been staying in Santo Domingo with our friend Martin (the same place we stayed when we were in Mexico City before). Martin and our other friends, Diego and Vanessa, have been wonderful hosts and take us somewhere new almost every day. My birthday was on the 12th and Leah, Rachel, and I spent most of the day wandering around one of the beautiful parks in downtown and went to a history museum. Then in the evening we all piled into Martin's van and went to a spot that overlooks Mexico City. Once we parked we climbed for about 10 minutes up a very steep hill of sand. It was hard going but once we made it to the top the view was incredible. It was freezing up there and I was very glad to have brought my sleeping bag! A little after 1am the ground started shaking and as we looked out on the city we saw small explosions and then huge patches on the city turned black. The earthquake lasted about 30 seconds and was more exciting than scary. It made for a memorable birthday, even though it wasn't technically my birthday anymore when it happened.
On Sunday we went with Martin, Diego, and Vanessa to Xochilmilco which is where the Aztecs first began building floating gardens called chinampas. We took a boat ride for an hour through the canals and it reminded me a lot of Italy (except that the boats were much more colorful and it was very crowded and we kept crashing into other boats and the sides of the canals). Every fifth boat or so had a mariachi band on board and there were lots of people cooking up tacos and quesadillas out of frying pans in their boats. After the boat ride we walked around the artisan market and then the flower and plant market.
Today we went to a birthday party for Doña Ema (Leah and I stayed with her and her family the first time we came to Santo Domingo). We visited her a few days ago and she asked us to come over and share a meal with her, but assured us that there would be no party because there is no space in their house to have a party for the 27 people that live there plus guests. However, when we showed up today they told us (and Doña Ema) that we were going to a relatives house and when we got there it was all set up for a party. They even had a band and 7 huge speakers and there was lots of eating and dancing.
That's all for now...thanks for reading!
xoxo, Katie
After one night in Oaxaca we decided to head for the coast. We spent our first night at the beach in Puerto Escondido, but didn't like the feel of the place so the next day we headed to Zipolite. Leah and I had already been to Zipolite and knew that we liked it there. Zipolite is a small, laid back beach town with enormous waves. We spent the next few days playing cards (our rummy scores are up to about 3000 now), swimming, eating, and reading in the hammocks. William and Toño (the directors from Leah and my study abroad program) also happened to be at the beach in a nearby town at the same time so we were able to hang out with them a bit and meet the current SIT group. It was fun to see them and it felt like just yesterday that I was there as a student.
After a wonderful and relaxing week at the coast, we boarded a bus to Mexico City. We've been staying in Santo Domingo with our friend Martin (the same place we stayed when we were in Mexico City before). Martin and our other friends, Diego and Vanessa, have been wonderful hosts and take us somewhere new almost every day. My birthday was on the 12th and Leah, Rachel, and I spent most of the day wandering around one of the beautiful parks in downtown and went to a history museum. Then in the evening we all piled into Martin's van and went to a spot that overlooks Mexico City. Once we parked we climbed for about 10 minutes up a very steep hill of sand. It was hard going but once we made it to the top the view was incredible. It was freezing up there and I was very glad to have brought my sleeping bag! A little after 1am the ground started shaking and as we looked out on the city we saw small explosions and then huge patches on the city turned black. The earthquake lasted about 30 seconds and was more exciting than scary. It made for a memorable birthday, even though it wasn't technically my birthday anymore when it happened.
On Sunday we went with Martin, Diego, and Vanessa to Xochilmilco which is where the Aztecs first began building floating gardens called chinampas. We took a boat ride for an hour through the canals and it reminded me a lot of Italy (except that the boats were much more colorful and it was very crowded and we kept crashing into other boats and the sides of the canals). Every fifth boat or so had a mariachi band on board and there were lots of people cooking up tacos and quesadillas out of frying pans in their boats. After the boat ride we walked around the artisan market and then the flower and plant market.
Today we went to a birthday party for Doña Ema (Leah and I stayed with her and her family the first time we came to Santo Domingo). We visited her a few days ago and she asked us to come over and share a meal with her, but assured us that there would be no party because there is no space in their house to have a party for the 27 people that live there plus guests. However, when we showed up today they told us (and Doña Ema) that we were going to a relatives house and when we got there it was all set up for a party. They even had a band and 7 huge speakers and there was lots of eating and dancing.
That's all for now...thanks for reading!
xoxo, Katie
Friday, April 13, 2007
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Guatemala (my last entry from here for awhile)
The past couple weeks have been a mix of busyness and relaxation. My mom arrived two weeks ago and spent her first week volunteering at the project. The original plan was to have her volunteer in the guarderia with the young children, but she decided that she wanted to spend her time with my class (5th and 6th grade girls) so that she could see my daily routine and meet the kids who have become such a big part of my life. The kids were thrilled to meet her and the language barrier did not stop her from connecting with the kids. The week was bittersweet for me because it was my last week at the project and as the week progressed so did the kids insistence that I stay longer. It was especially hard since for the first time I wasn't leaving because I had to get back to school or do anything incredibly important, but rather, it is time to move on if we are going to make it to all the countries that we want to visit this year. Part of me is tempted to just stay here the whole year, but I'm also very excited about visiting friends in Mexico and Nicaragua and also going to countries that I've never been to before.
Friday (the 16th) was my last day at the project and both my morning and afternoon classes enjoyed breaking the piñatas that they worked so hard on throughout the week. They were especially happy to find chocolate inside that my mom had brought over from the states. My afternoon class threw a party for me that was unforgettable. They all chipped in to buy the ingrediants to make tostadas with guacamole and pasta. After dancing and playing a few games we went to the playground to play soccer. I will miss the kids a lot, but luckily I'll be back to volunteer for a few more weeks in May.
Leah and Rachel had one more week at the project while my mom and I went to Lake Atitlan for four nights. We stayed at a beautiful hotel called La Casa del Mundo and had a wonderful time. We spent the days reading by the lake, playing cards, swimming, and eating and every evening there was a candlelit four course dinner for all the guests. The food was delicous and it was a nice chance to meet people from all over, though interestingly enough, on our last night we sat across the table from a father and son from Raleigh. We also had the chance to go in a hot tub one night after dinner in a hot tub that was heated entirely by wood. There was a wood stove of sorts in the middle of the hot tub and it took the staff the better part of the afternoon to heat the water. It was very hot and at one point I jumped in the lake to cool off.
We got back to Antigua yesterday afternoon and after going to the market for some last minute shopping, we met up with some friends from the project and went out to dinner at a fancy Japanese restaurant. It was fun and the owner was very accommodating (he made wheat-free tempura and attempted to make to make fried ice cream even though it wasn't on the menu; unfortunately it doesn't work very well with homemade ice cream). My mom left this morning and my friends and I are leaving Antigua tomorrow. We're going to stay with friends in Guatemala City tomorrow night and then we'll head to Mexico on Monday morning. The plan is to take a bus to Tapachula (about five hours), have an eight hour layover there, and then take a bus to Puerto Escondido (about 16 hours). It's going to be a long ride, but once we get there we'll make up for it by spending a few days at the beach.
xoxo
p.s. I had hoped to post some photos, but unfortunately my camera disappeared last weekend at a birthday party we had for Leah at our apartment. I'm sad not to have the camera, but the worst part was losing my memory card with about 500 pictures. I'm glad I had already uploaded some of them online so at least I didn't lose all of them from the whole trip.
Friday (the 16th) was my last day at the project and both my morning and afternoon classes enjoyed breaking the piñatas that they worked so hard on throughout the week. They were especially happy to find chocolate inside that my mom had brought over from the states. My afternoon class threw a party for me that was unforgettable. They all chipped in to buy the ingrediants to make tostadas with guacamole and pasta. After dancing and playing a few games we went to the playground to play soccer. I will miss the kids a lot, but luckily I'll be back to volunteer for a few more weeks in May.
Leah and Rachel had one more week at the project while my mom and I went to Lake Atitlan for four nights. We stayed at a beautiful hotel called La Casa del Mundo and had a wonderful time. We spent the days reading by the lake, playing cards, swimming, and eating and every evening there was a candlelit four course dinner for all the guests. The food was delicous and it was a nice chance to meet people from all over, though interestingly enough, on our last night we sat across the table from a father and son from Raleigh. We also had the chance to go in a hot tub one night after dinner in a hot tub that was heated entirely by wood. There was a wood stove of sorts in the middle of the hot tub and it took the staff the better part of the afternoon to heat the water. It was very hot and at one point I jumped in the lake to cool off.
We got back to Antigua yesterday afternoon and after going to the market for some last minute shopping, we met up with some friends from the project and went out to dinner at a fancy Japanese restaurant. It was fun and the owner was very accommodating (he made wheat-free tempura and attempted to make to make fried ice cream even though it wasn't on the menu; unfortunately it doesn't work very well with homemade ice cream). My mom left this morning and my friends and I are leaving Antigua tomorrow. We're going to stay with friends in Guatemala City tomorrow night and then we'll head to Mexico on Monday morning. The plan is to take a bus to Tapachula (about five hours), have an eight hour layover there, and then take a bus to Puerto Escondido (about 16 hours). It's going to be a long ride, but once we get there we'll make up for it by spending a few days at the beach.
xoxo
p.s. I had hoped to post some photos, but unfortunately my camera disappeared last weekend at a birthday party we had for Leah at our apartment. I'm sad not to have the camera, but the worst part was losing my memory card with about 500 pictures. I'm glad I had already uploaded some of them online so at least I didn't lose all of them from the whole trip.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Guatemala
It hardly feels like Leah, Rachel, and I are on a one year trip since we have gotten so settled in Guatemala, but soon we will be packing up and heading back to Mexico. I only have one more week at the project and it will be bittersweet since I'm looking forward to going back to Mexico and I won't miss the 3+ hours on the chicken buses everyday, but at the same time it will be hard to say goodbye to the kids.
This past week at the project felt really long, but I think it is party because everything was turned upside down on Monday by a visit from Laura Bush and Wendy de Berger (the wife of Guatemala's president). The week leading up to the visit was filled with preparations to make everything look perfect and background checks on all the volunteers, teachers, and staff. My classroom was the model classroom so everything got moved around and huge lights were brought in by photographers. The room was also carefully inspected and dogs were brought in to sniff the entire building. While I wasn't very happy to have Laura Bush visit the project, it was very interesting to see all the work that went into planning a one hour visit. My kids were given art projects to work on, but they had to sit around for about an hour working on the projects very slowly because they weren't supposed to finish them before our visitors arrived. Once Laura Bush and Wendy de Berger arrived, they came into our classroom for about 15 minutes and I chatted with them a bit while they tried to fold paper flowers. The kids had no idea it was going to happen until they arrived at the project and I think the girls in my class felt a little bit uncomfortable by the 20 or so people from the press that came in and flashed photo after photo, but the kids were surprisingly patient and did very well. After leaving my class they visited a few other rooms and then had a press conference in the library and then after a photo with all the American volunteers, they were on their way. On her way out, Laura told us that she was very proud of us for volunteering and that all the hard work we do is very sweet. I was very glad to have everything go back to normal on Tuesday.
Tonight I'm going to the airport to pick up my mom and I'm excited that she will finally be here soon! Tomorrow my sponsor kid (Hector) and his family, along with Leah and Rachel's sponsor kids and their families, will all be coming to Antigua and we are planning on having a picnic in the central park and then hanging out and playing sports with them. Hopefully I'll be able to post some more pictures soon.
Best wishes to everyone!
xoxo, Katie
This past week at the project felt really long, but I think it is party because everything was turned upside down on Monday by a visit from Laura Bush and Wendy de Berger (the wife of Guatemala's president). The week leading up to the visit was filled with preparations to make everything look perfect and background checks on all the volunteers, teachers, and staff. My classroom was the model classroom so everything got moved around and huge lights were brought in by photographers. The room was also carefully inspected and dogs were brought in to sniff the entire building. While I wasn't very happy to have Laura Bush visit the project, it was very interesting to see all the work that went into planning a one hour visit. My kids were given art projects to work on, but they had to sit around for about an hour working on the projects very slowly because they weren't supposed to finish them before our visitors arrived. Once Laura Bush and Wendy de Berger arrived, they came into our classroom for about 15 minutes and I chatted with them a bit while they tried to fold paper flowers. The kids had no idea it was going to happen until they arrived at the project and I think the girls in my class felt a little bit uncomfortable by the 20 or so people from the press that came in and flashed photo after photo, but the kids were surprisingly patient and did very well. After leaving my class they visited a few other rooms and then had a press conference in the library and then after a photo with all the American volunteers, they were on their way. On her way out, Laura told us that she was very proud of us for volunteering and that all the hard work we do is very sweet. I was very glad to have everything go back to normal on Tuesday.
Tonight I'm going to the airport to pick up my mom and I'm excited that she will finally be here soon! Tomorrow my sponsor kid (Hector) and his family, along with Leah and Rachel's sponsor kids and their families, will all be coming to Antigua and we are planning on having a picnic in the central park and then hanging out and playing sports with them. Hopefully I'll be able to post some more pictures soon.
Best wishes to everyone!
xoxo, Katie
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Guatemala
We've been volunteering with Safe Passage for 6 weeks now and time has been flying by! I've been having a great time with my class and I'm sad that I only have three weeks left. This past week a volunteer from New York brought down a lot of knitting needles and yarn and a lot of the girls have gotten really into it and are already talking about all the different types of things they want to make. I have to admit that I'm having a lot of fun with it also and have a hard time putting my knitting down!
Even though I haven't written an entry in a few weeks, I don't have very much to report because we don't do very much besides go to the project and sleep. Arnie left about two weeks ago and Ruben (Rachel's boyfriend) arrived around the same time so there are four of us living in the apartment now. We've all been sick off and on over the past couple weeks and a lot of the kids have been sick as well. The pollution is so bad here (it seems much worse than Mexico City) so once you get sick it is really hard to get better. One thing that has been making me feel better is going to yoga class. Today was my third class (it happens every Saturday morning) and it feels so good to relax and stretch after a long week.
In two weeks my mom is coming to Guatemala and I'm looking forward to showing her Safe Passage since she has been hearing about it for the past five years. She is going to volunteer with the babies for a week and then we are going to take a mini vacation at Lake Atitlan. After that, Leah and Rachel and I are going to head back to Mexico to visit the places we didn't get to (and spend some more time in Mexico City because we could never run out of things to do there).
I guess that's all for now...I posted my photos of the trip so far on Kodak Gallery today so if I didn't send you an invite and you would like to see them, post a message or send me an email and I will send you one.
xoxo,
Katie
Even though I haven't written an entry in a few weeks, I don't have very much to report because we don't do very much besides go to the project and sleep. Arnie left about two weeks ago and Ruben (Rachel's boyfriend) arrived around the same time so there are four of us living in the apartment now. We've all been sick off and on over the past couple weeks and a lot of the kids have been sick as well. The pollution is so bad here (it seems much worse than Mexico City) so once you get sick it is really hard to get better. One thing that has been making me feel better is going to yoga class. Today was my third class (it happens every Saturday morning) and it feels so good to relax and stretch after a long week.
In two weeks my mom is coming to Guatemala and I'm looking forward to showing her Safe Passage since she has been hearing about it for the past five years. She is going to volunteer with the babies for a week and then we are going to take a mini vacation at Lake Atitlan. After that, Leah and Rachel and I are going to head back to Mexico to visit the places we didn't get to (and spend some more time in Mexico City because we could never run out of things to do there).
I guess that's all for now...I posted my photos of the trip so far on Kodak Gallery today so if I didn't send you an invite and you would like to see them, post a message or send me an email and I will send you one.
xoxo,
Katie
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Still in Guatemala
It has been a fun and busy week. The inauguration for the new Early Childhood Center was on Thursday afternoon and it was a bittersweet event without Hanley there. The building, which is right across from the dump, is absolutely beautiful and has a large grass field for the children. The space is also large enough for additional children so 60 more babies and young children will be accepted to the project over the next few months. A floor plan for a new building for high school students was also unveiled at the inauguration. I'm not sure how long it will take to raise the money necessary to start the building, but I'm excited about what this means for the many students who will be entering high school within the next few years.
Yesterday we went to the zoo in Guatemala City. The plan had been to go with all of our sponsor families, but unfortunately my sponsor kid and his two brothers did not show up so we went with just Leah and Rachel's sponsor kids and their families. I was disappointed because I was looking forward to spending time with Hector outside of the project, but we still had a really nice time. Two of the younger boys ran in front the whole time pointing excitedly at each exhibit. I'll never forget one of them yelling out "look look, a squirrel!"
This morning we went out to a delicious brunch with Arnie (Leah's dad) and then spent a long time wandering around the market in Antigua. For about $3 we filled two backpacks full of vegetables and tonight we are going to make a big soup that we'll have for dinner every night this week. We're always way too tired when we get back from the project to even think about cooking.
xoxo
Yesterday we went to the zoo in Guatemala City. The plan had been to go with all of our sponsor families, but unfortunately my sponsor kid and his two brothers did not show up so we went with just Leah and Rachel's sponsor kids and their families. I was disappointed because I was looking forward to spending time with Hector outside of the project, but we still had a really nice time. Two of the younger boys ran in front the whole time pointing excitedly at each exhibit. I'll never forget one of them yelling out "look look, a squirrel!"
This morning we went out to a delicious brunch with Arnie (Leah's dad) and then spent a long time wandering around the market in Antigua. For about $3 we filled two backpacks full of vegetables and tonight we are going to make a big soup that we'll have for dinner every night this week. We're always way too tired when we get back from the project to even think about cooking.
xoxo
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
One month!
Today marks excactly one month since we started our adventure and we're settling into Antigua for another two months. Last week we moved into a three bedroom apartment and spent the better part of the weekend making it feel like home. We printed a bunch of photos and put them up as well as some pictures the kids at the project made for us. We also bought a hammock at the market and put it up in our little courtyard. Now if only we didn't also have to share our apt. with a ton of bugs that resemble cockroaches... On Saturday night we had a housewarming party and further decorated our walls by inviting our guests to draw on them (the walls are already have lots of scribbles on them from the previous tenants so the guy we rent from said we could feel free to be as artistic as we like).
Our days at the project have been rewarding and long. We have to be at the bus station by 7am and usually don't get back until after 6pm. On Friday night it took three hours to get home and at one point, after standing still in traffic for a long time, our bus driver decided to take a short cut. We drove through a tiny town on a road that was obviously not made for buses and after successfully driving over two large piles of gravel, we got stuck on top of a huge mound of sand. The bus tipped precariously as two men tried to dig us out and lots of people from the town gathered around to watch the event. After a while the bus lurched forward and we continued on to Antigua and once we arrived everyone on the bus started cheering.
Last night I experienced my first earthquake! I was sitting at the kitchen table when everything started shaking and I looked up at the ceiling half expecting it to fall down. Luckily, it only lasted about 20 seconds (though it felt a lot longer) and nothing was damaged. Today in the newspaper I saw that it registered 4.5 on the Richter Scale. I hope we don't have anymore anytime soon.
Some of you have asked me how the volunteer is doing that was injured in the car accident a few weeks ago and from what I've heard, she is doing much better. She came out of the ICU late last week and is expected to fly back to the US tomorrow. She will recover there and have another operation in three months and then is planning on coming back to the project. I wish her the best and hope to see her in Guatemala when we come back through here towards the end of our trip.
Leah's dad, who is on the Safe Passage board, is flying to Guatemala tomorrow and he will be here for about 10 days. We're looking forward to seeing him and are planning an outing to the zoo next weekend with him and our sponsor kids and their families. If I'm on top of things I'll add some more photos next weekend of the zoo and my class at the project.
xoxo
p.s. keep the comments coming!
Our days at the project have been rewarding and long. We have to be at the bus station by 7am and usually don't get back until after 6pm. On Friday night it took three hours to get home and at one point, after standing still in traffic for a long time, our bus driver decided to take a short cut. We drove through a tiny town on a road that was obviously not made for buses and after successfully driving over two large piles of gravel, we got stuck on top of a huge mound of sand. The bus tipped precariously as two men tried to dig us out and lots of people from the town gathered around to watch the event. After a while the bus lurched forward and we continued on to Antigua and once we arrived everyone on the bus started cheering.
Last night I experienced my first earthquake! I was sitting at the kitchen table when everything started shaking and I looked up at the ceiling half expecting it to fall down. Luckily, it only lasted about 20 seconds (though it felt a lot longer) and nothing was damaged. Today in the newspaper I saw that it registered 4.5 on the Richter Scale. I hope we don't have anymore anytime soon.
Some of you have asked me how the volunteer is doing that was injured in the car accident a few weeks ago and from what I've heard, she is doing much better. She came out of the ICU late last week and is expected to fly back to the US tomorrow. She will recover there and have another operation in three months and then is planning on coming back to the project. I wish her the best and hope to see her in Guatemala when we come back through here towards the end of our trip.
Leah's dad, who is on the Safe Passage board, is flying to Guatemala tomorrow and he will be here for about 10 days. We're looking forward to seeing him and are planning an outing to the zoo next weekend with him and our sponsor kids and their families. If I'm on top of things I'll add some more photos next weekend of the zoo and my class at the project.
xoxo
p.s. keep the comments coming!
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Antigua, Guatemala
Yesterday marked exactly three weeks since we got on the bus in Chapel Hill and headed towards Mexico, though it feels like a lot more time has passed. We have finished our first week at the project and it was one of mixed emotions. I'm working with the 5th and 6th grade girls, as I have done for the past two years, and it has been nice to reconnect with the kids I already know and meet the new group of 5th graders. There have been three teachers with my class since July (the class has a reputation of being difficult to handle) but the current teacher is doing a really good job and the girls seem to like and respect her.
Despite the grief that I've felt over the course of the past week and and a half, I've also been moved by how many people have offered their support to Safe Passage and at the number of people who have gathered around the world to remember Hanley. I also found out this past week that there is a documentary about life in the Guatemala City Garbage Dump that has been nominated for an Oscar. The film is called "Recycled Life" and Hanley was interviewed several times in the making of the documentary. I'm looking forward to seeing it and I've heard that DVD's will available in the spring.
My friends and I are getting settled into life in Antigua and are planning to stay and work with Safe Passage until the end of March. Then we'll probably head back up to Mexico for a few weeks because we didn't make it to Oaxaca or the coast and we would like to see some of our friends there before we go to Nicaragua. For now we are content to stay in one place for a little while. The three of us are currently sharing a room in a guest house, but we are hoping to move into an apartment in a couple of weeks. Our daily commute to Guatemala City has been longer than usual due to construction on the road and it has been taking between 1.5-3 hours each morning to get there and then a little over an hour to get home so it has made for some long days. Even though the days are long, I can't complain because there is no where I would rather be.
xoxo
Despite the grief that I've felt over the course of the past week and and a half, I've also been moved by how many people have offered their support to Safe Passage and at the number of people who have gathered around the world to remember Hanley. I also found out this past week that there is a documentary about life in the Guatemala City Garbage Dump that has been nominated for an Oscar. The film is called "Recycled Life" and Hanley was interviewed several times in the making of the documentary. I'm looking forward to seeing it and I've heard that DVD's will available in the spring.
My friends and I are getting settled into life in Antigua and are planning to stay and work with Safe Passage until the end of March. Then we'll probably head back up to Mexico for a few weeks because we didn't make it to Oaxaca or the coast and we would like to see some of our friends there before we go to Nicaragua. For now we are content to stay in one place for a little while. The three of us are currently sharing a room in a guest house, but we are hoping to move into an apartment in a couple of weeks. Our daily commute to Guatemala City has been longer than usual due to construction on the road and it has been taking between 1.5-3 hours each morning to get there and then a little over an hour to get home so it has made for some long days. Even though the days are long, I can't complain because there is no where I would rather be.
xoxo
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Guatemala
Leah, Rachel, and I arrived in Guatemala much sooner than expected. On Friday afternoon we got the tragic news that Hanley, the director and founder of Safe Passage (the project that we volunteer with in Guatemala) was killed in a car accident. We were able to get a flight from Mexico City to Guatemala City on Saturday morning and then we went straight to the project where they were having a memorial service for Hanley. The project was full of grieving mothers and children and volunteers and staff. Hanley was only 36 but she touched the lives of so many people and she will be greatly missed. We are coping the best we can, but it is hard when something this sudden happens. Over the past few years, whenever anyone has asked me who my hero is, I've always answered Hanley because of the way she dedicated her life to other people. When Leah and I were 18 and in Guatemala for the first time she took us under her wing and has played a small, but very important part in my life ever since. There was an article yesterday in a Portland paper about Hanley, click here to see it. There is also more information about her on the Safe Passage website.
Below is a poem that my stepmom sent me that touched me.
You, who have gone
so suddenly,
Torn from this life:
We are still with you
As you are with us.
You, who have found
so suddenly
Light weaving of love:
We are still with you
As you are with us.
May our will guide you
In the mill of creation,
For we, who would sorrow,
Find purpose: Your light.
May our thoughts balm you
In the kiln of renewal,
For we, who would miss you,
Meet comfort: your love.
by Jens-Peter Linde
This morning there was a meeting for Safe Passage volunteers and we talked about how to help the children deal with the grief. It was helpful and I hope that I can be strong tomorrow when I start volunteering. A long term volunteer who was in the car at the time of the accident is currently in the hospital and having some complications so please hold her in the light. I send my love to each of you in this sad time.
Below is a poem that my stepmom sent me that touched me.
You, who have gone
so suddenly,
Torn from this life:
We are still with you
As you are with us.
You, who have found
so suddenly
Light weaving of love:
We are still with you
As you are with us.
May our will guide you
In the mill of creation,
For we, who would sorrow,
Find purpose: Your light.
May our thoughts balm you
In the kiln of renewal,
For we, who would miss you,
Meet comfort: your love.
by Jens-Peter Linde
This morning there was a meeting for Safe Passage volunteers and we talked about how to help the children deal with the grief. It was helpful and I hope that I can be strong tomorrow when I start volunteering. A long term volunteer who was in the car at the time of the accident is currently in the hospital and having some complications so please hold her in the light. I send my love to each of you in this sad time.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Mexico City
We made it to Mexico City on Saturday after spending Friday night with Leticia, Paco, and Chaak (friends of Rachel's family that lived in Durham until recently). We had a nice visit with them, though my getting sick on Friday night made it harder for me to enjoy myself. I was sick for most of the night throwing up and having diarrhea and since then I've felt under the weather, but I've been improving everyday. Today I almost feel normal again and I had my first real meal in days!
We've spent the past two nights at the house of a friend that Leah and I met when we studied in Mexico last year. Martin lives with his family and has given us his room for the week. His whole famliy is very sweet and his mom is a wonderful cook. We've seen a few of other friends that we met while studying here and today we spent the afternoon with a host family that we stayed with for a few days last September. They are a very sweet and large family (28 people live in their house) and our host mom spent a few hours catching us up on how the family is doing and talking about Mexican politics. The new president, Calderon, promised to help the poor, but prices for tortillas, gas, and milk have recently gone up and a lot of people are suffering and blaming him for the changes.
We're planning on spending the rest of this week in Mexico City, visiting more friends and passing more time with our host family. Leah and I also want to show Rachel some more of the places that we visited when we studied here. We're thinking that we'll take a bus to Oaxaca this weekend, we've heard that the political situation is much better there and we're looking forward to visiting friends and host families there as well.
I hope that everyone is doing well! Hugs and kisses to all!
We've spent the past two nights at the house of a friend that Leah and I met when we studied in Mexico last year. Martin lives with his family and has given us his room for the week. His whole famliy is very sweet and his mom is a wonderful cook. We've seen a few of other friends that we met while studying here and today we spent the afternoon with a host family that we stayed with for a few days last September. They are a very sweet and large family (28 people live in their house) and our host mom spent a few hours catching us up on how the family is doing and talking about Mexican politics. The new president, Calderon, promised to help the poor, but prices for tortillas, gas, and milk have recently gone up and a lot of people are suffering and blaming him for the changes.
We're planning on spending the rest of this week in Mexico City, visiting more friends and passing more time with our host family. Leah and I also want to show Rachel some more of the places that we visited when we studied here. We're thinking that we'll take a bus to Oaxaca this weekend, we've heard that the political situation is much better there and we're looking forward to visiting friends and host families there as well.
I hope that everyone is doing well! Hugs and kisses to all!
Thursday, January 11, 2007
San Miguel de Allende
This morning we said good bye to Guanajuato and our cute hostel and took a bus to San Miguel de Allende. The city is just as beautiful as Guanajuato, but the vibe is different. We were excited to find natural food stores all over town and we had dinner at a delicious organic restaurant.
After lunch we went looking for a botanical garden that we read about in our guidebook. It turned out to be quite a hike and the hill we had to climb was very steep, but it ended up being well worth the effort. The garden was full of paths we saw lots of different kinds of cacti (it turns out that Mexico has more types of cacti than anywhere else in the world).
I wish I could write more but the internet cafe where we are is about to close so I should go. Tomorrow we are going to Cuautitlan Izcali to visit a family friend of Rachel and then we'll be off to Mexico City.
I hope you are all doing well!
After lunch we went looking for a botanical garden that we read about in our guidebook. It turned out to be quite a hike and the hill we had to climb was very steep, but it ended up being well worth the effort. The garden was full of paths we saw lots of different kinds of cacti (it turns out that Mexico has more types of cacti than anywhere else in the world).
I wish I could write more but the internet cafe where we are is about to close so I should go. Tomorrow we are going to Cuautitlan Izcali to visit a family friend of Rachel and then we'll be off to Mexico City.
I hope you are all doing well!
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Guanajuato
Hi all! Thanks for the messages! We made it to Guanajuato yesterday after a long trip from Brownsville. Charlotte dropped us off at the border on Monday around noon and then we paid our 60 cents and walked across the bridge to Mexico, a short but very exciting walk. I'll put up a picture of our crossing if I can figure out how to on this computer. Once we found the bus station (a surprisingly difficult task for three people who speak Spanish), we bought tickets on an overnight bus to San Luis Potosi and then spent the day wandering around Matamoros. The trip to San Luis took about 10 hours and then we took another bus to Leon (only about two hours) and then we got on our last bus to Guanajuato (which only took about an hour).
Guanajuato is a gorgeous and colorful city made up of small winding cobblestone streets. It is a great walking city because most of the traffic is out of sight in tunnels beneath the city. There are lots of little parks and plazas and it reminds me a lot of Italy. Leah, Rachel, and I have been enjoying our time being tourists and wandering around the city with our Lonely Planet book in hand. This morning we went to Diego Rivera's house which is now a museum and wandered around and got to see a lot of his artwork. His murals are really incredible and I'm looking forward to seeing more when we go to Mexico City.
Tomorrow we are heading off to San Miguel de Allende, a touristy town a couple hours away for one night and then on Saturday we are planning on going to Mexico City. We are having a great time so far and we especially enjoyed today, our first full day without riding on a bus.
xoxo
Guanajuato is a gorgeous and colorful city made up of small winding cobblestone streets. It is a great walking city because most of the traffic is out of sight in tunnels beneath the city. There are lots of little parks and plazas and it reminds me a lot of Italy. Leah, Rachel, and I have been enjoying our time being tourists and wandering around the city with our Lonely Planet book in hand. This morning we went to Diego Rivera's house which is now a museum and wandered around and got to see a lot of his artwork. His murals are really incredible and I'm looking forward to seeing more when we go to Mexico City.
Tomorrow we are heading off to San Miguel de Allende, a touristy town a couple hours away for one night and then on Saturday we are planning on going to Mexico City. We are having a great time so far and we especially enjoyed today, our first full day without riding on a bus.
xoxo
Monday, January 08, 2007
Brownsville, TX
We made it to Brownsville around midnight on Sunday. The trip ended up taking a little longer than expected because we had to switch buses in Houston and then wait for about 6 hours before catching the next bus to Brownsville. We were lucky on our first bus from Chapel Hill to Houston because there were only about 10 other people so we each got two seats to ourselves which made sleeping a little easier. Even so, we were very glad to arrive last night! Charlotte, a friend we met while volunteering at Safe Passage, was very nice to pick us up even though she had to get up early and go to work today. She is currently doing Teach for America at a school in Brownsville. We crashed as soon as we got to her house and I'm feeling very refreshed after taking a shower this morning.
We're not sure yet where our next destination will be. We had planned on going to Monterrey next, but we still haven't heard back from our friend there so we are thinking about going straight to Guanajuato. Monterrey is only about 5 hours away and Guanajuato is about 12 hours away (I think) so we're deciding whether we want to take another over night bus tonight. I'll let you know when we make it to our next destination, wherever it may be...
Thanks to all my family and friends for their support and for helping to make this trip possible. I am so grateful to have this opportunity! Thanks also to everyone who came out to the bus stop on Saturday morning.
We're not sure yet where our next destination will be. We had planned on going to Monterrey next, but we still haven't heard back from our friend there so we are thinking about going straight to Guanajuato. Monterrey is only about 5 hours away and Guanajuato is about 12 hours away (I think) so we're deciding whether we want to take another over night bus tonight. I'll let you know when we make it to our next destination, wherever it may be...
Thanks to all my family and friends for their support and for helping to make this trip possible. I am so grateful to have this opportunity! Thanks also to everyone who came out to the bus stop on Saturday morning.
Friday, January 05, 2007
Countdown
The countdown has really begun. Leah, Rachel, and I bought our tickets this morning and we'll be getting on a bus tomorrow morning in Chapel Hill and heading to Brownsville, Texas. The guy at the store said we should arrive at the border by tomorrow night, but we're not expecting to get there until Sunday afternoon.
I can't believe that we are really going to to do this! We have been planning this trip for three or four years now. It all started one day when we were riding in the back of a pick-up truck in Nicaragua with a bunch of other international travelers. Many of them were traveling all over Central and South America and we decided it would be fun to do something similar. That same day over dinner we wrote out a budget and we've been planning ever since.
Our plan right now is to spend 12-18 months traveling. After Mexico we'll travel through Central America (spending extended periods in Guatemala and Nicaragua) and then work our way down to South America. We're not sure exactly when or where our trip we'll end, it depends how we feel and when we run out of money.
I better go finish packing, but I just wanted to write a quick entry. I'm feeling excited, nervous, and sad for all that I'm leaving behind. Please keep in touch and leave lots of comments. :)
I can't believe that we are really going to to do this! We have been planning this trip for three or four years now. It all started one day when we were riding in the back of a pick-up truck in Nicaragua with a bunch of other international travelers. Many of them were traveling all over Central and South America and we decided it would be fun to do something similar. That same day over dinner we wrote out a budget and we've been planning ever since.
Our plan right now is to spend 12-18 months traveling. After Mexico we'll travel through Central America (spending extended periods in Guatemala and Nicaragua) and then work our way down to South America. We're not sure exactly when or where our trip we'll end, it depends how we feel and when we run out of money.
I better go finish packing, but I just wanted to write a quick entry. I'm feeling excited, nervous, and sad for all that I'm leaving behind. Please keep in touch and leave lots of comments. :)
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