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
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