Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Antigua, Guatemala
Hi everyone,
Greetings from Antigua, Guatemala. Rachel and I arrived here about a week ago and soon after arriving we met up with a friend from high school, Emily Stewart, Rachel's mom and older brother, Leah's dad, and most recently Leah (she flew in from Peru on Thursday night).
It is great to be back in Guatemala after about 8 months away and surrounded by so many wonderful people. Most of us spent this past week volunteering at Safe Passage and it was interesting to see how much the project has changed in the relatively short time since we were last here. Some of the changes are very disappointing, but there are also many positive changes as well. I wasn't able to work with the group of kids that I've worked with in the past because there was already a volunteer in that class, but I'm hoping to switch into that class in the next few weeks. For now I'm working with a fourth grade class in the morning and five and six year olds in the afternoons. The morning class is very challeging, but good and the afternoon class is very sweet, but I spend most of my time taking them to the bathroom.
Yesterday marked one year since Hanley's death (the director and founder of Safe Passage). Yesterday afternoon the project had a mass and celebration of Hanley's life and all students, parents, and friends of the project were invited. Staff and students spent days decorating the project with flowers and photos of Hanley. It was a beautiful event though very sad at the same time. After the mass, presentations by a few people who were close to Hanley, and releasing of about 30 pink balloons (Hanley's favorite color) with notes written by the kids, the documentary of Recycled Life was put on and the kids quieted down as they saw Hanley and heard her voice. Many of them also recognized themselves or their friends as the video rolled. When the video finished about 15 minutes later the five year old girl named Katy in my lap said "Quiero verla otra vez" (I want to see her again) and all I could say was "Me too Katy, me too...."
The past week was full of lots of different emotions and we all went straight to bed last night after dinner at Rainbow Cafe, one of our favorite places to eat here in Antigua. This morning Emily and I went to yoga class and then met up with Rachel and her family at the pool. Her sponsor kid and his family came to Antigua for the day and had a wonderful time playing in the water. In the afternoon Emily treated me to an hour long Mayan massage so it's been an all around relaxing day and definitely made up for a week of riding two hours a day in the packed chicken buses. Tomorrow the whole gang is heading to Lake Atitlan and we'll be there for almost a week hanging out at a beautiful hotel called La Casa del Mundo (the same place my mom and I went last March for a year). After that I'm planning to go back to Safe Passage for another three months or so.
That's all for now,
Love, Katie
To see Nicaragua photos click here.
Greetings from Antigua, Guatemala. Rachel and I arrived here about a week ago and soon after arriving we met up with a friend from high school, Emily Stewart, Rachel's mom and older brother, Leah's dad, and most recently Leah (she flew in from Peru on Thursday night).
It is great to be back in Guatemala after about 8 months away and surrounded by so many wonderful people. Most of us spent this past week volunteering at Safe Passage and it was interesting to see how much the project has changed in the relatively short time since we were last here. Some of the changes are very disappointing, but there are also many positive changes as well. I wasn't able to work with the group of kids that I've worked with in the past because there was already a volunteer in that class, but I'm hoping to switch into that class in the next few weeks. For now I'm working with a fourth grade class in the morning and five and six year olds in the afternoons. The morning class is very challeging, but good and the afternoon class is very sweet, but I spend most of my time taking them to the bathroom.
Yesterday marked one year since Hanley's death (the director and founder of Safe Passage). Yesterday afternoon the project had a mass and celebration of Hanley's life and all students, parents, and friends of the project were invited. Staff and students spent days decorating the project with flowers and photos of Hanley. It was a beautiful event though very sad at the same time. After the mass, presentations by a few people who were close to Hanley, and releasing of about 30 pink balloons (Hanley's favorite color) with notes written by the kids, the documentary of Recycled Life was put on and the kids quieted down as they saw Hanley and heard her voice. Many of them also recognized themselves or their friends as the video rolled. When the video finished about 15 minutes later the five year old girl named Katy in my lap said "Quiero verla otra vez" (I want to see her again) and all I could say was "Me too Katy, me too...."
The past week was full of lots of different emotions and we all went straight to bed last night after dinner at Rainbow Cafe, one of our favorite places to eat here in Antigua. This morning Emily and I went to yoga class and then met up with Rachel and her family at the pool. Her sponsor kid and his family came to Antigua for the day and had a wonderful time playing in the water. In the afternoon Emily treated me to an hour long Mayan massage so it's been an all around relaxing day and definitely made up for a week of riding two hours a day in the packed chicken buses. Tomorrow the whole gang is heading to Lake Atitlan and we'll be there for almost a week hanging out at a beautiful hotel called La Casa del Mundo (the same place my mom and I went last March for a year). After that I'm planning to go back to Safe Passage for another three months or so.
That's all for now,
Love, Katie
To see Nicaragua photos click here.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Managua, Nicaragua
Hi everyone!
Happy 2008!! I hope you all had a happy holiday and I wish you all the best in the year to come. January 6th marked one year since Leah, Rachel, and I boarded the bus to Mexico in NC (some say that anniversary doesn't count because we went home for a month in August but since we've been in traveling mode since then, I think it does). Rachel and I celebrated at the mall here in Managua; she drank a smoothie and I had some ice cream. It was too bad that Leah wasn't there for our special toast but she is still working in Peru and is planning to meet up with us in about a week in Guatemala.
This past year has been a wonderful year even though it has not gone according to plan. I just spent the past two and half weeks in Colombia and had a really nice time overall, even though the first few days were hard. After spending a year with my friends it was strange to all of a sudden be in an unfamiliar city all by myself. It didn't help that everyone around me on the streets was in Christmas mode and the weather was mainly cold and rainy. I went to the bus station hoping to get a bus ticket to Cartagena to spend Christmas on the beach with some friends but was told that tickets were sold out for the next week to pretty much everywhere in the entire country, so I didn't have much choice but stay in Bogota. I went back to my lonely hotel room and cried most of the afternoon and then decided to move to a nearby hostel in the hopes of having a more social atmosphere. It turned to be a good idea and I met a lot of great people. One advantage of traveling by yourself is that it is a lot easier to meet people. The hostel had special dinners on both Christmas and New Years so I spent the holidays surrounded by about 40 people from all around the world. On New Years I went out dancing with a group of about 20 people. We went to the Zona Rosa and got to the club just in time to see the ball drop on the big screen.
Even though I made some friends at the hostel I still spent a lot of time by myself. I spent most days wandering around La Candelaria, which was my neighborhood, and got to know it very well. I found a beautiful park about 15 blocks from my hostel and went there almost everyday to read and people watch.
I gotta run, but I promise I'll add another entry soon,
Katie
Happy 2008!! I hope you all had a happy holiday and I wish you all the best in the year to come. January 6th marked one year since Leah, Rachel, and I boarded the bus to Mexico in NC (some say that anniversary doesn't count because we went home for a month in August but since we've been in traveling mode since then, I think it does). Rachel and I celebrated at the mall here in Managua; she drank a smoothie and I had some ice cream. It was too bad that Leah wasn't there for our special toast but she is still working in Peru and is planning to meet up with us in about a week in Guatemala.
This past year has been a wonderful year even though it has not gone according to plan. I just spent the past two and half weeks in Colombia and had a really nice time overall, even though the first few days were hard. After spending a year with my friends it was strange to all of a sudden be in an unfamiliar city all by myself. It didn't help that everyone around me on the streets was in Christmas mode and the weather was mainly cold and rainy. I went to the bus station hoping to get a bus ticket to Cartagena to spend Christmas on the beach with some friends but was told that tickets were sold out for the next week to pretty much everywhere in the entire country, so I didn't have much choice but stay in Bogota. I went back to my lonely hotel room and cried most of the afternoon and then decided to move to a nearby hostel in the hopes of having a more social atmosphere. It turned to be a good idea and I met a lot of great people. One advantage of traveling by yourself is that it is a lot easier to meet people. The hostel had special dinners on both Christmas and New Years so I spent the holidays surrounded by about 40 people from all around the world. On New Years I went out dancing with a group of about 20 people. We went to the Zona Rosa and got to the club just in time to see the ball drop on the big screen.
Even though I made some friends at the hostel I still spent a lot of time by myself. I spent most days wandering around La Candelaria, which was my neighborhood, and got to know it very well. I found a beautiful park about 15 blocks from my hostel and went there almost everyday to read and people watch.
I gotta run, but I promise I'll add another entry soon,
Katie
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
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