Good times with Mom!

This spaceship-looking thing was my plane that I took on Thursday from Miami to Tampa. There were just ten of us on this flight and it was a little scary looking, but the flight actually turned out to be really smooth and easy. Mom and I were happy to find out that my flight was actually leaving two hours earlier than scheduled, making for a very short layover in Miami and a two hour longer visit for Mom and me. She picked me up around 10 am on Thursday and we had quite the full day. We went out for breakfast and then went to Color Me Mine, to do some pottery painting. We walked around a cute area called Hyde Park, which has lots of nice little shops - did some shopping and found a great wine bar to eat. (Unfortunately, I'm still on antibiotics, so no wine for me...) It was scrumptious nonetheless. That night, Mom and I enjoyed some game time. We're both big fans of playing all kinds of games, so we had a little marathon o games.

On Friday, I enjoyed sleeping in, so we got a bit of a late start... but we headed out around noon to get some cherry limeade from Sonic (yeahhh!!!!) and then to Lettuce Lake Park - a very interesting park that had a lot of wetlands, cypress trees, some alligators, turtles, fish, birds, etc. I was wishing I could take my students there on a field trip...I could have almost had another Earthwatch expedition right there. After we walked around the park for awhile, we headed out to Madeira Beach for lunch. There was a crazy thunder and lightening storm along the way, so it took while, but finally we got to John's Pass, a boardwalk area there with shops and restaurants, and it was really nice. After our yummy lunch there, we walked around a bit and then Mom challenged me to a game of Putt-Putt. : ) Of course, I was game, so off we went. It was actually a really nice little course, with real live alligators and everything. : )

Now, it's Saturday and I am taking off back to LA in a few hours...it has been a great two weeks, but I think it is time to get back to reality. Until my next adventure...

Good-bye Long Island...

So, the girls and I just cleaned out our apartment. We have about an hour before we head over to the Deadman's Cay airport to check-in for our flight to Nassau. I have been feeling SO much better for the last 24 hours - I wish I could go out and do some research now! Oh well...it was a good trip overall, despite the missing luggage, missed flight, and throat and ear infections...I really did learn a lot and got a chance to enjoy some more of this world's beautiful natural wonders.

One of my roommates, Wendy, teaches fourth grade in LA and she is posting a travel blog on the LA Times website. She actually mentioned me in her first blog (although she spelled my last name wrong, I'll forgive her) and it's pretty informative (moreso than I have been here!) - so check it out...

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thehomeroom/2008/07/wendy-gorton-a.html

Here are a couple last pictures for ya...I'll try to update a lot more to shutterfly once I get to FL or CA.

Here's me yesterday, back at Dean's Blue Hole. It was such a beautiful day. Everybody else got to cliff jump down into the hole, but I wasn't allowed to get my head wet, so I was just lazy in the shallows. : )
Here's an octopus that one of the girls found in a conch shell in the water. I got a cool video of him coming out of the shell, going back in and coming out again. It takes too long to load, but I can share that later. : )

So that about wraps it up for now - hope everyone is having a great summer! Sorry my blog wasn't too exciting at times...wasn't quite feeling my same witty self. : )

I'm alive!

Oops...apparently I made a couple people worry with my last blog. Don't worry, I'm not going to die on this island. I went to the doctor today and he told me I have an ear and throat infection, so he gave me some antibiotics and sent me on my way. I am not able to snorkel anymore, which is a bummer, especially after everyone came out of the ocean today saying that it was the best snorkeling all week. But, at least I should be close to normal by the time I get to Florida to visit my mom. Tomorrow is our last day of field work, so I'll be sure to try to wrap up the trip in a blog or two to come. Here's a couple more pictures for ya...

This is "The Bar" that was created by the team while waiting for the okay to get in the water. It's amazing how creative a bunch of teachers can be with random beach trash and some extra time(and how they manage to tie in alcohol so easily).

This is a picture of Blaise and Wendy, identifying fish underwater today (while I was sitting on the beach).
And me, in the back of our truck today, trying to not let my hat fly off my head. (And Eric)

Delbert just walked by with a bag of fish

Next time I'll have to get a picture of him. That was cute. He has about four teeth and he was showing me the half dozen fish that he was going to put in his freezer. I was actually able to identify two of them. Apparently most men are lacking quite a few teeth on this island for some reason. Lack of dentists? I may be trying out the island doctor tomorrow...my throat started hurting about 4 days ago and it's gotten worse each day - and symptoms have been adding onto it, like earache, sore lymph nodes, headache, feverish, nausea, light-headed-ness,...fun stuff. I opted out of the snorkeling this morning and watched everybody from up above on the pretty limestone rocks. We came back to the apt and they all left a little while ago to head out to another site and I decided to stay and give my body a break. It's never fun being sick, but it's especially not fun on such a deserted island. Nothing is open today. But we're going to try to find me a doctor tomorrow. Wish me luck...

Here are some shots from the last few days...
This is me, very excited to be at a beautiful beach again. I have had enough of stinky, dirty, swampy water.


This is the whole gang, at the same beach - we called this site "Down by the Sea House"
That down there is called a seine. We all worked together to drag that out in the water, while some people splashed around in the water to get the fish to move toward it, and then it was dragged out so we could see what fish we could get. We did it three times (it's a lot of work) and we saw two tiny fish. Not a good site for this apparently...
This is me at Dean's Blue Hole. It's about 660 feet deep. And I learned how blue holes were formed last night...I can share that bit of knowledge with you later.

This is our PI (Primary Investigator) Dr. Kathleen Sullivan Sealy and her daughter Natasha. They live in Nassau, and Natasha just came out to join us for a few days of the trip. We went to a plaiting demonstration, which is very popular on Long Island.
We're gettin our culture on.
And this is where we are staying - Room 3 at the villa. Not bad at all...just have to learn to ignore the roosters and to avoid the ants by putting EVERYTHING in the fridge. And situate yourself in front of a fan whenever possible. Which is what I need to go do now...

Oh my, Delbert just came by again and talked my ear off for about fifteen minutes. The Bahamian accent is much harder to understand with only 4 teeth...

Happy Bahamian Independence Day!

Have to keep this short..it's about time to go, but here is a picture of a few of us at the Independence Day celebration that turned out to be a three hour religious service that I totally feel asleep during. (Hey, it was late) Will write more soon!

Is it me?

My room is cursed. I mentioned yesterday that my former roommate, Tara, returned home. Well, after Tara left, Erica moved in. Erica is from LA – she’s really nice – great roommate. Well, yesterday afternoon, she started to feel sick. Long story short, she flew back home today. So, now I am two for two for getting rid of roommates. We’ve joked that I just want a room to myself and/or that this has turned into Survivor and we’re just waiting to see who can stay here the longest. It’s too bad…Erica was really fun to have around.

Oh well, Research team down two… we managed to get in a good amount of work today. We all woke up to a downpour of rain – and they told us it hardly ever rains in the Bahamas. Apparently, when it rains, it pours. And there was mention of a tropical storm heading this way a few days ago. Luckily, it wore off in a reasonable amount of time, and we were on our way. Today’s sites were not what I would categorize as beautiful. They were stinky and salty. That’s about all I can say. But, we managed to snorkel in them anyway. We did water quality tests and took sediment and algae samples. We measured elevation of the coast. I almost swam into a barracuda, a crab, and a goat’s skull. The excitement never ends.

We’ve been having meetings each night after dinner. So far, I have learned about fish identification, water quality testing, and an overview of the work that we are doing in the Bahamas. (That our leader has been working on for about 30 years) I will be completely honest…Science is not really my thing. There have been many moments so far that have left me utterly bored out of my mind. But I try to remind myself that this is all an important part of the process and if it weren’t for the people who have the patience to do this sort of thing…well, I’m just glad I don’t have to do this full time.

I've been trying to get some good pictures, but honestly, I don't think I've gotten many good ones so far. Here's two of the research assistants from the University of Miami - Tamika and Alan with me in the back of the truck that we run around the island in.
And this is me doing water quality testing - no need to make fun of my very uneven and sad looking tan...I know, I know...
And this is me recording the elevation changes along the coast. See, I'm working...

And lastly, this is me and Erica yesterday snorkeling under the bat cave.

More to come soon! I look forward to all your witty comments...hint, hint...

Yeah for the nice lady on the island with wi-fi!

Here I am, on Long Island, in the Bahamas, sitting on the porch of the only woman within miles who has wi-fi. I'm shocked we actually have this opportunity. This island has only had electricity for 12 years. And the water turns off every night from 9pm to 5am. (and whenever else it feels like it)

But, alas, I am here and I am excited. Here's the little journal entry I typed up on word last night, before I knew I could get to the internet...

7/7/08

Luckily they serve Bahama Mama samples in the baggage claim of the Nassau Airport, otherwise those three hours spent waiting for my bag that never came would have been totally for nothing.

Yup, that’s true. My bag never showed up. I missed my flight from Nassau to Deadman’s Cay and I had to board another flight to the right island, but the wrong airport. Luckily there was another misplaced volunteer that I was connected with when I contacted Earthwatch to let them know about my little problem. So, we commiserated together and caught our 2:00 flight to Stella Maris. It’s the only airport that uses its landing strip for cars, as well as airplanes. It was awesome. I saw the landing strip from high in the sky and thought, “Wouldn’t it be funny if we landed there?” Yes, we did. And when Eric and I arrived, there were two Earthwatch staff members there to pick us up. So, the four of us traveled the hour to the apartments where we are staying. I must say, the accommodations are nicer than I had expected. We have four apartments – there are four of us staying in ours – two girls in each room. We have a full kitchen, bathroom with a decent shower (we do take navy showers, however), a TV with cable, and AC in our bedrooms. I feel a bit spoiled. I don’t even have cable at home. I’m supposed to be “roughin it”. ☺ There is our Research Leader, five research assistants and there were nine volunteers, including myself. However, my roommate, Tara, from Chicago didn’t quite understand what she was getting into. After a day and a half of crying, she left today on the only flight out of here to Nassau. She was a little concerned during the orientation when our leader told us that if anything happened to us we would have to be flown to Nassau. And that we need to make sure if anything happens, that it happens during the day, because there are no flights at night. She also made a comment about having a new dog, a new car, and a new house at home and that she would much rather be there, instead of risking her life here. This is not for everyone, I suppose.

So, today we got to get out into the field and do our first bit of research. We started out at Dean’s Blue Hole for a swim and snorkel test. I passed! Okay, so everyone “passed” – it wasn’t too hard, but I was happy that I was able to not look like too much of a fool on Day 1. I still hadn’t gotten my bag by this morning, so I was wearing another girl’s swimsuit, using someone else’s mask and snorkel and someone else’s hat and shorts. Everyone has been really great in letting me borrow anything I needed. My first swim out in the water was beautiful – the water is so clear and just the perfect temperature. But it was my second swim on the Atlantic side of the island that was really exciting. I saw a barracuda and two huge stingrays, among many other fish. I was also getting much more comfortable with the snorkel – I’m already thinking ahead to my future snorkeling trips in LA…let’s go, guys!!

After the snorkeling, we did some plant and algae surveying (actually more interesting than it sounds!) and had some lunch. We eventually made it back to our apartments and a few of us ran out for errands – one of which was to pick up my bag that finally decided to join me! Yeah!!! I was so excited – I really thought I would never see my things again…

So, I am really enjoying myself so far. I continue to be amazed by the fact that I am here for free. I am also getting some great tips for more free adventures from my fellow teachers here (we’re all teachers). Very cool! More to come soon...

Okay - that's it for yesterday. Today was another fun-filled day. Snorkeled for about 3 hours, swam around a blue hole in a cave with bats flying above us and shrimp swimming below us, went to a museum to learn about this little tiny island, strained some sediment (woohoo!!), almost got eaten by a blue crab, and discovered that a half gallon of ice cream costs $11.50 in the Bahamas.

Tomorrow begins the celebration of 35 years of Bahamian Independence, so hopefully I'll take part in some festivities that I can share with you all.

I believe I am getting eaten alive by mosquitoes right now...so until next time...

Thanks for reading, guys! : )

It ain't real travelin...

...til somethin gets lost. Well, the traveling has begun. I am in Nassau. And my luggage is not. Yeah!! I love a good obstacle.

It's 10:54 am and I am sitting in the baggage claim in the Nassau airport. I would much rather be sipping my morning coffee by the water, but this will do for now. Apparently, my luggage has boarded a plane in Orlando, and we're hoping it will arrive before I leave here in an hour and a half. If not, the lounge pants I've been wearing for the last 30 hours will soon become shorts and I'll be on the hunt for all new snorkeling gear. My mother and I seem to be cursed with lost luggage luck. Oh well, if it never comes, I have a valid reason to spend lots of money. Can't complain.

Anywho...the Bahamas is very cool so far. Well, not literally cool - it's actually kinda grossly warm and humid, but it is a unique place with such a relaxed vibe and very kind people. My taxi driver that just drove me to the airport was from Haiti, but has been here for 30 years. He said he has family in CA and that gas is almost $6 a gallon here, but that's about all I could understand through his wildly cool Caribbean accent. He is the regular taxi driver for the guest house that I stayed at last night. Here's my 5 star resort:


It may not look like much...well, it isn't, but I loved it. It is owned by a Greek couple who met in the Bahamas 58 years ago - they are adorable - I got the whole story of how she came and "met her prince" this morning. They only charge $50 for a room, which is unheard of here - and while the rooms may look slightly like a hospital rehab room, it had AC, cable tv, and a bed for me to collapse on. I can't complain. Plus, it's in the middle of Downtown Nassau - so I got to go for a quick walk this morning to wake myself up.

Oh...I must mention my flight from Orlando to here. Besides leaving my bag behind (maybe my hair dryer wanted to sneak into Disneyland for the night?), there was adventure from the time I boarded. I walked outside to see this...

Now, I've been on a couple small planes before, but this one was comedy. First of all, minutes after I boarded, the whole state of Alabama boarded. I've never been so stunned by the southern accent before - and I lived in North Carolina for nine years. I felt like I just feel into Mayberry. And for some reason, one of them thought we were on a roller coaster and felt the need to tell everyone to throw their hands in the air as we took off. Eventually, the one seat next to me was filled by a nervous looking women, about in her 40's, who right away confessed that this was the first flight she had ever been on. Yes, she was one of the ones from Alabama. I tried to calm her nerves, but I have never been on such a loud and scary plane in my life. Poor lady. I tried to convince her that flying is not normally so hair-raising, but I doubt she'll be booking any more flights any time soon. Despite the shaky ride and the luggage left in Orlando, I was really excited to land last night. I think it finally hit me that I was in the Bahamas and how cool this whole experience is going to be. The people are just great - their accents - while hard for me to understand at times, are so fun. How can you not love someone with this accent?

So, I better wrap it up and start saying luggage prayers. Again..not sure how the internet access will be from Deadman's Cay (which I have found is pronounced "key", by the way) - but you'll hear from me soon enough!

Oohh...the Bahamian Airport Band just started playing...I love this place!

Later! : )

From Yosemite to the Bahamas

Yosemite was amazing. This is actually me at the top of Yosemite Falls - standing on a railing and leaning over so I could get me and the falls in the picture. I'd say all this hiking business has helped me a bit with that fear of heights...

And speaking of heights...I just got off the plane from LAX to Orlando, and I'm waiting for my connecting flight to Nassau. I'll stay the night there tonight and travel to Deadman's Cay tomorrow for my first day of "research". I really have to thank my friend, Holly, (fellow traveler/blogger/teacher!) who first told me about the whole Earthwatch program. I laugh a little each time I tell someone what I am doing - I am going to the Bahamas for FREE? Yeah, it's amazing what you cool things you can find in this world with a little effort. (or with a friend who does fun, adventurous things!)

So far, the traveling has been uneventful - I haven't had to transfer clothes from my bag to my body or throw away expensive bottles of lotion or missed any flights. I got a whole 4 hours of sleep last night - so that I could wake up at 4:45 this morning and do all my packing. I just can't seem to pack ahead of time...stubborn Taurus in me, maybe? Thanks to my airport taxi who very generously drove me to LAX this morning - you're the coolest.

I'm not sure what my internet access will be like on the very small island I will be on for the next 11 days, so I may not be able to post anything until I get to Florida. I'll be visiting my mom in Tampa from the 17th to the 19th. Yeah, mom!

Until I get a chance to talk to ya again, hope you all had a great 4th and are enjoying the sunshine wherever you are!

Kim : )

Hiking Adventures!

Time for Wanderlust Lane to get up and running again! Since my last entry here (from Guatemala in January), I have been lucky enough to take part in an awesome adventure with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society called Hike For Discovery. Since February, we have hiked over 100 miles and I have raised over $4100. I finally made it to the Grand Canyon! (see pic!) I've also seen beautiful parts of So Cal that I never knew existed and met some great people along the way. But, the last chapter of this book is about to end...at least for now. Our final hike in Yosemite is THIS WEEK! I'll be traveling up to Yosemite with 3 hiking friends this Thursday and we'll be hitting the trails on Saturday. I'll be sure to post pictures on my hiking website - which can be found at http://web.mac.com/loveandhope13

After this trip, I'll be gearing up for my next adventure...I'm off to the Bahamas on July 5th for ten days to take part in an Earthwatch Expedition, thanks to a fellowship I was awarded. I'll be part of a research team, studying the Coastal Ecology of the Bahamas on Deadman's Cay, Long Island. I'll also get to finally visit my mom in Tampa for a few days on the way back. Stay tuned for all the updates!

Hope everyone's summer is starting off well!

Kim : )

Feliz Ano Nuevo!

Happy New Year to all of you! As usual, my plans didn't quite turn out as I thought or had hoped they would. My teacher was unable to go to Chichicastenango today, but that's okay - we had our last lesson here at the school which consisted of conversation about the civil war in Guatemala and education - in particular special education - and problems in our countries. It was really interesting. And we also dabbled into the future and conditional tenses. Very exciting. In less than three weeks - I started out only speaking in the present tense, and went on to learn the preterite, imperfect, future and conditional. No idea what any of that means in English. Yeah teacher! But, I feel like I accomplished a lot. Let's not think about the fact that I can converse with my teacher because she speaks slowly and only in words that I know, and that when I walk out on the street and try to understand people, I am utterly confused. My goal (for now) is to be able to better communicate with my students' parents, and I think I will be able to do that now. Anything is better than before!

So, New Years was fun. I started out at the school's bonfire/wine and cheese party, and ended up dancing the night (morning) away at one of the crazy discotecas, despite what was previously stated. This is a picture of a few of us at the school's party. Josue, the guy next to me, is from here and works at the school's travel agency. He is a really cool guy. He also teaches salsa and dragged me to another lesson yesterday. Not a pretty site. He kept telling me to feel the rhythm in my hips. For those of you who know me well enough, you know there is no rhythm in these hips. I don't care what Shakira says. And for those of you who really know me well, I know what you are thinking, and no, Josue is not my new boyfriend. The other two in the picture are the youngins of the group - Eyal and Anna. Australian Anna is only 18 and is in her gap year. The gap year that none of us Americans ever take has been the topic of discussion many times over the past couple weeks.

So, after hanging out for a million fireworks after midnight(I'll spare you all the videos I took of that), I ventured out to the disco. I just spent about a half hour trying to upload a video I took there, but it's not working, so those of you who may be interested can come over and see all my cheesy videos in person some time. Anywhoo...after a few hours of the discoteca, I was out for a good portion of Tuesday. I woke up in time to catch a bit of the Rose Bowl on TV at McDonalds (my holiday hangout) - to feel some sort of connection to home. Other than that, it was a day of studying. Yesterday, after my salsa lesson, the power went out across the entire country for about 3 or so hours. Apparently, a tree fell on some power lines some 4 or 5 hours away from here and that did it. So, we were all kinda stuck inside for the night. Tonight, we'll be watching a movie about the Guatemalan civil war and then afterwards there are a couple of foreigners here that will be playing guitar at my favorite little cafe, El Cuartito. It should be a nice send off. I ended up getting a shuttle for tomorrow morning to Antigua, which gives me just 3 or 4 hours to hang out there before my next shuttle to the airport for my 8 pm flight. I've heard Antigua is very touristy, and not too much time is needed there, so I think a few hours should suffice. I have heard it is very pretty, though - and supposedly has pretty fresh air, so my nose is looking forward to that. And knowing me, I'll take another 75 pictures there tomorrow to add to my 250 or so I have so far.

So, that about does it for me from Guatemala. I feel really blessed that I was able to explore New Orleans and Guatemala in 2007. Now, I need to start planning what's to come in 2008. I am not against having travel companions - so let me know if any of you have any ideas!

Mission Accomplished

Yes, I made it! It was a grueling day and a half - I honestly can't say it was all fun and lovely - but I did make it to the top - at times fearing for my life - but it was definitely worth it. This picture was taken pretty early on in the hike, which is why I look pretty happy and am not bundled in layer upon layer of clothing. There were ten of us that went - from the US, Canada, Sweden, and Australia - plus our great guide, Juan, from here in Guatemala. Some of us were experienced hikers...and then there was me. No, honestly, I was not the only novice, but they did have to stop and wait for me more than once. (Lo siento!!)
I enjoy hiking quite a bit - even though I haven't been too often in the past - but this was no normal hike. The altitude made it really hard to go very far very fast. I was out of breath about ten steps after each break. It was a bit frustrating, but you kinda get used to it. We climbed for about 5 hours on Saturday and then we camped at about 4000 meters. The remaining 200 meters were climbed the next morning - in the dark. It was rough. There was frost on the ground and the rocks and we couldn't see and it was oh so steep. I was just slightly terrified. When we finally got to the summit, it was about 20 minutes before the sunrise and there were at least 100-150 people already up at the top. Apparently, this is the time of the year when there are big fiestas atop this volcano. And many of these people were prepared with bonfires and blankets - our guide boiled some water for us for coffee and tea, but it didn't help the freezing fingers and toes too much.
When the sunrise finally did come, it was pretty amazing. (understatement!) Here's just one of the many spectacular views we had...

We headed back down 30 minutes or so later , walking around the crater, which was pretty interesting. People have made words out of rocks, which you may or may not be able to see in this picture. There was a circle of people praying down there when we were walking by.

We got back to our campsite for breakfast a little while later and Juan prepared some "mush" for us. Not bad. : ) Here's a couple of mis compadres showing their excitement for the mush.

And then we headed back down, for the part of the hike that made me feel old...my knees, my hips, my feet, you name it - it hurt. And I slipped and fell no less than 5 times. I was told every time how graceful my falls were, though. : )

So, all in all, it was an amazing and satisfying adventure. To be able to see Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador from up there (or at least I'm told - what do I know?!) is pretty cool. It's nice to be able to say that I completed things in which some where along the way I felt like crying and/or giving up. I'm working on this whole fear of heights thing, too - for sure. Not going sky diving anytime soon, but I think I'm making progress.

So, here I am - back in Xela. Only two more days of Spanish classes to go...how sad. I had a great two hour conversation with my teacher this morning about my weekend. I was impressed with myself. Speaking of my teacher, here's a picture of us taken last week. (sidenote - I had not slept or showered in quite a while when this and many of these pictures were taken!)
She and I may go to Chichicastenango on Thursday, which is my last day of classes. If she is able to, we're going to have a little field trip there so I can check out the biggest markets in Guatemala. If not, I will have to make do with some more local souvenirs to bring home. It'll be interesting cramming it all into my luggage...

I can't believe it's New Year's Eve already! We are having a party with a bonfire at the school tonight. Apparently the discotecas are a little too crazy on NYE here, so we're making a party of our own and for that, I am thankful! We have no classes tomorrow, so I'll probably spend a large portion of the morning sleeping and then will do some studying. I'm thinking I will go to Antigua for just Thursday night and then head over to Guatemala City for my flight home Friday night. (The airport is apparently the only place you want to go in Guatemala City)

I hope you all have a safe and happy celebration tonight!

Feliz Ano Nuevo!

Kim : )

Will I make it?

So, apparently, I am hiking and camping the highest volcano in Central America this weekend. This shall be interesting. I have never hiked up anything with the intention of sleeping anywhere near the top. So, we'll see if I survive...

For those of you who have been requesting pictures, here's a few to hopefully appease you for now.



This is a few of us after getting out of the hot springs at Fuentes Georginas. (the first outing I went on after my first day of class) It was pretty steamy while we were in the water, so those pictures didn't really turn out. The guy to my right is Charles - one of the guys who works here at the school. He is from Alabama. The other two are siblings from Australia that were traveling Central America with their dad.



This one is at our school. We made these cheesy "murals" in honor of the Mayan New Year. The people in the picture consist of an ER doctor and nurse, a guy from Southern California who is here learning Ki'che, one of the indigenous languages, a Japanese girl who is currently studying in Hawaii and my friend Eyal and me.



This is me preparing some of the candles and offerings for the ceremony we had to celebrate the Mayan New Year.



And this is well into the ceremony.

Okay, that's about all the patience I have for now - it takes too long!

So, like I said, I am off on an excursion up a volcano this weekend. If I make it back down, I'll be taking just three more days of classes - Mon, Wed and Thurs - and then I head back on Friday. The time has flown by!

I hope you all are doing well!

Hasta Pronto,

Kim : )

Mi estomago es YUCK!

Hola everyone! Well, Xmas in Guatemala was certainly different. I did end up going to church with mi familia de Guatemala and that was pretty cool. The church is beautiful. I'm not at my laptop right now so I cant post any pix, but I will show them to you soon enough. There were a few unique traditions here that I have never seen in a Catholic church in the states. For one, they clapped after Baby Jesus was brought to the alter, after the homily and after the mass ended. There was an insane amount of insense. Everyone rushed the alter after mass to kiss Baby Jesus. And there was no order to the procession for communion. Just a sort of free for all. (Kind of like the driving here) But all in all, it was nice to be there and despite not understanding every word, I got the jist of things. Got my God on.

So, after mass, Lis and Maria (my mom and sister) walked with me back home and we had the traditional Xmas tamales. Now,let me say I LOVE Mexican tamales. Guatemalan tamales,on the otherhand, are not high on my list. And we tend to eat the same food for 2 or 3 meals in a row. So, Kim's stomach has NOT been happy. Actually, I have had the awful traveler's stomach issues that are abundant here for newby foreigners. Not fun. But mi mama gave me some drugs and some tea this morning and although they made me slightly loopy during class, I am happy to say I am feeling better than I have in the past two days. OH! I nearly forgot...another Xmas tradition is to go crazy with fireworks at midnight. Since I wasnt feeling well, I passed on watching the spectacle, but I certainly was awakened by the unbelievable noise. And I hear it was better than Disneyland. And by the look of the streets on Xmas morning, every citizen of Guatemala must have set off about 100 firecrackers each. They still set them off all the time, but Xmas was just especially crazy.

So, Xmas day was really nice - maybe in the 80's - so I spent most of the day writing and studying in Central Park. (You'll see pictures of that soon too!) It was nice, despite my stomach issues. McDonalds was about the only place open, so I spent a few minutes in there, making interesting observations...there is an armed guard, free internet, Bon Jovi tunes playing, beach volleyball on TV. All very random and unlike Guatemala - well, except for the armed guard.

Last night we had a Xmas dinner at the school. We all helped prepare it, so it was interesting. We started around 5 and didnt eat until about 9. My stomach was still a bit queezy, so it wasn't the best Xmas dinner, but at least I got to hang out with some nice people and play some cards.

Today I went to one of the orphanages after class. I really don't know how to describe it yet. Kinda scary. Really sad. Disturbing. Yet, I enjoyed it to a certain degree. I don't know. I can go into more detail with those of you who may be interested later...

So, future plans for this week? Study, study, study. I got a bit frustrated with myself in my class today and my lack of remembering much of anything, so I need to get my butt in gear! Wish me luck!

I hope you all had a great holiday and I'll "talk" to you soon!

Kim : )

El lago es muy bonito!

This is one of the many amazing vistas found at Lake Atitlan. I went there on Friday afternoon with 7 amigos, and we returned last night. It was such an awesome adventure! The lake is surrounded by volcanoes - all of which I wanted to climb. But, after a day of kayaking and horseback riding on Saturday (and a night of "enjoying" the pueblo to the fullest - a la "Full Moon Parties") - my body wasn't quite up for the trekking come Sunday morning. We stayed at a great little hostel/hotel in San Pedro - the whole family of indigenous Mayans were there working and they were lovely.

So, here it is - Christmas Eve - I am hoping to join mi familia for church, dinner and "who knows what" at midnight. Surely, there will be loads of fireworks, some gift exchanging and perhaps some tamale making/eating? Confusion is still a part of my every day, so I'm never quite sure. Tomorrow, there will be no classes, but I do hope to study on my own, and then there will be a dinner that we will all cook together here at the school. I think I am going to take it easy on the activities this week and focus more on my studies. Next weekend, I may either take a trip to Tikal to see the most famous and largest of the Mayan ruins (it's quite a trip) or I may stay a little closer to Xela and climb a more local volcano. We shall see...

I don't think I will be able to contact any of you tomorrow as everything is closed, so I wish you all the merriest Christmas if you are celebrating! Thanks to all of you who have been in touch!

With love and hope!

Kim : )

Lovin It

This is a self portrait taken whilst being flung around the mountainside in the back of a pick-up truck. Awesome.

So...I can say now, with all honesty, that I wasn't so sure about this place in my first day or two. Of course, I didn't want to admit that to anyone, but now that things are turning around, I don't feel so bad saying it. Cold shower, not being understood, awkward meal times, frustrating classes, not being able to walk around at night, etc, etc...there are some less than ideal situations here. BUT...4 days in and I know I want to come back to this place again. I could stay here for much longer than 3 weeks. I love it. Absolutely love it. I have mastered the shower temperature controls. I actually carried on a great conversation with my host mother this afternoon. I attended a traditional Mayan ceremony for the Mayan New Year last night. Incredible. I have salsa lessons in an hour. (SCARY!! I feel embarrassing moment #2 coming on...) (Actually there has already been an embarrassing moment #2 and #3, but I'm not disclosing those at this time.) And probably most exciting - I starting learning the past tense in my Spanish class today. I was like a giddy little kid. I'm such a nerd. OH! I nearly forgot - even more exciting - I went to an orphanage today and asked in my very own broken Spanish all by myself about volunteering there - and she understood me! So, I'll be going there next Wed and Friday. From what I hear, they can use any help they can get. I'm really looking forward to that.

So, I need to go study now. I have salsa lessons, as well as a benefit for the orphanage after that. And then tomorrow after class, I am off with 3 new friends to Lake Atitlan - which I hear is amazing. Regardless of the fact that not too many people seem incredibly interested in my little adventures, I will continue to let you know what's new here. I probably won't get to the computer again until next week, so an early Feliz Navidad to all of you!

: )

Estoy Estudiando Mucho...Adios Mio!

Hola mis compadres y mi familia!

Okay, that's about the extent of my Spanish for now. I have had two days of classes and I continue to feel very sorry for mi maestra. Her name is Rebecca and she is lovely and thankfully, very patient. She speaks only a few words of English, which is actually perfect. I am definitely getting much more practice listening at this point than speaking, but it will come, it will come!

Yesterday, after a little orientation and my first class (each class is one-on-one and 4 & half hours long), we had a little excursion to some hot springs - Fuentes Georginas. It was about 30-40 minutes away - via the coolest transportation ever. We took a "chicken bus" (apparently there are actually chickens on some of them - I did not get so lucky this time) and then after the chicken bus, we took a pick-up truck with an "Oh-Shit bar" in the back for us to hold onto for dear life while the driver sped us up and around the windy mountainside. I took a few pictures while in the back of the truck and even a little 20 second video to give you a taste of what it was like. Of course they do it little justice. You'll all just have to come here some day and try it for yourselves. : ) I am actually downloading pictures to Shutterfly ahora as I type, but it does not seem to be working - I think my pictures may be too big, but I will figure it out eventually.

So, this afternoon, we have some sort of Mayan cultural activity that involves murals. Tomorrow is the Mayan New Year and we will have a ceremony and dinner with everyone. My host family is going to join me, so that will be cool. We barely communicate at all - it is a bit awkward at times, but it will get better I am sure! And now that I figured out how to get a warm shower in our outdoor bathroom, I am so much more comfortable! That first shower was painful...

Other little tidbits from my Guatemalan life...there are firecrackers that go off every single night - into the night and morning sometimes. The city I am in is 64% Indigenous Mayan people. The women wear the traditional clothing - and talk on cell phones. It's awesome. I'll try to get some pictures, but you're really not supposed to take pictures of people. Crazy foreigners like to kidnap kids, I guess.

Well, I better get ready to go learn some cool Mayan stuff. I hope you all are doing well. I should get a chance to check my email at least every other day, so let me know what's new!

Hasta luego!

I made it!

Hey guys! I'm here! It's about 2:40 pm Guatemala time (which I have learned is Central Time). I arrived in Guatemala City at 3:30 am Los Angeles time and have slept a wink or two since. Feeling slightly loopy, but good. 'Twas an interesting past 15 or so hours, to say the least. Let's see if I can recap somewhat briefly...

In typical Kim-procrastination-fashion, I waited until about an hour before it was time for me to leave to start packing. So, in a last minute mad rush, I just started throwing things into my bags and before you know it, I had two suitcases, a duffle bag and a backpack all pretty full. Once I saw it all, I wanted to unpack some stuff, but it was too late. My friend Vernon dropped me off at the Van Nuys Fly Away and I of course missed the bus that I wanted to get on. But, no worries, another came along. When I finally got to LAX, I was told at the baggage counter that only one of my bags would probably get on my flight with me. The other would probably come the next day. Well, seeing that Guatemala City is a four hour bus ride from where I am staying, that was a little less than convenient, so after holding back tears, I stepped away from the counter, took a few deep breaths, and replayed my first Japan flight all over again. I started emptying out bags, putting on more clothes on, throwing away stuff and consolidating my 4 bags to 3. So, now I have the three most stuffed bags ever - but I was able to check just the one, carry on the other two and yes, indeed, I have all of my bags today. Phew. Forget what I said about short.

I arrived in Guatemala City and was greeted by about 500 eager faces - 50 of which had to ask me if I needed a ride, before my ride actually showed up. I was taken to a little bed and breakfast just a few minutes away and ate the most amazing pineapple I've had in my life. Some pretty damn good coffee too. There, I met two students who traveled with me to Xela, where our school is. One of them is starting at my school with me tomorrow. He's an engineering student from Philly and my Spanish speaking saving grace right now. Turns out my Spanish is even worse than I thought. : )

Oh - I nearly forgot. Our bus trip. Here's Kim's embarrassing moment #1 in Guatemala. So, I decide, after about two hours in that I need to use the restroom. I go to the back of the bus and see there that is no toilet paper, so back to my seat - Holly prepared me for this - I got toilet paper - I'm cool. I go back to the bathroom and try to close the door. Hmmm...it doesnt seem to want to close for me. Okay, I can do this. So, I hold the door shut with one hand, do my business with my other hand, pack of tissues being held by my teeth - and, no - it's not what you think - the door did NOT fly open. Mission accomplished. Until...I try to get out of the bathroom. Long story short (HA!) I was stuck in the bathroom for 30 minutes, banging and kicking the door until finally we were stuck in traffic and the bus stopped and quited down enough for my new friend to come rescue me. Needless to say, I'm holding it next time.

Okay, off to get some grub and explore the city a bit.

Nos Vemos!

And...She's Off!

Hey folks -

Here I am, winding down at home - my last night in my apartment for 2007. Today was the last day of school until January 7th. Yahooo!! If I had to hear one more child whine about the flavor candy cane they got this afternoon, I may have had a nervous breakdown.

I'm stoked for my big trip tomorrow. Kinda nervous - the whole inability to speak the language - the fear of cold showers and sleeping on who knows what - but other than that, I'm excited. I'm actually staying with the same family that my friend Holly stayed with a few years back when she went to this same school. And speaking of my school, here is the link for those of you who may be curious - http://www.celasmaya.edu.gt/ It is in Quetzaltenango - otherwise known as Xela (pronounced "Shayla").

I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and post some (what I hope will be) interesting anecdotes for you all. I take off at 10:55 tomorrow night from LAX and arrive early Sunday morning in Guatemala City before my 4 hour bus ride to Xela.

Be sure to bookmark my blog and check back regularly for updates! And leave me comments!

I hope you all have a great weekend and are enjoying your holiday season!

Off to sushi now - (don't think I'll get much of that in Guatemala)

Peace and Love!

Kim : )