Hola a todos! Llegue a mi casa bien! Estoy triste que no puedo caminar en las calles y hablar espanol a mis amigas o cualquier persona. Ahora necesito practicar para una examen de espanol. tengo miedo que voy a olvidar todo de la gramatica antes de tomar este examen. Oh, extrano hablar en espanol cada dia! Pero tambien, me encanta que estoy con mi familia y hermana de nuevo. Tengo clases en la Universidad en otono y despues voy a Peru para hacer mi practica de ensenanza!
Ok, ahora quiero que uds me hagan un favor. Por favor diganme si leyeron este blog y si lo ayudaron saber que hice en Guatemala. Dejanme sus comentarios y sugeriencias. quiero saber si debo escribir en un blog durante mi practica proximo ano o si es mejor escribir un email a todos el proxima vez. Gracias por sus sugriencias!
Hello everyone! I have arrived safely home! I am sad that I can not go walking in the streets speaking in Spanish all the time. I love talking in Spanish. now i need to practice for my Spanish test for a teaching endorsement. I miss talking in spanish but I also love being able to see my parents and sister, as well as being closer to my fiance. I have clases in the university this fall then I am heading abroad again to do my student teaching!
ok, I would love your help. Please leave me comments or email me if you read this blog during my stay in Guatemala. Please tell me if this blog helped you know what I was doing and helped you stay informed of my activities. By leaving your comments I will know how helpful this was for you. Next time I want to know if it would be better to do a blog or send email updates instead. ok, please write me via email or comment below this entry the following:
1. Was this blog helpful in keeping you updated of my travels?
2. Did you read it often?
3. Would you suggest I do another blog suring my time student teaching or would it be better to send you an email update?
Thank you!!! Muchas gracias!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
Final Day!
Today is my final day at La Union! It has gone by incredibly fast! La Union had a little celebration for us that consisted of sharing stories and thanking our teachers. Now its hard to believe Deanna and I are done. We only have to finish saying good bye to a few people not at school and pack! Wow!
Hoy es nuestro dia final en La Union! He ido muy rápido! Para nuestro ultimo dia, La Union y los estudiantes compartimos historias de nuestro tiempo aquí y dimos gracias a nuestros maestros. Tomé muchas fotos de mi maestra y otros empleados en La Union. Es increíble que es mi ultimo día en la escuela. Ahora Deanna y yo necesitamos alistar nuestras maletas! Es inceíble tan r´pido el tiempo puede ir!
Hoy es nuestro dia final en La Union! He ido muy rápido! Para nuestro ultimo dia, La Union y los estudiantes compartimos historias de nuestro tiempo aquí y dimos gracias a nuestros maestros. Tomé muchas fotos de mi maestra y otros empleados en La Union. Es increíble que es mi ultimo día en la escuela. Ahora Deanna y yo necesitamos alistar nuestras maletas! Es inceíble tan r´pido el tiempo puede ir!
Monday, April 12, 2010
12 Things Learned
12 Things I Have Learned This Semester
1. I have learned again that I need to go to God in prayer before I ask others advice. Through all the family problems that arose it came to my attention that I wasn´t praying about my problems, I was going to directly to people around. It is not a bad thing to ask others advice, but not first. It was hard to do for me at times because it is so easy to talk to poeple you can see and hear what they think right away. I learned to take the time to "hear" God and be patient in waiting for His response and revealing the answer to me. Of course, it is something I still have to work on.
2. I relearned I can do without a lot of stuff. It is possible to live three months or more with a week´s worth of clothes that consists of 7 shirts and 2 jeans. Yeah, sometimes I got bored of wearing the same shirt week after week, but who notices? I have plans to go through my closet at home to and get rid of the stuff I can do without. It´s amazing how much stuff we have in the States.
3. I learned another culture. There is some discrimination between Ladino´s (indian and Spanish) and Indians. This culture is very family oriented as well. I was trying to look for differences between here and other countries I have gone to. Not much. The Spanish is easy to understand here than in Peru, I think. It is a rather warm and friendly culture.
4. I have learned to go with my first feeling and make a fast decision. After 9 weeks my host family was having some problems within the family. It was better to change houses, so I went the same day to La Union to request a different family. Since it was an emergency to change quickly, I was put into a temporary family, then into a second host family by the end of the week. After a week I saw my former host family and everything was back to normal. Thank God for helping the family resolve their problem, at least temporarily.
5. I have learned a lot more Spanish! I finally learned the Subjuntive which I had no clue what that was a few weeks ago. I am getting more comfortable talking in Spanish. Since I have been living with Deanna I have also learned how to cut into the conversations instead of waiting for a pause to add my two cents worth on the topic. (Deanna is a talker and takes over conversations)
6. I experienced how to celebrate Holy Week in another poart of the world. I wrote about that in a previous blog post.
7. I learned how to make a sawdust carpet with La Union during Holy Week.
8. I learned that Catholics pay to carry the float during Semana Santa, and it is not cheap!
9. I experienced a little more about other religions such as Jehovah´s Witness and Pentecostal (carismatic worship). Qhuite an experience!
10. I learned how to ride crowded buses to Ciudad Vieja to work in my volunteer school and I learned how to take the right bus through experience. That is another story!
11. I learned a little about the guatemalan educational system. School here is expensive. High school is more like college because the students take specific courses related to the career they want. Most students can teach in elementary school by the time they graduate from high school, so many teach during the day and study their career choice in the evenings.
12. I have learned to like more fruits and vegetables. My new host mom cooks a lot of zuccini and different types of squash and veggies, and she cooks them differently so they have lots of flavor! I am also served fruit every morning. I now like pineapple, papaya, brocoli, and other vegetables. wow!
Sorry I have not uploaded pictures of Holy week yet. The computers here at the internet cafe is not allowing me to upload them on here. So I guess you all can look for them next week. I can´t wait to to get back, but at the same time I will miss it here. Thanks for keeping me in your prayers!
1. I have learned again that I need to go to God in prayer before I ask others advice. Through all the family problems that arose it came to my attention that I wasn´t praying about my problems, I was going to directly to people around. It is not a bad thing to ask others advice, but not first. It was hard to do for me at times because it is so easy to talk to poeple you can see and hear what they think right away. I learned to take the time to "hear" God and be patient in waiting for His response and revealing the answer to me. Of course, it is something I still have to work on.
2. I relearned I can do without a lot of stuff. It is possible to live three months or more with a week´s worth of clothes that consists of 7 shirts and 2 jeans. Yeah, sometimes I got bored of wearing the same shirt week after week, but who notices? I have plans to go through my closet at home to and get rid of the stuff I can do without. It´s amazing how much stuff we have in the States.
3. I learned another culture. There is some discrimination between Ladino´s (indian and Spanish) and Indians. This culture is very family oriented as well. I was trying to look for differences between here and other countries I have gone to. Not much. The Spanish is easy to understand here than in Peru, I think. It is a rather warm and friendly culture.
4. I have learned to go with my first feeling and make a fast decision. After 9 weeks my host family was having some problems within the family. It was better to change houses, so I went the same day to La Union to request a different family. Since it was an emergency to change quickly, I was put into a temporary family, then into a second host family by the end of the week. After a week I saw my former host family and everything was back to normal. Thank God for helping the family resolve their problem, at least temporarily.
5. I have learned a lot more Spanish! I finally learned the Subjuntive which I had no clue what that was a few weeks ago. I am getting more comfortable talking in Spanish. Since I have been living with Deanna I have also learned how to cut into the conversations instead of waiting for a pause to add my two cents worth on the topic. (Deanna is a talker and takes over conversations)
6. I experienced how to celebrate Holy Week in another poart of the world. I wrote about that in a previous blog post.
7. I learned how to make a sawdust carpet with La Union during Holy Week.
8. I learned that Catholics pay to carry the float during Semana Santa, and it is not cheap!
9. I experienced a little more about other religions such as Jehovah´s Witness and Pentecostal (carismatic worship). Qhuite an experience!
10. I learned how to ride crowded buses to Ciudad Vieja to work in my volunteer school and I learned how to take the right bus through experience. That is another story!
11. I learned a little about the guatemalan educational system. School here is expensive. High school is more like college because the students take specific courses related to the career they want. Most students can teach in elementary school by the time they graduate from high school, so many teach during the day and study their career choice in the evenings.
12. I have learned to like more fruits and vegetables. My new host mom cooks a lot of zuccini and different types of squash and veggies, and she cooks them differently so they have lots of flavor! I am also served fruit every morning. I now like pineapple, papaya, brocoli, and other vegetables. wow!
Sorry I have not uploaded pictures of Holy week yet. The computers here at the internet cafe is not allowing me to upload them on here. So I guess you all can look for them next week. I can´t wait to to get back, but at the same time I will miss it here. Thanks for keeping me in your prayers!
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Holy Week
Holy Week is a super big deal here. I will try my best to tell you all about it. Pictures will be uploaded soon.
sunday morning deanna and I followed a street drama based on Jesus´life here on Earth. WE didn´t get to see all of it, but we saw Jesus´baptism and few miracles. I have a better sense of how crowded it must have been around Jesus because of all the people following this drama. It was hard to see and take pictures. Yes, there were a lot of people following Jesus every where he went and many bumped not only into each other but into him as well! For me, It brought his life into a little better understanding.
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I did not do much besides school in the mornings. I did go jogging because the streets weren´t too bad. By Wednesday I had to cut my runnning in hallf because of too many people in the streets.
Thursday after classes I took pictures of a sawdust carpet made by vecinos outside my front door. I also took pictures of rugs made of flowers and pine needles. Some are pretty creative! Then I helped La Union make a sawdust carpet in front of the school. We worked from 12:30 until 7;30! I took pictures of all the steps to make a rug too. Then I went home to rest a little. By 10:30 the processional went over our carpet. A lot of work destroyed in a matter of minutes. At about 11pm I went home to get some sleep. Deanna and I were planning on seeing some carpets at 4am on Good Friday!
Good Friday- Deanna and I woke up at 4am to see the carpets before the processional destroyed them. We saw a cool one made out of carved fruits. Very creative! We even found the processional...not hard to do...There were tons of people and little light so my pictures from that early in the morning are not that good. I went out in the afternoon to take more pictures. Since I had tons of the float of Christ carrying the cross I decided to focus on takiong pictures of the men carrying the float...especially their faces. Yep, it is true, the face can tell you a lot. It was kind of fun trying to get pictures of people´s faces without being right in their face. haha. There were also men dressed as Roman Soliders, two robbers, and pharisees. It was pretty interesting. By three the men carrying the float changed from a purple robe to a black robe because Christ was crucified. There were different floats which I did not go out to see because I was exhausted! There was also a drama about the crucificion which I missed because I lost track of time trying to get good pictures.
Saturday- At 4pm there is another processional with just women carying the Virgen Mary. She is going to pay her respects at Jesus´tomb. It is a small processional, not as big as the ones yesterday.
Sunday- Deanna and I are heading to Cerro de La Cruz which is a hill that overlooks Antigua. There we will be attending church celebrating Christ´s resurrection. Then we will be attending another church service in the church building later that morning. We have plans to eat out at a restaurant then we will probably spend the rest of the day in bed! Its been a long weekend, literally.
The processionals have been interesting. A lot of the festivies around here are more for show and because its fun. I don´t think much thought goes into why we have this time besudes seeing Christ carrying his cross. Not much emphasis on His resurrection at all. It has reminded me consistently this week though what Christ has done for me! He died for us and took away our sins. All we have to do is accept that gift. He rose again because He conquered death. I also see it as we know we serve a true God because He is the ONLY God who has died and conquered death by rising again three days later! Wow! Happy Easter everyone!
sunday morning deanna and I followed a street drama based on Jesus´life here on Earth. WE didn´t get to see all of it, but we saw Jesus´baptism and few miracles. I have a better sense of how crowded it must have been around Jesus because of all the people following this drama. It was hard to see and take pictures. Yes, there were a lot of people following Jesus every where he went and many bumped not only into each other but into him as well! For me, It brought his life into a little better understanding.
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I did not do much besides school in the mornings. I did go jogging because the streets weren´t too bad. By Wednesday I had to cut my runnning in hallf because of too many people in the streets.
Thursday after classes I took pictures of a sawdust carpet made by vecinos outside my front door. I also took pictures of rugs made of flowers and pine needles. Some are pretty creative! Then I helped La Union make a sawdust carpet in front of the school. We worked from 12:30 until 7;30! I took pictures of all the steps to make a rug too. Then I went home to rest a little. By 10:30 the processional went over our carpet. A lot of work destroyed in a matter of minutes. At about 11pm I went home to get some sleep. Deanna and I were planning on seeing some carpets at 4am on Good Friday!
Good Friday- Deanna and I woke up at 4am to see the carpets before the processional destroyed them. We saw a cool one made out of carved fruits. Very creative! We even found the processional...not hard to do...There were tons of people and little light so my pictures from that early in the morning are not that good. I went out in the afternoon to take more pictures. Since I had tons of the float of Christ carrying the cross I decided to focus on takiong pictures of the men carrying the float...especially their faces. Yep, it is true, the face can tell you a lot. It was kind of fun trying to get pictures of people´s faces without being right in their face. haha. There were also men dressed as Roman Soliders, two robbers, and pharisees. It was pretty interesting. By three the men carrying the float changed from a purple robe to a black robe because Christ was crucified. There were different floats which I did not go out to see because I was exhausted! There was also a drama about the crucificion which I missed because I lost track of time trying to get good pictures.
Saturday- At 4pm there is another processional with just women carying the Virgen Mary. She is going to pay her respects at Jesus´tomb. It is a small processional, not as big as the ones yesterday.
Sunday- Deanna and I are heading to Cerro de La Cruz which is a hill that overlooks Antigua. There we will be attending church celebrating Christ´s resurrection. Then we will be attending another church service in the church building later that morning. We have plans to eat out at a restaurant then we will probably spend the rest of the day in bed! Its been a long weekend, literally.
The processionals have been interesting. A lot of the festivies around here are more for show and because its fun. I don´t think much thought goes into why we have this time besudes seeing Christ carrying his cross. Not much emphasis on His resurrection at all. It has reminded me consistently this week though what Christ has done for me! He died for us and took away our sins. All we have to do is accept that gift. He rose again because He conquered death. I also see it as we know we serve a true God because He is the ONLY God who has died and conquered death by rising again three days later! Wow! Happy Easter everyone!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Cambios! Changes
bueno, primero cambie casas esta semana. Mi primera familia tuvo prolemas familiar entonces fue mejor para todos si cambié. Y adivinan ¿dónde estoy ahora? !En la familia de Deanna! Estamos compartiendo un cuarto por las proximas tres semanas. Ahorita es muy divertido y tambien no duermo tan temprano como antes. :) Hablamos mucho en español casi todo el tiempo!
Segunda, algo interesante esta semana es que no fui a Educarte el lunes. ¿Porqué? Por que todos los choferes de bus en todo el pais estaban protestando para mas seguridad. Entonces la ciudad fue muy tranquila. No escuché ninguna persona gritando "guate, guate" or otras ciudades.
No puedo pensar en mas que estoy haciendo. Mi nueva familia es muy amable. A veces puedo ayudar en cocinar las comidas cual me gusta muchisimo. Me encanta cocinar.
First off, I have changed houses. My original family was having some problems within the family so it was better that I changed. I was sad to leave them so adruptly but hopefully I can see them in the future. Right now, I am living with Deanna´s family. They are really nice. Yesterday we recieved another student so Deanna and I are now sharing a room. Its been fun to have you around more to talk to in Spanish! As a result I am not going to bed as early as I did which is a good thing. Now I can sleep though the night unlike before I was waking up super early.
Secondly, there was a bus strike on Monday so I didn´t get to go to my volunteer project. All the drivers in the whole country were protesting against violencia for the buses! It made a pretty quiet day here because no one was yelling where the bus was going. I never thought that no buses would decrease the sound here so much. Wow.
Not much else going on yet this week. I am doing extremely well and can´t believe I only have three more weeks. And Semana Santa is next week! Happy Easter soon!
Segunda, algo interesante esta semana es que no fui a Educarte el lunes. ¿Porqué? Por que todos los choferes de bus en todo el pais estaban protestando para mas seguridad. Entonces la ciudad fue muy tranquila. No escuché ninguna persona gritando "guate, guate" or otras ciudades.
No puedo pensar en mas que estoy haciendo. Mi nueva familia es muy amable. A veces puedo ayudar en cocinar las comidas cual me gusta muchisimo. Me encanta cocinar.
First off, I have changed houses. My original family was having some problems within the family so it was better that I changed. I was sad to leave them so adruptly but hopefully I can see them in the future. Right now, I am living with Deanna´s family. They are really nice. Yesterday we recieved another student so Deanna and I are now sharing a room. Its been fun to have you around more to talk to in Spanish! As a result I am not going to bed as early as I did which is a good thing. Now I can sleep though the night unlike before I was waking up super early.
Secondly, there was a bus strike on Monday so I didn´t get to go to my volunteer project. All the drivers in the whole country were protesting against violencia for the buses! It made a pretty quiet day here because no one was yelling where the bus was going. I never thought that no buses would decrease the sound here so much. Wow.
Not much else going on yet this week. I am doing extremely well and can´t believe I only have three more weeks. And Semana Santa is next week! Happy Easter soon!
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Esta Semana Ha Venido y Se Ha Ido
Esta Semana ha ido ya! Mi novio vino a visitarme sobre su vacacion de primavera. En las tardes paseamos en la ciudad y con mi familia. El miercoles fuimos al Volcan Pacaya. Pude ver la lava y mucha rocas! jeje. Fue muy muy interesante. Voy a subir fotos ojala por miercoles. Necesito mas fotos de mi amiga Deanna todavia. Jon regreso a los EEUU el jueves en la tarde. Mi maestra mi dio el dia sin clases! Pero necesito ir a dos horas de clases hoy. Proxima semana voy a la escuela en otro ciudad a trabajar alla por dos semanas mas. Y luego es Semana Santa! Estoy viendo muchas processiones cada viernes y domingo. Son muy interesantes. Ayer fui con Deanna a la casa de otra amiga de YWAM. Jugamos cartas y hablamos sobre nuestras vidas aqui. Nada mas de eso estoy haciendo. Les prometo que fotos vienen pronto! Y tengo buenas noticias! La escuela en Peru me ha aceptado! Puedo hacer mis practicas en Peru el proximo marzo!
Another week has come and gone! My fiance came to visit during his spring break for a few days. We spent the afternoons exploring the city and talking to my host family. Wednesday we climbed an active volcano. It was pretty cool to see the lava and all the volcanic rock! I promise to get pictures up shortly. Deanna and I need to get together to exchange a few pictures because she has a few I want to update on my site as well. THe only scary part of the trip was looking down a crack in the rock and seeing lava flowing underneath me! I would have taken a picture if I was not so concerned about getting off that part of rock as fast as possible.
Jon left Thursday. My teacher even gave me the day off classes so I could go to the airport to drop my finace off. Now I just have to make up the hours today. Next week I go back to the school I am volunteering at. I decided to finish up the month volunteering there. I love helping the kids. Then its Holy Week here. I have seen many processionals every Friday and Sunday. The church I am attending will have Easter morning service at the Cerro de La Cruz (hill that overlooks the city and has a cross). Most of the focus is on Christ´s death here, which is kind of sad. They are very colorful though and each week more and more people come into the city.
Well, I haven´t been doing much more. Its hard to believe that I almost have 4 weeks left! Time sure flies! Oh and I have good news. I have been officially accepted to student teach next March in Peru! Thanks for all your prayers!
Another week has come and gone! My fiance came to visit during his spring break for a few days. We spent the afternoons exploring the city and talking to my host family. Wednesday we climbed an active volcano. It was pretty cool to see the lava and all the volcanic rock! I promise to get pictures up shortly. Deanna and I need to get together to exchange a few pictures because she has a few I want to update on my site as well. THe only scary part of the trip was looking down a crack in the rock and seeing lava flowing underneath me! I would have taken a picture if I was not so concerned about getting off that part of rock as fast as possible.
Jon left Thursday. My teacher even gave me the day off classes so I could go to the airport to drop my finace off. Now I just have to make up the hours today. Next week I go back to the school I am volunteering at. I decided to finish up the month volunteering there. I love helping the kids. Then its Holy Week here. I have seen many processionals every Friday and Sunday. The church I am attending will have Easter morning service at the Cerro de La Cruz (hill that overlooks the city and has a cross). Most of the focus is on Christ´s death here, which is kind of sad. They are very colorful though and each week more and more people come into the city.
Well, I haven´t been doing much more. Its hard to believe that I almost have 4 weeks left! Time sure flies! Oh and I have good news. I have been officially accepted to student teach next March in Peru! Thanks for all your prayers!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
6 cosas por 6 semanas
hola! Estoy bien, gracias a Dios. Tengo 6 cosas en particular que quiero decirles.
1. Ayudo en una escuela en las tardes. Estoy ayudando en una aula de tercer grado. Me encanta mucho! Hay una chica de otro aldea que habla Quechi. Entonces ella no entiende mucho de las lecciones. La ayudo con dictacion y aveces tarea. Durante recreo ella le gusta leer libros conmigo. Ella no habla con los otros estudiantes pero ojala algun dia si.
2. Vi una procession de cuaresma hoy. Es muy interesante. Es casi como Semana Santa pero me dijeron que la procession de Semana Santa es mas grande! Hoy todos estaban vestido en morado y cargando el imagen de Jesus. Tambien tocaba un banda y todo.
3. Hay otros estudiantes de Canada que vienen hoy. Y tambien Margie se va manana. En una semana necesito cambiar cuartos porque hay mas chicas que van a venir tambien. Es un casa grande con todos los cuartos que van a estar llenos en dos semanas!
4. Fui con un grupo de Jackson con Deanna a ver una fabrica de Jade. No sabia que Jade viene en tantos colores!
5. Mi novio viene pronto. Bueno, proxima semana. Estoy muy muy emocionada a ver alguien de los estados especialmente mi novio!
6. Fui a Coban la semana pasada. Algunos de mis fotos estan en mi otro sitio web. No tenia mucho tiempo a poner mas. Coban en mas en las montanas y muy hermosa. Nade en un lagoon de Semuc Champey, y camine en una cueva muy lodoso. El agua era rica por nadando! Y muy hermosa. Cuando llegue a mi casa aqui, me dolian mis piernas porque camine muchisimo en las montanas.
Eso un poco de que estoy haciendo estos dias. Les cuida!
Helllo all! Below are just a few things I have been doing lately.
1. I saw a mini processional today. People were dressed in purple and some even walking beside the image of Jesus dressed as Roman soliders. I can´t even imagen how big Sem,ana Santa will be. I guess every week there is a church who puts on a processional until Semana Santa. Its pretty neat.
2. I am helping out in a school. I am helping in a third grade classroom. I am really helping a girl who is from a village that does not speak Spanish. She knows quite a bit of Spanish, but when the teacher dictates the lesson she falls behind. Since students have to study from the dictation they wrote in their books, she does poorly on tests. so I am working on dictating sentences to her. During recess she likes to read books to me. She has even gotten to the point of asking me questions which she has not done to other teachers. So we need to work on that a little as well. In a way I know what she is going through because of my experiences in Peru.
3. More students are coming! There is a mother and daughter coming for the week. and another student, Margie, leaves early tomorrow morninng.
4. I visited a Jade Factory with Deanna and a group of students from Jackson whom Deanna knew from her church in the States. It was fun to spend the Saturday morning with them.
5. Jonathan is coming down next week! I am super excited. We will get to spend the afternoons together by exploring the city and maybe even climbing the volcano. We shall see. Its exciting to see someone and share Guatemala with someone else from the States. Its great my fiance can experience a little of my new world. Pray for safe travels.
6. I went to Coban last weekend. It was really fin. It was a 5 hour drive to the north. I have a few pictures uploaded already. I went swimming in a lagoon as well as hiked in a muddy cave, and in the mountains in search of a Quetzal (natyional bird). My legs told me how much I walked Monday mroning. I had a lot of fun.
Well, that is a little of what I have been doing lately. Heading into week 7!
1. Ayudo en una escuela en las tardes. Estoy ayudando en una aula de tercer grado. Me encanta mucho! Hay una chica de otro aldea que habla Quechi. Entonces ella no entiende mucho de las lecciones. La ayudo con dictacion y aveces tarea. Durante recreo ella le gusta leer libros conmigo. Ella no habla con los otros estudiantes pero ojala algun dia si.
2. Vi una procession de cuaresma hoy. Es muy interesante. Es casi como Semana Santa pero me dijeron que la procession de Semana Santa es mas grande! Hoy todos estaban vestido en morado y cargando el imagen de Jesus. Tambien tocaba un banda y todo.
3. Hay otros estudiantes de Canada que vienen hoy. Y tambien Margie se va manana. En una semana necesito cambiar cuartos porque hay mas chicas que van a venir tambien. Es un casa grande con todos los cuartos que van a estar llenos en dos semanas!
4. Fui con un grupo de Jackson con Deanna a ver una fabrica de Jade. No sabia que Jade viene en tantos colores!
5. Mi novio viene pronto. Bueno, proxima semana. Estoy muy muy emocionada a ver alguien de los estados especialmente mi novio!
6. Fui a Coban la semana pasada. Algunos de mis fotos estan en mi otro sitio web. No tenia mucho tiempo a poner mas. Coban en mas en las montanas y muy hermosa. Nade en un lagoon de Semuc Champey, y camine en una cueva muy lodoso. El agua era rica por nadando! Y muy hermosa. Cuando llegue a mi casa aqui, me dolian mis piernas porque camine muchisimo en las montanas.
Eso un poco de que estoy haciendo estos dias. Les cuida!
Helllo all! Below are just a few things I have been doing lately.
1. I saw a mini processional today. People were dressed in purple and some even walking beside the image of Jesus dressed as Roman soliders. I can´t even imagen how big Sem,ana Santa will be. I guess every week there is a church who puts on a processional until Semana Santa. Its pretty neat.
2. I am helping out in a school. I am helping in a third grade classroom. I am really helping a girl who is from a village that does not speak Spanish. She knows quite a bit of Spanish, but when the teacher dictates the lesson she falls behind. Since students have to study from the dictation they wrote in their books, she does poorly on tests. so I am working on dictating sentences to her. During recess she likes to read books to me. She has even gotten to the point of asking me questions which she has not done to other teachers. So we need to work on that a little as well. In a way I know what she is going through because of my experiences in Peru.
3. More students are coming! There is a mother and daughter coming for the week. and another student, Margie, leaves early tomorrow morninng.
4. I visited a Jade Factory with Deanna and a group of students from Jackson whom Deanna knew from her church in the States. It was fun to spend the Saturday morning with them.
5. Jonathan is coming down next week! I am super excited. We will get to spend the afternoons together by exploring the city and maybe even climbing the volcano. We shall see. Its exciting to see someone and share Guatemala with someone else from the States. Its great my fiance can experience a little of my new world. Pray for safe travels.
6. I went to Coban last weekend. It was really fin. It was a 5 hour drive to the north. I have a few pictures uploaded already. I went swimming in a lagoon as well as hiked in a muddy cave, and in the mountains in search of a Quetzal (natyional bird). My legs told me how much I walked Monday mroning. I had a lot of fun.
Well, that is a little of what I have been doing lately. Heading into week 7!
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Estoy acostumbrada?
Aqui es la prueba para saber si estoy acostumbrada en mi nuevo pais.
1. Puedo caminar cuando es la noche sola? si.
2. Siento comoda tomar el bus a Ciudad Vieja? Si.
3. Siento comoda a ir al mercado sola? Si
4. Piensas en espanol? Si. Muchas veces.
5. Sueno en espanol? A veces.
6. Se donde stoy en la ciudad? Si
7. Pudo preguntar a pesonas cuando no se donde estoy? Si.
Estoy ayudando en una escuela. Me gusta ir alla muchisimo. Esta semana mi maestra no estuvo porwue su mama estaba en el hospital. Tuve otra maestra por toda la semana. Aprendi muchisimo sobre el cultura de Guatemala.
Above isa test I came up with to show how I feel toward my new city. I took a leisurely walk home yesterday after volunteering just reflecting on my time here so far. I am not doing much today. Tomorrow I am helping in an aution/exposition with the school I am volunteering. They needed two bilingual workers to man the booth at the event. So since I have been only working at the school for about three days, I have been readinga lot about the school so I can answer basic questions from the visitors. IT is thought that most of the visitors will be English speaking. I may even have to give a short speech. I am sure it will be fine. It will be interesting for sure. I plan on taking pictures for the school as well. Nt much else has been going on. Happy Valentine'sDay! Lo siento que mucho de este no es en espanol. :( Feliz dia de Carino!
1. Puedo caminar cuando es la noche sola? si.
2. Siento comoda tomar el bus a Ciudad Vieja? Si.
3. Siento comoda a ir al mercado sola? Si
4. Piensas en espanol? Si. Muchas veces.
5. Sueno en espanol? A veces.
6. Se donde stoy en la ciudad? Si
7. Pudo preguntar a pesonas cuando no se donde estoy? Si.
Estoy ayudando en una escuela. Me gusta ir alla muchisimo. Esta semana mi maestra no estuvo porwue su mama estaba en el hospital. Tuve otra maestra por toda la semana. Aprendi muchisimo sobre el cultura de Guatemala.
Above isa test I came up with to show how I feel toward my new city. I took a leisurely walk home yesterday after volunteering just reflecting on my time here so far. I am not doing much today. Tomorrow I am helping in an aution/exposition with the school I am volunteering. They needed two bilingual workers to man the booth at the event. So since I have been only working at the school for about three days, I have been readinga lot about the school so I can answer basic questions from the visitors. IT is thought that most of the visitors will be English speaking. I may even have to give a short speech. I am sure it will be fine. It will be interesting for sure. I plan on taking pictures for the school as well. Nt much else has been going on. Happy Valentine'sDay! Lo siento que mucho de este no es en espanol. :( Feliz dia de Carino!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Lago Atitlan s back!
I did a verbal presentation on Lago Atitlan in Spanish class last semester. It focused on the bacteria that has grown in the lake causing it to turn green. The bacteria was feeding on the extra nutrients that were collecting in the lake from sewage and dirt. I was very interested in seeing the Lake Atitlan and seeing how it looked now. On the 2 hour van ride, I saw signs saying Lago Atitlan was back. I saw what they meant when I saw how clear and blue the water was! It was very pretty.
Once we arrived we checked into our hotel (I went on the tour with the school). Then we went on a 30 minute boat ride across the lake to another town called Santiago Atitlan. There were many indigenous people. As we passed the central park we stopped to admire a model of the lake. Many women in this town also wore the traditional dress which was different than in Antigua. Many carried a shawl over their shoulders which could be used to shade their faces from the sun or carry things in. Some woment even had on hats that looked like fabric wrapped around their heads. The men wore shorts with designs or even red stripes on them. It kind of reminded me of clowns or tropical shorts. I should have some pictures of the typical dress. That evening we went back to Panajachel for dinner at a restaurante where kids played the marimbas. The owners daughters, son and niece played for us while we ate. It was very cool. I also learned how the mayans made the marimba. Did you know that if it was quite and only the marimbas were playing you could hear them for miles?!
Sunday we drove an hour to Chichicastenango to see Guatemala’s biggest market. We saw the church and people praying to a few saints inside. We also learned a little about shamans who are like witch doctors or the spiritual advisors to the town. They are not related to God because most people wo believe in the shaman do not believe in God because the shaman acts as their God. I did learn though that there are even Catholic shamen but I am unclear how that was possible even though it was explained to me extensivly.
After the 2 hour ride back to Antigua, Deanna, another student, Sherry, and I went to mass at the cathedral in Plaza Central. I had experienced mass many times in Peru, but it was Deanna’s first time . I did learn a lot from Sherry about the Catholic faith that I did not realize from my other experiences. It was a neat experience to see another form of worship.
Other than that I have not been too busy. School is still going well. I changed teachers and now have one that corrects my pronunciation. We end up conversing more that studying grammar but I guess that is why it is wise to change teachers once in a while so you learn different things. Its been quite interesting and fun. My family is great as well. Right now it is only Margie, (from MN), Jacob (from FL and has been here one week and will be in the house one week more) and I. Alexi from Canada left for another village to work with kids on Sunday. We still get to see him once in a while since he likes to do some of the activities with La Union. He is only about a ten minute bus ride away. Hope every one has been doing well. Thanks for the prayers!
Once we arrived we checked into our hotel (I went on the tour with the school). Then we went on a 30 minute boat ride across the lake to another town called Santiago Atitlan. There were many indigenous people. As we passed the central park we stopped to admire a model of the lake. Many women in this town also wore the traditional dress which was different than in Antigua. Many carried a shawl over their shoulders which could be used to shade their faces from the sun or carry things in. Some woment even had on hats that looked like fabric wrapped around their heads. The men wore shorts with designs or even red stripes on them. It kind of reminded me of clowns or tropical shorts. I should have some pictures of the typical dress. That evening we went back to Panajachel for dinner at a restaurante where kids played the marimbas. The owners daughters, son and niece played for us while we ate. It was very cool. I also learned how the mayans made the marimba. Did you know that if it was quite and only the marimbas were playing you could hear them for miles?!
Sunday we drove an hour to Chichicastenango to see Guatemala’s biggest market. We saw the church and people praying to a few saints inside. We also learned a little about shamans who are like witch doctors or the spiritual advisors to the town. They are not related to God because most people wo believe in the shaman do not believe in God because the shaman acts as their God. I did learn though that there are even Catholic shamen but I am unclear how that was possible even though it was explained to me extensivly.
After the 2 hour ride back to Antigua, Deanna, another student, Sherry, and I went to mass at the cathedral in Plaza Central. I had experienced mass many times in Peru, but it was Deanna’s first time . I did learn a lot from Sherry about the Catholic faith that I did not realize from my other experiences. It was a neat experience to see another form of worship.
Other than that I have not been too busy. School is still going well. I changed teachers and now have one that corrects my pronunciation. We end up conversing more that studying grammar but I guess that is why it is wise to change teachers once in a while so you learn different things. Its been quite interesting and fun. My family is great as well. Right now it is only Margie, (from MN), Jacob (from FL and has been here one week and will be in the house one week more) and I. Alexi from Canada left for another village to work with kids on Sunday. We still get to see him once in a while since he likes to do some of the activities with La Union. He is only about a ten minute bus ride away. Hope every one has been doing well. Thanks for the prayers!
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Un Dia Tipico/A Typical Day
Cada dia me levanto a las 7am y desayuno. Despues hago mis devociones. A las 7:45 estoy caimando a la escuela. A las 8 estoy hablando con mi maestra y studied. Mucha de mi leccion es conversacion pero tambien estoy aprendiendo de la cultura y nuevas palabras. A las 10 hay una pausa entonces hablo con mi amiga Deanna y nuevas amigas aqua. Encontre una chica de Dinamarca quien tambien fue con Rotary a canadaa por un anio! Despues media hora regreso a mis lecciones para dos horas mas. A las 12 tengo muchisimo hambre! Camino con otra estudiante a mi casa para almorzar. Despues almuerzo tengo un poco tiempo para hacer mis tareas antes que ir a la escuela para un tour de los pueblos o de Antigua o otra tour. A veces voy a un tour pero tambien tengo tiempo antes regresar a mi pais entonces no voy a todos los viajes cada dia. A veces tambien voy con otrosestudiantes a ver mas de Antigua. Es muy chevere. Me encanta mi familia y me siento muy comoda con ellos. La ciudad es muy bonita tambien. Bueno, les cuida y les extranio muchisimo!
Each day I wake up at 7am and eat breakfast. Then I do my devotions and get ready to go to school. At 7:45 I walk with another student to school. By 8 I am talking with my teacher over my evenings and sometimes we share stories or talk about miraclesw we have seen or experienced. She is funny. At 10 we have a half hour break so I go over to talk with Deanna or some other new friends about how they have been doing. Then I head back to my table to have another two hours of lessons. Wednesday we went to the market with another student and teacher. It was fun. We made it into a learning experience by learning some of the fruits and vegetables in Spanish. Then I walk back with another student in my house home. We eat lunch almost right away which is good because I am starving by the time I get home. Then sometimes I head back to school to go on some of their afternoon trips or I walk with another student to the center of town. Then its time for a little homework!. I met another student from Denmark who went to Canada en 2005 with Rotary Youth Exchange! It was pretty cool. She misses Canada about as much as I miss Peru. So that is what my day looks like. I found out some of the other students in my house have not been feeling well (same as me). We all started feeling sick on Thursday so it must be something we all ate that day. So please pray we all feel bettter very soon. It is just a slight upset stomach and a few trips to the bathroom, so its as bad as it could be. Gracias!
Each day I wake up at 7am and eat breakfast. Then I do my devotions and get ready to go to school. At 7:45 I walk with another student to school. By 8 I am talking with my teacher over my evenings and sometimes we share stories or talk about miraclesw we have seen or experienced. She is funny. At 10 we have a half hour break so I go over to talk with Deanna or some other new friends about how they have been doing. Then I head back to my table to have another two hours of lessons. Wednesday we went to the market with another student and teacher. It was fun. We made it into a learning experience by learning some of the fruits and vegetables in Spanish. Then I walk back with another student in my house home. We eat lunch almost right away which is good because I am starving by the time I get home. Then sometimes I head back to school to go on some of their afternoon trips or I walk with another student to the center of town. Then its time for a little homework!. I met another student from Denmark who went to Canada en 2005 with Rotary Youth Exchange! It was pretty cool. She misses Canada about as much as I miss Peru. So that is what my day looks like. I found out some of the other students in my house have not been feeling well (same as me). We all started feeling sick on Thursday so it must be something we all ate that day. So please pray we all feel bettter very soon. It is just a slight upset stomach and a few trips to the bathroom, so its as bad as it could be. Gracias!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Sights/Vistas
Antigua is a very pretty place. The streets are cobblestone because the people here wanted to keep Antigua as it was. This includes cobblestone streets and colonial style houses. A lot of the street signs...if you can find them... are old and sometimes hard to read. The churches are different colors of yellow, orange, white and more just like the houses. You can see women andgirls dresed i the traditional mayan dress. The houses I have been in so far have a courtyard in the middle with every door facing it. There are mountains on every side. Guatemala has 38 volcanes!!! Only 8 are active. You can see many dogs in the streets. The market (mercado) isa very crowded place. Deanna and I went on Saturday with her host mom Elsa. If we did not watch out we could easily get lost! The weather is cool in the morning and evenings. My classes are outside so I wear a sweater almost every morning. It is not quite as warm as I had imagined.
I went on a tour of the city on Monday. It was fun. It was really funny because Deanna and I walked all over Antigua on Sunday and we saw the same places on Monday with the group.
Yesteday I went on a bus tour to see the surounding pueblos (towns). I saw a few churches and convents while learning about Guatemalan history. Did you know that Antigua was the third place the capital was located? Ihad a choice to walk up te Volcano Pacaya today but I will save that trip for another week. I have plenty of time!
Today, I am justrelaxing and enjoying the weather. I borrowed a house mates laptop so I could access the iternet for free a school. There are 4 other students in my house. One 18 year old from Quebec who also spent some time in Peru. He speaks English very well as well as Spanish. We converse on the way to school in Spanish most mornings. Margie is an older lady who is a retired pastor from MN. She is learning Spanish so I can't talk with her in Spanish very well. Helena (25)leave in a week and sheis from London. She speaks some but prefers to speak in English. The other girl, Katie, just arrived. She is doing some social project so oes not come to a Union. I also have not seen much of her. Well, I better get some other things done on here. Hopefully, get pictures up on my other site now. Hasta luego! (otro dia voy a escribr en espanol)
I went on a tour of the city on Monday. It was fun. It was really funny because Deanna and I walked all over Antigua on Sunday and we saw the same places on Monday with the group.
Yesteday I went on a bus tour to see the surounding pueblos (towns). I saw a few churches and convents while learning about Guatemalan history. Did you know that Antigua was the third place the capital was located? Ihad a choice to walk up te Volcano Pacaya today but I will save that trip for another week. I have plenty of time!
Today, I am justrelaxing and enjoying the weather. I borrowed a house mates laptop so I could access the iternet for free a school. There are 4 other students in my house. One 18 year old from Quebec who also spent some time in Peru. He speaks English very well as well as Spanish. We converse on the way to school in Spanish most mornings. Margie is an older lady who is a retired pastor from MN. She is learning Spanish so I can't talk with her in Spanish very well. Helena (25)leave in a week and sheis from London. She speaks some but prefers to speak in English. The other girl, Katie, just arrived. She is doing some social project so oes not come to a Union. I also have not seen much of her. Well, I better get some other things done on here. Hopefully, get pictures up on my other site now. Hasta luego! (otro dia voy a escribr en espanol)
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
La meta de este blog
hola a todos! Solo quiero decir que yo escribira en mi blog durante mi tiempo en Guatemala. Quisiera que uds saben donde estoy y que estoy haciendo alla. Ojala teneria tiempo escribir aqui diaramente. Por favor oran por un viaje seguro al Guatemala y un descanso tranquilo el noche anterior de mi viaje. Tambien oran para buen salud durante estas trece semanas proximas. Muchas gracias para sus oraciones. ojala disfrutarian mis cuentos sobre mis estudios y la ciudad Antigua. Les cuida! besos
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Lista!
I am basically packed and ready to leave! I am leaving on Wenesday to spend the night at my Grandma's house then spending the next night at Deanna's then we will leave! I am super excited to see Guatemala. I still am not sure I have everything packed that I may need but there will be no way of knowing until I get down there. I did manage to stick to one weeks worth of clothing and my one suitcase looks half full! Ok, I hope everyone has a great winter! I am going to enjoy the sun and summer as much as I can!
This was going to be a blog all about my trip but I have to include some news in here about what happened on the new year. Some of you all may not have heard yet, but on New Year's morning, I became engaged to a very amazing man named Jonathan. We do not have an exact date yet, but it will be next summer.
Thank you all for your continuing prayers and support during my time abroad. I will hopefully update everyone once I get settled. Please pray for a safe trip Friday. Pray Deanna and I will both get the sleep we need for the flight and stay healthy! Muchas gracias! God bless.
This was going to be a blog all about my trip but I have to include some news in here about what happened on the new year. Some of you all may not have heard yet, but on New Year's morning, I became engaged to a very amazing man named Jonathan. We do not have an exact date yet, but it will be next summer.
Thank you all for your continuing prayers and support during my time abroad. I will hopefully update everyone once I get settled. Please pray for a safe trip Friday. Pray Deanna and I will both get the sleep we need for the flight and stay healthy! Muchas gracias! God bless.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Host Family
I finally heard from La Union who my host family will be! I am very excited to introduce myself and get to know them a little before I arrive. They are within walking distance of the school which will be nice. I have been keeping an eye on the weather down there as well. It appears to be a little chilly this morning but it will be 80 degrees shortly! I can't wait for warm weather and be surrounded by Spanish and their culture. Well, when I have more information I will pass it on. Have a happy Thanksgiving (a few weeks early) :)
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Deanna is going!
Deanna has decided to go to Guatemala! Yay! We bought our plane tickets together so we will be traveling on the same day in the same plane. Now we are discussing what to bring and what the temperature might be like there. At this point I am not too nervous or worried. Even if I forget something I can more than likely borrow from someone what I need. I think through living in Peru and Costa Rica I have learned that everything will work out and everyone is more than eager to share possessions!
Monday, October 19, 2009
Acceptance
I have been officially accepted to attend La Union in Guatemala! I met with the SAU registrar office last week to figure out how many credits I needed and what classes I would take. January is not very far away! I still have to finish some paperwork which should be done by the end of the month.
My friend Deanna has been accepted to go to Costa Rica and Guatemala so she is now trying to decide where she will go this spring. If she goes to Guatemala she will be going with me! If not she will in Costa Rica the same time I am in Guatemala. Either way she decides it will be cool and exciting to experience another culture together whether the same one or different ones.
Watch out Guatemala, here I come!
My friend Deanna has been accepted to go to Costa Rica and Guatemala so she is now trying to decide where she will go this spring. If she goes to Guatemala she will be going with me! If not she will in Costa Rica the same time I am in Guatemala. Either way she decides it will be cool and exciting to experience another culture together whether the same one or different ones.
Watch out Guatemala, here I come!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Semester Abroad
I am so excited to get this set up so it may be easier to communicate with all of you of my travels! Of course, there are no other posts yet, but after mid January I hope to have time to update this site regularly. I will be studying Spanish during the spring semester to complete my Spanish degree. I look forward to my time in another country using a language I have fallen in love with. I am also looking forward to see what God may reveal during my trip.
My goal is to update this blog as ogten as I can. I will post things happening to me as well as prayer requests and praises. Pictures will be posted on my shutterfly account. Thanks for your prayers and support!
My goal is to update this blog as ogten as I can. I will post things happening to me as well as prayer requests and praises. Pictures will be posted on my shutterfly account. Thanks for your prayers and support!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)