Turning our tortillas into tostadas. Pretty sweet bonfire, in my opinion.
They're crazy.
Esme and Fide!
Oh hey, Katherine.
Sindy, Marta, and I are back there somewhere!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Bonfire with the Girls
School is out, so fun is in! Tuesday night, the girls in the section had their very own bonfire. Thanks for the invite, niñas! :)
Casa Cabrona Does San Pedro
Blog updates are back!
So last weekend, Katie, Leeah, and I (you can call us Casa Cabrona) took a trip to San Pedro on beautiful Lake Atitlan! From Saturday morning to Monday afternoon, we personified LAZY. We ate, read, napped, read, ate, read, napped, and watched two Colin Farrell movies back-to-back. Oh, and we kayaked to San Marcos (and then back again trying to out-kayak an impending storm)!
It was a great weekend, in a great place, with great weather, and with great company. Here's to Casa Cabrona fitting in one last wonderful weekend trip before Katie and Leeah (sniffle, sniffle) leave NPHG in just a few weeks. :(
So last weekend, Katie, Leeah, and I (you can call us Casa Cabrona) took a trip to San Pedro on beautiful Lake Atitlan! From Saturday morning to Monday afternoon, we personified LAZY. We ate, read, napped, read, ate, read, napped, and watched two Colin Farrell movies back-to-back. Oh, and we kayaked to San Marcos (and then back again trying to out-kayak an impending storm)!
It was a great weekend, in a great place, with great weather, and with great company. Here's to Casa Cabrona fitting in one last wonderful weekend trip before Katie and Leeah (sniffle, sniffle) leave NPHG in just a few weeks. :(
San Pedro!
Falafel lunch at Shanti Shanti! YUM!
Our $5.40 a night hotel. Love you, Guatemala.
Something was wrong with this hammock.
Time to kayak!
Hi, Katie!
Here we go!
Leeah and Katie in front of Volcán San Pedro.
Me and Katie!
Such a pretty lake.
Thanks for the lovely weekend, San Pedro. :)
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Reason #85746843 I Belong with a Section of Preteens
7:55 p.m. on a Monday night
Me: Sorry guys, I have to go. All the volunteers have a meeting at 8 p.m. to plan this weekend's Kermes.
Section of girls: Aww, but you're leaving right in the middle of Camp Rock 2!
Me: I know, I'm bummed too. Will you guys tell me what happens when I see you tomorrow?
Girls: Of course!
Me thinking in my head as I leave the section: Hmm, or maybe I could ask them to borrow it.
:P
Me: Sorry guys, I have to go. All the volunteers have a meeting at 8 p.m. to plan this weekend's Kermes.
Section of girls: Aww, but you're leaving right in the middle of Camp Rock 2!
Me: I know, I'm bummed too. Will you guys tell me what happens when I see you tomorrow?
Girls: Of course!
Me thinking in my head as I leave the section: Hmm, or maybe I could ask them to borrow it.
:P
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Out and About Once Again
Weekend away. Two days here. Running off again tomorrow. In my life, that sounds about right.
Tomorrow morning, all the volunteers are leaving for a 3-day volunteer workshop about 20 minutes away. (Between this and Earth Lodge, we're having lots of together time this week.) The workshop is supposed to be a chance for us to step away from our crazy lives of work, kids, sleep, repeat (oh God, I sound like a parent) and reflect on the volunteer program at NPH Guatemala.
I'm not exactly sure what to expect. I've heard that last year's workshop got slightly out of hand when it came to what people were using their campaigning energy on: "Our showers aren't hot enough! I'm too busy! I don't like the food!" That isn't exactly the point of this whole thing. Believe me, we have no trouble complaining about those things from the comfort of our own living rooms, hah.
The 3-day workshop is meant to have a somewhat bigger focus. Are we serving a useful purpose at NPH Guatemala? What is that purpose? If I'm kind of just taking up space, how can we change that?
I for one think the volunteer program here is valuable and is making a difference, but not everyone out there agrees. Some NPH homes do not accept international volunteers, period. So, this workshop is our chance to prove that, in Guatemala at least, we do function better with an international volunteer program. It's our chance to prove that the 13 months (or more) each one of us spent here wasn't just wasted time.
Anywho, here's hoping the next 3 days go well. If all else fails, Katie, Leeah, and I bought ourselves the first season of Entourage in the market last weekend. If we're not having fun in the workshop, at least we're bringing eight 50-minute episodes of fun with us! Then, after the workshop ends Friday night, we're thinking the plan is to head out Saturday morning for a weekend at Lake Atitlan! Woohoo!
Entonces, see ya next week!
Tomorrow morning, all the volunteers are leaving for a 3-day volunteer workshop about 20 minutes away. (Between this and Earth Lodge, we're having lots of together time this week.) The workshop is supposed to be a chance for us to step away from our crazy lives of work, kids, sleep, repeat (oh God, I sound like a parent) and reflect on the volunteer program at NPH Guatemala.
I'm not exactly sure what to expect. I've heard that last year's workshop got slightly out of hand when it came to what people were using their campaigning energy on: "Our showers aren't hot enough! I'm too busy! I don't like the food!" That isn't exactly the point of this whole thing. Believe me, we have no trouble complaining about those things from the comfort of our own living rooms, hah.
The 3-day workshop is meant to have a somewhat bigger focus. Are we serving a useful purpose at NPH Guatemala? What is that purpose? If I'm kind of just taking up space, how can we change that?
I for one think the volunteer program here is valuable and is making a difference, but not everyone out there agrees. Some NPH homes do not accept international volunteers, period. So, this workshop is our chance to prove that, in Guatemala at least, we do function better with an international volunteer program. It's our chance to prove that the 13 months (or more) each one of us spent here wasn't just wasted time.
Anywho, here's hoping the next 3 days go well. If all else fails, Katie, Leeah, and I bought ourselves the first season of Entourage in the market last weekend. If we're not having fun in the workshop, at least we're bringing eight 50-minute episodes of fun with us! Then, after the workshop ends Friday night, we're thinking the plan is to head out Saturday morning for a weekend at Lake Atitlan! Woohoo!
Entonces, see ya next week!
Hello, Sunshine!
Important announcement:
Rainy season is officially OVER!
A couple weeks ago, I blogged about how horrible, terrible, no-good, very-bad the weather was. Well, it appears that was the 2010 rainy season's way of going out with a bang. Because as soon as that gross rainy phase ended...
...it has been GORGEOUS every single day since!
I may not have crimson-colored leaves in my life this October, but nontheless, I am loving this Guatemalan weather!
Rainy season is officially OVER!
A couple weeks ago, I blogged about how horrible, terrible, no-good, very-bad the weather was. Well, it appears that was the 2010 rainy season's way of going out with a bang. Because as soon as that gross rainy phase ended...
...it has been GORGEOUS every single day since!
I may not have crimson-colored leaves in my life this October, but nontheless, I am loving this Guatemalan weather!
Monday, October 11, 2010
It's Sort of Difficult to Play Catchphrase...
...when you're playing in English with non-native English speakers.
"Ok, this is a place you go to buy things, like a tienda, when you're going to be working out a lot or something."
"We have no idea what you are describing."
"It says sweatshop."
"Oh my god. Nooooooooo."
...or when you are a native English speaker, but you've been speaking Spanish so long that you sort of forget English.
"Ok, I have no idea why these two words go together in a phrase. Hole. Punch."
Pause.
"Oh."
HAHAHAHAHAHA.
"Ok, this is a place you go to buy things, like a tienda, when you're going to be working out a lot or something."
"We have no idea what you are describing."
"It says sweatshop."
"Oh my god. Nooooooooo."
...or when you are a native English speaker, but you've been speaking Spanish so long that you sort of forget English.
"Ok, I have no idea why these two words go together in a phrase. Hole. Punch."
Pause.
"Oh."
HAHAHAHAHAHA.
Earth Lodge!
This weekend, the entire volunteer group took a volunteer salida (trip) to Earth Lodge! Earth Lodge says they're an "eco-friendly mountain lodge and avocado farm near Antigua, Guatemala, famous for their avocados, volcano views, amazing food, and magic treehouse," and they pretty much hit the nail right on the head.
Only 20 minutes outside (or should we say "above") Antigua, it's like some vacation-retreat god dropped this cozy ski lodge (minus the skiing) onto a Guatemalan plain overlooking three incredible volcanoes, equipped the place with awesome facilities, delicious food, campfire pits, a collection of every movie and board game you could ever want, and said, "Let the visitors come."
And they do. This entire year, I've been hearing good, great, and greater things about Earth Lodge, and after this weekend, I get it. You feel completely away from it all without being very far away from it all at all, and its views are probably some of the most beautiful I've come across in all of Guatemala.
Take me back, please!
Katie, Katie, and Nicole...we're on our way!
You really never get sick of riding in the back of pick-up trucks in Guatemala.
Where are the volcano views???
Oh there it is.
Earth Lodge! So close!
We MADE it!
Gorgeous. Where we spent pretty much every hour every day.
Antigua and the valley below.
This dog was crazy. You could throw his ball about a mile deep into the valley below, and he'd STILL bring it back. Best games of fetch we've ever witnessed.
Our dorm, which believe it or not, comfortably fit 8 people. Magic or something.
Getting our tan...sunburn...on.
Michael: "Right now, I'm challenging you guys to a standing tree yoga pose contest."
Wake up. Walk outside our dorm. See this.
And then this. Volcanoes Agua, Fuego, and Acatenango.
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