Hello Everyone,
The first week back has been a definite adjustment because my schedule has changed completely. We are now in the second phase of our program. I no longer have classes at Celas everyday from noon 8am to 1pm. I now have classes at a university called Raphel Landivar. It is a nice private university that is about a 20 minute walk from my house. Its so funny here that for things around Xela it is almost always the distance is told almost always by how far the distance is walking. The univeristy is beautiful, its grassy and there is nice landscaping with green grass and flowers (I labled it on my flicker). Its all open and you enter the classes from the outside. Ahora yo tengo un orario muy llena (Now I have a very full schedule). Along with classes at the university I am still taking classes at Celas Maya but in the afternoon either 2 or 3 times a week from 2pm to 7pm. I can choose whether I want to go to go take only ten hours a week or 15 hours a week. For the first week I took 15 hours of Spanish because I didn´t have much homework at the university, but I think from now on I will only take ten hours at Celas per week because IN ADDITION to classes at the university and classes at Celas Maya everyone in our group is required to do 4 hours of volunteer work every week. Everyone had an interview with the director of Celas so that we could be placed where we would like to be placed. Since I love working with kids I got placed in an orphange which is right up my alley ;) I worked there for the first time on Thursday. The kids vary from real little like 2 to age 14. Chris and Mike, two guys from our group (from St. Ben´s St. John´s) are working there with me. We all went together the first time, but since everyone in our group doesn´t have the same schedule (because some are taking different classes at the university and are required to take 15 hours at Celas because of their level of Spanish). My volunteer work was fun the first time because it just so happened that it was an activity for some of the students of Celas to go and visit the orphange that same afternoon so that had planned games and pinatas to break! I´m sorry if this is all really confusing, I hopefully I wording this correctly. Maybe this will help HERE is MY schedule:
Mondays
Guatemalan History 1100 to 1230
Spanish Classes at Celas 200 to 700
Tuesdays
Mayan Cosmovision 900 to 1100
Senior Sem 1100 to 1245
(200 to 700 either some of my volunteer work or optional classes at Celas or my only free afternoon)
Wednesdays
Guatemlan History
Spanish Classes at Celas
Thursday
Mayan Cosmovision
Senior Sem
Volunteer work
Friday
FREE DAY
So, Guatemalan history, Mayan cosmovision, and Senior sem are the classes I am taking at the University. At Celas I am continuing to take Spanish classes with a tutor. For the next five weeks unless we have to change we will have the same professor. My professor's name is Juila. She is really nice and young and fun.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Long Excursion!
I have been travelling through Guatemala for the past week and a half! This excursion fell in between the two phases of our study abroad program. The first five weeks of the program were one on one tutoring, the first three weeks were with teacher Monica, and the last two weeks were with a different teacher, Julio. Both of them were awesome. I had to take two tests at the end of my time with both of them in order to receive a grade. So, after my I had taken my test with Julio, we left on our long excursion!
Friday : February 6, 2009
We left Celas at one o clock in the afternoon to leave for our first stop to Guatemala City. Guatemala City was basically a pit stop in the whole excursion because the places our director planned on us seeing were further north in Guatemala. All 23 student of the group, plus Josua (one of the directors at Celas Maya who works closely with our director Brian), Brian, his wife Terese, and their 2 year old daughter Carolina, and also two teachers from Celas Maya Marium and Loyola (neither of whom I have had but I have great things about them, they got chosen lottery style out of all of the teacher of Celas, they came to have Spanish conversations with us along the way and for their own vacation as well) all of these people travelled on a coach bus together for the duration of the trip.
When we arrived in Guatemala City after the five hour bus ride we ate together at a restaurant called Fridas. Then we returned to the hotel, I talked with my mom and dad for a bit and then I took a long shower. It felt AMAZING! Definitely an upgrade from my shower in Xela. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Guatemala only for one night. I roomed with Anna and Megan this night. The roommate situation for the duration of the trip was really fun because the girls decided to switch it up room with different girls almost every hotel.
Saturday: February 7, 2009
We woke up at around 6:30am because we all had to be in the lobby for breakfast by 6:55am. This was only one of the many meals that we planned to eat together as a large group (aka it was mandatory but fun to be with the group). Breakfast was actually kind of funny. During the trip we almost always had to pre-order any of the group meals we had because we had such a large group that it would take a lot of time to order if we didn’t pre order ahead of time. The day before there was a group meal there was always a menu and a list with all of our names so you could write what you wanted. This is sometimes funny because you have no idea what you are going to get because sometimes the description of the food can be a little deceiving. I ordered pancakes, and these pancakes were some of the smallest things! Haha. They were about the size of a cookie, and there was only two of them. Luckily Brian talked to the cook and got us some more. Food never goes to waste in our group, because everyone always passes around what they don’t want or if they are full or something! When we returned to the hotel a little after 8:00am we left right away. Our next stop was Flores, which would be about a 8 hour bus ride. We spent a lot of time in the bus. Most of the time I slept. Otherwise I talked with others. We only watched half of Finding Nemo on the TV screens on the bus. I was disappointed bc that was the only movie we watched on TV screens. People brought more movies but some brought their lap tops and DVD players so the group (including me) watched movies in pairs or triples on their own.
Saturday Night
We arrived in Flores sometime in the late afternoon. Flores is an island located on a large lake called Lake Paten. Our hotel was right on the lakes edge. This night I roomed with Angela and Shannon. One of the first things I did in Flores was jumped right into the lake. I’m not sure if it was really clean or not but it was a spontaneous thing that Jenna, Jordan, Doug and I did. We just jumped right of the dock that was outside of our hotel. The lake was pretty clean...but it was a little akward because I don't think it was a 'normal' swimming area. Afterwards we all showered and whent to a restaurant that was real nearby called Reices. I had a pincho which is a cabob with chicken and beef it was delicious, and a few cuba libres ;) Afterwards we headed back to the hotel and a bunch of us gathered in one hotel room to play a game called zoomie zoomie. Then that same group all went to the discoteca at Reices (which played more techno and American music than salsa). It was nice to have a fun place that was so close to our hotel. Overall I felt safter walking around the island of Flores than I do in Xela.
Sunday: February 7th, 2009
Sunday was fun because we had the whole day to do whatever we wanted, it was a complete FREE DAY. I slept in until about 10. Then I got up and had breakfast by the lake with Markie, Anna, and Laura. I thought it would be warmer out but it was kind of overcast with on and off rain which was kinda a bummer. Afterwards we went shopping for a bit. I liked the shopping in Flores it had fun stores and hence I spent a lot of money. Then I went to lunch but didn't have time to eat what I had ordered because a bunch of us wanted to go on an activity with Josua at in the afternoon to take a boat and go swimming and see the higher points so we could see the whole island. We took two boats across the lake to see a little bit of mayan history and go on a little hike. We took a hike to an overview so that you could see the entire island, it was really cool. As we were leaving we saw monkeys in the rain forest right before we left! The second part was going swimming in the lake. Josua said that he knew some nice beaches or places to swim. I was picturing like a cabin beach but really it just a random place to swim. The water was nice though, a bit chilly but not bad. Then we returned, I showered and went out to eat at a different place called Yaxha with some other people from the group: Shannon, Angela, Doug, Jordan, and Mike so that I could see some more places of the island, did a little bit more shopping, and then got some icecream at a very popular icecream place for our group called Sarita. I caught some of the grammies with the group back at the hotel, then a bunch of the group went out for happy hour but I was too tired so I just stayed in and basically went to sleep.
Monday: February 9th, 2009
Alrighty sorry its getting a little lengthy for me. I get a little stressed out sometimes, and through talking with my dad I realized that I don't need to be spending so so much time on my blog. So Monday we switched hotels in the morning to one that was real nearby where we stayed for the next two nights. I really like this hotel because of the beautiful overlook of the island, and it had a nicer pool than Hotel de la Isla. After dropping off our stuff we went took an hour long bus ride to Tikal National Park. We spilt up into three groups and explored Tikal. We went toured around the ancient mayan temples and pyramids and climbed lots of steps to the top of some to see of the pyramids to see some amazing views. We went out to Reices again for dinner this night.
Tuesday: February 10th, 2009
These two nights at the new hotel I roomed with my friend Steph. Everyone had breakfast together again. After breakfast we left for Yaxha which is another ancient Mayan site. It was a lot smaller than Tikal where we would have to walk 20 minutes in between pyramids and temples. There were still undiscovered ruins which were under mounds of dirt and grass and trees. I believe that they will one day be uncovered. We were actually told to bring lunch to Yaxha which was nice because at Tikal we just had snacks. We had a lil group picnic on top of one of the pyramids. At one of the last and tallest pyramids at Yaxha we could hear the howler monkeys! They were soooo loud they sounded like dinosaurs. At one point I felt like I was in the middle of Jurassic Park :)
Wednesday: February 11th, 2009
We took a long bus ride to Coban. The coolest part of the 6 or 7 hour bus ride was riding the fairy across the river. Our whole bus and a bunch of cars fit on this little wooden boat! Overall Coban was my least favorite city of the trip. It was more crowded, more busy, and more dirty than Xela. The main purpose for us being there was to have a place to stay before traveling to Semuc Champey. We ate dinner at our hotel because it is one of the best places to eat dinner. The hotel itself was actually pretty interesting...it was colonial style and every room was different. However the rooms were a bit damp and musky. We did a little bit of shopping this day as well, but not much since the city didn't have too many places to go. After dinner we went out for icecream, but it was hard to find a place that was open because everything in Coban closes at like 8pm (I think its b/c the city is dangerous). We found one place and the lady kept it open just for us! We love our icecream. We came back and watched a movie one Jenna's DVD player. I roomed with Jenna and Shannon this night.
Thursday: February 12th, 2009
We ate breakfast on the fly because we left at around 8:00am for Semuc Champey! Only the 23 students from the group and Josua went to Semuc Champey because it was a little much for a two year old and for the teachers. It took about 2 hours to get to Semuc. We stayed in rustic cabins, we were definitely roughin it. Only 3 hours of electricity at night and that was it. We did have bathrooms attached to our cabins though. There was five in my cabin: Jenna, Shannon, Brianna, Nicole, and I. It was really fun though. We got there pretty early in the day on purpose so we would have a lot of time to explore Semuc with Josua as our tour guide. We changed into our suits right away and there was a rope swing into a river right outside our hotel! So we did that first. Then on the way to see the lagoons and natural beauty of Semuc we crossed a bridge which we jumped off of!! Not everyone in the group participated but I was surprised by how many did participate. It was real scary and real high but awesome! Oh and the river had a slight/mediocer current which made it a little difficult to swim to the side after jumping. After that we went to Semuc, which cost to get in but it was definitely worth it! It was absolutely beautiful. I agree with the guidebook that it is pry one of the most beauitful places in Guatemala with its beautiful lagoons. First we hiked around and say the lagoons/lakes from the top, and then we went swimming! The water was clean and a bluish greenish color. It will take me awhile to get the pics up but i don't even feel that the pics I have do this beautiful place justice! On the way back a bunch of us jumped off the bridge again and swam with the current of the river back to our cabins! The second time was less scary because we had to jump one after another in order to keep up with the group as the current would pretty quickly pull them down the river. Then we came back and played some cards before having a family style dinner with the other people in the cabins and with the workers. It was the night before Markie's birthday so we celebrated and made her a candy bar cake and danced some salsa. There was a live Marimba band at dinner! After dinner we hung out, had a couple drinks, and had a little head lamp party out on the dock.
Friday: February 13th, 2009
We woke up around 8 and ate breakfast. We went to the caves this day. The caves were really cool and scary too. Josua was our guide for everything on this part of the trip. The walk to Semuc and to the caves were close to our cabins, about 15 or 20 minute walk. The only thing i wore to the caves was my swimsuit and shorts and we brought one disposable camera for the whole group in a plastic bag so we'll pray that those pictures turn out! We all put paint on our faces since it the caves are a sort of special place for the mayans. We did a combination of walking and swimming in the dark through the caves but it was awesome! The scary part was not knowing how deep the water was. But there were many cool formations and small waterfalls and things to see. Its hard to believe that our group only explored a very small portion of the caves, there was aparently a lot more! Afterwards we tubed down the river and it was finally a full sunny day! This was one of my favorite parts! It was just so beautiful and relaxing. I couple people parked their tubes and jumped off the bridge again but I opted out this time. We left the cabins after changing and having lunch back to Coban. We ate dinner as a group at our same colonail hotel. It was really good, I had pasta like I did the first time we ate at the restaurant, it was delicious.
Saturday: February 15th, 2009
We all ate breakfast at the hotel together. Then we packed up and headed home to Xela! It was probably about a ten hour bus ride overall! Thats all I have for now...I hope everyone is doing well.
Friday : February 6, 2009
We left Celas at one o clock in the afternoon to leave for our first stop to Guatemala City. Guatemala City was basically a pit stop in the whole excursion because the places our director planned on us seeing were further north in Guatemala. All 23 student of the group, plus Josua (one of the directors at Celas Maya who works closely with our director Brian), Brian, his wife Terese, and their 2 year old daughter Carolina, and also two teachers from Celas Maya Marium and Loyola (neither of whom I have had but I have great things about them, they got chosen lottery style out of all of the teacher of Celas, they came to have Spanish conversations with us along the way and for their own vacation as well) all of these people travelled on a coach bus together for the duration of the trip.
When we arrived in Guatemala City after the five hour bus ride we ate together at a restaurant called Fridas. Then we returned to the hotel, I talked with my mom and dad for a bit and then I took a long shower. It felt AMAZING! Definitely an upgrade from my shower in Xela. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Guatemala only for one night. I roomed with Anna and Megan this night. The roommate situation for the duration of the trip was really fun because the girls decided to switch it up room with different girls almost every hotel.
Saturday: February 7, 2009
We woke up at around 6:30am because we all had to be in the lobby for breakfast by 6:55am. This was only one of the many meals that we planned to eat together as a large group (aka it was mandatory but fun to be with the group). Breakfast was actually kind of funny. During the trip we almost always had to pre-order any of the group meals we had because we had such a large group that it would take a lot of time to order if we didn’t pre order ahead of time. The day before there was a group meal there was always a menu and a list with all of our names so you could write what you wanted. This is sometimes funny because you have no idea what you are going to get because sometimes the description of the food can be a little deceiving. I ordered pancakes, and these pancakes were some of the smallest things! Haha. They were about the size of a cookie, and there was only two of them. Luckily Brian talked to the cook and got us some more. Food never goes to waste in our group, because everyone always passes around what they don’t want or if they are full or something! When we returned to the hotel a little after 8:00am we left right away. Our next stop was Flores, which would be about a 8 hour bus ride. We spent a lot of time in the bus. Most of the time I slept. Otherwise I talked with others. We only watched half of Finding Nemo on the TV screens on the bus. I was disappointed bc that was the only movie we watched on TV screens. People brought more movies but some brought their lap tops and DVD players so the group (including me) watched movies in pairs or triples on their own.
Saturday Night
We arrived in Flores sometime in the late afternoon. Flores is an island located on a large lake called Lake Paten. Our hotel was right on the lakes edge. This night I roomed with Angela and Shannon. One of the first things I did in Flores was jumped right into the lake. I’m not sure if it was really clean or not but it was a spontaneous thing that Jenna, Jordan, Doug and I did. We just jumped right of the dock that was outside of our hotel. The lake was pretty clean...but it was a little akward because I don't think it was a 'normal' swimming area. Afterwards we all showered and whent to a restaurant that was real nearby called Reices. I had a pincho which is a cabob with chicken and beef it was delicious, and a few cuba libres ;) Afterwards we headed back to the hotel and a bunch of us gathered in one hotel room to play a game called zoomie zoomie. Then that same group all went to the discoteca at Reices (which played more techno and American music than salsa). It was nice to have a fun place that was so close to our hotel. Overall I felt safter walking around the island of Flores than I do in Xela.
Sunday: February 7th, 2009
Sunday was fun because we had the whole day to do whatever we wanted, it was a complete FREE DAY. I slept in until about 10. Then I got up and had breakfast by the lake with Markie, Anna, and Laura. I thought it would be warmer out but it was kind of overcast with on and off rain which was kinda a bummer. Afterwards we went shopping for a bit. I liked the shopping in Flores it had fun stores and hence I spent a lot of money. Then I went to lunch but didn't have time to eat what I had ordered because a bunch of us wanted to go on an activity with Josua at in the afternoon to take a boat and go swimming and see the higher points so we could see the whole island. We took two boats across the lake to see a little bit of mayan history and go on a little hike. We took a hike to an overview so that you could see the entire island, it was really cool. As we were leaving we saw monkeys in the rain forest right before we left! The second part was going swimming in the lake. Josua said that he knew some nice beaches or places to swim. I was picturing like a cabin beach but really it just a random place to swim. The water was nice though, a bit chilly but not bad. Then we returned, I showered and went out to eat at a different place called Yaxha with some other people from the group: Shannon, Angela, Doug, Jordan, and Mike so that I could see some more places of the island, did a little bit more shopping, and then got some icecream at a very popular icecream place for our group called Sarita. I caught some of the grammies with the group back at the hotel, then a bunch of the group went out for happy hour but I was too tired so I just stayed in and basically went to sleep.
Monday: February 9th, 2009
Alrighty sorry its getting a little lengthy for me. I get a little stressed out sometimes, and through talking with my dad I realized that I don't need to be spending so so much time on my blog. So Monday we switched hotels in the morning to one that was real nearby where we stayed for the next two nights. I really like this hotel because of the beautiful overlook of the island, and it had a nicer pool than Hotel de la Isla. After dropping off our stuff we went took an hour long bus ride to Tikal National Park. We spilt up into three groups and explored Tikal. We went toured around the ancient mayan temples and pyramids and climbed lots of steps to the top of some to see of the pyramids to see some amazing views. We went out to Reices again for dinner this night.
Tuesday: February 10th, 2009
These two nights at the new hotel I roomed with my friend Steph. Everyone had breakfast together again. After breakfast we left for Yaxha which is another ancient Mayan site. It was a lot smaller than Tikal where we would have to walk 20 minutes in between pyramids and temples. There were still undiscovered ruins which were under mounds of dirt and grass and trees. I believe that they will one day be uncovered. We were actually told to bring lunch to Yaxha which was nice because at Tikal we just had snacks. We had a lil group picnic on top of one of the pyramids. At one of the last and tallest pyramids at Yaxha we could hear the howler monkeys! They were soooo loud they sounded like dinosaurs. At one point I felt like I was in the middle of Jurassic Park :)
Wednesday: February 11th, 2009
We took a long bus ride to Coban. The coolest part of the 6 or 7 hour bus ride was riding the fairy across the river. Our whole bus and a bunch of cars fit on this little wooden boat! Overall Coban was my least favorite city of the trip. It was more crowded, more busy, and more dirty than Xela. The main purpose for us being there was to have a place to stay before traveling to Semuc Champey. We ate dinner at our hotel because it is one of the best places to eat dinner. The hotel itself was actually pretty interesting...it was colonial style and every room was different. However the rooms were a bit damp and musky. We did a little bit of shopping this day as well, but not much since the city didn't have too many places to go. After dinner we went out for icecream, but it was hard to find a place that was open because everything in Coban closes at like 8pm (I think its b/c the city is dangerous). We found one place and the lady kept it open just for us! We love our icecream. We came back and watched a movie one Jenna's DVD player. I roomed with Jenna and Shannon this night.
Thursday: February 12th, 2009
We ate breakfast on the fly because we left at around 8:00am for Semuc Champey! Only the 23 students from the group and Josua went to Semuc Champey because it was a little much for a two year old and for the teachers. It took about 2 hours to get to Semuc. We stayed in rustic cabins, we were definitely roughin it. Only 3 hours of electricity at night and that was it. We did have bathrooms attached to our cabins though. There was five in my cabin: Jenna, Shannon, Brianna, Nicole, and I. It was really fun though. We got there pretty early in the day on purpose so we would have a lot of time to explore Semuc with Josua as our tour guide. We changed into our suits right away and there was a rope swing into a river right outside our hotel! So we did that first. Then on the way to see the lagoons and natural beauty of Semuc we crossed a bridge which we jumped off of!! Not everyone in the group participated but I was surprised by how many did participate. It was real scary and real high but awesome! Oh and the river had a slight/mediocer current which made it a little difficult to swim to the side after jumping. After that we went to Semuc, which cost to get in but it was definitely worth it! It was absolutely beautiful. I agree with the guidebook that it is pry one of the most beauitful places in Guatemala with its beautiful lagoons. First we hiked around and say the lagoons/lakes from the top, and then we went swimming! The water was clean and a bluish greenish color. It will take me awhile to get the pics up but i don't even feel that the pics I have do this beautiful place justice! On the way back a bunch of us jumped off the bridge again and swam with the current of the river back to our cabins! The second time was less scary because we had to jump one after another in order to keep up with the group as the current would pretty quickly pull them down the river. Then we came back and played some cards before having a family style dinner with the other people in the cabins and with the workers. It was the night before Markie's birthday so we celebrated and made her a candy bar cake and danced some salsa. There was a live Marimba band at dinner! After dinner we hung out, had a couple drinks, and had a little head lamp party out on the dock.
Friday: February 13th, 2009
We woke up around 8 and ate breakfast. We went to the caves this day. The caves were really cool and scary too. Josua was our guide for everything on this part of the trip. The walk to Semuc and to the caves were close to our cabins, about 15 or 20 minute walk. The only thing i wore to the caves was my swimsuit and shorts and we brought one disposable camera for the whole group in a plastic bag so we'll pray that those pictures turn out! We all put paint on our faces since it the caves are a sort of special place for the mayans. We did a combination of walking and swimming in the dark through the caves but it was awesome! The scary part was not knowing how deep the water was. But there were many cool formations and small waterfalls and things to see. Its hard to believe that our group only explored a very small portion of the caves, there was aparently a lot more! Afterwards we tubed down the river and it was finally a full sunny day! This was one of my favorite parts! It was just so beautiful and relaxing. I couple people parked their tubes and jumped off the bridge again but I opted out this time. We left the cabins after changing and having lunch back to Coban. We ate dinner as a group at our same colonail hotel. It was really good, I had pasta like I did the first time we ate at the restaurant, it was delicious.
Saturday: February 15th, 2009
We all ate breakfast at the hotel together. Then we packed up and headed home to Xela! It was probably about a ten hour bus ride overall! Thats all I have for now...I hope everyone is doing well.
Tajulmuco Volcano
Hello all! I believe it was the weekend after my birthday that I decided to try something out of my comfort zone and climb Volcano Tajulmuco. It’s not just a volcano. It is the tallest point in Central America! I did go to the Rumba for a little bit the Friday night before the Volcano but not for long because I really wanted to be rested for the Volcano. Only about….eight people from our group/University went on the Volcano trip but overall I think there was a group of about twenty of us, because I think I explained that the activities are open to everyone at Celas Maya and sometimes even other random people because the people that lead the tours are a part of Celas but also their own independent tour company called Icaro Tours. Any who, we met at Celas at 8:00 on Saturday morning. I had no idea how much stuff I should bring. We got a list from the leader which included 4 liters of water, chocolate (for the altitude and energy), very warm clothes, good walking shoes, etc. We were required to bring our big travel backpacks. It was a somewhat expensive weekend trip, about 370 Q (7.8Q to the dollar). My bag ended up weight probably close to or more than 30lbs, because it included all of the stuff on the list plus the things that the tour group provided: food for meals, a sleeping bag, and a mat. I was nervous about having too much stuff in my bag but I was a little more reassured when I saw that everyone elses bag was just as heavy as mine.
After we were all packed up we took about a 2 hour bus ride to San Marcos which is where the volcano is located. Right when we got out of the van I knew why they told us to pack warm clothes, the air was already cool and blowing. I wore one pair of spandex, one pair of long johns, and some hiking pants. On top I wore a t-shirt, a long sleeve t-shirt, a fleece, a sweat shirt, and my north face fleece on top of that (I didn’t bring a winter jacket haha). As we starting walking I ended up taking layers off because even though the air was cool, the walk was really difficult so I was sweating up a storm. It was the hardest hike I have ever done. At times I had to be “in a zone” to force myself to take it step by step or else the want to turn around and go back would overwhelm me. The walk got steadily steeper as we got closer to the top. At points I was literally stepping or climbing up big rocks with my huge bag. We did take a lot of breaks, which was awesome because my body was out of shape! After about 2 hours we took a longer break and the guides Juan and Oliver made us a fantastic lunch. I had no idea that they or should I say the group (everyone packed lunch for the group in their bag) had brought that much food. They brought tomatoes and onions to put on our sandwiches. The sandwiches had ham, cheese, and then cheese spread or bean spread. There we chips and other things as well. After lunch, the last part of the hike to the summit was almost easier because I was getting more used to the altitude. We finally arrived to the campsite which was the summit of the volcano around 6:00pm. I think it took us about 6 hours to hike the volcano in total. We started gathering wood for the fire. Our tents and dinner food we not yet there because they were being brought up by horse! I’m pretty sure there was a miscommunication because the tents and dinner food didn’t arrive until 8:00pm! So, at the summit of the volcano it was FREEZING, like really really really cold. Definitely below 30 degrees Farenheit. We set up our tents in the dark and then the guides made us soup and spaghetti for dinner. Overall I was very impressed with the food. The pasta was starchy but when you are freezing cold and on a volcano anything tastes good. We slept sardine style in our tent to keep warm! I don’t think anyone in the group got more than 2 hours of sleep that night. We went to bed around 10ish or 11, but then had to wake up at 3:00am so that we cold hike the final part of the summit and see the sunrise. I was really scared when we climbed the summit because I had my blanket and sleeping bag around my shoulders because it was going to be even colder at the top. I was scared because it was pitch black and climbing the a steep summit and cold only see the light that my head lamp provided. But I kept on going in the line of people. It was even colder at the peak so we huddled and cuddled together and waited for the sunrise. When it came it was stunning. The sky when from a clear dark night starry sky to a beautiful orange sun. I was basically amoung the sea of clouds because we were up so high (I’ll soon load pictures on my flicker! Check them out!)). It was a VERY beautiful site! Even though the whole hike down my knees were shaking and the trip was one of the hardest things I’ve done it was definitely Vale la Pena (it was worth it!)!
After we were all packed up we took about a 2 hour bus ride to San Marcos which is where the volcano is located. Right when we got out of the van I knew why they told us to pack warm clothes, the air was already cool and blowing. I wore one pair of spandex, one pair of long johns, and some hiking pants. On top I wore a t-shirt, a long sleeve t-shirt, a fleece, a sweat shirt, and my north face fleece on top of that (I didn’t bring a winter jacket haha). As we starting walking I ended up taking layers off because even though the air was cool, the walk was really difficult so I was sweating up a storm. It was the hardest hike I have ever done. At times I had to be “in a zone” to force myself to take it step by step or else the want to turn around and go back would overwhelm me. The walk got steadily steeper as we got closer to the top. At points I was literally stepping or climbing up big rocks with my huge bag. We did take a lot of breaks, which was awesome because my body was out of shape! After about 2 hours we took a longer break and the guides Juan and Oliver made us a fantastic lunch. I had no idea that they or should I say the group (everyone packed lunch for the group in their bag) had brought that much food. They brought tomatoes and onions to put on our sandwiches. The sandwiches had ham, cheese, and then cheese spread or bean spread. There we chips and other things as well. After lunch, the last part of the hike to the summit was almost easier because I was getting more used to the altitude. We finally arrived to the campsite which was the summit of the volcano around 6:00pm. I think it took us about 6 hours to hike the volcano in total. We started gathering wood for the fire. Our tents and dinner food we not yet there because they were being brought up by horse! I’m pretty sure there was a miscommunication because the tents and dinner food didn’t arrive until 8:00pm! So, at the summit of the volcano it was FREEZING, like really really really cold. Definitely below 30 degrees Farenheit. We set up our tents in the dark and then the guides made us soup and spaghetti for dinner. Overall I was very impressed with the food. The pasta was starchy but when you are freezing cold and on a volcano anything tastes good. We slept sardine style in our tent to keep warm! I don’t think anyone in the group got more than 2 hours of sleep that night. We went to bed around 10ish or 11, but then had to wake up at 3:00am so that we cold hike the final part of the summit and see the sunrise. I was really scared when we climbed the summit because I had my blanket and sleeping bag around my shoulders because it was going to be even colder at the top. I was scared because it was pitch black and climbing the a steep summit and cold only see the light that my head lamp provided. But I kept on going in the line of people. It was even colder at the peak so we huddled and cuddled together and waited for the sunrise. When it came it was stunning. The sky when from a clear dark night starry sky to a beautiful orange sun. I was basically amoung the sea of clouds because we were up so high (I’ll soon load pictures on my flicker! Check them out!)). It was a VERY beautiful site! Even though the whole hike down my knees were shaking and the trip was one of the hardest things I’ve done it was definitely Vale la Pena (it was worth it!)!
Monday, February 2, 2009
Cosas divertidas (fun things)
Wow i cant believe i havent written in so long. I will catch you up on the most exciting things that have happened these past two weeks.
Glass Blowing
As i previously mentioned, there are many activities that one can attend during the school week. the week of the 20th of January i visited a place called Copavic during class. I went with my teacher Monica and a couple of other students. It was the coolest thing ever. Copavic is a place where they make all sorts of glass products in the style of glass blowing. They make everything from cups to bowls to glasses to figurines! They use different colors of glass to make different colors. I wish I could explain it better but there were many workers working to produce the glass products. When it came out of the hot hot stove it looked like lava and then they mold and shape it into whatever it is that they are making by blowing throw a tube to form a bubble. I got to blow my own glass!! I will try and add pictures to my blog but your best bet will be to continue checking my flicker account, I am really going to work hard on adding pictures this week.
Itra
Two weekends ago Jenna, Shannon, Monica, Tania (another teacher) and I went to a entertainment park called Itra. We had to take two different buses to get there. One micro bus and one chicken bus. One part of it is called Cocomil and the other is called Xetatul. I liked Cocomil because it was a water park! Probably one of the coolest water parts I have ever been to! Its one of the best or the biggest in Guatemala or central america I believe. The slides were huge and there were many different kinds. some had tubes and others had mats. Besides the amazing slides there was a lazy river, a wave pool, other park type things in the water, and regular pools. It was soo much fun!! Afterwards we went to Xetaul for a bit and rode some of the rides there. Xetatul was really nice but there was only about 6 rides there. I would prefer Valleyfair to Xetatul.
Mi Cumpleanos!
Even though it still seems surreal that I am 21 my birthday was really fun. I woke up and dressed cute for once. It is cold here in the mornings and since I didn't bring many long sleeve T-shirts or cute warm clothes I pretty much live in my north face. BUT on my birthday I wore a really cute dress given to me by yours truly Karri. I usually eat breakfast at seven, and when I came out of my room Sonia had brought a different boom box out and blared a celebratory birthday song for me. One was in English and the other was in Spanish. I had my normal breakfast which now consists of cereal and two pieces of bread, but it was good. Sonia also had a present for me on the table. She got me a really cute scarf and two bracelets! I wore the scarf the day the whole day because it coincidentally matched my dress perfectly! Sonia is so nice. My day at school was pretty much normal. Jenna is an amazing friend and told me that she had most of the day planned out already. She gave me flowers at school and steph gave me hot chocolate. Everyone at school wished me a Happy Birthday :) including a majority of the teachers. After school I went home and ate lunch with Sonia. Then I returned to school and checked the internet to see all of the lovely posts from friends on facebook and personal emails as well. They made me very happy and sad as well. Then me, Jenna, Steph, and Shannon all went out to eat. It was a surprise as to where we were going. The place was called Paris something....and it was very yummy. I had fettchini. And of course drum roll please.....my first real drink was.....a tequila sunrise! I actually had two with dinner, haha. Then all of a sudden Jenna was acting weird and said that we needed to leave the restaurant by 730, and I was like why? I thought that the plan was to go to a bar and meet up with a bunch of other people from our group. I just went along with it, and thought that they were probably waiting at the bar for us the whole night was planned by Jenna and I didn't know where we were going. Jenna said she needed to stop at Celas Maya (our school) to use the bathroom, she knew it would be open because Tuesday night because Tuesday night is movie night. Then she asked me if I had to go and i was like no....then she pushed me into one of the back rooms which was completely dark and about 40 people yelled SSSUURRRPPRRIIIISSEEE!!!! Jenna had planned a suprise party for me! It was awesome. Everyone from the group attended, the director of the program Brian and his wife Terese and their daugther Carolina, some other students from Celas Maya, some of the teachers from the school, and some local guatemalans that we recently have become friends with. Needless to say it was a party!! There was food and cake and balloons and.....A PINATA!! I was the only one to break it open. It was really exciting! After breaking open the pinata we ate cake and played some fun group games. I don't know if you all know of 'Vroom' or 'Ride my Pony' but that is what we played. After the party a small group of about 8 of us went to one of the bars in central park. Don't worry I didn't drink anything at the party at school, but I did have another drink at the bar :) I took a taxi home with Jenna afterwards! Needless to say even though it still feels a little surreal that I'm 21, my birthday in Guatemala will be a day I will never forget.
Glass Blowing
As i previously mentioned, there are many activities that one can attend during the school week. the week of the 20th of January i visited a place called Copavic during class. I went with my teacher Monica and a couple of other students. It was the coolest thing ever. Copavic is a place where they make all sorts of glass products in the style of glass blowing. They make everything from cups to bowls to glasses to figurines! They use different colors of glass to make different colors. I wish I could explain it better but there were many workers working to produce the glass products. When it came out of the hot hot stove it looked like lava and then they mold and shape it into whatever it is that they are making by blowing throw a tube to form a bubble. I got to blow my own glass!! I will try and add pictures to my blog but your best bet will be to continue checking my flicker account, I am really going to work hard on adding pictures this week.
Itra
Two weekends ago Jenna, Shannon, Monica, Tania (another teacher) and I went to a entertainment park called Itra. We had to take two different buses to get there. One micro bus and one chicken bus. One part of it is called Cocomil and the other is called Xetatul. I liked Cocomil because it was a water park! Probably one of the coolest water parts I have ever been to! Its one of the best or the biggest in Guatemala or central america I believe. The slides were huge and there were many different kinds. some had tubes and others had mats. Besides the amazing slides there was a lazy river, a wave pool, other park type things in the water, and regular pools. It was soo much fun!! Afterwards we went to Xetaul for a bit and rode some of the rides there. Xetatul was really nice but there was only about 6 rides there. I would prefer Valleyfair to Xetatul.
Mi Cumpleanos!
Even though it still seems surreal that I am 21 my birthday was really fun. I woke up and dressed cute for once. It is cold here in the mornings and since I didn't bring many long sleeve T-shirts or cute warm clothes I pretty much live in my north face. BUT on my birthday I wore a really cute dress given to me by yours truly Karri. I usually eat breakfast at seven, and when I came out of my room Sonia had brought a different boom box out and blared a celebratory birthday song for me. One was in English and the other was in Spanish. I had my normal breakfast which now consists of cereal and two pieces of bread, but it was good. Sonia also had a present for me on the table. She got me a really cute scarf and two bracelets! I wore the scarf the day the whole day because it coincidentally matched my dress perfectly! Sonia is so nice. My day at school was pretty much normal. Jenna is an amazing friend and told me that she had most of the day planned out already. She gave me flowers at school and steph gave me hot chocolate. Everyone at school wished me a Happy Birthday :) including a majority of the teachers. After school I went home and ate lunch with Sonia. Then I returned to school and checked the internet to see all of the lovely posts from friends on facebook and personal emails as well. They made me very happy and sad as well. Then me, Jenna, Steph, and Shannon all went out to eat. It was a surprise as to where we were going. The place was called Paris something....and it was very yummy. I had fettchini. And of course drum roll please.....my first real drink was.....a tequila sunrise! I actually had two with dinner, haha. Then all of a sudden Jenna was acting weird and said that we needed to leave the restaurant by 730, and I was like why? I thought that the plan was to go to a bar and meet up with a bunch of other people from our group. I just went along with it, and thought that they were probably waiting at the bar for us the whole night was planned by Jenna and I didn't know where we were going. Jenna said she needed to stop at Celas Maya (our school) to use the bathroom, she knew it would be open because Tuesday night because Tuesday night is movie night. Then she asked me if I had to go and i was like no....then she pushed me into one of the back rooms which was completely dark and about 40 people yelled SSSUURRRPPRRIIIISSEEE!!!! Jenna had planned a suprise party for me! It was awesome. Everyone from the group attended, the director of the program Brian and his wife Terese and their daugther Carolina, some other students from Celas Maya, some of the teachers from the school, and some local guatemalans that we recently have become friends with. Needless to say it was a party!! There was food and cake and balloons and.....A PINATA!! I was the only one to break it open. It was really exciting! After breaking open the pinata we ate cake and played some fun group games. I don't know if you all know of 'Vroom' or 'Ride my Pony' but that is what we played. After the party a small group of about 8 of us went to one of the bars in central park. Don't worry I didn't drink anything at the party at school, but I did have another drink at the bar :) I took a taxi home with Jenna afterwards! Needless to say even though it still feels a little surreal that I'm 21, my birthday in Guatemala will be a day I will never forget.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)