YES!!!!!!!!!!!!

My computer is back to working now. I took out the RAM and let it air out overnight in the office of my school and then put it back in this morning, making sure to sufficiently tighten the cover (I think it was loose and that's the reason the moisture got in), and then attempted to turn it on. I was fully expecting to hear those three long and very annoying beeps but no!!! I heard no beeping and the display came on. I am writing this post from my computer as we speak :-)

I was so distracted yesterday when it didn't work that my teacher and I went to a few stores in town to see if they knew what could be wrong with it. Of course, they didn't know and said I'd have to pay for a diagnostic test. It wasn't that expensive for the diagnostic, only 275 Quetzales (about $35...a bargain compared to the Geek Squad) but I thought I could figure it out on my own or just wait till I got back to the states and use my extended warranty from Apple. One of the other American's at the school was an electrical/computer engineer for a while and he helped me do some online investigating and then also take the memory out and test a few things. So, with the help of an American engineer (Thanks Adam!!), an Australian computer genius (Thanks Raj!!) and a dry office at the school, I was able to fix my computer. I will probably not use my computer much at my house anymore because of all the moisture there, but tightening the cover on the memory slots should help a lot to protect the RAM.

I went running yesterday evening, about 5k, and it felt awesome! It was a little tricky because all of Antigua is cobblestones and I felt as though I would twist my ankle with every step. But, I made it without any injury (knock on wood) and hopefully will run again tomorrow. Running here is soooo much better than the hot weather in Omaha. I could run at any time of the day and be comfortable. Too bad I'm not taking advantage of it as much as I should. Tomorrow, I will try for 5 miles instead of 5k. I'm way behind in my training but I keep telling myself that I am at a higher altitude so, any exercise that I do is twice what I would do in Omaha. That's my story and I'm sticking to it...

So, here are the pictures I promised!!! They first ones are of Lago de Atitlan and the last few are of Chichicastenango. I'll try to write a bit about some of the pics so you know what you're looking at but probably won't write about every single one.


This is a beautiful waterfall we saw on the side of the road on the way to Panajachel.


Roadside view of Lago de Atitlan


Not exactly the best picture of me but I need a few pieces of evidence that I was actually in Guatemala, haha.




Boat ride on the lake...on the way to a few small villages around the lake.


Hand/foot operated weaving machine in San Antonio Palopo. This small factory was beautiful and it was really amazing to see how some of the textiles are woven by the hand/foot operated and then embellished with embroidery, also by hand. Needless to say, I bought a few things at this factory/store.


Village of San Antonio Palopo


Colorful cemetary in Guatemala with above ground vaults.


These seem to be the luxury vaults...designed in Asian, Russian, Myan and other styles.


The other end of the spectrum...graves of those who cannot afford to build large expensive vaults.


The beautiful flowers for sale on the steps of the Catholic/Indigenous/Mayan church in Chichicastenango...The rest of the market was wonderful. Of course, I bought a few things...mostly presents for people back home. I probably already said this but everyone should be expecting their Christmas presents to be from Guatemala. I had a lot of fun barganing and seeing all of the amazing textiles and other products in the market. It took about 20 minutes to buy one item but it was an adventure. You had to give a low offer and then counter offer with increases of 5 or 10 quetzales until you and the vendor met in the middle somewhere. I didn't do a great job at a few places but I'm glad I got a chance to practice at this market so that I can bargain better at other markets around the country. Although, the market at Chichi is pretty fantastic and I would love to go back.


Las Vacas-Cows for sale!!! My friend Andrea jokingly asked our tour van driver if she could buy a cow and put it in the van to take back to Antigua...he answered her very seriously, "Yes, of course! You can get two if you'd like. One can go in the back of the van and the other on top." He was also joking but it was amusing all in the same.

I'm off to figure out where my next destination will be....either one more week in Antigua or start traveling west and north to Xela and Chicaman. Hopefully I can make a decision by tomorrow afternoon.

Computer Problems

So....today my computer decided to die. The wonderful all knowing Raj Deut of Australia kindly and very quickly responded to my e-mail and most likely I have to get new RAM for my laptop. I might end up just waiting until I get back to the US to get it fixed but we'll see how much it would cost to get RAM here. We shall see...

My weekend and last two days in short: FANTASTIC (despite the computer issues)

I was able to haggle at a local market in Chichicastenango and see some great sites in the area around Lake Atitlan. If I get my computer working again, I will post some photos and write a few stories about my encounters during the next few weeks. I might have to revert to the old fashioned way of journaling...actually writing out my experiences by hand!

Right now, I am trying to decide if I should study one more week and then travel or stop my lessons and fend for myself in the real world of Guatemala...lots of factors to think about.

Till later...

Quick Update

I was away from Antigua this weekend and have not yet written about my travels. I will update the blog tomorrow probably because today I will be celebrating my birthday!!! This is the third year in a row that I am out of the country for my birthday but the first year totally away from friends and family. So far, so good though! Amanda, my teacher, brought me a small present of candies this morning and I've been reading everyone's Facebook birthday wishes. I'm planning on having drinks tonight with some friends I've met here. I miss everyone back home but I am also very fortunate to have met some great people down here!

P.S. We went to a couple large artisan markets this weekend and I must admit that I bought myself a few birthday presents, haha.

Days Five and Six

Wednesday (continued) – 6/30/2010

So, instead of doing my homework on Wednesday night, I went out with one of the other students living at my house. She is German, she has been in Guatemala for almost 2 months already and it goes without saying that her Spanish is much better than mine! At dinner on Wednesday, she asked me if I was going out that evening and I said probably not but then she invited me to come with her and against my medical school instincts, I decided to forget my homework that night and instead went with her out on the town! I have been studying so much this past year that I forgot that studying Spanish here is not exactly the same as studying neuroscience or physiology at UNMC. I let my type A personality have a rest and we first went to a bar called the Rainbow Room. It is an international bar that has live music every night. There were quite a few Americans and other foreigners in the bar but we were meeting up with an Argentinean guy, Nicolas, who Hanna (the German woman who lives at the same house as me) met on the bus ride home from one of her weekend expeditions. Long story short, we sat and conversed with Nicolas and his two friends while listening to the live music. Most of the conversation was in Spanish and I didn’t participate too much but I did listen a lot. I did realize that I am learning a lot despite the fact that I still don’t know quite enough Spanish to hold down an intelligible conversation. After the music at the bar turned into more of an open mic night for the American students who were there, we left the Rainbow Room and went to a bar called La Esquina where there was another live band. This time, they were playing only Cuban salsa music. There were quite a lot of people dancing salsa and a few couples that looked almost professional. I didn’t do any official salsa dancing but did dance a little and move my feet around while listening to the music. The main singer for the band was muy guapo! I may have enjoyed looking at him more so than listening to the music, haha. All in all, it was a good decision to leave my homework at home and go out for the evening. (I ended up waking up early and doing it in the morning…you can take the girl out of med school but you can’t take the med school out of the girl!)

Thursday – 7/1/2010

I really can’t believe that it’s July already! Time has gone by so quickly since the semester ended on May 1st! This first week of classes has passed by quickly as well. After finishing my homework on Thursday morning, I went to school a bit early to check e-mail, etc. Thursday’s lessons went really well and I was much less frustrated than on Wednesday. I showed Amanda (my teacher) a lot of pictures of my students from East Side and explained a lot to her about the population of students at East Side. Our lessons have been great because she teaches me something and then we end up getting off track because I ask a question in the middle of her teaching me something. Usually, it’s because I try to form a different example of something she is showing me and then we start talking about whatever it is I was trying to say and we have a long conversation about that topic. That is actually how we got to talking about East Side. But, those side conversations are great because it helps me realize what I still don’t know and she helps me make the sentences make sense.

Thursday afternoon was AMAZING! I went with the school on an excursion to the Volcan de Pacaya. It erupted two months ago and caused serious damage to some of the surrounding areas. No people died in the eruption but a large amout of crops were destroyed and many animals died. We took a bus to a spot near the base of the vocano and hiked, not to the top of the volcano but to about the midpoint. Usually there is running lava visible but I guess since it’s been so cold here and there was a large eruption a couple months ago, the lava was not running where we hiked. It was still beautiful and probably the most exercise I’ve done in the last three weeks. Hiking up a volcano, especially one that’s just erupted, is muy dificil! Erika and I hiked down and then back up a small part of a volcano in Ecuador but this hike was much harder. Walking up the side of the volcano was steep AND the volcanic ash was like walking in sand. You took two steps up and slid back down about a half a step.

Here are some photos…words cannot describe how beautiful it was.








Once again, I had not done my homework before I went on the excursions and we got back to Antigua fairly late. Maybe I’m starting to relax my med school tendencies after all!

Friday 7/2/2010

I did part of my homework this morning but didn’t get it all finished because I woke up a little late and then had to show a new student to the school before starting my lessons. Amanda had an “I told you so” look on her face when I said I didn’t finish all of my homework last night. She was kind enough yesterday to ask if I would have time to actually do homework and I said, “Of course! I will do it when I get back from the volcano trip!” Silly me…I should have know that wouldn’t happen, haha. I was very apologetic and she was nice enough to let me finish at the beginning of our lessons. Of course, during the completion of my homework, we somehow managed to get off on some sort of tangent about what, I’m not sure. We had a good lesson today and I am finally seeing some light at the end of the tunnel. I think I will be able to learn quite a bit of Spanish by the end of my time here! I was also encouraged by the fact that the new student at my house, another German, doesn’t know much Spanish so I am able to speak more than her. It is encouraging to know that I was at the same point as her only a few days ago but now I can speak in full sentences, I know how to say a few things in future tense and I still have a lot of time to learn more. I will need to do some practicing and studying this weekend while in the bus on the way to Lago de Atitlan!

Right now, I’m waiting for my laundry to dry and then I’ll be heading to the artisan market in town to wheel and deal, speak with some locals and maybe even buy some presents for all of you back home. I hope everyone knows that their Christmas presents are going to be from Guatemala!

Days Three and Four

Tuesday – 6/29/2010
Not much to say about Tuesday except that I must have jinxed myself when I posted that the skies were clear. The morning was beautiful while I was having my Spanish lessons but after lunch when I went back to the school to go on a group hike up to a look-out point called Cerro de la Cruz, it started raining, again! Everyone keeps saying that this is not normal weather for Antigua and that it usually rains for an hour or two in the afternoons but never ALL DAY LONG! Despite the rain, it was a good hike and beautiful views of the city, I’ll have to go back when it is really nice out and there are no clouds so that I can see more. I have some pictures and hopefully, I’ve figured out how to upload them correctly.

Here are some from the hike:




This is Jorge, the special activities director for Mundo Spanish School, where I’m taking my classes. He lead us on the hike and is really great about telling us interesting information about Antigua and the surrounding areas. My Spanish is still not quite up to par to understand everything he says but one question I asked him was about why all of the churches in Antigua were in ruins. He said that it was because of the earthquakes and because there were so many earthquakes in Antigua that ruined buildings and disrupted life, the government moved the capital from Antigua to Guatemala City. I might have to look that one up on Wikipedia to make sure I did, in fact, understand what he said.


la Cruz

Here are a few photos of where I am staying. I want to get a few pictures with the family as well but I don’t know if I will because it seems like staying with a host family is more like a boarding house than an actual host family. I don’t interact much with the family except the mother, Jacqueline and sometimes the father, Milton. Maybe it’s because I don’t know quite enough Spanish to carry on a good conversation but the three children seem to mostly ignore me.



My bedroom

Wednesday – 6/30/2010
I went running this morning around town at 5:45am. It was very quiet and not too hard to run through the streets. Although, it started raining AGAIN. I was supposed to run with another American guy, Adam, but we had said that we would meet in the central park at 5:30am IF it wasn’t raining. So, when I woke up this morning, I looked outside in the courtyard and it looked wet but it didn’t look like it had been raining. I proceeded to put on all of my running gear and headed out to meet up with Adam. I took one step outside the door of my house and realized that it was sprinkling. I contemplated going back inside and going back to sleep but then I figured, what the hell, I’m already awake, I’m already dressed and I already consumed a package of Shot Blocks for energy because I thought I would be running for about an hour and didn’t want to eat breakfast before running. So, I went to the central park and as expected, Adam did not show up because it was raining. I made a short loop around the town, about 2 miles, and went back home. I got pretty wet in the process but it was good to get out and do a bit of exercise. I might try again tomorrow morning.

Lessons went well today, but I’ve realized that if I am going to learn Spanish quickly, I am going to have to do more practicing and studying on my own after the lessons are done. We were doing exercises today and I had already forgotten some words that I learned on Monday. I guess this is how you learn a language though. It is how I learned German but over the course of six years as opposed to the two or three weeks I will be in classes here. My teacher keeps telling me “poco en poco”. At least, I think that’s what she’s saying.

With that, I am headed back home to do my homework and prepare for tomorrow’s classes. One exciting excursion…I get to climb a volcano tomorrow afternoon….maybe even stand near some hot lava. I’ll definitely post some pictures of that!

Day Two

Day Two – 6/28/2010
Good News!!! No more internet cafes for me…at least during the day. I can use free wi-fi at my school whenever it is open. So, hopefully, I’ll write about each day at the end of the day and post something every other day or every few days. Megan – once I start taking some pictures, I promise that I will post them. I haven’t taken any yet though. It’s a little rainy here so I might wait to see if the rain goes away and then take pictures when it is nicer out. Mom – no, my phone does not work here. There is another American guy here whose phone works abroad. He must have AT&T or something because Sprint doesn’t work, I know that for sure.

As I was posting yesterday’s blog and catching up on my e-mails, I overheard another woman who was talking to her boyfriend via Skype say that she is going to start the application process for Teach For America. So, of course, since I’m nosy and like to know everything about everyone (I have my father to thank for that trait :-) ), I went up to this woman and introduced myself, told her that I did Teach For America in Newark and that if she wanted to chat about it, I’d be more than happy to talk with her. She was just finishing up her internet stuff as well, so we left the internet café and walked/talked for a bit about TFA and med school, actually, because she is thinking about going to medical school as well. For all of my TFA peeps…I didn’t brainwash her about how wonderful TFA is but I did let her know that I had a great experience albeit very challenging and that she could very likely get placed in a much more difficult school than I did (Katia and Anna…I explained to her a few examples from your wonderful experiences, haha). After our short walk/conversation, I wrote down my name for her so that she could find me on Facebook, in case she wanted any more sage advice from a former TFA corps member.

We parted ways and I wandered around the town a bit more so that I could find a supermarket and buy myself something small to eat for dinner since all I had in my luggage was dried fruit strips and a bag of Twizzlers Nibs that I’ve had in my purse for the last week. Neither of those are particularly nutritious, haha. I picked out an apple, a ripe avocado, sliced cheese of some sort (I think maybe it was romano or parmesan) and some whole-wheat pita bread. I contemplated buying some sort of deli meat but only saw pre-packaged ham that was kind of expensive. I probably would have just had the avocado for dinner but thought it in my best interest to eat something from more than just one food group.

I made it back to my host family’s house without getting lost (insert relieved sigh)! But, I was pretty tired after getting back from exploring and then eating my avocado and cheese on pita bread. I decided to change into my pajamas, read a book for a bit and then since it was 9:30pm, I figured I’d turn in for the night. But I got to thinking, do I have the right time on my watch? I looked in my handy dandy Guatemala Guidebook (Thank you, Sarah Jones!) and discovered a new fun fact: Guatemala is in central time like Nebraska BUT they do not use daylight savings time here. So, I was walking around all day yesterday 1 hour ahead of everyone else and had said good night to my host family at 8:30pm, haha. They must think I was REALLY tired!

Back to today’s events: My host mother, Jacqueline, made me breakfast this morning, pancakes and fresh fruit, and lunch this afternoon, Chinese noodles with chicken, carrots, peppers and onions! Both meals were wonderful & definitely something I could get used to, haha. We talked a bit during breakfast but I couldn’t say much because of my lack of vocabulary.

At school, I met my teacher (mi maestra), Amanda. She is a lovely woman who lives in Antigua. I learned a lot today but I will definitely have to take the afternoon to review a few things before going back to the school for an orientation tour and then the school has a Salsa Dancing program tonight. However, at lunch I was speaking with Jacquiline again and was able to understand and speak a bit more than yesterday. I see progress already and it’s just the first day. Her three children, Marie Cruz, Paula and Alejandro, also at lunch with us. I had a really hard time understanding much of what they said but that’s probably because they were speaking quickly and because I do not know enough Spanish vocabulary yet. Hopefully, that will come with time.

8:50pm – All tuckered out!
I had forgotten how tiring it is to learn a new language. I have been concentrating so hard today trying to understand everything Amanda was saying to me and then everything that Jacqueline was saying at breakfast, lunch and dinner that I am pooped! I’ll probably turn in early again tonight, although not as early as last night, oops!

Recap of my evening:
Went on another tour of Antigua, this time with Jorge, the special programs director for the Spanish school. Jorge does not speak English. So, again, I had to turn on my brain and really pay attention to what he was saying. I understood almost everything until we got to a building where, I think, a bunch of people were killed in an earthquake in the 70s. Not quite sure though. I didn’t catch every detail of that story. I wanted to ask a bunch of questions but didn’t know how to do so in Spanish and my mind kept trying to form the questions in German. It doesn’t help that the students at Mundo are either American or German. So, the German language center in my brain keeps getting switched on and might be making it more confusing for me to learn Spanish. I have already met one woman from Berlin and another from Stuttgart. There are a few German men as well but I have not figured out where they are from. I’m getting off topic though…back to my evening. It rained ALL DAY today and the entire evening, which led to wet feet, wet shirts, wet jeans and wet hair during the tour. Apparently the rain is from the tropical storms near the Yucatan Peninsula. In the end, the tour was great except for the rain and I got to see a bit more of Antigua than the tour last night.

After the tour, I went with four other students from my school to a group salsa lesson at this woman’s house. I had a flashback to the SAGH Nicaragua Salsa Dance Party! We learned the same steps as that party but I think it sunk in more this time around. I did realize, though, that I am a much better salsa dancer when I have a good leader. I didn’t do too well when paired up with someone who didn’t quite know what he was doing. I had a good time and the 1-hour lesson flew by very quickly. The instructor gave us her contact information and another student and I might take more lessons in the next few weeks. I might be a contender for Dancing With The Stars…wait, that means I need to be a star first, right? Maybe I can get on the Bachelorette, find a husband (or at least a fiancé for a while, hehe) and THEN go on Dancing With The Stars. Eureka! Why didn’t I think of that before?? Anyone up for salsa dancing when I get back to Omaha?

Enough for tonight! Hasta luego, chicas y chicos!

Footnote: As I get ready to post this blog, the skies are blue and there is no rain this morning. Yeah!

Day One

Houston Airport – 9:40am. My flight leaves for Guatemala City at 11:25am and I have a bit of time.

Sitting in the waiting area outside my gate, I’ve been watching people walk by, thinking about where they might be headed and what their stories might entail. Are they headed home? Are they traveling far far away? Is this an annual family vacation that they are fortunate enough to take? Is there anyone like me?

I’m currently drinking my last cup of American coffee for the next four and a half weeks. Small regular brew with 2% milk and two Splenda packets. In an effort to conserve funds and more importantly, my precious time so that I could sit and write this blog while waiting for my next flight, I passed by the long Starbucks line and instead bellied up to the Little Creamery register and purchased a $1.40 small cup of coffee instead of Starbucks’ $1.79 tall cup. I probably couldn’t tell the difference anyway. So, why spend the extra 40 cents? Sticking it again to Starbucks Inc., I stole my Splenda packets from their counter because all the other restaurants only had Equal or Sweet & Lo. By the end of my trip, I might be singing a different tune about noticing a difference in types of coffee because I’ve heard so many things about the wonderful coffee in Guatemala. We’ll see how my opinion changes during the course of this trip.

What is the difference between this trip and the last time I flew to a strange country on my own? I have a computer to write a blog. In fact, it is my second computer since my first solo trip. I did not even own my own computer when I traveled to Germany to study abroad in 2003. I am carrying my cell phone because it might work at my destination, probably not but I’m willing to give it a shot. Plus, it has all of my important contact information. When I went to Germany, I was armed with a moleskin address book full of important phone numbers and addresses and an international calling card to reach friends and family once I arrived at my destination. I didn’t even bring the physical phone with me because I thought, what’s the use? Now, I can’t forget my phone because how would I contact anyone once I land back in the US? God forbid the use of landline phones or actually making plans with someone. This sounds pretty cliché, but it is really strange to reflect back on what I did seven years ago and how I’ve come to rely so much on technology.

What is the same since 2003? I’m still anxious about landing in a foreign country where I don’t quite know the language. Even though I knew a lot more German than I do Spanish, I was young in 2003 and not confident in my ability to actually speak the language that I had studied for more than six years. Now, I am confident that I will be able to speak Spanish, I just don’t have the vocabulary to do so. On the plane from Omaha to Houston, I was thinking about short phrases and strings of words that I could use when I land, if needed. No habla Espanol…Yo comprende un poquito Espanol…Me llamo Andrea…Como se dice (everything!!!). Of course all of the grammar is probably wrong and all of the blanks seem to be filled in with the German version of the words I don’t know in Spanish. That probably won’t help me much but maybe if I pepper the locals with the few Spanish words that I do know, they’ll get my gist and point me in the right direction. Ultimately, I shouldn’t need to do any of this because I will have Leonel Garcia picking me up from the airport an taking me directly to my host family in Antigua. How will I know who Leonel Garcia is? Supposedly he’s going to have a sign with the name of the language school, Mundo, and my name. How many times have I walked through the baggage claims area and imagined what it would be like if I were one of those people who was greeted by someone with a sign? Granted, I’m usually walking through the Newark Airport when I see the signs, and those people will be picked up by a town car and whisked away to some important business meeting in New York City. I will most likely be riding in a small sedan or a van/bus used by the language school to pick people up, and my important meeting will involve introductions to my host family. However, I still anticipate feeling special, and most likely very relieved, to see Leonel standing in the Guatemala City Airport with a sign that has my name written on it.

Antigua – 4:11pm. Arrived at the house of familia Garcia Marroquin.

After going through customs and exiting the airport, I saw that precious sign with my name on it and a very friendly Leonel attached to it. I was the last of the group to arrive outside the airport. Riding to Antigua with me was a Jewish man and his son as well as another woman, I’m guessing about my age or a bit younger. All of my companions were greeted by Leonel and after I arrived, we headed to the car and were on our way to Antigua. Of course, we listened to the Mexico vs. Argentina world cup soccer game on the way. I did not catch anything that the sports announcer was saying about the game except for the very obvious GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL that was scored by Mexico shortly after we left the airport. As for when I’ve heard other people speaking Spanish, I’ve understood more than I maybe thought I would upon arrival. I do, however, have a lot of Spanish to learn in the coming weeks.

Leonel dropped me off at the home of familia Garcia Marroquin and I am conveniently just around the corner from the Mundo Spanish School. It is about a two or three minute walk. The home is lovely and my room seems very comfortable. I have a large table to use as a desk and a double sized bed to myself. The house has an open center courtyard and many other rooms that I assume other students stay in. The mother of the household where I am staying showed me to my room and told me about a how things work in the house. She explained everything in a mix of Spanish and English. Here’s what I understood (we’ll see how many follow up questions I need to ask in the next few days, haha):

Meals included in the weekly fee are served Monday-Saturday. Sundays I am on my own for food. Breakfast is served at 7am because we start lessons at 8am. I forget when lunch is served and I think that dinner is served at 7:15pm. The bathroom with a shower is right outside my door and the shower has hot water. I think she also said that there is someone coming by to give me a tour of Antigua but I’m a little fuzzy on when that is going to happen.

Right now, I’m going to settle in and start warding off the mosquitos that have already started to feast on my apparent sweet blood.

5:45pm – Just got back from the tour of Antigua’s central square and surrounding streets. It seems very lively especially because of the world cup games going on. There are a lot of tourists and foreign students here studying. I’m excited to start classes tomorrow and see where the wind takes me.

That’s all I’ve got for now. I’m gonna go explore a bit even if it’s raining. Hopefully I don’t get lost :-)