It's getting hot in here!

What a weekend! I traveled to Antigua Guatemala with three of my friends. We left Sat. morning and had quite a ride on the way there. The driver of our chicken bus was the wildest, most experienced, daring driver I have ever ridden with. Instead of waiting in the construction lines, he would simply bypass everyone who was waiting patiently and pull up to the front of the line. At one point, the ayudante got out of the bus and went and talked to the guys that were blocking up off, I’m pretty sure that he slipped him some money because the next thing we know, there are orange flags waving and three buses that were ‘on the line’ took off in the beginning of a race kind of way! We were taking corners at speeds that I wouldn’t dare to go in my little car. I’m not sure how we didn’t roll but it was like we were on a 3 hour roller coaster. You had to hold onto the bar in front of you. Otherwise, you would have ended up in the lap of the Guatemalan sitting next to you! By the time we got to Antigua (in only 3 ½ hours) we found a hotel and headed to lunch. Our goal for the weekend was to climb Pacaya and just relax. Luckily, we were successful in both goals and I am now home safely in Xela.

Pacaya was one of the coolest things I have ever seen. I have always been fascinated with volcanoes but I never thought I would be this close to actually lava. We hiked 3km up to the base of the volcano and when we finally crested the hill, we saw the lave for the first time. We were still a little ways from it, but we could already feel the heat! We climbed down to it and I was so close to it that the soles of my shoes started getting tacky. It was absolutely incredible!

Other news in Central America…not much. We only have 4 full weeks of school left and two weeks that consist of three days each so we are getting closer to the end of the school year. As of right now, I have the next couple weekends planned because my mother and step-father are coming! I have been so blessed to have family come down and visit! We are going to Lago de Atilan next weekend (the deepest, most beautiful lake in Central America) and then off to Tikal the following weekend! I will keep everyone updated as things happen! Let me know where you will be this summer so I can come by and tell you other stories as I travel around the states!

Until then!

Playlist:
Steady as She Goes by The Raconteurs
A Change would Do You Good by Sheryl Crow
These Days by Rascal Flats
Gotas De Agua Dulce by Juanes
Everybody's Free (to wear sunscreen) by Baz Luhrmann

I want to hold your hand!

I know that I have promised other spring break stories but quite frankly, that was a long time ago so I’m just going to abbreviate those stories and include some fun pictures!

As you know by my last posts, I was in a class to get scuba certified. After many classroom sessions and reading a few chapters, we finally headed to the sea to practice some of our new skills. Earlier that day, we had learned all the hand signals so we could communicate underwater. As we practiced our new skills, we also practiced our hand skills. This included things like ‘watch me’, ‘let’s go up’, and ‘I’m having problems with _______’. After we learned how to clear our masks and stay at a neutral buoyancy, we headed out for our first exploratory dive. We were a group of six and we all had a partner. As we were swimming away, our dive instructor (Vera) turned around and gave us the signal to hold hands with our partner. My friend Randi was my buddy and we happily found each other’s hand and continued swimming. We saw all sorts of incredible things and beautiful fish. Vera continued to lead the group and every time she turned around to check on us, she would remind us to hold hands. By the time our dive was over and we safely back on the boat with our BCD’s and flippers in their respective places, Vera turned to Randi and I with a smirk on her face. She said, “Did you think that every time I turned around I was telling you to hold hands?” Because both of us are competitive students, we shook our heads enthusiastically. She laughed and said, “That is just the resting position of my hands. I wasn’t telling you guys to hold hands but it sure was funny!”

Needless to say, we got quite a kick out of it and we have continued to joke about, ‘I want to hold your hand….underwater!’

The next adventure was the trip home with Dad and Kitty.
I’m not going to say much about it because I don’t want to stir up unpleasant emotions with Mark Cromwell. All I will say is that I made it back from Beijing China quicker than I made it back to Guatemala from Honduras. I know, I know, this doesn’t make much sense but it was quite a trip. If you are interested, let me know but whatever you do, don’t ask my dad about it! He will surely get angered and start raving about the Roatan airport officials or the Adrenalina tours bus drivers!

With all of that, things in Guatemala are going quite well. I have officially told the school that I won’t be returning next year and it went well. I am planning on attempting to travel and do some volunteer work. I have recently gotten in contact with an organization that places camp professionals in international camps. I think that this would be a very good opportunity for me as it would combine the best of both worlds for me: camping and travel. I will keep you all updated on where that leads but I am going to try to keep my mind and focus here in Xela until I return to the states in June. If you have any contacts over seas or if any of you have done any mission work or volunteer work, please let me know! I would love to hear about things that you would recommend for me!

Until then, I will continue to enjoy my time here and try to stay dry as rainy season is creeping in a little early this year!


Playlist:
Southbound 35 by Pat Green
Vegas by Sara Bareilles
Swallowed in the Sea by Coldplay
Time of your Life by Green Day
Bullet and a Target by Citizen Cope
Breathe by Anna Nalick
Will He Be Waiting For Me? by Sarah Harmer
What Hurts the Most by Rascal Flats
I’m Your Man by Michael Buble’
I ain’t in Checotah Anymore by Carrie Underwood

something worth living for...

I have recently been aware of the lack of world consciousness that I have. To solve this problem, I have added cnn.com and enidnews.com to my daily internet ‘surfing’ (to get the news that is important to me!). I am amazed daily at what makes the ‘top’ news on an international website, and I am also disturbed at what I find in my hometown newspaper. I am taken back by the news that I found Saturday morning. I was faced with two deaths: one, a fallen Soldier, and another, a life in prison. Although the second isn’t death in the sense of the physical word, more in the sense of the loss of freedom and choice that was brought about by the killing of someone. Both of these men were acquaintances of mine. As I sat and read about the family that was left behind from our hometown hero, I felt a wave of emotions that brought tears to my eyes. He had lived a life that was honorable and he gave his life to something that he believed in. I will forever be grateful to the sacrifice that he gave to all of us. He is the reason that someone can carry a gun. He is the reason that we can drive to a gas station without worry of attack. He fought for the freedom that the other guy willingly gave up when he pulled the trigger and took another mans life. I don’t know the reasons behind the killing, but I do know that if you believe in something strongly enough, you will go to great measures to fulfill that.

I am not questioning that either of these men believed that what they were doing was right. To go to the measures that each of them went to will show that they believed in what they were doing. What I am doing is using this as evidence that what you believe in can consume you, either for good or for bad.

There will be families that will forever be affected by the decisions that both of these young men made. I hope that we can all learn from both of these situations. To be passionate and to live with vigor is what we are meant to do. My wish for you is that you will find something worthwhile to give your life to, because ultimately, it is what will be said about your life in the end.


Playlist:
Reasons Why by Nickel Creek
This Land is Mine by Dido
Amazing Grace by Ani DiFranco
Track 12 by Amos Lee
Blue Eyes by Cary Brothers
Birthday by The Beatles
What it Takes by Aerosmith