"I'll be home for Christmas" Fall 2009 Top 10

Top 10 Memories from Fall 2009:

10. New Staff coming in and meeting who we would be working with for the next 10 months. We went to Fuentes Gorginas and a Super Chivo game. I had no idea the impact that some of these people would have on my life.9. Pre-k kiddos and all the strange things they do, including wearing wings to school just because they feel like it!8. Sunset views from my apartment. How could you not fall in love with a place that has views like this daily? It blows my mind each time I see the volcano erupt and the sun setting behind it! What a beautiful thing God blesses me with daily!7. Thanksgiving in El Salvador. I had such a nice time lying next to a pool, hanging with friends, and soaking up the sun!6. Liz Wright came to visit. If you were not here, you will never understand the fun that was had and the memories that were made! The adventures of Mary and Lloyd continue.5. Discovering Portal de la Quinta. This place has become a "Cheers" like atmosphere. There have been many memories made and many burgers eaten at this establishment. 4. Halloween 2009. I was Wendy from Wendy's...or maybe Pippy Longstonckings but either way, I had a blast!3. Time with the Brodbecks. The Brodbecks are my Guatemalan family. If you have received coffee from me, this is the couple that is responsible for this deliciousness. I don't have any pictures with them, just from adventures that I have taken with them including a long weekend at Lago de Atitlan and many weekends at their house on the side of Santa Maria.2. October 2009. In October, I was attended an educational conference in the Dominican Republic and the next week, I was in Oklahoma for Sarah Shenold's (now Robert's) wedding. These two weeks were a whirlwind but I had such a great time!


1. And last but obviously first, my time with my 'family'. I am so blessed to have such great friends down here that have become family. We spend time together cooking, eating, watching "How I Met Your Mother" (thus the frozen high-five picture), and talking about life. I can't describe the feeling of having such a close-knit group of friends in Guatemala. It makes it worth it!




Once again, I hope this finds all of you well. I am on my way home right now. I will fly into DC tomorrow and be in Wyoming, Oklahoma, and back to DC before making my way back to the beautiful city of Xela Jan. 4.

Merry Christmas!

Liz

Merry Christmas

I know that I have many, many updates to post but truth be told, every time I sit down to do it, I get distracted by the task before me. I PROMISE over my crazy Christmas break that I will write some of my favorite stories from this year. Speaking of Christmas break, I am flying into DC on Dec. 18, flying to Denver on Dec. 21, driving to Oklahoma Dec. 26, flying back to DC on Dec. 31, and then finally back to Guatemala Jan. 4! It will be a segmented break but I will get to see lots of people!

I hope this finds you doing well! I would LOVE an update from all of you too! Let me know what's going on in your lives!

Love you to all!

Liz

Dominican ayer, Guatemala hoy, y Oklahoma manana!

Okay, so I wasn't in the Dominican Republic yesterday but I was there two days ago. And, I won't be in Oklahoma tomorrow but I leave for OK tomorrow. I have been all over the place but it's been a blast! I arrive in OKC at 2:30 Wednesday afternoon and will head to Enid for a day before I have to be back in OKC for the wedding shenanigans Friday morning. I am already planning my schedule and as of right now it includes Wee Too, a home cooked Salmon meal, and a trip to the driving range! And of course, getting some quality time with people that are in the area (that includes my dog too!)

I know that that I have promised a DR update and I promise that it will come after this weekend. I will try to get some other pictures up as well. For the time being, this one picture will have to be the teaser!

Just wanted to let everyone know that I had a great time in the Dominican and I made it back to Guate safely. I am looking forward to the fall season and maybe I'll even squeeze in a pumpkin carving!

Love to you all!

Liz

Doe-Min-I-Can

Just wanted to let everyone know that I am heading to the Dominican Republic. I will be there from the 10th-17th. I will get back to Xela on the 17th and head back to Guatemala City on the 20th to fly to the states on the 21st for Shenold's wedding!

Needless to say, I have a fun two weeks ahead of me! I will try to post short updates along the way.

Hope everyone is well!

Viva la Vida!

Liz

Love After Love

The time will come
when, with elation,
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror,
and each will smile at the other's welcome,

and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letter from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.
-Derek Walcott

8 Weeks in...

I had a dream last night. I was naked. You know, the kind of dream where you are in a crowd of people and you are talking to a potential boss/in-law/stranger and you look down and see nothing but your birthday suit and for the next 6 hours you are at work/a party/running errands hoping that no know else realizes you are running around in the nude. Somehow, I managed to make it out of my predicament without anyone noticing (sidenote, if this were to ever happen in real life, I would never be able to show my face in that place ever again and I would run as fast as I could and never look back). Funny thing is, in my dream, I was thinking to my naked self, 'man, this is going to make a great blog...' Yeah, I don't know where my mind is sometimes. Wouldn't you think that if you were naked somewhere that your only thoughts would be about finding clothes. Well, mine weren't. I wanted to share all of my adventures with you, my faithful blog readers!

So why do I return to the keyboard tonight and share this with you? One simple reason. I want to share this experience with others. The whole experience, the good, the bad, and the embarrassing. I want others to get out and do something like this. I want to inspire someone to leave the safety of home and understand what it is like to feel at home in another country. A strange country. A place that is so much different than the clean streets you grew up on but when you start looking past all the differences, you start to see how similar it is. The people, the smiles, the families. There are things that transcend all cultures and languages. I want you to know, to experience, that. And I want to experience that everyday.

Often times, my everyday life here doesn't look much different than your everyday life there. I wake up, make coffee, take a shower, go to work, come home, cook dinner, go to the gym, watch the news, and go to bed. The only difference is that if it happens to be a Tuesday or Wednesday, I'm forced to speak a little Spanish. If it is any other day, I can manage to get by with minimal exposure. I have to get myself out there. I have to put myself in a position to experience something new. To learn a new Spanish word. To smile at someone new. To aid a fellow gringo who just arrived in my beloved city and to calm fears of walking in the wrong direction all the way to the Pacific.

So, when it comes down to it, our lives aren't really that different. I just happen to live in a place that the dogs out number the people and life just moves a little slower. So, get out there, make a new memory. Find a new friend. Invent a new dinner and try your coffee a different way. It may change the way you see your day!

Viva la Vida,

Liz



Bringing the Playlist back!
a tune by Jack Johnson (don't remember the title)
Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffet
The Moment I Said It by Imogen Heap
Do You Know by Enrique Iglesias
International Harvester by Craig Morgan
Angel by Jack Johnson
A-Punk by Vampire Weekend
The Front Porch Song by Robert Earl Keen
Take Me Out To a Dance Hall by Pat Green
Proudest Monkey by Dave Matthews Band

Pictures from the office

Here are a few pictures of my office. As you can see, it is a casual day (no students), thus the hat and t-shirt! Hope this finds all of you doing well!

Update in bullet points

It's time for an update since it's been awhile...Here is a brief overview of my life since the last post!

• I saw a man on a motorcycle the other day that had a 6ft by 6ft box advertising Kotex pads. It was pink and had examples of the product stuck to the side. I laughed out loud as I walked down the street.
• I also saw a bike/food stand that was called Burrito Loco that had a theme song to Achy Breaky Heart. I sang along in English.
  
• School has started out nicely. Only two kids in the office so far for discipline issues.
• I have hired a house cleaner to come once a week. 5 dollars each time she comes. One of the best decisions I have made.
• Went to Minerva (the awesome 'thrift store') and bought 15 things for under 5 dollars. I was pumped.
• I have spent the last three weekends at 'the coast' (not actually the beach, just down the mountain). It's been wonderful.
• We have a four day weekend this weekend. I'm going to Lago de Atitlan. It should be very relaxing and enjoyable.
• I've been cooking a lot. But I have a problem with cooking too much. I usually have 6-8 large servings left over...I need more people to cook for.
• I have been going to Guatemalan yoga. I must say, Yoga in Spanish is a totally different challenge. It has been entertaining (a post solely for this should be coming later)
• I will be in Oklahoma in October for a wedding. Let me know if you are going to be in the Enid/OKC area Oct. 21-25!
• The US Embassy was in town yesterday for a Town Hall meeting. I was great to meet other Americans in Xela and also meet those from the Embassy. They also treated us to a fantastic meal so thank you to all the tax payers out there for my incredible lunch yesterday! I was nice to have a little piece of home here in Guate!
  

I'm sure I have many other things that I have left out but I will try to keep a list of these things so the next time I write, I can include them!

Viva la Vida!

Liz

Too much sleep!

Ever wonder what happens to a girl who sleeps for 11 hours and then takes a 3 hour nap?
She turns into a cleaning freak! Watch out!

Hope you all are doing well!

The first week of school went well...I'll try to update that in a few days!

Viva la vida!

Liz

Oh, Photobooth pictures!

I went to a 15 year old birthday party this week and they had an old school photo booth...I hope you guys enjoy the pictures as much as we enjoyed taking them!

"Traveling tends to magnify all human emotions." — Peter Hoeg

Pictures thus far!

A few pictures from mid-July until today!

Mom, Emily and I in Wisconsin! It was a great time!

Emily and I! She's the best!

The view from my hotel in Antigua! Such a beautiful city!

The Super Chivo has a chivito with him today! It was pretty awesome!Showing the new teachers a little Xela culture!

Getting ready for the game to start!

Let the confetti fly and the smoke bombs smoke!I think this is right after we scoredIn the midst of it all!After the smoke cleared...Vamos Xela!