Merry Christmas

I know I have neglected this blog in the last two weeks but for some reason, it is so hard for me to update it while I'm in the states. I need to finish up my trip and let you know what has been going on since I arrived in OKC Dec. 13! But today is not the day! Today is the day to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! SO!



Merry Christmas!



This year I am celebrating at my Mom's house. My sister and brother-in-law are here and we are having a wonderful time. I am currently looking out over the beautiful swamp lake (oxymoron?) of Bisteneau. I hope everyone is having/had a wonderful Christmas!



Take care and continue living the adventure!



Viva la Vida!



liz

Oh, the weather outside is frightful!

So I'm closing in on my last few days in Guatemala and all the news I have received from home is that it's COLD! I found myself singing 'Oh the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful' the other day as I walked down the street in shorts and a T-shirt and I thought to myself, wait a second, I can't sing this here. The weather is beautiful! So, all I can say is that I'm ready for some time by a fire with a good book and a cup of hot chocolate or coffee! Um...sounds nice! I hope the snow stays around until I get home!

Cory got in Monday night and we have had a great time thus far! We went to the hot springs yesterday which is always a fun trip considering you have to take a chicken bus and a private truck to get there. The ride is beautiful and through the cloud forest. Below are pictures from the day (thanks Cory for letting me use your pics)! Enjoy!

Also, we are attending a soccer game tonight. It's the finals so it should be fun! I'm not sure what the plan is for the rest of the week but I know it will be full of adventure! What a way to end my trip!

Hope you all are doing well!

Viva la Vida!

Liz

Me in the back of the truck on our way to Fuentes Georginas

Cory and I with Santa Maria (the volcano) in the background

In the Hot Springs.

The Cloud Forest

Working the fields.

An incredible meal of ceviche!

Playlist:
The whole Snow Patrol CD (Eyes Open)

Thoughts for the day

• Sam Bradford is legit.
• The GRE is going to be tougher than I thought. But, according to the Princeton Review book, there is a 4 week study plan. This is good news for me!
• I am looking forward to my trip to Fuentes Georginas this week.
• I think I may live with one of my good friends down here when I return. I really like living with Letty but I don't like always having to check in. I mean, I'm 25, I haven't had to do that since I was 17.
• Dec. 7 is a day when everyone is Xela burns trash in the streets. I don't know why they do this but it is totally acceptable.
• Cory comes today. That will be fun to have another friend in Xela.
  
• I have laid out the last two mornings. Will this be possible once I return to Enid? I'm thinking the answer is no!
• I have gotten a lot of entertainment from this site lately. Sorry if it offends anyone!
• I'm looking forward to a large Diet Coke from Sonic and a party burrito from Bueno!
• I have had Corn Flakes for breakfast the last two mornings. And with that, I have come to appreciate powered milk. Last year, you couldn't get me to touch the stuff but after my experience the last two mornings, I think I like it.
  

Playlist:
Ahora Es by Wisin & Yandel
I'm Done by Jo Dee Messina
Many the Miles by Sarah Bareilles
Maria by Stephen Kellog and The Sixers

A Bit of a Blunder

This post won't be long but I promise that it will be entertaining!

Yesterday, I sat at my favorite coffee shop that I frequent daily. I came at my normal time and ordered a mochachino. I sat and procrastinated longer than I normally do while searching for a flight home (more on this later) and I realized that I had been sitting there for a good hour and a half and I should probably order something else. I knew that another coffee drink would be a bad idea so I ventured for a smoothie instead. The girl walked up and we proceeded to have this conversation:
chica- "algo mas?"
me-"si, quiero un smoothie"
chica-"que tipo?"
me-"um, gustaria Mora"
chica-"ah, lo siento, no queremos a hora. Hay Fresa, pina, mango, banano"
me-"Yo quiero pene."
chica-"Pene? (followed by a lot of laughter)o pina?"
me (me, realizing my mistake that I just ordered a penis smoothie instead of a pinapple smoothie turned red immediatly red)-"si, pina esta bien y mas mejor (yes, pineapple is good and much better)"

Needless to say, I was quite embarrassed but thankful that it wasn't the cute owner who was taking my order! After I spent the next ten minutes laughing to myself and sharing my palabra problema with whoever was online (thanks Emily and Cory for laughing with me!) my friend Randi showed up and I was still red. After telling her the story, we both exploded into laughed one more time!

On another note, I finally booked my flight and I decided to come home Dec. 13. My friend, Cory, is coming down next week and we will be flying home on the same flight next Saturday. I figured that since all my other friends would be in the middle of finals the next week they wouldn't be much fun and I wasn't planning on studying that week anyway! So, get ready, 10 days and I'll be home!

Viva la vida!

Liz

Playlist:
Open Your Eyes by Snow Patrol
Another Sliver of Eternity by So Long Goodbyes
Cowboy Bill by Garth Brooks
Leave the Pieces by The Wreckers

A vacation from vacation: Thanksgiving at the Sweet River

I spent my Thanksgiving very differently than I have in the past. This year, I was in Rio Dulce (the sweet river) with my friends. This was the first major holiday that I have been away from my family but I was very happy to be with my close friends that are like family to me!
Carrie and I arrived in Rio on Wednesday. It was a long day (we left Xela at 4:00am) but totally worth it. Once we got there, we called for the Lancha (a boat taxi) from our hotel to come pick us up. We settled into our bungalow and headed for the restaurant for drinks and dinner.
We were exhausted from the day of traveling and I was in bed with the lights off before 8:00! About 15 minutes after I went to bed, Carrie and I were awakened by the voices of three men how had wandered down our dock to our bungalow. Because I had been asleep for 15 minutes already, I assured Carrie that the men that were outside our door were only there because they were on a scavenger hunt (I come up with some pretty crazy things when I'm asleep). I could see the guys and I could tell that they weren't going to try to get in, they were just curious what was down there...anyway, they wandered off only to come back two more times (once to pee off the dock, the other time, I have no idea). Needless to say, we were happy to wake up in the morning and everything was still intact (don't worry mom and dad, it wasn't really dangerous, more entertaining because we were in a big cabin by ourselves. We were locked in so it was okay).

McNabb and Jason came on Thursday and we, of course, were very happy to see them!
We were all pleasantly surprised to see that our hotel was going to be serving Thanksgiving dinner (turkey, dressing, veggies, cranberry sauce, and pie) and enjoyed our first night together in the restaurant laughing and carrying on.

We had three more friends join us on Friday on their way back from Tikal and the seven of us had a wonderful time laying out, jumping off the platform above the marina, kayaking, visiting castles, eating, napping, working puzzles, and just being together.
I was reminded during this vacation that sometimes it's best to get away and do nothing. Unfortunately, I came down with something on Saturday that knocked me out of comission all day. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to travel home but I woke up Sunday and felt so much better.

There are so many details that I didn't include in the post because I don't feel like I could do it justice. This was a wonderful vacation that I'm so thankful for. I was listening to Jimmy Buffett's 'Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes' and the lyrics fit this trip so well:

'I took off for a weekend last month
Just to try and recall the whole year
All of the faces and all of the places
Wonderin' where they all disappeared
I didnt ponder the question too long
I was hungry and went out for a bite
Ran into a chum with a bottle of rum
And we wound up drinkin all night
Its these changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes
Nothing remains quite the same
With all of our running and all of our cunning
If we couldnt laugh we would all go insane'


A few other things:

• I have decided to come back and teach for three months this spring. I will be teaching Middle School Math and Bible while the current teacher is out on Maternity leave.
• I am coming home Dec. 18 and will be in the states until mid-Feb.
  
• I am considering moving to Wyoming this summer!
  
• I have started looking at Masters' programs in the areas of Internation Studies/NGO administration. This could potentially include a Peace Corp stint!
• My avacado guy is back (I think I may have already included this but I'm super stoked about it!)
• And lastly, BOOMER SOONER! Way to go Sooners! I know that there is controversey in the BCS but this year it happened to fall in our favor!
  

Viva la Vida,

Liz

(sorry, no playlist today. I forgot my headphones and I'm at a cafe...)

A change of plans.

The weekend has come and gone and I am still in Xela. As you may remember, my friend, Carrie, and I were suppose to take off yesterday and head north. After an entertaining twist of events, we headed back to the boys house, rang the door bell, and re-situated ourselves back in our room.

It all started Sunday morning with a cup of coffee from McDonald's (they have really good coffee down here) and me procrastinating (that's not like me at all, is it?) Our shuttle to Antigua was picking us up at 2:00 so we could spend the night there and then head to Sumec Champey the next day (an 8 hour bus trip). Our bus driver showed up at 2:15 and we headed out of town. We quickly made friends with the two other travelers in the shuttle and agreed that the trip was much safer than in a chicken bus. Carrie and I were both 'patched' (motion sickness+Guatemalan roads=a disastrous road trip, however, with the patch, things are a little better). We were on the outskirts of town when we pulled into the middle lane of the five lane road and stopped. Our driver had received a phone call and from what I could tell, he had just been told that we needed to pick up a few more people. I clarified and he said yes, that is what we were going to do. We turned around (in the middle of the road) and headed back into Xela. We made a few turns and ended up at Linea Dorada (one of the four first-class bus stations in town). Our driver (I'll call him Pedro) then told us that we were going to take a taxi to Antigua because he had to take all of the people at the bus station to Guatemala City. The four of us were a little confused by the situation because we had paid for a shuttle and that's what we expected. At this point, one of the other travelers asked Pedro if he would wait until out taxi came before he left for Guate and he said he would. Shortly after he unloaded our backpacks, he started the shuttle and drove off. So, here we were, four female travelers left on the side of the road, waiting for a taxi. It was close to 3:00 now and at the same time Carrie and I looked at each other with the same look in our eyes. We were both questioning our decision to go. A taxi driver walked over to us and asked if we needed a cab and I told him to hold on a minute. Carrie and I took about 12 seconds to decide that this trip was starting off in the wrong manner and we headed over to a local taxi and had him take us back to our 'home' from the last week. When I asked what was going on with all the people at the bus station he said that the bus wasn't able to come because of all the construction on the road. He said that traffic was backed up and at that point, we both knew that we made the right decision.

We weren't able to get a refund for the shuttle but we did work out a deal that the company would pay for our bus to Rio Dulce (the sweet river) on Wednesday. We will miss out on the beginning of our trip but considering that both of us gets so sick, we figured it would be more fun to hang out with friends for the rest of the week than make ourselves spend so much time on a mountainous road with our heads out the window!

When we arrived back at the house, we were welcomed back with open arms but decided to make dinner to make sure they wouldn't mind us staying a few more nights. We cooked a great meal and headed to bed early. We will be in Xela until Wednesday morning (we leave on the 4am bus) and I will return on Sunday. Unfortunately, Carrie has to go back to the states on Sunday but I will have two more weeks here before I continue on to my next stop!

It's been wonderful having an old friend here to experience this city with and laugh at the random things that happen every day. Just today, we were enjoying our morning Diet Cokes in McDonald's and a Guatemalan girl was sitting behind me. After about 15 minutes, she turned around and asked if I would be willing to give her English classes. At first, I was a little hesitant because I didn't want to over commit my time here but after talking to her for 10 minutes, I decided that she was pretty interesting and we are going to meet up next week to get coffee. We worked out a deal that if I speak to her for 30 minutes in English, we will spend the next 30 minutes speaking Spanish. I'll give an update on how that goes next week!

Viva La Vida!

Liz

Oh, my avocado guy is back! I have eaten the most wonderful aquacartes since his return! I wish I could bring some back for all of you!

Playlist:
Beautiful Day by U2
Portions of Foxes by Rilo Kiley
Beautiful by So Long Goodbyes
Island Girl by Elton John
Furry Sings the Blues by Joni Mitchell
Sideways by Citizen Cope
Growing Older But Not Up by Jimmy Buffett
Love Story by Taylor Swift
Hips Don't Lie by Shikira

A few more pictures

My Spanish teacher Kenia and I at the school

The precious daughter of the director. She is half Dutch half Guatemalan!