The Guatemalan Life

With a glass of wine in hand I figured it was about time I update my blog.
Life is amazing...more than a month as an official volunteer and I couldn't imagine being much happier with my present situation.
I wanted to give you guys an idea of my daily life here in Toto. My average day looks something like this:
Dance Practice (still teaching the dancers the Thriller dance, we present on the
10th of September)

Running with my site mate (training for the 15k in Chimal on the 19th of September)

Shower, make breakfast with my propane stove and prep for classes

Work at the school (I am personally in the classroom teaching things like self-esteem, making/achieving goals, communication, leadership and team building, HIV/AIDS, and sexual education) My students are especially interested in sex education, a vast majority have never received any sort of education and couldn't tell you what vaginal intercourse consists of let alone tell you how to protect themselves.

Pasear tiempo with my students or Elizabeth(site mate)

Dance around my room, make dinner and pass out

Weekends consist of a lot of the same, sometimes with a little alcohol involved, a lot of traveling and making some lasting memories.


Some things that I love and have made Guatemala my home, in no particular order:
my students

my site mate
my host family
waking up in the morning to a town that is so ALIVE
the running track
the micro bus drivers
relationships I have formed with people in random places like the local hostel, the security guard at the grocery store, the waitress at the local ice cream parlor...
the fact that nearly everyone in my town knows my name and says Hola, buenas dias/tardes/noches seno Christy
I can get to any of my good friends here in Guatemala within 3 hours
there is ALWAYS something going on
my dancers/dance team
skyping with my family and friends back home
Xela
my boyfriend (to be discussed shortly)

the internet
latin music
my counterpart

the way people come together to help one another
the mountains
the lake

the market (I can buy a pound of chicken for $1, pound of strawberries for $.50, pound of bananas for $.20...just an idea for you guys)
feeling important
and much much more
PS the group of kids is my students at a dance in my backyard, the gansta shot is my counterpart (aka my boss) and the super guapo guy with me is my boyfriend:)

So yup, got myself a Guatemalan boyfriend. I was one of the girls that said "no way, never." The men here have a serious rep for being sexist, dominate, demanding, cheaters, and just overall not very good boyfriends/husbands. That being said, one has managed to change my mind for the time being and I am not mad about it. For now, I am enjoying the times I spend with him and the serious improvement in not only my language skills but my grasp on the culture. For those of you future volunteers reading this I highly suggest you give it a try. jaja. Vamos a ver que pasa...

First birthday in Guatemala next weekend, headed to Panajachel on Lake Atitlan with the boyfriend and I am super excited. When I arrived in Guatemala I was terrified. Scared of the unknown, scared I couldn't handle this, scared I would miss my amazing life back home so much that I would never succeed here. I am no longer terrified but feel completely at home in my environment. The unknown excites the hell out of me. I know now that I can handle just about anything. And while I miss home I am taking advantage of every second in my new home. I know that I am missing weddings (congrats to Anjilee/Chris and Kirsten/Zack) and births (congrats to Ali/Jason) but everyday of my life here is an amazing. It doesn't matter if the most exciting thing I do in the day is hit the market, my life here is an adventure and I am living it to the fullest.
*Live your dreams*

It's Official!

I am writing for the first time as an official volunteer. Two weeks ago, 45 of us swore in and committed ourselves for the next two years to the Peace Corps. Aside from saying goodbye to the family I have come to know and love over the past three months the swearing in process was fantastic. The picture is of me, my family and the ambassador.
After the ceremony the majority of the new volunteers made their way to Antigua where we pushed our regained independence to its limits. We spent the weekend enjoying ourselves and relaxing before the real work began.

I am currently in my permenant site in the department of Totonicapan. I couldn't be happier with my living situation and my site in general. I seriously lucked out. I have running water, electricity almost always, a hot shower, my own kitchen and internet. I am living like a PC queen! The picture is the view from my back window. I live in a little aldea right outside of a large city. Living this way gives me the best of both worlds which is fantastic. When I go into the city I have a small amount of anonymity and in my aldea everyone knows my name and saludars me. My biggest school is directly across the street from me so the street is always full of my students goofing around.

I have a really great site mate named Elizabeth. Her and I have been training for a 15k in September. We are also planning some camps together for winter vacation and basically she is going to be my saving grace when I am stressed. The person I can depend on to grab a glass of wine with me and BS about work, guys, and our considerable lack of privacy.

I started a dance group with the students from one of my schools. I am teaching them the dance to Thriller which we are going to perform at the feria in September. I didn't know how it would be received by the kids but they ROCKED it! I am so pumped. I have a lot of confianza in the jovenes and I hope that they have the ganas to get through it. Vamos a ver.

I want to also take a minute to give a HUGE thank you to those of you who attended my party in Spokane and donated. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. It is so wonderful to know that I have amazing family and friends that still support me even when I am thousands of miles of way. I cannot wait to say thank you in person at Christmas. You are all incredible, thank you so much.

This is for now, I will leave you guys with some pictures. Those seems to say way more than I ever can.