The long and the short of it...

So one of my friends who shall remain nameless (but who's name starts with "B" and ends with "EN") gave me some advice when I started this blog that I should keep the entries somewhat short and sweet. And as a reader of several blogs myself, I tended to agree with him. However, the last 2 days have been so wild, bizarre, fun and scary that there is just no way this is going to be a short entry.

So for Ben and those out there like him who want the short and sweet story, here it is: Food is pretty good, kids are fantastic, my spanish is better than I thought, my host family is very nice and for the first time in my life, I am living with a dog.

For those of you who may want to hear a little bit more...here goes. I’ve decided only to write about the weekend and write about my school experience next...I don’t want to bore all of you on the first entry from Guatemala! I promise that my entries won't normally be this long but seriously...it's been a hell of a weekend! Ok...so we'll start where we left off: Houston.

I arrived here in Guatemala with no more bumps in the road and got my luggage immediately. After about 30 seconds of wrestling to get it on my cart, I already regretted the industrial sized shampoo and conditioner, the extra pair of sneakers and enough cashews and almonds to feed all of Antigua for about a month (apparently I was not aware that they have food here...)

Anyway, I managed to get my luggage outside and after looking like a panicked 9-year-old walking through the airport looking for a sign with my name on it, at the VERY end of the tunnel of people, I found a tiny girl named Meike (pronounced Micah) holding a tiny sign for me! Talk about a relief...so, it was off to Antigua.

I got to my hostel (yes mom, a hostel...it really wasn't bad at all) and even though Meike gave me a map and told me explore the city a little bit, I seriously lost consciousness in my room for about 3 hours about 2 minutes after she left. Needless to say, my first afternoon in Guatemala wasn't exactly thrilling but the nap was definitely a wise choice.

I did manage to drag my tired ass out of my room for dinner with Meike and one other staff member, Julia. While we were at dinner, I discovered my first thing about Guatemala that somehow no one who has ever been told me about: the fireworks. So apparently this town is obsessed with fireworks. Sure, they like the kind that go up in the air and light up the sky with gorgeous colors. But they FAR prefer the ones that sound like a gun is going off about 4 feet behind you. Seriously...during the day...at night...anytime is a good time for a gun-shot sounding blast. Not sure if I'm ever going to get used to that but the girls were so unfazed that I just kept right on eating my BBQ chicken (which was so delicious by the way after eating nothing but airplane food all day...) After dinner, it was straight back to the hostel and immediately to bed.

Sunday morning I went to the GVI house (the home base for the non-profit I am volunteering with) to get my orientation. We sat up on the roof of the house overlooking a volcano and mountain...it was gorgeous. Learned the basics (pretty much, don't get killed and don't be dumb) and left for a quick tour of the city. The city is great. From what I've heard, it is definitely a "diamond in the rough" of Guatemala. The style is completely colonial and there are ruins everywhere. There are some crazy rules in place like no houses can be painted the same color near to each other and the streets must remain cobblestone...it really feels like another world in a different time...but then you see a McDonald's and all is right with the world again :)

While we were on our short tour, we ran into 3 other volunteers: Shannon, Michael and Brittney. They told me they were going to a place called the Earth Lodge for the afternoon and evening and wanted to know if I wanted to join. Now, as a girl who has not a single friend, saying yes seemed like the only possible option...so off to Earth Lodge I went.

We got picked up in a pick up truck and I climbed right on over the edge of a bright blue truck and sat on a slab of wood about 4 inches across...apparently not meant for people who have ever eaten an ice cream cone. Anyway, we ascended the mountain/hill for about 25 minutes and got dropped off in the place where the term "middle of nowhere" was invented. We proceeded to hike down a steep hill and steps for about 15 minutes and suddenly, out of no where popped this oasis...was I dreaming? Had the altitude gotten to me? Was I still in my hostel bad? No, no and no...I was actually there. This little resort area with a bunch of hammocks and Adirondack (no freaking clue how to spell that...) chairs and cute little cabins. Just a place to relax and read....it was really nice.

But this blog is not only to talk about what was wonderful...but the tougher parts too. I have to say that all those hours up there really made me feel pretty lonely. It was definitely a little too much time to think for a girl who just left behind a fabulous life, an awesome family and the best friends in the world the day before. But I was warned about this...so instead of fight against it, I just embraced it. Just felt it...and you know what? It really wasn't that scary of a thing...

At this point, I was pretty desperate to do ANYTHING to keep my mind from wandering back home and suddenly, in the bizarre place, with these new people walks in perhaps the most bizarre woman I have ever met. She had been living at the Earth Lodge for 2.5 months just to "take a break" from life. She was middle aged and from England...her name was Jo. Anyway, as odd as Jo was, she saved me from my loneliness and offered to read my tarot cards. Now, this may not have been the wisest idea in my frail state but seriously, I'm on a mountain in Antigua, looking at a volcano that is actually spewing lava into the air and it is running down the side of the mountain and a woman from England offers to do a card reading...this was one of those moments where there is nothing TO say but "okay..."

So the tarot card reading went pretty good and the funny Jo conversation that followed. Then we had dinner (seriously delicious pizza...sorry all you Passover observers out there...) and headed back. Heading straight up this hill in the pitch black was no small task especially considering that we are at almost 9000 ft. elevation. But I managed to drag myself up and over into that pick up truck and back to my host family. That brings me to my host family!

My host mom is great. It is just her and her daughter in the house (although I've heard some weird rumors about the grandpa so I think he might live here to in a different little house? who knows...) Her name is Cristina and I will post pictures of her soon and tell you more about my house where there is actually a parrot who greeted me with “hola!”, an adorable dog named Lucky, two other birds and a turtle...yes folks, I am living in a small zoo...but it’s great!

Also, like my own mother, Cristina has a very strange affection for fake flowers...but not just any fake flowers...giant sunflowers...EVERYWHERE! Hanging plants, potted plants, placemats, napkins, light fixtures, fridge magnets....this woman LOVES sunflowers...and it’s great!

My room is fine....very modest but it is more than I need. I’m hoping the kids will make some art for me at some point to spruce up the white cinder block walls but for now, I just focus on my Winnie the Pooh sheets and flannel dinosaur curtains on my closet (a far stretch from 317 Groveland Avenue...).

Ok...I think that’s all for now! I promise to write more soon about school and post some pictures as soon as I can. Please keep in touch and tell me what’s going on in all of your lives...a touch of normalcy probably wouldn’t hurt at a time like this!

Signing off for now...

Debra