February Catch-Up

I realize that I haven't posted in a while, but since I returned to Guatemala Dec. 31 things have been very busy! I had a wonderful vacation at home for almost 3 weeks. I got to be home for the 10th Annual Gingerbread House Party, and I hosted a wedding shower for a good friend who is getting married in May. We decorated mini wedding cakes! It was such a nice evening with friends. I also got to fly to Alabama for a day and visit people there, and travel to Michigan to spend time with family. It was a crazy vacation! I came back here in time for New Year's Eve with my boyfriend and his family. We had a nice evening celebrating and spending time with family visiting from Germany. School started again, I had a Master's course for the first two weeks back, and then it was major catch-up time at work! I am finally feeling on top of things again- all my papers are graded, plans completed for a while, and I am even working ahead. My next class (only 2 more to go!) starts in a week, so I am trying to enjoy these last few days of freedom.

A few weeks ago Arturo and I participated in "Subida Por La Vida," a campaign to stop the cycle of domestic violence in Guatemala. Almost 12,000 people hiked Volcano Agua and created a human chain from top to bottom. It turned out to be a much bigger event then they had planned, so some of the logistics didn't quite work out. Arturo and I climbed 4 hours up (we didn't get to the summit though- our group wasn't allowed to go any further so we could make the chain) and three hours down. It was the physically hardest thing I have ever done, but I was proud of my success! The line for the buses back to town was hours long, and at this point I could barely stand up, so Arturo kindly found alternate transportation for us. Another truly Guatemala experience- we rode back to Antigua in a 15 passenger van with 31 people in it!
A lot of the teachers here have been going to recruitment fairs and finding jobs for the next school year. I am excited about staying here, but I am a little jealous of some of the awesome experiences they will be having! Teachers I know are leaving here to go to Korea, Ghana, Kenya, Turkey, Bahrain, Qatar, Singapore, Japan, Colombia, Argentina, Prague, South Africa, Kuwait, and back to the US. I need to start saving money for traveling to visit all of the great places!