It's everyone's party!

Nothing terribly exciting has happened in the last two days but like always, I have a few little tales to tell.

Monday I almost came close to crying from sadness at my placement a number of times. I taught this lady how to play the card game war, brushed her hair and played the english spanish game. I knew that hanging out with her all day wouldn't be fair to the others, but in the middle of playing she told me how much she liked me and then in English she said she loved me. I said I needed to go, but she held on to my hand and begged me to stay. Once I was finally able to part ways with her I was on my way to find my favorite patient Chonita ("Carebear") and we played cards. A lady came up to me and I asked how she was and she replied, "mal, me duelen los ojos." -- translated, means bad my eyes hurt. They were horribly infected and she wasn't getting the right medication. She was almost in tears but there was nothing I could do to help with the physical pain.

After I played cards with Chonita, I found the lady that walks me to therapy everyday and takes care of me like a patient. She was in terrible condition laying in bed which I have never seen her do. She gave me these fake flowers and told me she wanted me to have them as something to remember her by. I put them on my backpack and she said now everyone at the University will see them. I asked if there was anything I could do, and it turns out she was too sick to even get up and get water but no one had done it for her so I filled up as much water as I could. Once I tried to tell her I was going to leave so she could rest, she protested and told me she wanted to play all the games that I had been playing with the others. She wanted me to be able to teach her English by the time I left and that she promised to teach me Spanish. I wish that was possible!

Finally, I sat down by another favorite and had a little crowd around the pictures I brought even though they had already seen them before. I'm not sure if she was acting like they were so interesting again because she didn't remember seeing them or if she was just insanely bored and just wanted to chat. Whatever the case, I was glad to end on a happier note at the hospital.

That afternoon, Erin, Eric and I decided to skip the activity for the afternoon. We just got some things done, I went to the gym and then it was pretty much a day.

Yesterday was an interesting day at the hospital. I was so tired because I hadn't slept well the night before and speaking spanish is especially difficult with a lack of sleep. I opted to fold gauze to avoid failing at communicating but then I heard something loud coming from the dining room. I walked in and everyone had on the cliche shiny birthday hats and a woman stood in the center holding a pinata about half the size of me. Those elderly people sitting in wheel chairs with those precious little birthday hats on with smiling faces was a great sight to see. The woman in the middle was yelling a chant and walking around with the pinata having everyone take turns at hitting it. One woman had some hidden strength and nearly busted the whole thing with two hits. I was impressed! When the candy came out the woman dispersed the candy to everyone by running around throwing it into their laps including me. Those that weren't confined to wheelchairs hobbled over to retrieve the candy. (Don't worry, I will put the pictures up soon!) A cake made of pieces of these fried bean things had trick candles in them and everyone got a chance to blow them out. At that point I realized the party was not just for one person, but a birthday party for everyone. They ate a meal of tostadas, or basically were two giant nachos with salsa and bean paste, and their fried bean cake.

I found out that the woman in the middle was a social worker in training and that was her last day at the hospital to finish her training. All of the people got very upset when they found that out. The daughter of the social worker was there with two other people around my age and spoke perfect English. A while back I mentioned that lady who just kept crying and so I showed her the picture of Scarlet. The girl told me that that lady was left at the hospital when she was four years old and has been crying for her mother ever since then. I finally let myself shed a tear after I heard that one. My tears quickly ceased with the lively atmosphere of the party and it was soon time for me to go.

After getting over being sad, it came right back again with our afternoon activity. It was all about the genocide in Guatemala. It was the biggest genocide in all of Central America but it has gone without publicity because they army was so good about keeping it a secret. The genocide happened in 1974 and officially in ended in 1996 with a treaty. It started because the people in the country wanted to change the government to begin to diminish the amount of extreme poverty and protested against the leaders. The leaders of the protests were murdered and their murders went without trials. Then people in the villages were starting to be killed off because they were believed to be an alliance of the guerillas that were trying to overthrow the government. The women were raped and killed with machetes and even their babies on the backs would be cut in half. I hate to disclose the gruesome details but I think it's important we are all aware of what has been going on in the world that the media doesn't share. But even now things aren't all that much better, because the agricultural institutes only benefit a small percentage and it is destroying a lot of their land. All of this knowledge and working in the hospital makes me so appreciative for the life I have and help as many people as possible..

But today is a holiday and I wanted to take the day off. Even though the big group left, Erin and Eric are here so I am now catching up on my blog today and reflecting on the time that has been going by so quickly. I was planning on going to Semuc for the weekend but with all of the tropical storms it may not be possible but I really hope so! I want to eat some more sea food here. Last night Eric and I went to a sushi place and blindly ordered our food only being able to translate a few items haha. We got lucky because all of our food tasted great! Now I am going to make a plan for today and some plans for the weekend. Until later, XO Carolyn

crazy coast stories (CCS!)

I'm finally back from my adventure to the Pacific Coast from the weekend. It was an absolute blast! I guess I am saying that about most things here but it truly was. Friday we had to say our goodbyes to Olivia which was depressing. We then we boarded our taxi and began our 3 hour trek to the ocean. The scenery on the way was breath taking with volcanos in the background and so much green. Our taxi driver dropped us off at a dock where we took a 20 minute boat ride to get to Montoricco where we were staying.

I can't get over the fact about how relaxed everything is around here. For example, people are late all the time and when I made the reservation for the hostel we stayed in, they didn't even ask me for a credit card or any form of ID to get into the room. Not even my last name! I think the relaxed nature of this country has it's pros and cons. I get frustrated sometimes when things run really late or I don't know what is going on. But those frustrations are only very minor. The worst is not being able to understand people. I can speak enough spanish to have decent conversations but if people don't speak slowly enough or use the right vocab I have absolutely no idea what they are saying.

Anyway, once we got to the place after wandering around for longer than needed, we took some showers, chilled at the bar and then played in the ocean. The waves were massive!! We got pulled under so many times but were loving it. The hammocks were a nice place to hang out too. We came back to a lovely room with two bats flying around. Yes, I did just say bats. At first I was freaking out then I just got used to the fact that I would have to deal. Then it just became funny. I'm getting pretty used to roughing it now!

The next day, we woke up had breakfast right on the ocean, read our books, took a long walk and met new friends. Watching the world cup was a good gathering place to make friends but it was unfortunate that we lost. At night a group of kids recruited us for a silly game which I was glad to have been a part of... even though it did involve me getting into a boat by myself and singing for an awkward period of time. We played with the bar owner whose name was Randy, and there was no chance of forgetting his name because his hat spelled it out in big block letters. Lots of fun... there were some crazy dance parties in the rain that night too.

Today we chilled again on the beach. It was so beautiful out and watching dogs frolic together and horses trot by was great. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure the hot black sand has reached every orifice of my body at this point and let me tell you, I have never been so happy to come back to a sandless and lizardless shower to get clean.

We have 13 new people now, a very diverse and great group. They are here for a week all working on the same project. Tomorrow will be another interesting day. Until then, much love. XO Carolyn

Hot Springs?

The days seem to be going by faster and faster I even forgot to blog yesterday. It's possible that I might be going a 2-3 days without writing because I just get so tired at night.

Yesterday was the beginning of the change for the better at my placement. I played go fish, listened to music and played an English/Spanish card game. I also fed people, folded gauze and helped clear trays. I have this one lady that always tries to take care of me like a patient it's so cute! The past two days she has tried to take me to physical therapy. I have stopped by every day now to say hey to Olivia and now all of the people in physical therapy know me. The world cup is so huge here like I have mentioned before so everyone stops to fold gauze to act like they are doing something but just sit in front of the tv to watch. I wasted just enough time doing that to watch the US score the winning goal! I also really like the male nurses that work there. We swapped music and I translated their English songs into Spanish. They got a kick out of that. I think my translations were accurate or they are going to have a really skewed view of American music haha.

Our afternoon activity yesterday was salsa dancing. We started out with really simple moves that we were bored with, but once we combined them and put it to music it was a little trickier. Eric was my dance partner and I told him in the next few weeks we have to bust out our moves in a club or something. I also went to the gym to get a membership. It's so nice except for the fact they don't use air conditioning... and for those who know me well that's a bit of a problem for how much I sweat! It could be worse. ;)

At night Erin, Eric and and I went and saw Toy Story 3 in 3D. The line took forever! It was half price in 3D last night. Such a fun experience especially because the movie was in English with Spanish subtitles. I recommend it to anyone for sure.

Today, my day at the hospital was even better! Probably the best day yet. Of course, I started out with feeding people/clearing trays for breakfast, then I painted nails, played with clay, played Go Fish and that Spanish English game again. I'm getting a lot better at painting other people's nails ... not that painting nails is a terribly important quality to possess but hey, at least I'm getting good at something! There is a lady names Chonita, a nickname that means Carebear, and I just love her. When we were playing with clay she made these elaborate figures of a swan, pelican and I think a giraffe too. I was sitting next to her with an evil turtle-ish frog mess. She's such a sweetie with a great sense of humor. She is still not all there but I think has the highest cognitive abilities of most the patients.

Our afternoon was spent at the hot springs. It was great!...Except we didn't actually play in the hot springs but rather this cloudy crowded pool that we assumed was part of the hot springs but in fact was not. At the end we saw where you were supposed to go to chill in the hot springs little hot tubs. Oh well. We had a fun picnic before too watching the monkeys in their cages, the roaming peacocks and playing like kids on the jungle gym for over an hour. I also successfully avoided getting stung by bees! There were tons of them there.

Tonight was the last night we got to spend with Olivia. She leaves on Saturday to go back home and then back to her real home in Switzerland. I really don't want her to leave!! :(.. We had dinner at Tacocontento and came back for multiple rounds of catch phrase. Erin and I lost to Olivia and Eric. BOooo.

Tomorrow we go to our placements, then we will watch the World Cup with Olivia and bid her farewell. (ugh I hate goodbyes!!) Finally Erin, Eric and I will partake in our next adventure to the Pacific Coast for the black sand beach. It should be a good time. More on Sunday when we get back from our adventure. Until then, much love. XO Carolyn

kids! eat your tor-tillas

Everyone is getting sick around here! Ah! Thank god I am not sick. I went to my placement today and was extremely bored. It was slightly painful. Sonia, a lady that works for CCS came and saved the day for me though. She came at about 11 and walked me around showing me different activities that I should do with the patients using the materials that CCS supplies. Tomorrow I plan on painting some nails, playing dominos and coloring. I'm going to change the day to day life of these people because they spend the majority of the day sitting alone all day. It's so sad. Sonia suggested that I have a day where I take them all to the church inside of the hospital because they love it. I am happy to know I am allowed to do these things. I'm almost mad for not thinking of these things myself but I am still trying to adapt to this new place and feel out how the staff is dealing with an american volunteer.

After volunteering, Olivia and I went to drop off our laundry, go to the pharmacy and ATM. We had a cooking class where we made chicharones inside of tortillas. Olivia and Erin made queso inside of them because they don't eat pork but that didn't matter because they all just ended up tasting like tortillas anyway because we made them too thick. Oops! Erin and i also made a fabulous tortilla man out of dough that we named Fred. That made the ladies laugh pretty hard.

During the afternoon we went on a little shopping expedition to the market behind the big cathedral. It was underground and reminded me so much of Chinatown in NYC. So many of the stores had the same things and I ended up buying a hand crafted halter top shirt that looks a lot like Free People and a gift for my parents. Olivia got two hand made hammocks for 40 quetsales which is like five dollars! Pretty good bargain I'd say.


Tonight we have been playing a lot of Sporkle, which is basically a trivia game online that can range anywhere from pop culture to geography and educational games. That ate up a lot of our time. Now we are all going to bed and looking very forward to tomorrow! Until then, much love. XO Carolyn

The Pass out

Today was fairly uneventful. In my placement today, I began by feeding a new lady, one that didn't have teeth, yet could see but didn't even make noises as to what she wants. A bit frustrating. After that I wandered the halls trying to find something to make my time worthy but mainly ended up just chatting and watching some of the world cup. A lady today told me she loved me and another lady told me the one sentence in English she knew over and over. I heard a lady balling hysterically and when I couldn't make sense of what she was saying I just pulled out a picture of Scarlet and she stopped crying for a while. Maybe if I would have shown her Ollie and Leo she would have been done crying for good. Finally, towards the end of my placement an nurse was a little frantic and asked me if I was a doctor and that I needed to come with her. I followed her to see Olivia laying down on a hospital chair with like 10 doctors and nurse hovering over her. Apparently she had fainted for probably not having a sufficient diet and not enough water. She had called for me so that I could translate which was a great idea because they wanted to examine her and draw blood but she was absolutely fine and just needed to eat. While we were waiting to leave, an american looking guy in scrubs introduced himself as the trauma surgeon of the hospital and said he would like to take us out to dinner and show us around Guatemala. When he spoke fluently in English I was very relieved. I think we might take him up on the offer.

After the placement, we went to some cathedrals. I'm learning a lot about the Catholic religion here and seeing many cool figurines. It was okay, interesting but not one of my favorites. Tomorrow I'm planning on going to the gym and then we have salsa lessons!! woo!! Until tomorrow, much love. XO Carolyn

Welcome to the jungle

Olivia and I officially survived our first traveling adventure by ourselves outside of Guatemala City. After a fun day at the hospital where I french braided some hair and had some wonderful conversations, Olivia and got a taxi, then boarded the bus to the town of Flores. Oh, and we also celebrated Don Luis's (a guard) birthday with a real pinata and some cake! So much fun.--> But anyway, we were told that the bus would provide blankets and pillows but that proved to be false... I was about as cold as I was on top of a ski lift in Colorado during a snow storm. Maybe that's a bit dramatic, but I was a resourceful drama queen. I was wearing capri sweat pants, a tank with a cardigan and by the end of the trip I had unpacked my whole backpack by putting gym shorts around my ankles to cover the skin, two t-shirts on, my long skirt over my sweats, two t-shirts as shawls, and then my toiletry bag with shorts over it as a pillow. I actually slept after that haha. It was tricky getting out of my seat to use that bathroom that was basically a bowl with everyone else's pee in it. Yeah, pretty gross.

Finally when we arrived at Flores we wandered around the whole Island until a local walked us to los Amigos, the famous hostile we had been hearing about. When you walk inside the hostile there was a faint hint of incense in the air, legit jungle there was no ceiling but a covering for the TVish room where there were tons of hammocks, and also a roof for the dining/bar area and certain dorms. There was actually a dorm full of hammocks! Literally, a row of hammocks right next to each other. The bathrooms and showers were all communal and directly next to the dining area with no door closing it off. A parrot hung out above the dining room table in a giant cage. There was also a pet bunny roaming, two dogs, a cat and a ton of gekos and bugs. We ended up staying in a dorm area which was identical to a small fraternity sleeping dorm because all guys were in it but us. Mostly all from Israel too. I seemed to be the only one who thought that was a bit abnormal. But by the end I didn't want to leave and sleeping in the racks with dudes (my own bed of course!) and chillin in the jungle atmosphere was so normal.


On Friday we hung out at los Amigos and watched a lot of the world cup with some gorgeous British men. We couldn't really go out and explore because of the rain but I was pretty happy to be confined in that space watching some soccer. The food there was phenomenal! It was a veggie place which was awesome for Olivia because she is a vegan so she had many options to choose from which is a rare occurrence in Guatemala. Later, we met some other people and went walking around the lake. We thought it would be a good idea to head back before dark, so we sat in the living room to have a few drinks. We met some drunk creepers and I knew they were drunk because a guy kept telling me I looked so Cuban. hmmm.. gingers in cuba? The lady across from us was very nice, she was from Norway and said traveling was as addictive as breathing. The guy didn't seem to care for that comparison because in a sense, it really isn't accurate. That somehow led to him talking about how pooping is a natural high and just made everyone really uncomfortable. I still have a second grader sense of humor sometimes so I was the only one laughing.

The next day we woke up at 4:30 AM for our tour of Tikal. The bus took an hour an a half to get there where we got off and began our journey through the jungle into some of the greatest history I have ever heard about the Mayans. Our tour guide's name was Cesar and after everything he would be like, "yeah, you know maaaan." or " shit man. youu knowww what I mean??" Or my personal favorite, "Pardon my language guys, but F* these guys were smart." Very enthusiastic. There were 6 temples that were built and the tops of them aligned with the stars of the big dipper. They were very into celestial things. In front of some of the temples were circular slabs of limestone where they would make sacrifices to the gods. These sacrifices had to involve blood and often times they were people. The vertical upright slabs next to them once had the leaders carved into them and hieroglyphs. We climbed all of them temples and saw a ton of wildlife including tarantulas, spider monkeys, tucans, weird turkeys and interesting birds. The trees were even interesting because they thought the roots were going into the underworld and that the branches connected to the celestial beings. The temples were solid inside and really only served a purpose of power for the rulers.

After the tour, we went zip lining through the jungle with the new friends we made, Thea, (from Utah) Shauo (U.K.) and Stein (Belgium). We had 8 zip lines and I went superman style a few times which was badass. One of the zip lines went over the road and into the jungle which was crazy beautiful. A funny story from the way back, a man next to me who obviously spoke only spanish not saying a word to me just handed me his cell phone. I figured he wanted me to translate something in english, but no. The guy on the other line was his son in law who just wanted to chat so we talked for about five minutes with the general get to know you questions. Then I just handed back the phone to the guy next to me and he didn't say another word to me for the remainder of the trip. Possibly the most random encounter ever. Gotta love it.

Finally when we got back to the hostile, we showered got something to eat and shopped a bit. We even played Jenga at the table with Shou for a bit which was kind of funny because everyone else was engrossed in their intellectual activities but there we were playing Jenga in the middle of a sophisticated hostile. Good times. Our bus left at 9 and thankfully was not as cold. This guy in front of us kept turning around periodically to stare and I just wanted to ask what he wanted but opted to fall asleep and have crazy dreams about not getting off on the right stop which almost happened. About 8 hours later, thank god for Olivia who was paying attention we got off and home safely!

I'm really starting to feeling like this home base is my home and it has only been a week. After traveling for the weekend I feel really comforted to be here with familiar faces again. It shocked me how many people I met that are traveling for a month or year at a time by themselves going from place to place alone! It's a lot more common for people in Europe to take a gap year after college or after high school . I think it's an interesting concept but I feel like traveling for a summer is enough for me.

Now we are just hangin out rehashing the trip and sleeping because tiny bus seats that barely recline aren't the most luxurious sleeping accommodations. We are planning to go to Antigua during the day later to shop in the markets. Olivia has to leave Saturday :(. A new group of 13 kids will be coming this weekend and are staying a weeks a change of pace will be in the near future. So until tomorrow, love and miss you all! XO Carolyn

A fake celebration

Each day here is so different from the last. I love it that I can always expect a new adventure!

In the hospital, I was sooo bored. After I finished feeding the eyeless lady again, I had nothing to do.I helped make a few beds and I actually requested to fold gauze while the world cup was on so I could watch it. Unfortunately the game ended 20 minutes into my folding and a soap opera came on that I couldn't really hear. I started to feel like I was part of a Chinese person because the chair and table were so small and I was doing the same task over and over. I folded that damn gauze for two hours.

Finally when my back started to kill me (I had done pilates the night before with Olivia too), I got up and found my go-to chat gal. She led me all around the hospital telling me things about the different parts and what they were for. I brought my pictures of friends and family and soon I had a crowd gathered around that were obsessed with the pictures of my pets and the size of my brother and dad. That sounds dumb but I am already like a foot and a half taller than these people so someone that is over 6 feet is like Hulk huge.

It's weird at the Women's ward. I always ask to help with tasks and they tell me they don't need it. Virginia said to expect that and to just start helping. I am going to try this for another week after tomorrow and if they are still refusing my help I'm going to ask to switch. It's pretty painful at this point trying so hard to help.

This afternoon we traveled to Antigua for a Mayan wedding. I forgot to mention in the last posts that we are now with two other girls, Brooke and Erin. So the five of us plus Don Luis (driver), Virginia and her daughter ventured to a new city. Once we got there we found it was only a demonstration of the wedding and Eric was the husband, Brooke the wife and Olivia was the mother of the groom. The outfits they made them wear were the traditional clothing of the Mayans. The ritual of the wedding was pretty sweet too because there were many traditions. One of them was the bride had to give bread to the husband and his family and had to weave the mother-in-law a cloak thing. The groom had to have the wedding reception at his place, and if the woman didn't cook for him the night after the wedding she couldn't sleep in the same bed. Talk about incentive... haha.
So we even acted out the reception dancing to Marimba with each other in goofy Mayan attire. Afterwards, we shopped around and made tortillas out back.
That totally reminded me of the field trip we took at Lewis and Clark where we had to go to that farm place and observe how people used to live and churn butter with the people that pretended it was the 1800s. I remember we were strongly encouraged to pet goats and pigs. There weren't any goats and pigs to pet here because mostly the goats were just roaming so we didn't know where they were to pet them. There are so many stray dogs here too its pretty sad. I just want to adopt them all.

The trip back from Antigua was twice as long as it was supposed to be. Our plan was to go out for dinner and drinks but instead we bonded inside of our big creeper van and going to Pollo Companero. OH AND LISTEN! The first Happy Meal made by Mc Donalds was created in Guatemala!! They needed it because the kids couldn't eat all of the big meal and the moms were tired of cutting up the burgers while traveling so they made a smaller meal that was easy to transport. Cool, Right?!

So tomorrow, I go to my placement and then we have a surprise place for the afternoon. Eric and I plan to get our gym memberships and then Olivia and I have a 10 hour bus ride to Tikal! So excited for that. We want to climb the temples, swim in the lake and meet all the cool people at the Amigos hostile. More gringos wooo! I have to get some rest. More on Sunday when I return. So uhh wish me safety! hah. xox Carolyn

A new feeling

Today was my second day at my placement. It was very different than yesterday. I began by feeding those that were unable to feed themselves. Most of the severely disabled people were blind. One lady did not even have eye balls, just sockets. It really scared me at first but as the day went on I began to just really appreciate the life I live and that I was really helping to make a difference in the lives of others there.

After I finished feeding people, I helped make beds. There were some Dora Explorer blankets on beds of the elderly. I found that a bit comical. One of the nurses became my friend, and when we finished we just sat on the beds and chatted. We talked about the differences between America and here and she already asked me for my home address to write to me when I leave. Soon the patients near joined in on our conversation. One lady kept telling me to be very careful in the streets because an attractive American girl can be a target. I felt very flattered yet a little scared again because there cannot be enough reminders about the dangers of this city. It's crazy that kids from the ROTC were supposed to be here but the embassy said it was going to be too dangerous. So too dangerous for the Army, but ok for the randos like me I guess.

I chatted with a lady that I understood about 20 words of what she said. She was talking about religion and just started singing to me. It was a nice distraction from the extremely loud noise coming from the roof where they were cleaning off the ash from the volcano. Another good distraction was the world cup playing in another lady's room. I'm really getting into this soccer culture.
When I left, the lady that had been warning me about the city said she would be there waiting for me to talk every day. She has been in the hospital her entire life.

I have finally quit feeling sad, but happy that I can bring a new experience to a mundane lifestyle. I think when I finally become an RN I want to come back and contribute more.

On a lighter note, we saw the National Palace and toured a Cathedral. The national palace was beautiful! There were so many rooms and these gorgeous chandeliers. My favorite thing was this statue of two left hands in a grasp with a rose in the middle. It signified that it meant close to the heart because your heart is on the left side. The murals of Mayans battling the Spaniards were pretty intriguing. The Cathedral was alright but we already took our own little tour on Sunday. After our tours our driver and guide took us out for ice cream.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I think my day will mostly consist of conversation which I love....even if it is in a different language ha. Until then! much love. xo Carolyn

La Gringa

I have to mention that it's very confusing going to bed and waking up in the morning. There is actually a rooster that wakes us up but yet the noises of city buses and parrots. Its like I'm in a rainforest, the city and on a farm all at the same time. This combo = Guatemala City.
Today we woke up around 7 and left at 8 for our placements. Olivia and I went to the same hospital but different parts. She went to the physical therapy part and I went to the women's ward. It was like being in the nursing home last summer but I saw things that were 100 x worse. It didn't bother me too much because I had done some of my clinical hours for CNA school in some of the worst homes in the inner city and I'm glad I had that experience before I came here. However, not all was bad. The lady that I was pretty much shadowing was a nun as well as the head nurse and gave me a tour of the hospital introducing me to all of the doctors and supervisors. Then we sat down in the Nun's room with a cup of this like hot banana liquid. It sounds so nasty but it was delicious! We talked about lots of things, our family, our interests and medical things. It amazed me how she could just get up leave all of the patients whenever she felt like it. They didn't seem to be neglected, there were lots of nursing doing a very good job.
After our banana drink, we came back and folded some gauze. In America our cotton balls, gauze and basic materials come prepared for us. While we were folding, these nurses started making a big fuss about something and at first I thought something was terribly wrong and got worried. It ended up being the nun's birthday!! haha. We had fruit cake and Coke. It was tasty... yet I began to really notice that they didn't really seem to understand my position in the hospital yet and were clearly making fun of the la gringa (me, the foreigner). Finally sona antonio (head nurse and nun) described what I was doing there. She said I spoke enough spanish but they still continued to make fun of me and one said she wanted to learn english and I told her, "Puedo ensenarle!" which means, I can teach you. She proceeded to get up on a chair and act like a stripper. Really? Again? The stereotype of slutty Americans is pretty bad. I swear I'm not giving off a vibe. Khakis, blue conservative tee, and a SATCHEL worse than the fanny pack. Whatever. I hope to improve my spanish fast to be able to talk in big groups.
This afternoon we went to a museum that had different pieces from the mayan culture all the way back from 9,000 years ago! So many interesting things. The culture changed a lot after the Spanish conquered the Mayans by converting their religion. And by force. My favorite thing was the replica of TItlan with all of the pyramids and it showed how they were constructed. After the tour of the museum was over, we went to a station to make some of our own Mayan replicas out of clay. I felt like a kid that had been handed a wad of Playdough for the first time. I just used a template and molded it onto a square piece of clay and called it my art for the day. Good thing I wasn't a Mayan some thousands of years ago I would have been useless. haha.
Soccer was fun again today. I'm improving with my soccer as much as my Spanish! Henry taught me a way to pass by kicking it backwards. I still think I'm going to join a gym here because it rains a lot and I just need to run.
Olivia, Eric and I have decided to go to Lake Tikal for the weekend. That trip entails a 10 hour bus ride, staying in a cool hostel and climbing some Mayan temples. I'm looking very forward to that after a long week working hard in the the hospital. I hope everyone is doing well at home! Miss you all. xo Carolyn

day of fun!

WOW. What a day!! I'm sitting here completely drenched in sweat because I just played 3 hours of soccer on a basketball court with our guard Henry, Oliva and Eric. It was an absolute blast. I scored about six goals and probably have about six blisters haha.

Earlier, we had orientation which was just more of the same information from yesterday. Basically I have to go in there and take the initiative based on what I see needs to be done. I am SO GLAD I know spanish! I wish I was more fluent though. It's all part of the learning experience.

After orientation we meandered to the ATM which we actually walked right by yesterday and didn't notice. From there, we walked over a large bridge that went over the traffic to a little supermarket. On the way, Eric heard a guy say to Olivia and me, "Cuanto cuesta por un hora?" ... translates to how much do you cost for an hour. Virginia warned us that men think women from America will sleep with anyone. Seriously? I'm in a knee length skirt, my waterproof Jesus shoes and a conservative white tee with a FANNY PACK. That pretty much screams you're not getting any.

We ate some lunch, and watched the world cup with Henry. We waited for the rain to stop until our next adventure to the cathedral which was huge and very amazing. The market was close by and they had demonstrations with large groups gathered around the presenter. We were the ONLY non Guatemalans in that entire place.

The last adventure we had was soccer as I mentioned earlier. Henry took us to a basketball court and invited some amigos. I have to say that was the most running I have done since about March because of having mono. I had to sit down but I was so dizzy that I couldn't even think of the sentence in Spanish I wanted to say so I just stuck to some hand gestures. I don't think I'm going to need to worry about getting a work out in here to say the least if we can keep this up.

Another funny thing about this place is that there is a talking parrot outside the house that can say a few words like hola and names of the workers. He bit Olivia earlier so not the sweetest guy but maybe we will grow on him haha.

Tomorrow will be fun. Its the first day at my placement and we are going to a museum in the afternoon and then more soccer!! or futbol. I'm lovin it. Until tomorrow!! <3>

Splashed

This is now going to be a bit of a group blog... with my new friends olivia and eric because we are the only three people in this house right now with nothing to do since it is now dark.

My first flight I flew with my cousin Elizabeth.. Then Olivia and I had the same flight going from Houston along with Anne Goodman who was headed to Antigua in Guatemala. It was mostly pain free, no delays, limited crying babies and our bags came on time! Francisco and Eric were there waiting for us so that we were abducted by someone pretending to know us. Francisco only spoke Spanish, so we were forced to brush up... or start learning for Olivia haha. Oh and Brian, we are all listening to 1980 right now thanks to you.

We were shown to our rooms by Virginia, a welcoming host. She sat us down to have a chat about some cultural differences directing us what to do and not to do. Certain gestures here mean f* you that we never would have known. Very important. Another peculiar thing was one of Virginia's first questions was if Eric was Jewish. She said that people like to call it how it is. We thought it was offensive to just call someone fat or by what their skin color is. In this culture it is very different. Also, she advised us to never claim to be atheist. That would never be a problem for any of us but apparently that provokes the highest form of negative judgement.

Our next step was to find some quetzales, aka Guate money, but got lost with spanish directions and ended up wandering to find the gym and eating at Tacontento. Wonderful food! The beverages were almost as costly as the food. That was one of subtle cultural differences we are beginning to notice. Tomorrow we have orientation at 10 and after we have the rest of the day to explore! In the meantime, we will be bonding... maybe over some youtube videos. :). Until later, the Guate cast.

Preparing

It's the day before I leave. I'm more excited than anything but I would be lying to you if I didn't say that the sinkhole, volcano erupting and the 4 severed heads found in Guatemala City were not in the back of my mind. Don't let that scare you either, I'm going to be in a very safe place and believe it or not I HAVE common sense ;).

I found out this week that I will be working in a Hospital in the mornings and have the afternoons free. The weekends are also free and I plan to do a lot of sight seeing because Guatemala is such a beautiful and interesting country. I know I've never been there to be saying this but Wikipedia has me sold!

Anyway, I'm going to focus the rest of this day making sure I am not forgetting anything. That would be so tragic if I got down there and forgot something like noise reduction headphones. Really, how would I live? Just kidding. In the next post there will be more exciting information. Promise. LOVE, Carolyn

ps. for dad: This will not always be grammatically correct.