Friday, October 1, 2010

Time for a better me! can i quit the CIGS?!?!?

India Arie sang "GET IT TOGETHER, YOU GOTTA HEAL YOUR BODY"...and thats what im hoping to do.
Homegirl's got some confidence, I love my family, friends, PC experience, hair, body, nails, LOVE IT ALL. I embrace my talents, writing, singing, and dancing....but one thing i HATE about myself is I am a smoker...and have been for about 5 years now...WOW.
So come monday morning, October 4th...i'm going cold turkey style and HOPE i live through it. Cold Turkey is the absolute only way this is gonna happen. Senior yr of college i was on that prescription medicine "Chantix" which believe since has been recalled...however i quit for 11 weeks...at the expense of my sanity, being a turbo bitch, and unbelievable nausea. One cig on a carride from Umass to boston...ur girl was back to a pack a day in 3 days.
Why I love cigs ( don't think I'm crazy)
1. I love smoke going in and out of my lungs..don't hate on that THATS REAL
2. I love a 5 minute break in my day whenever i want.
3. Love cigs with coffee ( and driving but thats not an issue here)
4. Love cigs after food.
wow, is that it? LAME & not worth it!
Why I Hate Cigs
1. THEYVE BEEN TAKING MY MONEY FROM ME FOR FIVE YEARS.
2. I can imagine how much easier my hikes thru the mountains to get to my schools would be without black ass lungs.
3.I feel like a hypocrite here as a peace corps volunteer teaching the importance of Health to children and having a  secret smokefest everyday in my house.
4. I have ZERO control over my addiction!
5. It disappoints my family and the majority of my friends.
6. There is a great pic of my parents and I from Shannon&Aaron'swedding that I RUINED with a cig in my hand. ( a more specific one, but u know...)
7. Smelling like cigs instead of Britney Spears Perfume.

Well there it is the old "pros and cons" list and cons wins. that's pretty simple.
 I'm hoping by making a public announcement about this it will really make me do it! But I'm terrified. People who don't smoke will never understand what a gigantic life-change quitting cigs is...and im scared of what my body is about to go thru.
I talked to the PC nurses in February and they gave me Anti Anxiety medication to quit cigs, they also give u terrible nightmares ...i still have them but that whole medication thing creeps me out. i've always been more of an herbalist.... and NOT like that...ish.
Now, this story isn't why i decided to make this decision but it certainly is an "incident" that could have been avoided without cigs in my life.. when i was home I went to church the last sunday I was there. I didn't smoke at all that morning cuz the last thing i wanted to do was go to church smelling like cigs. My church family is a huge part of my life and i had been waiting 8 months to see them. As i walked in I was greated with open arms by about 8 women hugging me and welcoming me back home. For some reason (maybe cigs maybe not) i couldnt clear my throat, and i went to hug one woman and she did that thing where they hug you and dont let u go and she didnt say welcome home, nice to see you..NOTHING. she said " you have to quit smoking." I was just shocked and my emotions flipped so fast i left church crying and my whole morning was ruined. no she shouldnt have said that, been in my business or whatever, but without cigs in my life it would have been a great morning of praise & worship and fellowship. awful, and im ASHAMED!
Here is the Erykah Badu Jam "that hump" that i will be looking to for strength and inspiration...altho it is clear she is talking about "dope"...it doesn't matter addiction is addiction.
MY FEARS ARE...
1. Weight gain
2. Going Crazy with idle time
3. Being a turbo bitch
4. having no one around me
5. headaches
6. irritability
Altho im looking forward to a more balanced budget and a healthy bod!
I hope when monday comes this isnt all talk and i have the strength to do this.....Phillipians 4:13!!!!

Friday, September 24, 2010

For the Love of a Brother...

I'm about to be emotional and dramatic but brent knows thats how i do it. I just wanted to take sometime and show some love to a brother, my friend Brent. we're not positive but it looks like brent is facing a premature end to his peace corps volunteer service here in Guatemala. I'm not gonna bitch and complain about why he may be  goin home (done enough of that, amen) I'm just gonna take a moment to celebrate  my friendship with Brent, his friendships with everyone.. and his peace corps experience...
 When I think about you here, brother, i think of your friendships with your San Luis girls =) the only boy holding it down in his training town and the friendships you formed together with Claire, Kristin, and Lauren. Look  at you guys on Swear-in Day! Proud of you!
Our friendship is special to me because you understand what it means to be "DOPE". can i get an Amen?! you always had a good answer for my constant question to you, "hey, what's it like to be SO DOPE?" one time i believe you answered, "i don't know, you tell me" i giggled a little like a school girl. I call you brother, you call me sister, its a special thing...you might even say its dope....everytime we're together its daps, its hugs, its compliments, its awesome. I remember singing my song before swear in, and i wanna say you teared up a little bit...you may deny it if you'd like...you may. when i sang the lyrics..."sisters i can share my heart, and brothers Lord for me to love..." i was talking about YOU!

My fav training memory would have to be your kareoke performance with the ladies! held it downnnnn, my brother! another one would be the night you walked "camioneta rode" betty back to las carretas...details to be spared..LOL! good times...drinking in the hotel in tecpan...where my debut of the single ladies dance surfaced, and you were right there with that little video gagdet thing...SCRATCH THE KAREOKE THING (not in a bad way) but i give my favorite memory to GANGSTAS PARADISE!!!...."i live the life BAD GIRL what can i say?! " lol and can't forget playing soccer in PARRAMOS with the whole crew...its where i discovered i was a fly-ass soccer player and ran around trying to impress you and the other boys...lol
i also think of your BROTHERHOOD with Evan and Winfrey, u Alta boys r just the dopest out there. Theyve had your back  like crazy through this whole ordeal and i look forward to seeing what life has instore for you boys as ur friendships grow in the future!
I don't know much about your life as a healthy schools volunteer because STUPID site placement has put the distance between us, but i know what a hard worker you are and i can only IMAGINE how special you are to the kids. I know you got heart and you got passion, heard you were putting together 3 kitchens this month! i remember how you stepped up to take that Alta spot, i remember for me i couldnt do phase 1 cuz i wanted a partner so bad, but you knew this was YOUR pc experience, and you knew what you wanted...god brotha, u really do got it all!
Please understand this post is no sort of "despedida" its just to celebrate our friendship and our time together, u know me i love to show love. also to make a promise to you that NO MATTER WHAT comes to us in the future, we will ALWAYS be friends. Friendship is THE most important thing in my life and ive always been the type of girl to put an effort in to keep it fresh and keep it thriving. how DO you get a CALI boy to Boston...simple. be the dopest pcv's of all time. AMEN. 
Now I'll wrap it up with some lauryn hill lyrics for the admin...."u might win some but u just lost one, when its all done, wht did u really gain from what  u gon done...It's so silly..HOW COME?!?!?" love u brother!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

cats, boyfriends, bops, to brent (& indep. day!)

1. I TOOK IN A STRAY CAT! this is her to the upper-left with the botched haircut i gave her, but you don't understand she is an absolute mess. she needed it. her name is MRS. MARIA LOU COOPER. she was here the first day i moved in but she freaked me out, she had this plastic collar like thing around her neck and also around her right arm. i just wanted her to go away because it had caused a hugeee cut under her arm and on the back of her neck. she would always come around at night, and about a week ago, i got a hold of her and cut off the collar thing. next day i gave her milk, and shes been around ever since. i tried to take her to the vet, but the "vet" here is a guy who sells dog food..he gave me this purple antibacterial stuff he said would dry out her cut but i dont think he understands how bad her cut is...poor maria! or maybe i just dont know how to explain it well in spanish...but i dont think thats it. she eats cat food now, like a total pig but she looks like she is starting to gain weight. she is legitamately starving...but it looks like shell be around for good...she sleeps outside my bedroom (NOT allowed inside) on a folded towel or on this notebook as seen above, lol when i get paid next week im gonna try to get the vet to give her stitches, if he wont im gonna shove her in a box and take her to xela where REAL doctors reside...MRS. MARIA LOU COOPER!

2. Independence Day! on September 15th, Guatemala celebrated 189 years free of Espan~a! this was a great experience to be a part of , celebrations started last monday. i went to one of my schools where i marched in a parade with the kids, waving the bandera proud! the kids had a band for the parade, and each grade k-6 had performances prepared. Guatemala is so rich in culture, the children dressed up in traditional clothes and did dances and sand, read poems etc... it was AMAZING! Here is a picture of the first graders dancing, not only is their clothing tradional, but its specific to the town where i leave in, red skirt and white blouse is representative of Cabrican, Quetzaltenango.


3.Desfile! which means parade, on Tuesday, celebrations continued with the basico schools which means highschool. they led a parade through the town, led actually by the mayor (alcalde). my PCVL (PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER LEADER)  was in town as well to see her fiance, so we watched it together with my man too (i'll get into that). This parade had quite a few bands and different kinds of dancers, repreentation from bilingual schools ( i dont mean english, i mean MAM, the indigenous language spoken here )...SUCH A FUN MORNING! Guate! Guate! Guatemala!

4. Erick Lopez y Lopez- also known as my Guatemalan Boyfriend, or actually just my boyfriend. I never thought when i left for the PC this would happen, but having a relationship in another language, with a man from another culture has been probably my most cherished experience here. we met in April, playing soccer which by the way he is DOPE at, he asked me to go on a date everytime i saw him for like a month b4 i said yes. CREEPY PIC OF HIM. lol now that i think about it ive been with him now for 6 months, WOW that creeps me out. we broke up for a little while because its so hard to develop our relationship when we both know there is no future. well there is according to him if i want to stay in Guatemala for the rest of my life which i just absolutely wonttt do. I always say theres nothing i wont do for my man, but i guess staying here is the limit. but i still want to be with him while im here but hes afraid of being too heartbroken to recover from that, THE BROTHA LOVES ME! to say the least.

He works his ass off. He has two greenhouses, one of which he built this summer and he harvest tomatoes, onions, brocolli and something else i cant remember. he is the youngest of 10 kids, omg, and he is the only one not married...i feel kinda pressured by this fact, also the fact that the last volunteer to be in my site is engaged to a guatemalan who lives here. erick and i are both friends with him so i think in his mind thats a possibility for us because THEY are doing it. he treats me like a princess, more than ive ever been before and i appreciate how hard he works, how much he loves his family and we have THE BEST LIFE TALKS, but i wonder if he would ever truly understand WHO I AM, who i am with my friends, my family, or my life in the united states. i try to explain to him my plans for when i get home and he supports me but i dont think he UNDERSTANDS what it is to be a pcv, and what it means for your future, also a reason i would never stay here...but hey..here is a pic of me in his greenhouse back in may! i love him, but in a different way ive ever loved b4, its just nice to have someone in the lonely life of a peace corps volunteer, AMEN. plus, he fulfills my 3 requirements of a man in my life....calls me "mamita", lets me sit on his lap, and listens to music with me.

5. Xela. Just went to Xela this weekend to hang out with my friends and wear cute clothes. i havent seen anyone since reconnect at the end of july. Leah's bf was here from the states..we love john! most of the crew was there, missin serg for sure! but GOD can we drink when were together, were not drunks, we just don drink at all in site, well i cant speak for everyone, but i dont. (ps erick doesnt drink) stayed at the black cat, and bopped all around xela all night. we went to this bar "rumba" and im still crackin up cuz they cleared the dance floor for these brothas to put on a little performance and my friend javi had to physically hold me back from rushin the floor and takin over , lol.  thats how i do it. good times all around.

6. Standfast. STANDING FAST I SAY! the week after i got back from the states, the pc put us in a standfast which means we are not to move from our sites, or wherever we are for that matter. totally spent my time dancing to usher and nelly! i was stuck in site, its crazy cuz they just sent u a text message that basically controls your moves. i wasnt even able to visit my schools because i have to hike there and it was too dangerous. the reason for the standfast was heavy rains all over the country, causing mudslides on the highways and that type of stuff, i believe about 50 deaths resulted from the mudslides...so sad. but this is why pc takes standing fast really serious. it turns out my really good friend and a dope brother, brent, was caught out of site by the pc administration. as i understand it he was in full contact with the administration by calling out of site and with the safety and security coordinator. the brother knows he broke the rules, and he understands, however the decision has been sent to the washington office to decide whether brent stays a pcv or not..which is rediculous to me. we have "non-negotiable" rules, which CAN get you kicked out of pc, drugs and riding on a motorcycle, for example, but the rule he broke was not a non-negotiable, so he should be charged vacation days, NADA MAS! he is an amazing volunteer with a servant heart and we'd be devastated to see him go! LOVE YOU BRENT! here is a pic of me and him livin it up and loving eachother during training! dammit i think i'm covering his dope tattoo on his wrist <3
7. Healthy schools. Im feeling a little frustrated with my program at the moment, i just have so many schools with specific needs, and the school year is about to come to a close. thats alright tho because when school is out its actually a good time to plan and implement some projects. I'll be looking seriously for some funding in the next couple of weeks.FOCUS TIME! THIS IS FOR THE KIDS! AMEN! check out this BEAUTY!

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Mother Nature Devastates Guatemala...Again =(

Though I love to share my great experiences, triumphs, and the daily wonderment of the Peace Corps with you through my blog, My heart is too heavy this week. Guatemala has been devastated by Mother Nature yet again the past few days and over the weekend.
MudSlide buries a bus, killing atleast 12 people =(
Back In May, we were hit with Tropical Storm Agatha, who's rain, floods, mudslides and even that crazy sinkhole I'm sure you all remember, left 165 people dead.  This week the terrential rain has caused floods and crazy mudslides about the country. It really is so scary, The picture of the bus buried in the mud is a international highway which we all ride quite frequently.
 According to the LA Times i just read on a friend's facebook post, the death toll has reached about 45, and around 100 more are presumed missing. Official say "Hope is Fading" to find any survivors trapped in the mud.


Mourners grieve their loved ones
Can you imagine the heartbreak? look at these people mourn their loved one, this picture makes me cry everytime i look at it. Their Pain is just tangible.
rescue workers work to retrieve those left trapped in mudslides
President Alvaro Colom has declared a  State of Emergency and a National Day of Mourning. We as Volunteers are all safe. I am definately safe here in Cabrican, Quetzaltenango, we are in a "standfast" which means we are not to move from our sites, or wherever we are around the country at this point. Some people were out of site when the Standfast was implemented and are stuck wherever they were. It's not so bad to be stuck in site, I can get alot of work done. Although, I talked to my Project Specialist today and she said i was only to be visiting schools in my immediate area, cuz i have to travel on foot up the mountains sometimesand we would obviously rather be safe than sorry...Over the weekend, rescue efforts had to be called off, as the rains continued to fall, endangering the luives of the rescue workers.. but resumed again on I believe, Monday.
"People are waiting for the recovery of the bodies of their friends, family, fatehrs, sons. Really, iut has been a tragic week for our country"
 President Colom said on National Radio.
Flooding damage caused by terrential rain
The worst it has been in 60 years, Guatemala's rainy season 2010, has claimed the life of 236 people. Please pray for the families and friends of the victims, also keep in mind floods are destroying homes and businesses as well. Pray for warmth and shelter for all the people of Guatemala and the continued safetly of us Volunteers and PC staff

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Keepin House In Guate

 washing a fleece in the pila..
Keepin house in Guate was a major adjustment, or as I like to look at it, a triumph. My biggest triumph i would say was learning how to wash my clothes by hand, lots o trial and error there. my host family gave me a mandatory lesson one day when they saw me givin it a shot, pretty embarassing. My host mom was like " you just dont want to break your nails" and i was like " youre absolutely right, how do i do this without bustin up the un~as?!?" NOT EASILY is the answer. My method goes like this, I soak my clothes in boiling water and powder detergent for like 2 hours or until the water is cold, then head out to the pila and scrub them with a special soap shaped like a ball. Each peice has to be done individually and scrubbed against the cement. It reminds me of that scene in the Little Mermaid where the old fat ladies are gossiping about Ariel and scrubbing the clothes that Sabastian was secretly hiding in. Ok Maybe Not...but whatever. If You knew me pre-peace corps, you know I take lots of pride in my clothes, mosty because theyre rocawear and victorias secret and i love them and worked hard to get them..but theyre not fending too well against the cement, its really doin a number on em. So sad. Eight Months or so into the PC, I think Ive mastered it, my friends from home are all in competition over being the best housewife, i wish these skills could be entered in the contest lol. Of Course no washer- no dryer, but ive always liked to dry my clothes in the fresh air..just like mama. lately it has sucked cuz it legit has not stopped raining, or ill have them almost dry and doze off and find them in the middle of a monsoon...WORLDS MOST ANNOYING THING.
my fav trinket, dries skivs and socks so fast...wal-mart find

c
I thought I had escaped the wrath of the bucket bath when i moved into my new place but that was nothing but a falsehood. Yes My new house has running water which i am thankful for, and wonderful for washing dishes and clothes.... However, the hotwater is connected directly to the electricity so in order to get hot water the pressure is a mere drip, so back to the bucket baths. Ive gotten used to them tho.
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Damn Bucket Bath, slash me wping my tears and
 pouting over my short hair

Thursday, August 12, 2010

What awaits for me back home....

ALesiaLaura es la rubia, y Diana parece como yo..jaja  
Ever have 439875 emotions at once? that's me right now, well actually that's always me I'm a drama queen. I like to blame it on the fact I was born the night Aries becomes Taurus, maybe that's why theres so many sides to me?! I dig. Can't believe I'm heading home for a visit. I'm already overwhelmed...it's gonna be amazing but im scared of everything...culture shock..like will i freak out in the carride from the airport in my parents' new whip? tal vez, tal vez...here are Diana  and Laura, you jealous fools! my sissies! I think Diana might have to work the night of my arrival which sure as hell is all good with me, she works at THE GAP, its a pub, not the world wide sweatshop corporacion i worked for for 7 years..lol..anyways they serve this BOMB ASS Hawaiian chicken sandwich with bacon Ive been dreaming about for approximately 3 months. It's funny cuz my old pet peeve used to be 2 animals in one sandwich but look at that! i got the HELL over that! I'm not getting in from the Airport til 10pm on thursday, but for me it'll only be 8..yayy! On friday, us sissies plus Val ( thats mama) are going to get our pedis and manis...spoiled I am.. Nana would be proud of me, i take excellent care of my nails...she was always a stickler about that..but hey 7 months in the PC and not a day without nailpolish! I think that's a big deal, my mom thinks Im a diva..which I am but whatever. Diana is the MOH in Shannon and Aaron's wedding and the rehearsal dinner is Friday night. It'll be the first time Ive seen them, AND their daughter Jaiden, omg my NOOSH! I used to babysit Noosh 4 days a week...she is my little angel. I get to talk to her once in a while when I call Shannon to talk about her being a bride. Jaiden say "gayycie, gayycie, Imma go to school!" haha SO PROUD! Shannon's gonna make a BEAUTIFUL BRIDE OMG! It was supposed to be a surprise that i was going home for her wedding and it was til about 3 months ago... I didnt want to bombard a bride on her special day, come on now.lol. The wedding is Saturday night, I can't wait..There's a surprise! Itll be the first time i get to see some of my best friends like meg, kyle, and of course THE BROTHERS! I hope everyone comes in increments, other wise I'll be too overwhelmed to function..WHAT THE HELL AM I GOING TO WEAR? Hopefully I can fit into some of Laura's pretty dresses but I dont know if Ive lost THAT much weight..she is eensy. I'm looking forward to the delicious meal...I'm gonna have to shut off the game and FOCUS. Ive been thinking about it forever...haha i sound like a fatty dreaming about al this food, but you would too! ALl i know is Im gonna tear up the dance floor todo el noche!
Jaiden!
On Sunday, my closest friends from all over are coming for a cookout at my house! My family, my aunts and uncles and Gramma, cousins etc will come early afternoon for some quality time, then the friends will come.
Holly's Bday ( faltan Angela who i think is chungin the pic and Paige, she is carrie bradshaw in NYC)
The girls are crazy, but theyre my best friends...oh and theyre effing GORGEOUS! Holly is the bffl..Ive been really good about calling her on the reg. I've been good at calling meg too the other girls understand im on a pc budget and i make sure to call them al on their bdays! Were a unique group of friends, I really believe we have soomething special. We go thru life together and support eachother no matter what. Before I left, they gave me the most INCREDIBLE gift- they made me a scrapbook of our favorite memories...so i cried, that was with the help of rum and coke's but i still cried like a babe. I was bummin cuz i missed Holly's 25th bday...cant believe it, we're so old. I think for like the past 5 years Holly has had some sort of TIKI party bday celebration, haha i remember last year i wound up in french maid lingerie and sweatpants hahaaha..sounds about right!
Hot-brother sandwich, Matt's Bday Dinner last November!
If all goes as planned Matt and Mike will be heading to the airport for the big showdown! I met Matt in Summer '07 in Salamanca, Spain when we were 'studying' ...the first night we met I took this "cannibus" shot, i think it was Absynth, Im not sure, when all was said and done matt had to carry me home thru the PLaza Mayor and around the city. Of course I was wearing  a shirt as a dress that wound up over my head many times over the course of the trail home...we have been best friends ever since. So god bless life because turns out Matt has his cousin Mike who shortly thereafter entered my life and now we're best friends too... Oh, and he'll forever stay in the top 5 dopest brothers of all time. He's not movin. Probably my fav spot in the world would be right smack between the two of them. They have an apartment in Quincy that I used to bombard all the time in the states. I wrote MATT a song before i left ...changed to tune of "Dangerously in Love" by destiny's child and made it all about our friendship...it was a TOTAL hit! I called him last week to get the deets on our friends' wedding, and matt says "I effing lost my RAY-BANS" I was like I think throughout the course of our friendship, you've told me that sentence atleast 7 times...thats matt!
Holly and the Dogs the night before I left!
"WHOS DA BIG BOY? WHOSA MISSING THERE SISSY? SISSY GONN GIVE U DA BELLY RUBBB" thats me in my animal voice practicing to see my dogs! Truman, Newman, and blind Oscar..the people in Guatemala get a kick out of the fact that one of my dogs is named Oscar because usually every has atleast one member of their family named Oscar! jajaja Sometimes mom puts them on the phone and i talk to them but then we realized that we're insane and we stop. Im sure truman and newman will be excited to see me, im sure blindy wont be able to see me and try to bite me! "blind bastid" as my mom would say!
Abby and Robin!
Abby and Robin...Good Lord Abby and Robin. Robin was my roommate Sophomore year at UMASS, we lived in the penthouse of Kennedy. I would go to work and she would clean the room, we were married. Abby and I met working at Old Navy, and then we were roommates Senior year. If you havent had the pleasure of being with all three of us at the same time, get ready because we are three of the same person. We have the best life talks ever..mostly about the world, sometimes outer space, if we can handle it. The world blows their minds like it does mine so thats why we are perf friends. They moved down to ST John after we graduated and lived the island life...Abby is west indian, she lived their growing up..island baby! the last time i saw them was my birthday, 4-20, 2009. we went to all you can eat pasta buffet at pizza hut then i slept from 6 oclock thru the night haha. this reunion's gonna be intense...Robin informed me that she will be the starfish-shaped human on the ground trying to deal with her emotions! hhaha
Me Mom and Dad at my going away party!
Of course, I can't forget the most important people...MIS PADRES!... good ol Glenn and Val. I call them all the time, i think my mom answered the phone last week "WHAT THE HELLLLL DO YOU WANT!?" haha I am kinda annoying with that but oh well. its a lonely guatemalan world sometimes!   They are completely redo-ing the house which is exciting for them now that all 3 of us are out of the house, they're doing something for them! oh and they both bought new whips, and sold mine but im ok with it...she was good to me, the ol 'rolla.
MOM and HOLLY!
They'll be celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary this October and i'll of course be back in Guate! but WOW! they're still in love with eachother two and easy to tease...I called home last month and i was like 'mom what are you doing" her response-"I'm flirtin wit ya fathah, but the sonofabitch isnt payin any attention to me!" haha like mother like daughter ..for real! Cant wait to chill and have wine night by the fire with the fam and the dogs...me Val and Holly are FAMOUS for our wine nights! haha remember before Kyle got married she came over for wine night and my mom made her wear her wedding veil around the fire haha, that's my mom's veil, not kyle's haha!
Nana at Kendra wedding shower
nana and mom 1958
Well, alot has changed back home since my departure Jan5th, we lost Nana in the beginning of February, we miss her so much! Nana was so funny, last time i talked to her I was at home having a fire with mom and matt, and i was like "nana, i'm with matt, do you remember matt?" she proceeds to say "how the HELL could i forget THAT tall drink of water!?" haha Nana had the best attitude, and i mean "attitude"...so sassy! i obviously wasnt able to attend any of her services but i sent something to my mom via fb, (looove fb) to be read at the funeral. I believe she was 87, nana had 4 kids and my mom was the baby <3 como yo! nana lived to be a greatgrandmother! can you imagine such a life...we love you NANA! I can't believe you wont be there when I get home =( Nana loved strawberries, the birds, feeding the birds, people magazine ( as we all do) and boston creme donuts ..haha! 
We miss you Leesh!
We also lost our girl Alesia on may 16th, to a senseless boating accident. This just shook everybody's world. It was just shocking, holly had wrote on my wall there was bad news from dighton and i needed to call home but i didnt have any minutes, then i saw someone else status said "rip Alesia" and i knew instantly. oh man it was awful, but i'll tell you what..our dighton friends came together as a FAMILY and sopported eachother. I didnt know what to do really so I made an RIP group on fb where people could write notes to her and share their favorite memories, i think theres over 900 people in the group now, she touched everybody's lives. I also recorded a song i wrote for her on video and posted it on the page, i was having a hard time dealing with it and not being around my friends. the night of her wake my dad called me and the girls had gone over to my house to be with my parents and have a campfire, and we just talked about Alesia and remembered funny things from growin up like how she would get so mad at all of us cuz we thought her little brother was so hot, haha, and playing softball with her all those years...it was nice. Alesia was such a talented dancer, a love we shared <3
Hasta pronto NEWMAN!
 So yes, all emotions possible for this trip home! I cannot wait tho! Gonna spend some qt with Mary in Antigua the night before i go, and we prob will be visiting our friend "oscar' ha told ya....now do i tackle my mom at the airport? chances are ill be too emotional and just fall down and everyone will have to come to me! I'm into it, I'm into it... first stop, logan airport dunkin donuts!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

I'm jealous of my blogging friends...

Laura, you win. I guess i gotta start blogging about my experience here in Guatemala cuz sometimes the old "book" doesnt cut it. but dont get me wrong i love the book, i get made fun of all the time for being an fb creep, but whatever, its how i talk to my family so GET OVER IT EVERYONE. Kbye.
I'm actually starting this blog 8 days before i go home to the us for the first time, been in country now a little over 7 months. 7 months? thats crazy talk, its flying by and creepin at the same time.
Let me start with training, oh training...it was the funnest/hardest 3 months ever! it was fun because i met like 3 million new friends, well 44 actually but i love them all. we all got divided up into training towns based on our spanish level so we could take classes together, and LUCKILY, my girl mary and I stunk up the joint compared to everyone else, so we lived right near eachother and took our classes juntos. That's us in the pic at a mayan ceremony..and hey! thats patty throwin her desires en el fuego! hey patty!
This is all of us in Healthy schools, im the one in the dope cornrolls and my old body lol!
On the technical side training was kindofa bitch. we had classes almost every week day slash sometimes saturday for spanish and atleast once a week for our tech. program. Mine is Healthy Schools. The idea is we are trying to certify schools here by i guess the guatemalan board of health standards, also pc standards, and the requirements are 8-fold. Water 5 days a week for atleast 5 hours, atleast 8 faucets, atleast 2 lessons in health each week, clean kitchen, kids practice healthy habits i.e. brush theyre teach and wash their hands, a rincon de salud in every class (which is basically a fun corner with toothbrushes and soap), atleast 80% of the kids come to school with clean faces, hands, hair, clothes etc..and clean/functioning bathrooms. most of the time here that just means letrines but atleast its something, no wi find myself with schools who don't have anything and dig holes outside the classrooms =(
Here are some of the kids in an already certified school with their toothbrushes and guacales. (those little tubs) Those carrots behind them is their "rincon de salud" where they put their toothbrushes! GET CUTER THAN THEM. cuz you can't. As far as my projects go, im making some progress but its just so much sometimes. We work in pairs and my partner is Cliff, he drives me nuts but he's alright. I asked the Lord to teach me patience and hence...now i have cliff! haha He's hard to explain but if it helps, our training group is getting Tshirts made that say "God Dammit Cliff" on them..... Here we are at Swear-in Ceremony..lookin fly i might add.
So together, we have 35 schools, technically 33 because 2 of them are already certified. We live in the mountains of Cabrican, Quetzaltenango, and some of these schools are over 2 hours away on foot-thru the hills! but hey, ive lost almost 30 lbs here in Guate so I'll take it! we recently divided the schools in half so we can get be a little more efficient, we share one because its a creep-walk thru the woods for real. He took the schools the very furthest away because we decided he's more likely to look for the transportation and I'm more likely to get the workout and hike those bad boys. my 17 schools are all at totally different levels. I have some with water 24/7, but everyone lacks in healthy habits so there is still plenty of work to do in every school. I have 2 schools with legitmately nothing at all, i'm gonna make those my babies =) It's so sad, Los Hornos and El Cebollin, they dont have water, faucuets, bathrooms or a kitchen...can you imagine? the hard part is the communities they are a part of don't have water either so in order to get it to the school, We've gotta get it to the comminuty. It's just gonna be hard looking for that kind of funding, or the manpower to do these projects but OMG once their done..what a difference itll make! thats why I'm here right?
Seriously?
Since i've been in site, its been hard to see my friends considering we're all spread out over the country but we had a BOMBASS 3rd of july party. Full of great music, COOKOUT FOOD! and of course BEER! btw, i'd kill people for a sip of budlight...no such thing here in Guate...anyways...we spent the weekend in Antigua and just chilled, ok fine we drank like fish, but none of us drink insite so when we get together..simply look out...mom dont get mad im not the only one! So there was a talent show at the cookout and i simoply HAD to dance the Single Ladies dance!... I messed up the 1st chorus cuz i couldnt here the music over the wild crowd haha, but its true...here it is!!!!
I was a little nervous but not really, did a costume change and everything...could not NOT WEAR ROCAWEAR i mean please. I was surprised to know the administration would be watching because i mean lets face it, it can be a little provocative but afterwards Wendy came up to me with a huge compliment about getting the crowd going and that i was talented! so i was floating for the rest of the night...maybe i'm still floating? I stayed in the outfit for the after party to pretend im beyonce for alittle longer...dont hate.

THE TWISTED SISTERS!
Leah is also really important in my life here. Shes the queen of everything, especially spanish. The brothers gave Leah, Mary and I the nickname of "the twisted sisters" which by the way is the best thing ive ever heard...it's probably because we do things like go out for the night in matching shirts....

I think the biggest changes in my life since ive been here would have to be..the constant use of public transportation..Theyre called camionetas but really they are old american school buses painted fun colors. legit use them everyday, all day. I miss driving. Probably my diet too, kinda had to teach myself to cook which has been fun, i call my dinners "food victories' lol. In my site i don't eat much meat, actually none. I simply can't handle it if i want a chicken i have to go buy it from a lady with a stand who sells whole chickens with their heads and feet cut off to order. NO. In training our teacher took us to the market to practice spanish and she made me buy half a chicken and i gagged in the ladies face and couldnt do it. And beef is just a gross set up too, they just got the cow all sorts of cut up hanging on hooks, but dont worry they'll keep the hooves and head right on the counter if you'd like that too. Now i know this happens all over the world even in America but its the in-my-face part I can't take. BUCKET BATHS OMG! well i just last week moved into my very own house yayy! I've been living with a host family since ive been here but the biggest excitement is RUNNING HOT WATER! Everyday i would heat up water in a bucket to take a shower-ish type thing. Easy from now on, easy from now on. My host family was a little upset that i chose to move out, it's a cultural thing, they simply cannot wrap their heads around a young woman wanting to live alone-it IS an american thing, i often forget, you know that whole independent woman thing. But that's simply who I am. Its so much better, but i mean living with a family was a blessing in my first family there was Wilson, "mi novio" or my boyfriend..GOD I MISS HIM!
Here he is dressed up as Moses for Feria!

In my new host family, there was a 2 yr old girl, i called her Guapa, too ashamed to admit to myself i had lived their too long to ask about her real name..haha but everyone called her "nena, or mami" so i wasnt the only one. She was born with a birthdefect in her hips and legs so for the first 3 months i lived there, she was ina full body cast from her toes to her armpits...omg the poor thing! but those are off now, after she got them off, two days later she fell and had to be back in them for another 3 weeks..UN BELIEVABLE, but she was so good with it, still a happy little girl! here she is!


Guapa's BDay!

Well thats it for now I guess... I'm gonna keep up witht he blog I swaer..it'll be easier now that ive condensed the last 7 months...poco a poquito now! ps im really proud of myself for my progress in spanish... maybe if there was a "most improved" trophy, I'd get it...just a thought Peace Corps...just a thought..nos vemos!