I-Lean

Recently I read up on the updates that Blogger has released for the 2011 year. Somewhere in my reading, I found some tips for how to keep readers reading. It mentioned to make your posts short, funny and full of pictures. So I am going to try to tell you about the less detailed, hysterical events that happened throughout the time with my mom and then when the internet decides to cooperate I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story. My mom got here two weeks ago today and we have since been swimming in the Pacific Ocean, boating in Lake Atitlan, strolling through the streets of Antigua, and playing in 3A. Here are a few highlights from the Semana Santa vacation:

1. The Beach: Aubrey, her parents, my mom and myself took a shuttle to Antigua, then another one to the beach, got there and took some pretty incredible naps. Aubrey found a dead crab, Tom roasted cashews over an open fire, my mom hurt her knee while playing in the waves, and we were all sung to sleep with the sounds of torrential rain. Tom's friends from home, Diane and Tyler, were visiting and they were certainly delightful people. We tried our best to convince Diane to accompany us to the lake but alas, she needed to continue her travels with her husband.

Family!

The view from our dock

2. The Lake: We rented a house at the lake and it turned out to be a wonderful idea. Despite the small oven explosion (who has ovens with pilot lights anymore?), a few instances of scorpions in the house, and a couple nights of downpour, we all thoroughly enjoyed our time at the lake. We went to a village called San Marcos and met a 12-year-old named Darwin who led us to a 10m platform in the middle of the rock surrounding the lake and Darwin, Aubrey's dad, my mom and myself all jumped off. That was probably the coolest part of the trip, besides when we nearly burnt the house down.

Riding in the back of pickup trucks of course

My mom jumping off stuff

3. Antigua: After all the talk we heard about the processions in Antigua, we were pretty much all chomping at the bit to see them with our own eyes. They did not disappoint. There were thousands of people that lined the streets of Antigua to see hundreds of faithful followers carry the 40 foot processions throughout the city, all while walking on "carpets" made of painted sawdust. It was unreal. The somberness of the scenes that walked by made even the busiest of cities seem quieter than a hybrid car. Watching the processions took up most of our Antigua time but we still managed to go for a hike, take a trip to the market, eat at some amazing restaurants, and spend some quality time at the Earthlodge (a gold star to our parents for enjoying (or at least pretending to enjoy!) walking through the woods to get to a cabin with three beds and no outdoor lighting).

Alfombra de aserrín

Earthlodge view 

4. School: Miss Eileen was a hit. Are you surprised? Of course not. She taught a lesson about digestion and how to keep your system running smoothly (sparked by this question from a kiddo, "Why do I sometimes have diarrhea?"), read magazines about puppies with a bunch of giggly girls, helped students figure out how to put data into graph form, helped me organize the binder of copies I had stupidly left unorganized all school year, and brought my students a ton of new and exciting books to read. It was super nice to have her with me at school and it was also super weird. My mom had never seen me teach before so I thought I would have been a little nervous but luckily she seemed to like what was going on in my classroom and helped boost my confidence with some kind words. A mother of one of my students even came to school on Friday to bring a cake and gifts to wish my mom farewell. She told us that her son came home everyday last week telling his parents new things about Miss Eileen. "Mom, she is so smart! She help me with all the answers!" and "Mom, Miss Eileen reads all the time! She reads more than any person I ever see!" ;)

Q & A

"Rock Chalk Jayhawks!"

5. Last day: Today was my mom's last day in Guatemala and we made sure we filled it to the extreme. My dear friend Juan Pablo kindly offered to take my mom on a tour of Guatemala City since so many visitors have such a negative view of the capital. We went to the old train station museum, walked around the Central Plaza in the central zone in the city, went to the first all-vegetarian restaurant in all of Guatemala, and saw some local artist's exhibits. After a quick trip to the Guatemalan version of "Bed, Bath and Beyond" to get me a new bedspread, we went home, changed our clothes, packed a bag, and went to climb Volcan Pacaya with two friends from school, Mike and Andrea. Pacaya, if you recall, was the volcano that erupted last spring. It was quite the adventure walking on ash-like ground, roasting marshmallows over an open flame, and trying to shoo away the stray dogs that followed us all the way up probably because they also wanted a volcano-roasted marshmallow. We got home before 9, packed a bit, watched an episode of House, and went to sleep.

Awkward photo at the old train station museum

Just hanging out on a Volcano, nbd

Miss Eileen is on her way back to the good ol' USA as I type and though I am feeling incredibly lonely and missing her dearly, I am so thankful she took the time to explore Guatemala (oh, and come visit me too, I guess). I was so impressed with her willingness to try new things, her flexibility when things didn't go according to plan, and her new found love for a new region of the world. I wish we could have done more things but I am certain she will come back next year, we just need to figure out when. My mom is writing her own take on her experience here and when it is complete I will publish it too. It may have some of the same events but I am looking forward to seeing her perspective.


Thanks, Mom... for everything.