Santa Maria

Today we hiked up Santa Maria, the volcano right next to Xela...took a total of 8 hours. Nice, long, steep hike, the view was amazing. Pictures to come soon. Got up at 5:40 to meet at 6 to get up there, had some car complications, didn't start hiking until 7am. It was a beautiful day. It doesn't rain here anymore so the whole way up it was clear and sunny but still cool. Most of the way we were covered by the trees too. What sucks is all the trash the whole way up. It's not that bad the higher you get, but then again on the peak there is trash and graffiti everywhere. Sucks since it's so beautiful. The crew today was: Jill, Ruchi, Jacobo, Eric, Steve, Liz (our coordinator), Hugo (Liz's fiance), and Hugo's 2 friends, and I. The rest of the Somos crew was at home sick...something happened on Thanksgiving that got most all the group sick and others who ate Thanksgiving; though now to think about it the family here didn't get sick. Pretty strange since all the food was cooked in the oven or vegis boiled...who knows. So, now I'm sitting in my bed, sore and tired as all hell. We saw all of Xela, the ocean (we think), Pacaya and it erupted (the other active volcano we hiked), the volcano at the lake, and the volcano next to Santa Maria that's active...and it erupted too. It was neat to see the chain of volcanos, with one side there was land and the other side there was a sea of clouds. Now I'm waiting on pizza, delivery. Good day.

Thanksgivvvvvvvving!

So we're here today cooking for turkey day! We're having a potluck style thanksgiving, since there are like over 20 people going to be here. They don't have sweet potaotes here, they have something that resembles them though, camotes, that I'm using to cook sweet potaotes! So excited, already done half of it and with enough sugar and nuts, tastes like home. We're making everything including chocolate truffles and pies! Should be great. Hope you all are having a great turkey day, I'm thankful you read my blog...ha ha, thankful you love me enough to read it, and thankful you're in my life in general. You're great. Enjoy the dayyyy and drink enough wine! Love you!

Life

I got tricked. So I thought you could just go to the baptism...but we went to the whole mass..2 hours long! Then like 15 minutes later there was the baptism...so I could've gone just to the baptism. It was all interesting though since I've never been to a baptism and not to church since I was really young with a friend's family. It was fun. That evening we got to meet the founders of Somos Hermanos, Joe and Elise, they were really nice and asked us all sorts of questions about our experience so they can better the next groups. We're back to full-time class, it's pretty great. We're going to change our teachers every week this time rather than every 2 weeks like in the beginning. The weathers great now, hot and beautiful during the day but freezing at night...so much better than rain, and I don't lose umbrellas anymore! Wooo! Well, movie time! Adios!

Baptism

Today there is the baptism of the 1 year old here, Sophie...they're going all out. I guess I've never been to a baptism in the states so I don't know how to compare but it's a huge deal here. After the baptism at 12, there is a party all day in the backyard...they've got tons of balloons set up all over, tables, tents, loud Disney music in Spanish, cakes, and other decorations. Lunch is supposed to be great. I guess I'm going to go to the baptism, why not. The creators of Somos Hermanos are here too so we'll be meeting them today. I want to ask them why they picked me and if I can see the recommendation letters people wrote someday. Anyway, so that's my Sunday.

Semuc Pics

Check out also in Amy's Picassa album pics from Semuc Champey! And, if you want to read better writing about things that have happened here, check out Greg's blog: myguat.blogspot.com.

El Salvador

El Salvador

El Salvador was great and exhausting. Each day we had like 3 different meetings for 9 days. We learned a lot about the war there, heard the two different political parties speak (ARENA and FMLN), USAID meeting in the US Embassy, went to Romero, La Loma, Cinquera, Comasaguas all really poor communities where we stayed the night at Comasagua (no water or electricity) and Cinquera, heard other various organizations speak about immigration, women's rights, ate too many pupusas, etc...all in Spanish, visited the level 3 public hospital where I saw a dead person, bowling, to the mall a few times, Jesuit Vigil, tie dyed, went to the beach El Zonte, meeting with Jesuit and saw museum and rose garden where 8 were killed, 2 tremors. Each day we got up at like 7 and didn't get home until after dinner. It was pretty cool though cause we had a tour guide that picked us up in our Mercedes bus each day...such a treat! She, Cristy, was a great tour guide, really nice, knew a lot and was really passionate. I'm going to tell about everything individually...so...let me tell you a little about the war...really basic...the people wanted more rights, the government didn't want them to have them, 80,000 people were tortured, raped, and killed after Arch Bishop Romero was killed in 1980 (he's their hero) and it lasted until 1992 when the Peace Accords were signed. The US, under Reagan, fearing the takeovers seen in Cuba and Nicaragua because of Communism, financed the war on the guerrillas...$1M a day to basically slaughter people. In 1989 the killings of 6 Jesuit priests and 2 others shocked the international community into action, we saw the pictures and locations at the University of Central America where they were killed. Really gory pics. We heard the stories from people who survived the war. The election coming up in January is the first ever because ARENA has been in power for at least 20 years and now FMLN (basically the guerrilas from the war), have their own party and are trying to get office. The ARENA party still thinks they're communists, that's what they told us in the meeting. Between 20-30% of their GDP comes from remittences from workers in US. When you get into San Salvador...you're pretty much in the US...kinda, they have US food chains everywhere, 4 crazy nice malls, 2 of which are directly funded by drug money, nice roads, no trash, nice cars everywhere. Basically a false economy since they don't have one...money comes from remittances but then is re-spent on companies from the US. So, the communities we went to...Romero was a community with no electricity or water, living in shacks made of metal scraps and wood, listened to them talk about how they fought to get the land they live on, though their spanish was really mumbled so it was hard to understand most of the time. Next we went to Cinquera where we stay the night with a homestay. We hiked to a lookout and waterfall (lame waterfall and lookout compared to what we've seen), listened to a man speak about his experience in the war in their community, and how he's seen so many people's dead tortured bodies. The homestay was interesting...2 sisters, equally preggers, Gma slept on the floor, ceiling basically made of spiders in their webs, random dog under my bed, kittens under Jills, a lovebird in the smallest cage ever, rooster that sounded like it was dieing all night. Jill, Amy, and I showered together...more like stood in a cement enclosure scooping water onto ourselves, freezing in the night while a chicken sat above us in a tree...chickens climb trees. Of course the toliets here were all holes in the ground, expected. The family also didn't talk to us at all...just showed us our beds and went about their business. Comasagua was the next community we went to and stayed the night...this place had been helped out a lot by some Canadians as well as CIS (the organization we went through for all the tours) so their houses were really nice and sturdy in comparison, though they still didn't have water or electricity in their homes, just in the community center. This community was the prettiest one I've been to though cause it was situated on a hillside (super windy and dusty was the only problem), facing the ocean...the sunset was amazing that night. There were a lot of flowers and bushes, it seemed like the people actually cared about their surroundings where as usually the communities are covered in trash. Amy and I slept in a house with 2 brothers...it was so windy and cold that night, and we were unprepared so we didn't really sleep so good. The day we were there we took a trip to a community that makes tye dye from indigo...so we went there an learned how to make it...only blue and white...bought a scarf. Next we went to La Loma...1 drive in the back of a pickup and 30min walk to get there...closer to the ocean than Comasagua. We didn't stay the night there but chatted a bit with the leader of the community, gave the kids a pinata, toured their land...then off to El Zonte, the beach! God I was waiting forever to get to the beach in El Salvador to surf! The beach was probably one of the most beautiful I've been to. Perfect waves, perfect temperature, black sparkly sand, nice flowers and trees, and no one around. There were a few nice houses on the cliffs...which, I'd love to be mine one day. We stayed in a hotel there, complete with cockroaches, but good food at the restaurant and great view. Spent the whole day surfing ($15 for a longboard) and playing in the waves...burning my skin to oblivion because I was having so much fun I didn't get out of the water to re-apply...now my face is peeling. Awesome sunset. So, yes, we went bowling, it was so much fun, it was after the day at the beach and I was exhausted but it was fun...haven't been bowling in so long; no bowling alleys here. We got 30 minutes at one of the malls once, and all went bonkers...I thought just Jill and I were shopping but most of the group came out with at least one shirt, in 30 minutes, SPEED SHOPPING! God that made me miss the US, shopping with friends/sister and mom! Pupusas are the traditional food there, basically 2 tortillas sandwiched together with beans and stinky cheese...we ate them entirely too much. Felt two tremors, one I was outside standing on the street and the world started moving....it's the weirdest experience ever. Then again during the meeting with ARENA. Makes me feel so woozy. I'm bored of blogging....questions?!

ALive

Made it to San Salvador, El Salvador...were really busy so far, tell you about it tomorrow maybe...but Im alive! Love you!