The Beach and Some Advice

Hey, everyone!

This week's post is an opportunity for me to boast... Basically, we made it out to the beach this past weekend. If you've ever been to the beach, there's not much to tell, but I have pictures! Also, I will include a few things that I suggest for people preparing to come to Guate!

While I understand it is around thirty-five degrees in Spring Arbor with the threat of snow, we enjoyed a nice day at the beach in Monterrico! The drive was around two hours through beautiful roads and small pueblos. The beach at Monterrico has very large waves and is notorious for having a very strong rip tide that threatens to pull swimmers out farther into the water if they are not careful! So we kept close to each other and frequently did head counts. Aside from suits full of sand and a few scraped knees, all are safe and well! A few of the stronger waves took me by surprise and I was thrown around pretty well! All in all, the swimming experience was very enjoyable!

Oh, and there were baby sea turtles that had been rescued!

Our restaurant.

This was my lunch, a dish called "Ceviche." This is shrimp cooked in lime acid and added to salsa. Delicious!

The sand may not have been white, but the setting was comparable to what you may see in a magazine!

On one occasion, when Corey and I were swimming, after coming up from a particularly large wave, we emerged to the sounds of our friends screaming at us to get out of the water. Slightly scared, with the images of Great Whites in our heads, we quickly made our way to the beach. We then learned that a small group of Manta Rays were swimming near us. We watched them for the next few minutes, only able to get a good look there was a clear wave about to break. Everyone is safe, however. (I'm not exactly sure about the level of danger involved with coming into contact with Manta Rays. Also, we were not sure if they were Mantas or Stingrays.) This was a great example of how watching out for each other is a great practice.

So what can you do to get ready for coming to Guatemala? I will give you some things that I have learned and wish I would have known before. Obviously, you should be given packing instructions and general instruction. The following are some suggestions that may not be put on any list or be addressed in any meeting.

First: Pack light. If your family and friends are anything like mine, they all want you to bring them back something. Some of the cool things in the market are not light! My strategy was to get together with a friend and only take one and a half suitcases of stuff. I concealed a large canvas duffel bag in the bottom of one of the suitcases. This worked well, as now we each have two suitcases for out things on the way home. As this was a good idea, I wish I would have packed even lighter. I'm an over-packer and like to have the things I need. There is really something to be said for being prepared, but, having experienced the situation full hand, I can tell you I have a half full suitcase full of unused items under my bed. Leave behind what you don't need!
One way of making sure you don't have too many clothes is to weigh them. Each week, La Unión gives us 3-6 pounds of laundry and the laundromat for free. Assuming that this practice will not change, you could do some math... If you do not plan on using the internet cafe that the school works with (there are plenty of cafes that have internet for free if you buy a coffee), the school will give you six pounds of laundry free. So, figure out how many articles of clothing represents six pounds of laundry and pack accordingly. Obviously, lighter clothes are better. As the climate is quite warm, lighter clothes are a plus in that way, as well. Also, each pound of clothing at the laundromat is around five qutezals (just under a dollar).

Second: Flexibility is key. As in any trip, foreign or domestic, ability to respond well to unexpected situations and changes in schedule is vital. No matter how organized the planner of the trip is, how far ahead reservations are made, or how solidly plans are confirmed, there will always be times when a little grace and understanding will be required from everyone. Sometimes plans change quickly, and having a flexible attitude is important. Your food will also be provided by your host families. They cook it themselves and I feel that openness to new foods and maybe even foods that you are not too find of is important and respectful.

Third: Bring more money than you think you will need, if possible. This is a specific way that you can be flexible. I'm not suggesting that you buy more expensive meals or anything like that. There will be situations and activities that are not on the itinerary that you may want to participate in. For example, we will be going on a weekend trip through a travel agency here in Antigua. The cost for this trip will be out of pocket. It is a good idea to bring money for such activities. Many such trips are available here and relatively inexpensive. Taking advantage of them is advisable. Also, make sure you bring enough for souvenirs.

Fourth: Get used to the idea of not flushing toilet paper. That's it.

Fifth: Immersion is a choice. Prepare mentally for immersing in the culture if immersion is something you desire. I especially advise that those hoping to learn the language while here actively seek out situations that will require speaking frequently. I thought that I would arrive and have no choice but to speak Spanish all the time. This was not the case for two reasons. First, Antigua is a tourist town and many people speak English for one reason or another. Many locals may see you as a chance to practice their English! Second, I am living with four English speakers. I love my roommates and I would not have my living situation any other way. However, this means that I have to look for opportunities to practice the language and learn the Guatemalan customs and culture. Before I started my internship, I realized that I was only speaking Spanish during class. That was not cutting it for me. I find that going to certain cafes and making friends is a good way to get some practice in. If an internship is a desire and option for you, it is a great way to speak Spanish frequently. Basically, go out as much as possible. It is all too easy to sit in the house and chalk it up as a night to rest. As the end of my time in Guatemala nears, it is becoming all too clear to me how valuable each night and opportunity is. For many, this will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Make the most of it! Immerse yourself as much as possible!

If you have any more questions about hos to prepare for your trip (even if not to Guatemala), don't hesitate to comment or shoot me an email.

Everything is going well and the time is passing all too quickly! This weekend was great and filled with lots of fun. We celebrated Thanksgiving today and had a very large meal at our professors house. After this, a few friends and I went to play some basketball for the first time since arriving. When we got there, there was already a game going on. The guys playing were happy to include us in their game and, thankfully, I didn't make an idiot of myself (I expected to have to shake off the rust.). This was a cool opportunity to talk to locals and hang out with them under no pretense of learning, touring, or being a foreigner in general (Well, I'm sure they knew I was a foreigner, but it was not as important while playing a sport.). We only have a couple more weeks here and I'm trying my best to keep busy and make the most of them! I am becoming very excited for seeing my friends and family at home, as I make plans for the holidays. (Oh my gosh, it's the holidays!) I did listen to the first round of Christmas music the other night. Time is flying!

Sadly, my pictures of TG dinner were not extensive, but this gem did make it out.

If you haven't already visited the Gilman website, take a look!

Work and play!

Hey, everyone! This week's post is a deeper look into my internship, as well as a few photos of our zip-lining trip. I'm hoping that you all are doing well and not getting too cold as the semester goes on. While you all are probably turning the heat up and getting out the winter clothes boxes, I am still in The Land of Eternal Spring and wearing t-shirts daily! I'm looking forward to the shock of going from the mild climate of Guatemala to the harsh cold of Michigan in the matter of a day. I can't say that I miss the snow, but it will be good to see it! All right, let's get to it!

This week, I would like to tell you all about my internship and a little about how one might prepare for doing an internship abroad.
I work for a jewelry shop and factory named La Casa del Jade which specializes in Jade, a semi precious stone that can be found in mines close to Antigua. There are two different kinds of jade: Nephrite and Jadeite. These are two different minerals. Jadeite is the more rare and can only be found in a few countries. As Guatemala is one of the countries in which Jadeite can be found, La Casa del Jade fabricates and sells pieces that feature this beautiful stone. The use and popularity of jade in Guatemala can be traced all the way back the Mayans. Royalty would wear the hard stone as jewelry, use it for dental work, and form statues and masks out of it. If you are interested in seeing some more information on jade, you can go to La Casa del Jade's information site or do a Google search of Jadeite jade. The site is under construction, as well, but is very informative.
There are many jade companies and shops in Antigua. As it is very special to Antigua and Guatemala, jade makes for a good product to sell tourists.
I got connected to LCDJ through the director of our language school, La Unión. I am working for the head of marketing and doing a lot of work in that area. My day-to-day responsibilities include things like writing advertisements, advising on English wording and translating, doing general office work (stuffing envelopes etc), attending marketing meetings, writing reports, and forming marketing project plan proposals. I have also performed many other tasks to learn and help the company that I am interning at. Ideally, a good internship is mutually beneficial, and I am trying to make sure that the work I am doing is very beneficial to the company. I am making sure that I learn a lot, as well.
I like the environment of my job very well. There are many fine people that I work with, and it is a pleasure to share their company every day. My two closest "compañeros de trabajo" are my supervisor, Silvia, and the woman who works as the secretary of sales, Carmelita. Carmelita works in my office. Or perhaps it is more fair to say that I work in hers. La Casa del Jade is under major construction at the moment and this has forced a large part of the assembly process into the offices. for this reason, many workers have needed to share offices. All the workers are very good natured about this and the transition is going smoothly. Recently, a few of the sales rooms have been completed and the store is beginning to look much bigger, as it had been reduced to two small show areas.
LCDJ is located in a lovely building in Antigua named "El Jaulón." This large building, once the home of a Spanish man who took over Antigua, is home to a few different companies such as restaurants and stores of various kinds.
I typically work four and a half hours per day. I am earning four credit hours for this internship, and forty hours of time working equals one hour of credit. As my internship started a little late in the semester, I opted to work a half hour more than originally planned per day so that I could finish more quickly. Thankfully, my company was very flexible with my hours!
So there is tip number one! Try to have a good idea of what company you will be interning at before you head out on the trip. In my case, the company that Paul (our faculty living here in Guatemala) had lined up for me fell through. This could not be avoided. As the trip is rather new to the school, Paul did not have a backup company and elicited the help of the director of the school, who helped us get in contact with LCDJ. Tip number two: Be flexible. I was not expecting to be working marketing in a jewelry store, but, as it related well to my area of study, I had no complaints accepting the internship.
Working at the shop also gives me a great opportunity to speak Spanish, as most of the workers are natives. Tip number three: Brush up on the language! An internship in a foreign country can be a great learning experience, good for your resume, and a lot of fun. Knowing the language well is important to making the best of your opportunity. A few of my friends are working at a hotel here in Antigua for their internship. As they do not speak the language, it is sometimes difficult for them to communicate and learning is a bit slower.
I will be keeping you up to date on my internship in the future!

This display has some great representations of real pieces found in archeological digs.

One of the newly renovated show rooms in the shop.

This is my work station in the office! Cozy...

This weekend we had the opportunity to do a zip-lining trip! We drove out to a large coffee farm near Antigua and ascended a mountain on the property in a very large off-road truck. There were two options: take two very long lines from the top of the mountain down to the bottom, or take a series of five shorter lines. Out group opted for the five short lines and we started our descent, line by line! I'll let the pictures do the rest of the telling!

This was one of two HUGE trucks that came to Antigua to pick us up. Also the one that brought us up a VERY steep mountain.

Here's our good buddy Corey making his descent!

So, for a general update, I am doing very well! This weekend was very relaxing, as Friday night and Saturday morning were spent relaxing and the rest of the weekend was spent with friends. I got most of my Christmas shopping done tonight and am glad to have that task off my plate.
Many of my friends are becoming homesick and very anxious to get back home. I, however, do not share, for the most part, their feelings. I am very excited to be home and see family and friends, but am more sad, at this point, at the thought of leaving this beautiful country and my studies. I can't remember ever enjoying studying this much! So while my friends are starting their countdowns, I am reminding them: "Don't count down! It will only make the time go slower for you... and faster for me!" No one wins there. So I am trying not to think too much about it. Truth be told, however, we are getting down to the last few weeks here! It makes me sad, but I am also very excited to look back and see all the great experiences I have had (There are more to come, so watch for them!), and all I've learned. I'll keep you in the loop...

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Volcano Pacaya!

Hey, there, kids!

This week's post is a short account of my trip up Volcano Pacaya. Pacaya is one of the volcanoes in the area outside Antigua. It is a well-visited destination in the area and was a great experience. With all the volcanoes near our place of residence, it seemed a shame to not climb one of them! We did a bit of research and found the safest volcano, contacted a guide service that would guarantee a safe ascent, and scheduled our day of climbing! Saturday at six in the morning, we met up with our guide service and headed about two hours away from Antigua to the base of the volcano.

When we arrived at the base of Pacaya, we were offered climbing sticks and marshmallows to roast at the top, as there are natural heat vents that get quite warm. Another luxury that was offered at the bottom of the mountain was a "taxi." Although a taxi up a volcano seems nice, we can all see how this may be a little problematic. By "taxi," these fine gentlemen meant horses. Riding a horse up the volcano was an option that we all decided against. Although I have not quite been keeping my cardio in tip top shape, I decided to take the hike on foot.

The first ten minutes of the climb was, by far, the hardest for me. Between the altitude of the mountain and the steepness, my body had its work cut out for it in getting used to a new environment. After the first bit of the trip, my muscles warmed up and climbing became easier and easier. There were several dogs that followed us up the mountain looking for food and we also had the company of the men on horses, determined that someone would decide to reconsider their offer. Along the way, we were able to see many sights (see pictures) that became more amazing the higher we went.

When we reached the top, we were able to see many different towns and cities. Another noticeable change as we got higher was the ground on which we were walking. The earth changed from dirt to black porous volcanic rock. We were so high, that the fog obstructing our view turned out to be clouds. As we looked over to other mountains, we could see that we were at the same height as the clouds surrounding them.

This is the lake near Guatemala City.

On the other side of these three volcanoes is Antigua.

Unfortunately, we were not able to go all the way to the mouth of the volcano. Our guide informed us that there are areas where seemingly stable ground can collapse quite easily. Because of this, we were only able to view the top from a safe distance.

Steam coming out a natural vent.

Corey and I one of the vents.

This is what the path looked like on the last bit of our trip.

One of the hotter vents that accommodates the mallows!

Part of our experience, unfortunately, included an emergency that came in the form of a nasty spill into quite a porous rock! A young lady from Belgium, while running down a less-than-solid trail, fell down into a large sharp stone. In doing so, she cut her head a little bit and her knee a lot bit! As she was unable to walk, a stretcher was made out of the walking sticks that some of the group had rented and jackets. Our guide contacted help and an actual stretcher was brought a little later. The problem was that there was no way to get an ambulance up the mountain, and the girl was in too much pain to ride a horse. So we were asked to help carry her down the mountain. As the hike up took around an hour and half, we realized this may be quite difficult. Luckily our guide knew a short cut and we were able to make it down a bit more quickly. The quicker route, however, was a bit steeper and covered in rocks so that we had to basically slide down the mountain. All ended well, however, and everyone was safe by the end.

For a general update, I can just say that all is well! Work is going swimmingly and school even better! We have been enjoying the company of a couple of friends that came to visit from Michigan, as well! As the weeks go on, it seems like a clock started ticking my time here away. I feel quite anxious when I think about leaving Guatemala. I'm not looking forward to it. There are, however, many reasons I will love to get back home. It is a weird feeling, in general. That's all for now! Stay tuned for the next post. It will, most likely, be a little more informative...

By the way! Disclaimer: The trip to Volcano Pacaya was in no way sponsored or encouraged by Spring Arbor University or the Gilman Scholarship Program.

Hello, friends!

I hope this post finds you all in good health and spirits. The main purpose of this post is to share a bunch of pictures that I took in Tikal! Because there is not much I can say to convey how awesome the views were (and I won't have much space after posting all the pictures), I won't be writing too much. First, there was a very cool holiday recently that I will tell you guys a bit about!

On Tuesday, November 1, we had Día de los Muertos. This is a holiday that celebrates the lives of loved ones that have passed away. Many special traditions are practiced on this day. The first is that families will bring special gifts to the graves of loved ones. Gifts may include flowers, favorite foods or drinks, or a number of gifts. Another tradition is to make kites. Children will make kites out of paper and fly them throughout the day. Teams will make huge kites out of bamboo and paper, as well. Some of the larger kites take around a month to make! Some foods can only be found this time of year. The favorite food of this festival is "fiambre." This is a salad of many types of sausage, cheese, cabbage, lettuce, and more. We visited the festival in a nearby town with the school. It was a lot of fun and the kites were a sight!

An example of a jumbo kite!

Decoration and care of graves.

This Sunday, our group took a trip to Tikal, one of the most amazing places I have ever been! We woke up around 3:45am and met the group to catch the bus to the airport around four. The flight was about forty-five minutes, and quite enjoyable. After we landed, we met up with our bus driver and tour guide, who took us to Tikal. This is one of the areas that archeologists are studying and discovering bit by bit. There are many layers of civilizations under the ground in this region, and there are still more being discovered. Click to enlarge photos.

This is part of the town square area.

These were areas where the Mayas would keep food and

 water.

Relief map of what the area would have looked like.

We weren't able to climb all the ruins. :-(

We saw many awesome plants and animals.

Our guide.

These are some of the clearer carvings that still exist and are above ground.

This scene was in Star Wars!

Obviously quite large buildings!

A preserved mask that was discovered years ago.

Everything is going well here in Antigua, Guatemala. All cylinders are firing and I am busy as ever. My daily schedule has not changed at all, with classes all morning and work all afternoon. A report of my work is coming real soon! As the semester goes on, more talk of home is surfacing. As I listen I am becoming a little uneasy, as the thought of this semester being over is not a good one! We have a lot of time left, but I can't help but feeling a little anxious thinking about how fast everything is going. I am very excited to see my family, friends, and Stephanie (;-D), but when I think about the semester being over, I am a hit with a little sadness. But that is neither here nor there. I will be posting anew next week. Thanks, once again, for tuning in to read about little 'ole me!

As always, check out Gilman Scholarship!