My Students

I missing 5th grade and 7th grade pictures.... but here is a start!

3rd Grade. This is actually Beccas class, but I help.

6th grade.

4th grade

8th Grade.

And my favorite class of all..... 9th grade!!!

Livin The Guate Life... Pics

This is Becca and me with Joseph and Joshua and their cousin Michael... we are off to church!

Michael and Joshua sitting in my hammock:) I love Joshuas face!

Me making fabric!!! Domitila is teaching us!

Rebekah and me showing off our hands after helping Domitila fill bags of coal :)

Rebekah, Domitila, and me working on our coal bags

Moscas, Moscas...

You probably wonder what Becca and I do in our spare time, just for fun. Well, the answer and honest truth is, we like to kill flies. If fly swatting was an olympic sport, Becca and I would be gold medalists. There are so many flies in Patzicia. More flies than you can probably imagine. In fact, I wouldnt be surprised if the fly is the national bird of Guatemala. Anyway. The people here always ask us if there are flies in the states. One time Domitila asked us this question. We responded saying, "yes, but not like here. We have flies where there is trash and food.... usually outside." Domitila responded saying that, "all of Guatemala is one big trash can... no wonder there are so many flies!" Haha!

Rebekah in action, ready to swat.

This is me with our "fly swatter". Yes, I know it is a spatula, but it works!

Time to Scratch

I have fleas. As gross as it sounds, I have a gillion flea bites all over me. Rebekah too. Before we came, we were advised to bring flea collars for our bed.... well.... we have been a little unsuccessful at keeping the fleas off of us.... oh well. They are sooooo itchy! One day Becca said, "I need to go wash my face, but first, I need to scratch my flea bites." It was funny, because that how I feel all the time, "first, I need to scratch". Anyway, if you are wondering what a flea bite looks like... they look like this:

Volcanoes and Marshmallows

So I climbed a volcano on Saturday. Yes, a volcano. It is called Pacaya, and it exploded last May. No big deal.

This is me. and yes... I am roasting marshmallows over a volcanic vein. It made the most perfect marshmallows!!!

Rebekah and I posing in front of the volcano Pacaya.

Omar, Rebekah and I posing before heading up the volcano.

Helpful Hints for living in Guatemala...

1. Do not eat food around stray dogs. They may or may not attack you.

2. Avoid the swingset area on the playground. You will get trapped into pushing the kindergarteners all recess. You will continuously hear "empujame, empujame!" (push me push me!) and "al cielo!" (to the sky!)



3. It is okay to drink milk that has been siting on a shelf for several months..... as long as it is Pinto brand.

4. If you have trash and you dont know what to do with it, just throw it on the side of the road. Or in someone elses truck. Or wherever you want, really.



5. Dont be surprised if you fall in love with the people here.





6. Pollo Campero is everyones favorite restaurant!

7. When walking down the street, dont be alarmed when everyone honks at you just to say hello. This is normal. Especially for gringas like us.

8. When you dont know the word in spanish, expect an embarrassing moment if you continue to try to guess random words.

9. If you own the game "Jenga", you will suddenly be the neigborhood hotspot for 4 year olds.

10. When people whistle at you on the streets, whistle back. It makes life more fun.

11. Try not to breathe when possible. Emission testing does not exist here.

12. Always have your camera on you. You see the craziest things here.

More Pictures!

Rebekah and I helping Domatila measure out 1 lb bags of chicken feed.

Domatila balancing her bag of market food on her head. All the women carry their bags on their heads! Sorry it is sideways....Im technologically challenged.

The stairwell to our apartment.

Our bunkbeds.

Our kitchen.

Joshua and me riding in the back of a pickup

Rebekah, Denise, and Me posing at the animal reserve.

I little boy in Panajachel

Rebekah and me at the "Waters of Mormon"

A woman and her son. Cute.

Ostriches... and Other Animals....

I ghave spent the last week teaching my students all about ostriches. BORING for the students! However, one great thing came from teaching about ostriches. I taught them the verb "to eat" and present perfect "have been". In my 8th grade class, I asked random questions to my students. To Brandon, I asked, "what have you been eating today?" Brandon enthusiastically responded saying, "I have been eating ostriches today!". It was funny. And last weekend we went to an animal reserve with Denise and Omar. I took a pic of an Ostrich.... its at the bottom of this page.

Rebekah and I posing at a tunnel thing...

This is an Ostrich.....

And a monkey!

Soccer Is a Religion

I love being in a country where they almost literally worship soccer. Everywhere I go, there are kids playing soccer in the streets. Soccer jerseys are sold EVERYWHERE and they have the most amazing soccer shops with the most beautiful cleats I have ever seen in my life. I might splurge and buy a pair while Im down here. Its awesome!

They dont use basketball courts for basketball.... only soccer.

Ever seen a sign like this in America?

Fuego

Rebekah and I needed more matches for our gas stove. Since we didnt know the word for matches, we looked it up in the dictionary. In the dictionary, it clearly says "matches" are "cerillas". So off we went to get cerillas from the tienda. WHen we asked for " cerillas", Domatila had no idea what we were asking for. So, we began a game of charades. Rebekah and I even had an audience of snickering men! Haha. I continuously acted out "striking a match" while saying "fuego Fuego FuEgO FUEGO" (fire fire fire... ) in hope that she would eventually understand. It was funny6. Domatila finally understood, and gave us a pack of matches. Apparently they only use the word "cerillas" in the city, and in our little town, they use the word "fosforos" ( which was also another word option in my dictionary). Although Domatila claims she doesnt know the word "cerillas", im convinced she was just up for a good laugh. :)

Espantosa

Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday, Rebekah and I eat lunch at Ophelias house. Ophelia lives with her thgree beautiful daughters, Vanessa, Marissa, and Silvia. The first time we ate with them, Rebekah wanted to tell the family how she was feeling about teaching at the school the next day. She wanted to say "Im scared" but didnt know how. So, she turned to me, the all knowing Spanish Master. I told her that "scared" was "espantosa". I forgot that "espantosa" actually means "scary" until Rebekah said "estoy espantosa"... The family and i had a pretty good laugh, and Rebekah was left in the dark, wondering what she said. I felt bad for accidentally giving her wrong information, but it made for a good laugh. FYI, "Im scared" is "tengo miedo."

Peanut Butter

I have come to the conclusion that when you leave the country, you automatically crave peanut butter. I have always thought it was a little strange that the first concern of a missionary leaving the country was wheter or not the place they are serving would have peanut butter or not. Well, Im here to say.... I ALWAYS CRAVE PEANUT BUTTER HERE! It is so strange, because I never remember another time in my life where i have wanted peanut butter. Thankfully there is one store here that sells it. Peanut butter must be like an escape to America. So..... if you plan on leaving the country soon.... BRING PEANUT BUTTER! :)