If it's even possible to top the excitement of our latest adventures... to put some icing on the cake that was our last few days....somehow it has happened:
For the first two weeks of March, Kaia Joye and I will be working at a hostel in Panama!!!\
Us, working! At a hostel! In Panama!
What do we mean by 'work'? you ask... well, we plan parties, stay for free, eat for free, drink for free, or maybe even get cash for free.
And what do we mean by 'plan parties'? you say next... well, we have no idea.
But one thing is for certain: PANAMONIUM!!
get excited.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
we LOVE today.
Everyday seems better than the last causing us to run up and down the streets yelling "I LOVE TODAY!"
The lack of posting can really only be blamed on three things: constant movement, $6/ hr internet, and perhaps laziness. But here we are, out of Guatemala, through Honduras for a week or two, and now in Nicaragua at El Zopilote, a permaculture farm on Isla de Ometepe. Being a permaculture farm, there is always work to be done, so for 4 hours of work, you get 20% off your stay, be it a camp site, hammock, what have you. We are paying $2 a person, so the 40 cents is really important to us...
ANyway. Ysterday we worked, the manual labor feeling good compared to the lazy days of the Bay Islands where we sat and walked and sat and sunned and went diving and drank some brews... We carried some cement, picked beans, shelled cocoa, ground cocoa into chocolate, and shelled beans. At 1 fresh bread, cookies, and muffins appeared bringing joy to all those who were near (a spread of fresh baked goods, marmelades, and rums are produced daily) making us hard workers feel like our blood, sweat, and tears were justly rewarded. A late afternoon walk through a fairytale land banana plantation with small baby animals at every turn illuminated by that perfect 4:00 light that makes things appear more magical than you could imagine, finished our afternoon. And by finished, I mean it got us ridiculously lost leaving us 4 or 5 miles past our destination and pooped to say the least. Having already walked 4 miles, and it turning to dusk and being lost, I could only hope that a truck full of palm frawns would drive by offering us a bed of leaves to sleep on to drive us back to our farm. Not 5 minutes after having verbalized this to sarah, a plantain truck drives by. We stick out our hands and with the shout of "ARRIBA!" we climbed atop and met Javier, a nice 17 year old boy who loved sarahs blue-green eyes, and made conversation as we dodged tree branches and the possible clotheslining by telephone wires. This is NOT a dream. I LOVE THIS ISLAND.
Today we even managed to find a school to volunteer at, so we walked up and down the streets looking for birds and drawing them, teaching the kids to say "I LOVE TODAY!"
The lack of posting can really only be blamed on three things: constant movement, $6/ hr internet, and perhaps laziness. But here we are, out of Guatemala, through Honduras for a week or two, and now in Nicaragua at El Zopilote, a permaculture farm on Isla de Ometepe. Being a permaculture farm, there is always work to be done, so for 4 hours of work, you get 20% off your stay, be it a camp site, hammock, what have you. We are paying $2 a person, so the 40 cents is really important to us...
ANyway. Ysterday we worked, the manual labor feeling good compared to the lazy days of the Bay Islands where we sat and walked and sat and sunned and went diving and drank some brews... We carried some cement, picked beans, shelled cocoa, ground cocoa into chocolate, and shelled beans. At 1 fresh bread, cookies, and muffins appeared bringing joy to all those who were near (a spread of fresh baked goods, marmelades, and rums are produced daily) making us hard workers feel like our blood, sweat, and tears were justly rewarded. A late afternoon walk through a fairytale land banana plantation with small baby animals at every turn illuminated by that perfect 4:00 light that makes things appear more magical than you could imagine, finished our afternoon. And by finished, I mean it got us ridiculously lost leaving us 4 or 5 miles past our destination and pooped to say the least. Having already walked 4 miles, and it turning to dusk and being lost, I could only hope that a truck full of palm frawns would drive by offering us a bed of leaves to sleep on to drive us back to our farm. Not 5 minutes after having verbalized this to sarah, a plantain truck drives by. We stick out our hands and with the shout of "ARRIBA!" we climbed atop and met Javier, a nice 17 year old boy who loved sarahs blue-green eyes, and made conversation as we dodged tree branches and the possible clotheslining by telephone wires. This is NOT a dream. I LOVE THIS ISLAND.
Today we even managed to find a school to volunteer at, so we walked up and down the streets looking for birds and drawing them, teaching the kids to say "I LOVE TODAY!"
Friday, February 8, 2008
more pics
piñas at the lake. delightful
please note: this picture has been altered in no way. both teachers are also wearing 2-3" heels. We are GIANTS here.
watermelon spitting seed contest
family at the Mountain School
morning sunrise hike.
lago de Atitlán. 360 view like this of mountains and volcanos. BEAUTIFUL.
Market Pics
What continues to surprise me about Guatemala is its topography--its wild. If you get a chance, you should check out a topographical map.
San Francisco Market, where we went with our teachers last week, was appropriately named due to its hills, making the experience, besides overwhelming, tiring. But it was worth it. Check these out.
colors here are awesome. even with trash its still cool. feels like an anthropologie ad, doesnt it?
San Francisco Market, where we went with our teachers last week, was appropriately named due to its hills, making the experience, besides overwhelming, tiring. But it was worth it. Check these out.
colors here are awesome. even with trash its still cool. feels like an anthropologie ad, doesnt it?
at the top of the hilly market mess we found ourselves in the animal district. sheep. cows. dogs. chickens. roosters. goats. cats. ducks. you name it...
knives? machetes? tools? anyone?
Thursday, February 7, 2008
two great pieces of information
1. the discovery of 3 for Q 10 tacos has changed our lives.
ten quetzals (Q10) is about 1.20.
2. the piece of glass lodged in my thumb for the past 2 and half months weasled its way out. great news.
ten quetzals (Q10) is about 1.20.
2. the piece of glass lodged in my thumb for the past 2 and half months weasled its way out. great news.
Monday, February 4, 2008
back in (pseudo) society...
Having now finished our three weeks of Spanish school and descended from the mountains, Sarah and I have found ourselves in San Pedro, a small lake town on Lago de Atitlán in a hostel that costs us a whopping $2.50 per night. A hippie haven, San Pedro has proven itself to be a fake reality of people who don´t know how long they have been here, what time is, what they are doing here, or when they are leaving. In reality it really feels like a parody of what hippie life is in a place where people try too hard to not shower and ignore the concept of time, while simultaneously acting stupider than previously known possible (a direct quote: "those Mexicans living in Guatemala....or do i mean Guatemalans. to be honest i didnt know that Guatemala was its own country before i came down here, you know what i mean man??").
Yesterday we went to what can only be described as a cliché of a hippie´s ideal restaurant. OUr table was a tree cut in half and we sat on grass mats and colorful pillows on the floor. I consider myself a laid back person, but after 65 minutes of waiting for a sandwich, I finally asked the hippie chick who was serving us how much longer our food would take. Big mistake, apparently broke the charming marley-zen atmosphere of the place and am fairly certain that we are physically, emotionally and spiritually shunned from the place.
All of this said, our pseudo reality is actually quite perfect after having fried our brains for 3 weeks with more studying that I think I did in college. Days consist of walking down small winding back streets to find fresh bread and tortillas, kayaking, studying our Spanish, all the while looking over the most stunning panoramic views of paradise. And i secretly love the vibe and way of life. It sucks you in here.
The mountain school was more like summer camp, tucked away down a cobble stone road with coffee plants, shaggy dogs, and communal kitchens--that or a musical, soundtrack provided by the 4 chords sarah and i know on the guitar, one out of tune harmonica, and a creaky old marimba...it´s a toss up. But it was wonderful. We each ate with a family down the road for every meal, and studied with teachers who, besides having all of their teeth, were funny and more laid back than those in Xela. While this may have deterred us from learning a little, we still left a legacy behind us, captured by a song at the "graduation" written by our teacher (Sarah and i happened to have the same one at la escuela de la montaña...) with the chorus: "never have their been two students to make a school quite so crazy..." but in Spanish. They loved us. Maybe not as much as Sarah loved the mangy dogs that lived at the school, and whose fleas may be loving on/living on Sarah right now. On the down time, we hiked waterfalls, laid in hammocks that were perfectly molded to the curve of your back, and read aloud Anna Karinena, the longest book we could find to carry us through all of our trip :) We love it. The air their was dry but heavy in honey and greenery and made you want to be there forever if it weren't for the mosquitoes. I couldn´t help but feel like I was swimming in all of the simple joys of this word and God´s creation. Smells of mountains and never ending stars and true hospitality were wonderful to experience.
We cant update pictures here as email is slow as JUNK, but we will undoubtedly have gobs to put up just as soon as we can!
Yesterday we went to what can only be described as a cliché of a hippie´s ideal restaurant. OUr table was a tree cut in half and we sat on grass mats and colorful pillows on the floor. I consider myself a laid back person, but after 65 minutes of waiting for a sandwich, I finally asked the hippie chick who was serving us how much longer our food would take. Big mistake, apparently broke the charming marley-zen atmosphere of the place and am fairly certain that we are physically, emotionally and spiritually shunned from the place.
All of this said, our pseudo reality is actually quite perfect after having fried our brains for 3 weeks with more studying that I think I did in college. Days consist of walking down small winding back streets to find fresh bread and tortillas, kayaking, studying our Spanish, all the while looking over the most stunning panoramic views of paradise. And i secretly love the vibe and way of life. It sucks you in here.
The mountain school was more like summer camp, tucked away down a cobble stone road with coffee plants, shaggy dogs, and communal kitchens--that or a musical, soundtrack provided by the 4 chords sarah and i know on the guitar, one out of tune harmonica, and a creaky old marimba...it´s a toss up. But it was wonderful. We each ate with a family down the road for every meal, and studied with teachers who, besides having all of their teeth, were funny and more laid back than those in Xela. While this may have deterred us from learning a little, we still left a legacy behind us, captured by a song at the "graduation" written by our teacher (Sarah and i happened to have the same one at la escuela de la montaña...) with the chorus: "never have their been two students to make a school quite so crazy..." but in Spanish. They loved us. Maybe not as much as Sarah loved the mangy dogs that lived at the school, and whose fleas may be loving on/living on Sarah right now. On the down time, we hiked waterfalls, laid in hammocks that were perfectly molded to the curve of your back, and read aloud Anna Karinena, the longest book we could find to carry us through all of our trip :) We love it. The air their was dry but heavy in honey and greenery and made you want to be there forever if it weren't for the mosquitoes. I couldn´t help but feel like I was swimming in all of the simple joys of this word and God´s creation. Smells of mountains and never ending stars and true hospitality were wonderful to experience.
We cant update pictures here as email is slow as JUNK, but we will undoubtedly have gobs to put up just as soon as we can!
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