Even More New Things

Flores was a nice experience filled with time to relax, time to play cards, time to meet new people and lots of time to sleep! Here a couple more things that are new to me...

Finding buses that are in random places, places that are certainly not meant for tourists to find them in. When we were ready to return to the ranch we found it quite difficult to find the bus to "Petencito" or "el Rancho de los Ninos" (Hearts In Action). Somehow, by the grace of God, we stumbled upon it hidden in the middle of the market place. The bus named Guadalupe was our ride and we didn't even get ripped off.

Sitting in a bar with Anthony drinking Cokes, playing cards and meeting a man who has been traveling the world in a car for the last 2 1/2 years of his life. The bar was called Los Amigos (The Friends) and had a really cool vibe. I reccomend it to backpackers and other cool people like myself.

The taste of alcohol is interesting and sometimes quite alright. Don't get me wrong, I didn't go drinking or anything, but I have had it 3 times since I've gotten here (the first 3 times of my life): 1. Communion after a little service we had here was my first with actual wine. 2. I ordered chicken at a really nice restaurant named Las Puertas (The Doors) and they definately cooked it in beer. 3. I ordered a really good Fettucini Alfredo cooked with White Wine at a place called the Mayan Princess...it was good.

There's a couple other things that were cool and hopefully I can get some pics of my expereinces up soon...untill then you will all have to use your imaginations...

The Aussie and I

There is an Australian guy here...from Australia...and we are taking a free weekend tomorrow and Sunday. We're going to Flores and staying in a hotel. I probably won't go to Tikal with him but we definitely plan on going to the zoo and other fun stuff. So let me tell you of this Aussie guy...his name is Anthony (Antonio in Spanish)...

He is from Brisbane and he tells us that in Australia they ride kangaroos to school. He manages a band in Australia and is currently taking off 5 months to travel the world (I covet this opportunity). He's a pretty cool guy and certainly not a typical Christian. He actually probably wouldn't even tell you that he is; he'd just say that he believes in God. He's a pretty hard headed and cocky guy which I have found to be quite refreshing since a lot of Christians are so wishy washy in their faith. Very liberal and sometimes a bit anti-american, and a lot of times he really says a little too much, but I guess that's what we love him for. I don't agree with all of his political or religious opinions but he does have some very good ones and some very interesting ones. Anyway, we will have plenty of time to sort these things out over the next 2 or 3 days. I finally get to see some sweet jungle animals...yes!!!

Feels Like 99º

I think it felt like 150º, but I was lazy today anyway. Honestly though, this was the hottest and coldest day I have ever experienced here in the jungle.

Hotness...
It was so hot today that all the insects and stuff were seeking shade under the overhang of the buildings. There were hundreds of flies attached to the outside walls of all the buildings. I found it uncomfortable just to walk from the school to the dining hall (it's only about 70 meters) and found myself drinking water constantly throughout the whole day.

Cold...
This quickly changed however at about 6pm. I was taking a nap after my work day and suddenly the wind picked up pretty strong. It was as if I had suddenly arrived back in Ohio on a "hot" summer day. After my usual 6:30 shower I stepped out (naked) and for the first time felt cold...in the jungle! This was a very different experience for me; one that to this minuet befuddles me.

In other news we are currently in the middle of de-licing all of the kids in the school. We probably did the treatment on about 40 of the kids. One girl's hair was seemingly completely covered in eggs. We combed it for 20-30 min with a lice comb and barely made a dent. I really felt sorry for her. Maybe you can see some pictures of me in action soon though.

Need You Like Water in My Lungs

Love that song! Anyway, right now I just want to salute Adrea for her work here...so here we go...

Adrea has no idea how awesome she is because she'd never admit how hard she really works. She gives and gives and it seems she never stops working, but it's not in a weird workaholic type of way. She gives so much because she believes this whole country (particularly the kids) deserves so much better. She would give anything if she could just know they could have all that they deserve. The kids are deprived, they are abused, overworked, and they really are so awesome. They work for nothing because nothing is the best they know. It kills her if anyone would ever look down on them or talk bad about them. I have made a point to help Adrea whenever I can and it really is amazing how much she has to do. She is here every day working seemingly non-stop till bed time. I never realized how hard and exhausting it could be here...and I've only lived in the jungle for 2 weeks. Her heart is all here and in the kids. She couldn't give more love, care, compassion and sweat to this country than she already does. Adrea, you are awesome and you deserve so much more credit than anyone could ever give you.

Feel Like It's My First Time

As mentioned by Emily, I really haven't told you all very well what I do every day. Well here's some of my latest experiences. Some are new to me and some not...but all unforgettable:

Sleeping on the way to Flores to get groceries(it was always too bumpy before)...feeding our two dogs every night...discovering that huge bags of watermelon are much heavier than expected...learning that Guatemalans do not understand the proper usage of the LCD screen on digital cameras...all good things are stored in "bodegas" and so are all heavy things...Suzanne is really funny after drinking a Lift, especially while reading french virus websites...church here is very differnt but passionate and i love it!...going to the store and waiting in the truck for hours to make sure nobody steals anything...One of my jobs is to sell the internet to the missionaries at $1/min and they can't seem to get enough...Emily tells me that if I get put in jail for the rest of my life for smuggling drugs I can be on 20/20, and therefore IMDB...you should always wear shorts when driving the lawn tractor as to not burn your thighs...none of the cool animals live anywhere around here aparently, so I'm still waiting to see that Jaguar...that's all of my unforgettable experiences for now...

Weapon of Choice: Sandal

So sleeping here for me has been a bit of a task. Usually it is not a problem for me but this time my room is a bit more prone to fill with insects. I think it just has too many windows. The first night I had to have killed about 100 giant June bugs and some moths. Last night, though, I encountered Mothra...and his wife (or her husband...not sure). But it was a whole 'nother adventure altogether.

I have to admit that I have been blessed by not having anything like scorpions or tarantulas in my room but these moths were quite a nuisance. After killing the first one with my machete, the other one got in and I decided to kill him with my lighter (which took a suprisingly long amount of time). Anyway, pretty much since I've been here I've been on a murderous rampage against these guys and I honestly think I'm winning. So in order to continue my good work I must sleep with a few tools.



My flashlight, pocket knife, machete, and my personal favorite, the sandal. So come prepared Bobby...come prepared (actually I just want Bobby around so he can attract some of the bugs away from me!)

Weapon of Choice: Sandpaper

Well as you see I threw a new header up there while I'm here, just had the urge to do something dirty I guess (he he).

Today, I really just sanded these huge dividers for the new bathrooms at the school. The funny thing is that I sanded this one by hand and it probably took me like 3-4 hours to finish real nice. I was exhausted and then I realized that they had just finished the second one for me to sand. Just as my weary body was about to start on that one as well, one of the shop workers told me to stop and pulled out a power sander. I was torn between being furious and overjoyed that they had not shown it to me before and that now I'd be able to finish in like an hour. I even eventually forgot about the device's exposed wires and the shop's water covered floor (from the rain).

So the moral of the story is: if ever you are asked to do a difficult task manually, ask if there is a power tool available to assist you in your toil.

Pics

Here are them pics to go with the last post that I promised ya...


Capitan and Beauty chillin' outside the cafeteria.


A little girl (who's name I cannot spell) holding Beauty just after we relocated her.


And finally, here's Blessing all happy after eating steak (actually she just ate corn she found on the ground).

And here's some other stuff (it really works now Kim...i promise)

All the Little Things

This may seem insignificant to you, but here it was quite a big deal.

So I told you about the new dog...well yesterday was her first day and night in the jungle. It didn't go so smoothly. The day was great for her adjusting and she got along very well with Capitán. Well for the night we gave her a box to sleep in and tied her to the fence to keep her from wandering off. I thought I tied it pretty good.

Come morning time I go outside...no Beauty (that's what Mario named her by the way). I was scared at first but I tried to sequester my fears by thinking that someone probably just untied her. After an extensive search of the Ranch with Capitán by my side I find nothing. I begin to assume the worst...death by large jungle animal. After telling everyone on the Ranch to look for her and a nice french toast breakfast with Adrea and Leslie we took the truck out to search.

I don't think we honestly thought we'd find her in the vast Peten but we wanted to ask some locals to be on the lookout (in case someone stole her or she actually made it that far). No success again...we've lost hope. We had no choice but to give up.

So here I am on my laptop...about to post something completely different...when all of the sudden Leslie screams, "They found her!" I couldn't believe it but there she was, covered in orange dirt and exhausted form who knows what returned to the Ranch. I wanted to post some pictures but apparently I can't access Flickr from here for some reason...I'll work on that for ya!

New Things

I have been able to experience many new things since arriving here...this is a short list of them...

Guatemala radio is about half in Spanish and half in English. I had never had a chance to hear it before but the Christian stations really do play a lot of good stuff. I heard Blindside, Dead Poetic, Third Day and a couple other good ones. They also play a lot of contemporary stuff like DC Talk and Michael W. Smith so it is very interesting to listen to.

Guatemala TV is relatively similar to ours except for some reason during interviews they play music in the background...it is a little distracting. I also saw my first Guatemalan commercial, Pizza Mia. I swear it looked like they were making out with the pizza!

I have experienced Guatemalan traffic in 2 different ways already. The first was when I got to go out with Christiann and Jordi for dinner and to their apartment. They asked me if I wanted to drive to get the full Guatemalan experience (this was followed by, "it's ok, we have good insurance."). So I did drive and I guess I did ok. The next day I was riding with Rodrigo (who likes Jaci Velasquez and 7th Heaven) and there were two accidents that happened right in front of us while we were driving. I may rethink driving in Guate again.

Guatemalan internet is another experience all together. For some reason sometimes only certain parts work like you instant messenger but not your browser or vice versa. No idea why, it really is the weirdest thing I've ever seen.

I am leaving for the Peten tonight which will be another new experience. 6 hours on a bus with all my luggage and stuff. Should be interesting...and I also get to take the dog with me.

Diesel Rocket

Those are the words printed on Mario's shirt today and I think it is fabulous! What is a diesel rocket anyway...I thought they made those things with rocket fuel or something. Anyway, I am really enjoying my time here so far. I am staying very busy on the computer designing e-mail templates so HIA can send out nice looking newsletters.

The first day was the most interesting so far. Rodrigo (spelling?) and I drove around running errands for HIA in town dropping off promotional posters and such. He only speaks a little english (which actually means he's almost fluent) and of course my spanish really does suck! So Mario challenged us to try to speak in each other's language. Biggest language barrier I have ever encountered but actually one of the least frustrating. After that Mario took us to buy dental equipment for the jungle and I had not slept the night before so I fell asleep at a table in the lobby. Finally we went to pick up a new Dalmation named Beauty...she threw up on me...she got a bath...and now we are going to travel to the jungle together on the bus friday for 6 hours.

The next day and today I just sat at the computer all day working on stuff. I fell like I haven't accomplished much since none of the stuff I made worked for Suzanne so I had to start all over. I really like the one I made for PIES today though so now I only have like 5 more to go...I better get back to work...

And, oh yeah, I'm leaving today...

For Guatemala that is. Sorry to Kim who apparently didn't know I was leaving or something, but I am. I just finished packing, and yes, the time for this post is actually 3:30am. I swear though, it's not because I'm a slacker this time...seriously...I have had no time!

So since my plane leaves at like 6:25 and I am trying to get to the airport at 4:30 ("Just in case" my mom says) I decided there was no point in sleeping. I will be completely useless my first day in Guatemala, and I'm glad I will be able to set a good first impression. Other than that I am incredibly excited (even though I haven't been able to show it the last couple weeks out of pure exhaustion). Thanks to all of you who stayed around and hugged me and almost cried and stuff...really showed me how much I'm loved.

Till next post...