Saturday, January 5, 2008

Happy New Year

HAPPY 2008!

I hope that everyone had a great New Year and rang in 2008 with style! I was in Panajachel (sp?) which is on Lake Atilan for the new year! It was a lot of fun, hanging out at the lake, swimming, shopping, and getting to see everyone from my training group! I brought in the new year with a bang…food poisoning! I was sick all night and the whole next day, what a way to start a new year!

After new years and feeling a little better, I ventured about 45 minutes north to visit my friend Natalie at her site! She is living with a family in an adobe house with a latrine and a tomas gall, which is the most amazing thing when you are sick! It is a small, sauna like thing made out of adobe! There is a small fire on the inside and a large bench where you site and bath! Natalie and I took an hour long bath/sauna session! It is those kind of things that make you realize that the Mayan people knew what they were doing way before we did! They knew how to live the high life!

On my way home from Solola, the department capital of the lake region I was one of many fortunate souls to get stuck in a “cola” You ask was a “cola” is, well it is a wonderful part of life here in Guatemala, a road block! When there is construction on the road they stop traffic on one side for an hour or two at a time while the other side goes! I was on a crowded bus, meaning I was standing on the steps of the bus because there was not where else to go, so I had a great view of when they let us through! It looked like the start of the Indy 500! There were three camionetas lined up to try to be the first out and behind them three more and so on! Let me tell the start did not just look like the start to the 500 but it also resembled it! As soon as they moved those cones, we took off and I mean took off! We were flying and racing around corners just to be able to be the first to pick up more people, yes more people! I honest had not been terrified of camionetas until then!

I have had a full year already, sick, terrifying camionetas rides and I experienced my first real tremor! It happened last night while I was in bed! My bed started to rock back and forth! At first I did not know what was happening but as it continued I realized what was happening so I jumped out of bed to head for the door! When I got to door it was still going on and then the lights in the street went out, and I freaked! I was totally freaking out and no one else seemed to notice it or care about it! I called my Dad to ask if I should go to bed on the second level, if I was going to die, etc…I am so glad that I did not grow up with earthquakes, I would have never made it through childhood!
Well I go back to work on Monday after a wonderful 17 days off work…relaxing, cleaning, laying out, you know all those fun things! I think I am going to need to rest because the coffee harvest starts in about 15 days and I have no idea what that is going to

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