I have a snail mail address if anyone needs it:
Silvia González
Colonia El Manchen No. 5
Antigua, Gatemala
(on the back of the envelope just write ¨por Maria")
*MAIL TAKES 10-15 days and I will probably only be at this address for two more weeks so hold off if you are sending anything past Friday the 3rd of October for my third and final address!
Sarah and Jenny on our deck outside our room at La Casa del Mundo
our favorite spot to sit by the lake and swim
view from the pool at Ven Aca
Ven Aca ...the restaurant, pool, and bar where we spent a lot of our time overlooking the lake
view from the dock of the one restaurant where we ate at for all seven of our meals on Lake Atitlan (Ven Aca)
last day at Centro Scheel (going away party on the roof) ...one of the teachers, Claudia, and I before the cake fight we had
my famiy in San Antonio Aguas Calientes
Shirley and i procrastinating on our homework
you might ask, what IS better then giant, fresh, ripe, mangoes on a stick?
view of the volcano from inside our house
my first experience with "elote loco"...i couldn't be a true Iowan and not try it, but it was pretty gross: corn on the cob on a stick, mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, and parmesan. apparantly a classic snack here!
Nancy (my "mom" and teacher) eating elote loco
my strawberry shortcake blanket... because my teenage Guatemalan sisters call me "chica fresa"
i am a giant (5'6) in Guatemala... and in order to not get shocked while i wash my hair, i have to slouch a bit!
the hammock i love to read in (when i am not goofing off with Shirley!)
view outside of my new bedroom window in San Antonio Aguas Calientes
the traditional huipil of the women in Panajachel
Lago de Atitlan
Lago de Atitlan
corner of main street in Panahachel
we were getting ready to take a picture on the bridge in Zunil, known for it's hot springs when the family pulled up to dump their trash into the river... (in amber's words: "ooohh Noooo")
woman selling onions in Almalonga
purple lima beans?`
gigantic lettuce
this was our first glimpse of the Saturday market
setting up for the market in Almalonga
hieroglyphic steps- the most spectacular find in this particualr Mayan kingsdom. It was so hard to capture the magnitude and the detail because the whole area is tarped off for protection from the elements.
steps of one of the smaller, central pyramids
one of the stone statues in the plaza
steps to one of the stone pyramids in the center of the main plaza
incredible stonework from around 500 A.D.
the border guard didn´t exactly get it that i wanted ¨welcome to Honduras¨in the picture...
Stations of the Cross being carried as part of the processional this week
a group of Guatemalans waiting for the processional to begin on the third Sunday of Lent
a family working together on their alfombra (street carpet) for the procession for the third Sunday in Lent
beautiful little girl with her mom in her cargador
Guatemalan sweets sold out of a neighbors doorway
tuk tuk (three wheeled taxi)
what IS it about sunsets?
most amazing bike ever... the question is - what would i put in such a grand basket!
Antigua is such a collision of modern and traditional... notice the mountain biker on the left!
grill outside of a little tienda
La Antigua at sunrise market
flowers!
Zach and Ashley Vandermeeden and I on top of the roof of the Scheel Center
all of the students and staff at Centro Scheel
flower market... my new favorite place in Antigua
one of the many corridors of the market before all of the vendors arrived
a small group stops at a little candlelit prayer vigil for the stations of the cross- set up in front of a few houses in my neighborhood
La Antigua's first street processional of Lent
"los cucuruchos"
Mary Margaret and La Paz
La Paz hanging out in Brandon's backpack
this photo was taken after the first processional for Lent... still haven't gotten a straight answer as to why there are puppet versions of the guys that help carry the statues through the streets...
Pinkie (the Orizabal's dog) just had five poodle puppies on Sunday!
even if i had to switch rooms three times in three weeks- this view is worth it!
my fifth (and final!) room at the Orizabal house this year
this is the gallo that wakes me up every morning... different hours each day- sometimes even at eleven at night- i think he is a little bit stupid- even for a gallo
the Centro Scheel puppy... "La Paz"
one view of Las Victorias from the roof of the school (Volcan de Agua in the background)
Claudia, Alexis, me, Edna, Sandra, and Sonia at the birthday party for Nuestros Ahijados founder, Patrick Atkinson
Edna- la cocinara de Centro Scheel
the kitchen at Centro Scheel
famouns "arch street" ...closed to traffic on the weekends for artists, musicians, and shoppers
public washing pond for families who need clean water to wash their clothing
this is the neighborhood where most of the students at the school i work in come from
my new room at the Orizabal´s
our little friend, José, spins Ashley around for her wack at her birthday piñata
an abandoned building in Antigua
teenagers in Guatemala
a family working on their street carpet in front of Luna de Meil (my favorite restaurant in Antigua)
the making of an Antigua street carpet
these carpets are used in Catholic processionals around town
smiliar "giants" were made by the Mayan people in an attempt to scare off the Spanish
Guatemala does their part in carpooling... the most people i saw on a moped was a family of five!
Aslan, the lion at Nuestro Ahijados
Elizabeth, Gavin and i touring the world famous Finca Filadelfia coffee plantation
we learned that the right shade tree is one of the most essential aspects of growing arabica coffee
the making of a hybrid coffee plant...
and then the strongest root, and the higher quality leaves are grafted together for the worlds best coffee!
picking coffee at Finca Filadelfia
this is what those who hand pick each bean are looking for...perfect color of a ripe fruit.
a machine removes the bean from the fruit (the fruit is made into jam- yum!)
and these are beans that have been left out in the sun to dry...before the best seeds are then selected and roasted into coffee!
my sweet teacher, Nancy, and her crazy sister Soraya
courtyard at CSA
entrance to Christian Spanish Academy
my desk at CSA
Casa Jackson
¨licuados¨
the front of the market
vendors at the Saturday market
my Guatemalan iglesia
Cafe 2000... where we watch movies
my grocery store.. The Bodegoña
all of the large kites and people at the stadium in Sumpongo
one of the bigger kites
a little girl peaking through her families' kite
jack-o-lanterns, Jill, Lisa, Ronald and i on Halloween
i have to say, watermellon are a little easier to clean then pumpkins!
My friend Kelley´s birthday, going away, getting married piñata party
it was all fun and games until we broke the piñta stick...
the world´s most beautiful McDonalds
this little girl had an amazing backhand
Clifford was the hit of McDonald´s courtyard
the birthday girl, Clifford the Big Red Dog, and Juan Luiz
piñata party at the world´s prettiest McDonald´s
Clara and I at Casa Shalom
Three hour breakfast stop near Coban
Cranium is even more fun in the middle of the rainforest...
after Tina found her friend on her bed, we tore our room apart looking for scorpians each night...
Brandon and Sarah showing us how to Salsa
arm wrestling the locals
my friend, Lisa, from Texas at our Sunday hangout, Monoloco.
my bedroom for four weeks
...other view of my room.
Volcan Fuego from the roof outside my room.
Volcan de Agua from my rootop terrace
new house
My Guatemalan family
view from the side of volcan Pacaya
standing next to active lava...another first!
we roasted hot dogs...
toasted bread...
and ate s´mores!
great day.
not sure if you can tell, but the farms are all on the side of really steep hills
woman on her patio working on a weaving to sell in town
yummy peppers to put into the salsa
this is how the salsa starts
well, the good news was i got to eat some of hers too...
i cant stop giggling at this point...
me trying to understand the ¨lesson¨
Nelly trying to make tortillas...
comida tipica made over the fire
my new roommate, Nelly, from France
the correct, skilled way to pat out tortillas
rolling out the corn tortilla dough
corn tortillas cooking on a fire
¨chicken bus¨ that we took to the village
one of my neighbors, Yolanda, showing me how to weave
this gentleman paints amazing watercolors of Antigua
one of the local artisans
blue corn tortillas made fresh in the market
one of the many food vendors in the market
look at all of that beautiful fruit!
market day!
the fountain in the center of the old monastary
what´s left of the monastary at La Merced Church
some church ruins in Antigua
the ice cream shop that I frequent!
one of the nearby villagers carrying things to sell at the market
closer picture of the arch
light up rosary on La Merced, celebrating the month of Mary
one of the 35 ruins in Antigua
beautiful steps up the trail to the cross- smelled wonderful!
my teacher, Julia, and i at Cerro de la cruz
central park fountain with the cathedral in the backdrop
Dia de los niños
shower head ¨water heater¨in my shower
The famous arch street
lavanderia!
this is where i have my class 4 hours a day!
inside the main room of the school... we also study up on the roof and behind the ice cream shop next to the school
the outside of my school
this is a taxi in antigua- i got to take one to my new house
my neighborhood
the main floor of the house
looking out my window
more of my room...
my new room! (notice the bedspread is PINK!)
my new house
my room
as you can see, the center of the house is "open air"
this is where we eat our meals
this is looking back at my room from the other side of the house
view of the "inside" of my house from my room
view from the roof of my school
my first homestay
Macadamia nut farm near Antigua
antigua streets
my new friend, Lisa, from Amsterdam with a Guatemalan corn field behind her