Friday, May 28, 2004
My Crazy Morning
The day is halfway over and I am suprised that I have survived thus far...Nothing terrible has happened, but the day has just been a serious of comical mishaps.
It started out when I got up at 6am. This is later than normal because we were just doing workshops at school today. I thought, this is great, I got to sleep in. So I walked into the kitchen, poured my bowl of choco crispies (my favorite cereal in Guatemala). I lifted the bowl off the top of the microwave and then just dropped it. Milk went flying everywhere the bowl shattered and I just looked in disbelief because this was the last of the choco crispies. I almost wanted to cry but then decided I should just clean it up.
After mopping up the cereal I went and got dressed and decided to give up on breakfast and go brush my teeth. As I was walking to the sink I smacked my head on one of the hanging plants. I turned to look in disbelief (even though the stupid thing has been there as long as I have lived in the house). As I was looking at the plant swinging wistfully from the bump my head had given it, I fell over a garbage bag of laundry that was sitting on the floor. I pulled myself up cursing...and really wanting to just crawl back in bed and call it a day. However, I pushed on.
I decided to meet Sabine at The Tank (where the women wash their clothes.) We walked down the street and I thought, I haven't had breakfast yet, why not get an icecream Snickers. Great thinking Melissa. I buy the icecream snickers and am happily eating it. We get on the bus to go to work while I am still munching on the icecream bar. I have to stand on the bus because it is full and there are no seats left. All of a sudden the bus lurches forward and my icecream snickers falls out of the wrapper and on to the bookbag of this guy. He looked at me like I was a complete retard. I just smilled, handed him my napkin and picked up my half eaten icecream bar...Sabine asked "Are you okay today?" I said of course, but really I just wanted to scream..."What the heck is going on?"
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The day is halfway over and I am suprised that I have survived thus far...Nothing terrible has happened, but the day has just been a serious of comical mishaps.
It started out when I got up at 6am. This is later than normal because we were just doing workshops at school today. I thought, this is great, I got to sleep in. So I walked into the kitchen, poured my bowl of choco crispies (my favorite cereal in Guatemala). I lifted the bowl off the top of the microwave and then just dropped it. Milk went flying everywhere the bowl shattered and I just looked in disbelief because this was the last of the choco crispies. I almost wanted to cry but then decided I should just clean it up.
After mopping up the cereal I went and got dressed and decided to give up on breakfast and go brush my teeth. As I was walking to the sink I smacked my head on one of the hanging plants. I turned to look in disbelief (even though the stupid thing has been there as long as I have lived in the house). As I was looking at the plant swinging wistfully from the bump my head had given it, I fell over a garbage bag of laundry that was sitting on the floor. I pulled myself up cursing...and really wanting to just crawl back in bed and call it a day. However, I pushed on.
I decided to meet Sabine at The Tank (where the women wash their clothes.) We walked down the street and I thought, I haven't had breakfast yet, why not get an icecream Snickers. Great thinking Melissa. I buy the icecream snickers and am happily eating it. We get on the bus to go to work while I am still munching on the icecream bar. I have to stand on the bus because it is full and there are no seats left. All of a sudden the bus lurches forward and my icecream snickers falls out of the wrapper and on to the bookbag of this guy. He looked at me like I was a complete retard. I just smilled, handed him my napkin and picked up my half eaten icecream bar...Sabine asked "Are you okay today?" I said of course, but really I just wanted to scream..."What the heck is going on?"
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Thursday, May 20, 2004
Niki Is Coming
I just want to let everyone know how excited I am because one of my best friends from when I ws down here before is coming to visit for two weeks. Her name is Niki and she is from Leads, England. She is an absolute blast. We have been planning for her to get back down here since before we both went back to our respective countries back in December. She was meant to come for La Samana Santa but because of a hectic work schedule just couldn't make it down here. So I am absolutely thrilled that she is finally going to be able to visit. Anyway, Niki, only 8 more days!!!!!! Watch out Monterrico, here we come!
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I just want to let everyone know how excited I am because one of my best friends from when I ws down here before is coming to visit for two weeks. Her name is Niki and she is from Leads, England. She is an absolute blast. We have been planning for her to get back down here since before we both went back to our respective countries back in December. She was meant to come for La Samana Santa but because of a hectic work schedule just couldn't make it down here. So I am absolutely thrilled that she is finally going to be able to visit. Anyway, Niki, only 8 more days!!!!!! Watch out Monterrico, here we come!
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Saturday, May 15, 2004
Rock Climbing
I have discovered my new favorite sport...Rock Climbing. My brother has been rock climbing for years and even though I have never seen him, I have an unrelenting feeling that he is pretty good based on the fact that his arms look like Popeye's.
I have been going for the last three weeks and it is really awesome. The thing that I am really lacking is upper body strength. It's so funny because I will be hanging there and then try to pull myself up...everyone will be shouting, go, go, go and my arms are saying "Hell no we're not pulling her up, are you kidding...we look like string beans...there's no muscle."
I went last night and actually got further than I ever had. I was so excited. I was jumping up and down in the street saying "I win! I win!"
What I am most impressed by now is that I do have a little bit of arm muscles. My wrist no longer extends almost all the way up to my elbow. I have been going three times a week so I am hoping that when I get back to the U.S. in November that my brother and I can go and I can kick his butt.
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I have discovered my new favorite sport...Rock Climbing. My brother has been rock climbing for years and even though I have never seen him, I have an unrelenting feeling that he is pretty good based on the fact that his arms look like Popeye's.
I have been going for the last three weeks and it is really awesome. The thing that I am really lacking is upper body strength. It's so funny because I will be hanging there and then try to pull myself up...everyone will be shouting, go, go, go and my arms are saying "Hell no we're not pulling her up, are you kidding...we look like string beans...there's no muscle."
I went last night and actually got further than I ever had. I was so excited. I was jumping up and down in the street saying "I win! I win!"
What I am most impressed by now is that I do have a little bit of arm muscles. My wrist no longer extends almost all the way up to my elbow. I have been going three times a week so I am hoping that when I get back to the U.S. in November that my brother and I can go and I can kick his butt.
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Saturday, May 08, 2004
"And we ask ourselves...How did we get here, how did we get here?"
It has taken me a week to write about this because I have had to mush it around in my head for awhile. I was eating my cereal last Saturday morning when I decided that maybe I should turn on CNN to try to catch up a bit on what is happening in America. I was a bit nauseated (from an infection in my intestines that I found out I had on Thursday) but what I saw almost made me throw up the cereal I had just swallowed. I dropped my spoon on the floor and the sound of the ting it made as it hit the concreate was deafening. Can anyone guess what I saw? If you guess the soldiers of Iraq being sexually abused and exploited by U.S. Amry soldiers then you win the million dollar prize. I was absolutely appauled. My first thought was, well if we thought they (meaning the Arab World-mainly the extremists) didn't have a reason to hate us before, they definately do now. I'm telling you, you couldn't have planned it better. What was actually kind of amusing was the quote that they gave from the president which was "This is not good." Do you think it's not good...really? I mean good God. Finally, I think it was yesterday, I read that Bush put out an apology...but that does not repare the mental damage that has been done to these prisoners of war and it is like throwing a little bucket of water on a house that is blazing on fire. I'm not sure what the answer is, but oh my God we are in trouble now.
What is somewhat frustrating for me is almost everyday I have to defend the fact that I am an American and that I am not a closeminded, war seeking idiot...that my country has a lot of value and that there are good people there that have great things to offer the world. But when my country continuely hurts other countries and violates simple human liberties what do I say...nothing...only I'm sorry and I continuely appologize here. How do I defend a country that continuely demonstrates a complete disregaurd for other peoples human rights. Please do not misunderstand me, I love my country and I wouldn't want to be from anywhere else...but living outside of it, you really get a completely different view of how the world perceives you...it's not hate...it's more frustration...I don't know. I think sometimes, we as Americans don't understand how much we affect the world. We only get the news about big things like Iraq or North Korea, but we don't hear about the little things that are huge to these tiny countries...yikes...what to do, what to do...
I listened to a speaker one time named Rupert Nacouste (please forgive the spelling). The one line that I remembered was when he was talking about when things have deterioted to the point where it looks unfixable or is completely baffleing...he said "And we ask ourselves, how did we get here, how did we get here?" I think with the way the economy is, the way our foreign policy is and the state of the Iraq War, now is the time to really ask oursevles "How did we get here?"
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It has taken me a week to write about this because I have had to mush it around in my head for awhile. I was eating my cereal last Saturday morning when I decided that maybe I should turn on CNN to try to catch up a bit on what is happening in America. I was a bit nauseated (from an infection in my intestines that I found out I had on Thursday) but what I saw almost made me throw up the cereal I had just swallowed. I dropped my spoon on the floor and the sound of the ting it made as it hit the concreate was deafening. Can anyone guess what I saw? If you guess the soldiers of Iraq being sexually abused and exploited by U.S. Amry soldiers then you win the million dollar prize. I was absolutely appauled. My first thought was, well if we thought they (meaning the Arab World-mainly the extremists) didn't have a reason to hate us before, they definately do now. I'm telling you, you couldn't have planned it better. What was actually kind of amusing was the quote that they gave from the president which was "This is not good." Do you think it's not good...really? I mean good God. Finally, I think it was yesterday, I read that Bush put out an apology...but that does not repare the mental damage that has been done to these prisoners of war and it is like throwing a little bucket of water on a house that is blazing on fire. I'm not sure what the answer is, but oh my God we are in trouble now.
What is somewhat frustrating for me is almost everyday I have to defend the fact that I am an American and that I am not a closeminded, war seeking idiot...that my country has a lot of value and that there are good people there that have great things to offer the world. But when my country continuely hurts other countries and violates simple human liberties what do I say...nothing...only I'm sorry and I continuely appologize here. How do I defend a country that continuely demonstrates a complete disregaurd for other peoples human rights. Please do not misunderstand me, I love my country and I wouldn't want to be from anywhere else...but living outside of it, you really get a completely different view of how the world perceives you...it's not hate...it's more frustration...I don't know. I think sometimes, we as Americans don't understand how much we affect the world. We only get the news about big things like Iraq or North Korea, but we don't hear about the little things that are huge to these tiny countries...yikes...what to do, what to do...
I listened to a speaker one time named Rupert Nacouste (please forgive the spelling). The one line that I remembered was when he was talking about when things have deterioted to the point where it looks unfixable or is completely baffleing...he said "And we ask ourselves, how did we get here, how did we get here?" I think with the way the economy is, the way our foreign policy is and the state of the Iraq War, now is the time to really ask oursevles "How did we get here?"
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Saturday, May 01, 2004
Photos
I am going to blog more tomorrow, but for those of you I did not send an email to, I wanted to put the link to photos of guatemala for everyone to check out
http://www.webvis.nl/reinder/Guate/index.htm
This is my friend Reinder´s website. The pictures include holidays to Monterrico, Lake Atitlan and El Salvador. You can leave comments if you would like.
These are just some of my favorites
Album 1
Lake with the Dock-DCP 3754
Me laying in bed with sever sunburn-DCP 3791
Group photo at the lake-DCP 3807
Album 2
Sabine and I smoking Cuban Cigars (4th Picture)
Reinder Kissing the crab (13th picture)
Matt and Sabine sitting on the edge of the cliff (32nd photo)
Album 3
Sabine and Reinder (4th picture)
Carpet (12th Picture)
Album 4
Silly Group Shot
Hope everyone enjoys them...let me know what you think!
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I am going to blog more tomorrow, but for those of you I did not send an email to, I wanted to put the link to photos of guatemala for everyone to check out
http://www.webvis.nl/reinder/Guate/index.htm
This is my friend Reinder´s website. The pictures include holidays to Monterrico, Lake Atitlan and El Salvador. You can leave comments if you would like.
These are just some of my favorites
Album 1
Lake with the Dock-DCP 3754
Me laying in bed with sever sunburn-DCP 3791
Group photo at the lake-DCP 3807
Album 2
Sabine and I smoking Cuban Cigars (4th Picture)
Reinder Kissing the crab (13th picture)
Matt and Sabine sitting on the edge of the cliff (32nd photo)
Album 3
Sabine and Reinder (4th picture)
Carpet (12th Picture)
Album 4
Silly Group Shot
Hope everyone enjoys them...let me know what you think!
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