Agosto in the Books

Title: Agosto in the Books

Tues, Sep 7, 2010

This post is dedicated to John Robert Carrick, may you all keep him in your thoughts.

Lots to update on - as I wait the turning/closing of a century. This last year has been spent from Day 1 to Day 365 as a 24 year old in this beautiful country of Guatemala (minus a few days for Anthony K.F.´s wedding). And thinking of all the successess (few), frustrations (many), relationships made, and places visited, I´ve come to the conclusion of how great it´s been.

The other morning (630am) my landlord popped his head into my house. To paint the picture - I was swaying in a hammock, cup of Guatemalan Pacaya coffee in hand, ukulele on one side (no advancement there to report), and Noam Chomsky´s ¨Hegemony or Survival¨ in my hands. He said to me ¨Que vida Miguel¨(What a life...) And then he dropped off a root of 20 fresh yellow bananas he had just cut from my (our) backyard. As he walked out, I sat there in amazement. This is my life. I realized - take a step back and just think where you are. Not always will I be in this position, nor will we always be here. Relax, enjoy, and be thankful.

Last month I got to visit two of my best buddies here in Peace Corps. Jamie, fellow Californian and single most eligible bachelor in Guatemala. As he calls this, it was ¨The Most Funnest Trip Ever¨. I would like to enforce that no we have not completely lost our English

Don Jamie Grapas (Staples)

Yes we put the camera on timer

Yours truly in front of the waterfall

Trying to swim...

At the end of the month, I went with my sitemate to learn how to build stoves. We also got to see my buddy who, to the loyal followers of my blog, is best known for enduring the electricity-water-less life we all dream about but would never want to do - Don Oliver Cunningham.

Don Oliver´s life in the jungle. Can you see the electricity wires arriving to his house? Ya neither can I...

Hiking through the jungle to find civilization...ok not really, leaving the house where we built the new stove headed for Oliver´s village

Sitemate Brianna and I making stoves

Other random shots from up on the volcano:

This has alot of meanings. Anyone who has ever seen Guatemalans in photos will understand this. They refuse to smile, touch their loved ones, and like to pose as a pencil stick. Us impersonating them, kind of hard to keep from laughing

Judy and I, probably looking at...nothing

It´s nice to have such amazing people in my life who go out of their way to make me feel at home. Unfortunately, due to heavy rains I wasn´t able to make it out to enjoy this amazing looking cake. But it´s the thought that counts.

Have a fantastic day, week, month. See you soon. Enjoy those hot showers. Paz del Italiano