Rocking that *International* Paradise

I don’t set a New Year’s Resolution each year, but when I do set one, I try and make sure it is something simple, worthwhile and something I can truly invest myself in.  In 2015, I resolved to find something to celebrate in every single day.  Similar to some people’s 365 day photo challenge, I took a moment each day to record something.  Rather than take a photo, though, I wrote a brief description of what I chose to celebrate that day.  I challenged myself to think, not just what I was grateful for each day, not just what was good about the day, but what was really worth a celebration.  A year later, I now have an 18 page word document which catalogues the high points of my last year.  Looking back through the document brings back a flood of memories, reminding me both of happy and sad times.  I can track a relationship’s arc, from start: 3/13/15: A fun first date. 3/22/15: Watching a movie at home with a guy who makes me feel relaxed a...

Last week, I spent my Thanksgiving vacation in Mexico.  I met my friend Amy in Puerto Vallarta, and from there we took a bus to the small coastal town of Sayulita, where we stayed for our first three nights.  Our first night in Sayulita, Amy and I were in a restaurant where live music played and the dance floor was filled with locals and tourists whirling about in an impressive salsa dancing display.  We sat back and watched the dancers, and as we did, a woman came up to Amy and asked if she had a pen that she could borrow, “maybe forever.”  She explained that she was a travel journalist, and her own pen had broken (she held up an ink-stained palm) and told Amy she needed the pen to be able to do her job.   Amy gave the girl her pen, and we watched her move across the room, post up along the opposite wall, and begin to take notes on what she saw there.   Amy and I began chatting about what an amazing job travel journalism must be. And that chan...

Last Sunday morning, I woke up to the sound of soft rain on the roof.  A never-ending drizzle had started the afternoon before and never really stopped in Guatemala City.  My thoughts toward the rain were not pleasant. It was the morning of the Pacaya 10km race, which is one of my favorites each year.  The trail is difficult, but not impossible, and the views the entire race are breathtaking.  I had run it the past two years, with a slightly better time my second year than my first.  Though I hadn’t explicitly trained for this year’s 10K, I knew I was in pretty good shape and thought I had a chance at finishing well.   But… rain .   There was already a facebook message thread between some of the people going with me to the race.  Two had decided not to chance the rain and mud, and a few of the others were waffling.  Resolutely, I added that unless I heard the race was cancelled or postponed, I planned to drive there and make a ga...

October has been a difficult month for me this year, and it’s not even over yet (though nearly).  But I sincerely hope the hardest things I will encounter this month are now behind me.  October began with some rockiness in my personal life.  Now, three weeks later, I can look back with clarity and see that what happened was for the best.  But at the time—well, I was a mess for a little bit there. And then, one week after my personal life had been turned upside down, the school called the foreign hire teachers into a meeting and informed us that they wanted our decisions about whether we wanted to renew our contracts at the end of this year or not soon .  Like within the next week, soon. Last Christmas, I had decided this would be my third and final year living in Guatemala.  I felt the time was right and I would be ready to return to Wisconsin after this school year.  But then eight months later, I came back here after summer vacation,...

I hate Friday traffic in Guatemala.  Hate it.  With a passion.  From 3pm until about 8pm, trying to leave the city is horrendous and takes twice or three times as long as it would with no traffic. On Friday afternoon, a group of us left right after school to go to the beach for the weekend.  I was one of the drivers, and I was adamant that we would leave the school parking lot at 3:02pm and we would make no stops until we were out of the city.  We did leave the parking lot by about 3:05, but after that my master plan to arrive at the beach early in the evening started falling apart.  First of all, we didn’t make it fifteen minutes before we had to pull over because my car was making odd grating sounds with every turn of the wheel or bump in the road.  We deduced that there was too much weight in the trunk, and we were able to transfer some of our load to one of the other cars.  Back on the road again. Traffic was unusually slow le...

How could a volcano hike on which we saw only clouds from the summit rank in my top 5 hikes of all time?  I'll tell you how.   It's all about the journey,  people. We started our hike from our hotel,  Finca Montaña Sagrada, on the Nicaraguan island of Ometepe,  a little after 8am.  The day was cloudy,  but we left with hopes that the skies would clear.    Right from the start,  the hike was a whole different world from what Rachel and I have gotten used to in Guatemala.   The heat and humidity had us dripping sweat in short order.   Thankfully,  the route was shaded and we were more or less comfortable,  even sweaty as we were. Farmland and petroglyphs at the base of the volcano The air was filled with the sounds of howler monkeys,  and soon enough,  we actually saw a couple.   Our guide also pointed out a mean looking venomous land crab (a different species than the k...

The six of us scampered down Volcan Tacana on Monday with not many cares in the world.  We’d made it to the summit of the 2nd highest peak in Central America without any serious rain, had enjoyed a sunrise stretching out over Mexico and Guatemala, and now we were heading back to civilization with lighter packs and fuller hearts.   Sunrise from the summit of Tacana We enjoyed the sunshine and the views of the valley stretching out below us.  We passed purple, white, and red flowers tucked into the undergrowth.  We remarked on how green everything was, and we loved the way the mist made everything seem more mysterious.  We took our time, taking multiple breaks and walking at a leisurely pace.   At 12:45, we stopped for a snack break and ate trail mix and gummy candies.  While we were relaxing, I mentioned something about how I’d overheard our guide, Cesar, say that the last bus from the town we were headed for left at 1:00pm. ...

It’s an exciting time to live in Guatemala.  Though I don’t usually follow current events or even attempt to stay up to date on the political scene here in Guate, over the past few months, it’s been impossible not to.  And what has been happening has been simply remarkable.  Alfombra at our school to celebrate Independence Day I am still by no means an expert, but I think almost everyone here in the city now has at least a basic understanding of what’s been going on.  I’ll attempt to keep this update accurate and concise.  To begin, we have to go back a few months, to the spring.  It was at that time that the then-vice president of Guatemala, Roxanna Baldetti, was linked to a corruption scandal.  This news sparked a campaign called RenunciaYa (“Resign Already”) which called for the resignations of both the vice president and the president (who people assumed was involved, though no formal accusations were made).  Baldetti resigned in ...

“So what do you think?  Mini or full adventure?” Chris asked me via messenger on Thursday afternoon.  Before I knew Chris would be in town this weekend, I had already made plans with my co-workers for Saturday evening.  But an adventure with Chris is something no one should pass up when given the chance. Full adventure was the obvious choice.  I backed out of my Saturday plans, and Chris and I left that morning bound for Mixco Viejo to be followed by a surprise which I only knew entailed a road/village that Chris had never been to.  We left the city and wound up the hills, through an area Chris calls the furniture capital of Guatemala, towards San Juan Sacatepequez.    The views were simply stunning.  The skies were clear, and we pulled over to take a few photos of Guatemala City spread out in the distance.  As our road curved over ridges, the view on either side of the truck kept changing.  With sweeping valley...