Rocking that *International* Paradise

New Year’s Resolution: Blog more.  Once a week.  I got this.  But that means finding time (making time) to actually write.  Even when my time, like this week, was filled with me complaining about how many research papers I had to read and grade.   But there’s always time to write. The weekend before last was a treat for me (you see, I’m backtracking; I missed one weekend’s post).  I spent it entirely in the city, but I was busy.   (I mean, busy enough that when a friend invited me to a gorgeous beach house for the weekend, I didn’t even question whether re-ordering my schedule might be a possibility--and I love the beach).   On Saturday morning, Kelly picked up 5 of us, all ladies, and we visited the textile museum in zone 10 of Guatemala City.  I’d heard great things about Museo Ixchel, but I’d never actually gone.  (Admittedly, museums are not generally my cup of tea).  Kelly had snagged us a great deal on the price for...

For a long time now, Karina and Jin (a teacher/neighbor originally from China) had been talking about getting a group together so Jin could teach us how to make a few Chinese dishes.  The day finally came this weekend.   On Saturday morning, Karina, Jin, Karen, and I took off at 10:30am to go shopping for ingredients. Our first stop was the Chinese store.  Watching Jin walk in, it was like watching a kid in a candy shop.  It was like she was home.  She was ecstatic to see all of the ingredients.  “Look how great those mushrooms look!”  “Ooh, with those noodles you could make…”  “This is my favorite brand of soy sauce!”  It was great, and just following her around was a lesson in Chinese cuisine, though I’ll remember none of it in the future.   From there, we went to zone 7. By this time, we were getting hungry, so we went to Jin’s favorite Korean restaurant.  Pro tip: if you want the best service at a Korean restaurant ...

I didn't set a New Year's resolution this year, but perhaps I should have resolved to write more consistently in this blog.  Already two weeks have passed, I've experienced two beautiful weekends, and I've written nothing. So let's recap.   This year being my last in Guatemala, I felt I should spend more of my winter break vacations in the country than out of it.  Since I had never spent New Years in Guatemala, I decided witnessing the celebration would be worth it.  So I came back on the 30th, and on the 31st, was on my way to Antigua with three girlfriends to celebrate the coming of the new year.   I have to admit, I was nervous about New Years in Antigua.  I don't love crowds, I don't love rowdy parties, and the last time I tried to enjoy a night out in Antigua, I was sick of the scene by 10pm and in bed by 11.  New Year's Eve, I assumed, would be worse. Thankfully, I was wrong.  My friends and I had a great time.  The after...