No Pictures but Great Adventures

Hello Everyone!

I must apologize for not updating this blog for quite some time. However, I assure you all that I am alive and doing fantastic in Guatemala.

Over the past few weeks I have been teaching English 4 days a week to a few adults in the community and in a local public school. The experience has been very rewarding and an awesome chance for me to grow in my abilities. In this role, I am currently working on creating an English-Teaching curriculum for other Spanish Students to use when they wish to teach English here in order to maintain a consistent structure for the students learning.... Thus I have not had an ample amount of free time to blog about my adventures!

I have hiked two different volcanoes here. Both trips were adventures. The first trip to the summit of Santa Maria Volcan was very interesting. I went with my teacher and two other students at 4AM to begin our climb. However, because of a huge local event happening on the volcano, I guard with a shot-gun told us we were not allowed to pass to enter the hike without paying Q2oo! No problem... we snuck through a local farm and field to get around the guard and climb to the top. We were able to look over a few other volcanos and watch one of them erupt! It was incredible. The other volcano had a large lake in the middle of it! I do not remember the name, but the lake was beautiful and the view was spectacular. There were many Mayan families there paying tribute to members of their family who had passed away... it was fascinating to watch their rituals!

Aside from the volcanoes, I spent a day at a beach about 2hours from here with my teacher and his good friends. Going on a day vaccation with some Guatemaltecas is interesting. They were 45 minutes late picking me up and we return about 3hours after their estimation for when we would return. The beach was incredible and the water was perfect with nice large waves to body surf on for hours. It has been really special for me to get these opportunities and be the only white-person in sight. My white skin definitely stood out in a beach full of locals... but that made the experience all the more authentic and memorable for me!

Semana Santa = Best week ever! Holy Week in Guatemala is HUGE. There are multiple processions each day that essentially over the course of the week tell the story of Jesus being arrested, tortured, crucified, dead, and resurrected! Mary and Jesus are portrayed with such beauty and the people here put everything into this week. In Guatemala, Antigua is the international sensation for people to travel to for Semana Santa, becauase they have the largest processions in the world... however, at night, the streets are filled with turists drinking, partying, and essentially not respecting the significance or importance of Holy Week. In Xela, I was able to experience it all from the perspective of a Catholic Guatemaltecan! I watched the processions and went to different churches for weekly fiestas during Lent leading up to Holy Week. On Holy Thursdaty, I spend from 8p,m-1am going to different churches and paying my respects to a variety of Alters with an Adoration of the Eucharist. My family and I went to about 15 different churches and each one was filled with large families. That night was one of the most genuine and moving spiritual experiences of my life. The next day I helped to make an Alfomra (which is a large image on the pavement that looks like a carpet but is made out of dyed shredded pieces of wood!) It was hard work but such an unforgettable experience. Easter Vigil and then Easter Mass on Sunday with a very exciting and happy procession made the week by far the best in Guatemala! I have never been a part of something like it.

Today, I went to a local amusement park here. The newspaper had a great promotion and my teachers at the school really wanted to go because the price was so cheap! So we were at a HUGE water park that was absolutley fantastic. Today has been so exciting and fun! I laughed so much that my abs are soar and I think I wore enough sun screen to not be sun burnt.... successful day in my book!

Overall, I am doing really well. Between these and many more adventures, going to mass, learning spanish, developing relationships with my host family, volunteering, and trying to make an English Teaching book, my time here is being well spent! I am still finding time to relax and just enjoy the many moments when I am by myself. Also, my family is very extensive in Xela and I have been blessed with getting to know many of them. It has been really fun to walk down the street and hear my name be called with excitement and it is the sister to my host mom and her children greeting me with large smiles. I really do feel like I am becoming a part of a wonderful family here, one that recognizes me as a temporary student, but that still sees my worth and value and treats me with such respect!

I am very lucky to be here and I am hopeful for the next three weeks here that they continue to go well. I apologize for the length of this post and for not spicing it up with photos. I will try to upload photos soon or will be putting them online soon after I return home! I have a lot of great ones to share.

As always, Thank you all for reading and supporting me with your postive thoughts, emails, and prayers! I love hearing about how you are doing, so always feel free to drop me a message whenever.

Peace & Blessings to each of you.

-Mathew