April 13, 2013
Sometimes you feel like a nut
One afternoon we visited a macadamia nut farm. It was not that exciting. And the trees were imported from California....
April 11, 2013
A Field Trip to Volcan Pacaya
Remember those bus-safety drills we used to have to do as children? The ones where they'd pile us all onto a bright yellow schoolbus one afternoon a year and we'd have to practice hopping off through the back door in case we ever rolled off...
April 3, 2013
Semana Santa Processions in Antigua, Guatemala
"This reminds me of a music festival," my friend Charlotte said to me as we sat on a color-stained curb with four brochures outlining the day's Semana Santa procession routes open in front of us. "We need to figure out where each procession will be...
April 1, 2013
Alfombras de Semana Santa en Antigua, Guatemala
Throughout Lent, and throughout Semana Santa (Holy Week) in Antigua, the streets would be covered in elaborate alfombras carpets, made out of colored sawdust, fruits, vegetables, and a wide range of other materials. Some were quickly thrown together. Some took hours upon hours of work....
March 27, 2013
La alfombra. Creating an alfombra for Semana Santa in Guatemala.
Horns were bellowing a death march. A loud drum kept the beat. Boom. Boom. Boom. It was an eerie orchestration that had been the soundtrack to Antigua, Guatemala, throughout lent, throughout Semana Santa. If you weren't hearing the deific tones from one of the frequent...
March 22, 2013
Traditional Guatemalan Clothing Demonstration in Antigua
I'm currently studying Spanish at a Spanish school in Antigua, Guatemala. Nearly every day the school offers some sort of free local activity. There was a walking tour, a bicycle tour, and a visit to a nut farm. Yesterday's activity was a Traditional Guatemalan clothing...
March 21, 2013
A free walking tour of Antigua, Guatemala.
I’ve been taking Spanish classes for a week now — four hours a day, five days a week, one-on-one — at a small Spanish school in Antigua, Guatemala. My Spanish is far from good, but, considering a week ago I could barely say “hola,” I...
March 18, 2013
Saturday morning football.
I'd never seen a football match in person. Football, or soccer as we call it at home, has never really been my sport. Not that I really have a sport. I used to watch a lot of American football back in college. But, really, I...
March 14, 2013
Square One
A year and a half ago I sat on a park bench in Berlin, crying. I was overwhelmed by it all. From being so far from home. From being alone. From the thought of long-term travel. I didn't think I could make it for three...
February 21, 2013
I’m so excited! I’m so excited! I’m so…scared!
My first ever camping trip got rained out, a malady that would plague every other camping trip I ever took with my college friends from that point on. It was the summer after my sophomore year of college, and we had crossed the state border...