greetings from guatemala!

ok i´m having a small issue with this keyboard. i´ll get used to it in time...
BUT YAY! I MADE IT! here i am!!! how´d i get here? funny u should ask.

sat. night i departed at 11:15pm. arrived in guatemala city at 6am (4am PCT). a friend who is already in guatemala arranged for my pick-up from the airport to my final destination of quetzaltenango, aka xela (¨x¨is pronounced like ¨sh¨). the driver from 2 lunas hostel stood outside with a sign. he took me over to the hostel where i rested and had breakfast. then he took me to the private bus terminal at 10am. it´s funny because it says "first class service" but by american standards it certainly wouldn´t qualify. it just reminded me of how much we as americans demand. anyway, the 4 hour bus ride with the crazy bus driver taking curves at who-knows-what-godforbidden-speed with his right hand man making derogatory signs at other bus drivers (really funny, actually)... now i trapped myself in a really awkward sentence... so basically i got to xela, then waited for my friends who were supposed to meet me at the bus terminal. they never came so 45 min of near paranoia later (this is my first time traveling alone in a foreign country), i said screw it and took a taxi to my school. he tried to charge me 40 quetzales, which i know was too much. we agreed to 30, which was still too much but beggars can´t be choosers. most of the taxis were gone and only come at the next bus pick-up/ drop-off hour, which in my case would have been 2 hours later.

at my school, proyecto linguistico (www.hermandad.com) the folks checked me in and arranged for me to meet my host family. during the wait, my friends showed up at my school. yay! after a long journey, familiar faces are a relief. we caught up a bit, then they headed back to their neck of the woods. i got settled in at my host home and talked with the family a bit, then watched el hombre araña (spiderman) on tv while rain poured. my host family consists of mom carmen, dad hector, 15 yr old daughter ceci, 7 yr old daughter maria jose, and 1.5 yr old cockerspaniel zuni. i have my own room and set of keys to the house. everyone is freaking me out about the water though. i think starting tonight i´ll start using agua pura to brush my teeth rather than the tap. geesh. in mexico i drank water from a well and brushed my teeth with the tap water and walked in the flooded (sewer-filled?) streets. i´m still fine. but better safe than sorry. i´m also warned not to eat the fruits from the streets, unless it´s something i peel myself. actually, they advised not to eat anything from the street vendors... shhh. i know i won´t be able to resist.

today i met my teacher at 8am. one-on-one, very awesome, very knowledgeable. after some inital, yet extensive, conversation and a written diagnostic, he basically told me that one of things we need to work on is my level of confidence. he said that mostly everything i was saying was fine, and on my written exam for intermediate level i didn´t have many errors. i just don´t want to say things if i feel like it won´t come out perfectly. and he said good thing i wasn´t getting scored on it because i was taking it so seriously. =p i also need to slow down because i kept throwing all kinds of questions at my teacher, and he´s like.. you´re hungry! well, yeah... i need to figure out all this por/para, ser/estar, tiene/hace, el tema/los temas, la-las manos, el agua/ las aguas business. i´m slowly trying and reminding myself to bring down my affective filter. being the nerd that i am, i got all excited about homework so i think he gave me a lot accordingly.

it´s soooo rainy and cold here. i think i took the term ´packing light´ a little too seriously. i´m going to have to buy more (warm) clothes. people won´t have any difficulty recognizing me with the same one sweater on everyday. i´m soooo thankful for my rainjacket. i had to go buy an umbrella today. as well as a notebook for class. exchanged money at the bank surrounded by armed guards, and found a sports store!! i´m going to blow my money on a futbol and guatemala national jersey. OOHH!! and at my school they play futbol every thursday evening AANNDD there´s a foosball table!!!! i´m OVERJOYED! and there are political documentaries and roundtable discussions about social issues in guatemala, the indigenous struggle, field trips... it´s only been one day so far and already i feel like i´ve done a lot. what does the rest of the week have in store for me? feel free to tag on the left-hand side any comments or questions or requests u may have!

the writing project is over. but it's not the end. i feel like i just got started in all this writing business and fortifying some tight friendships with colleagues. yay!

i leave for guatemala today. am i ready? not really. am i excited? yes, but nervous as well. i realized this will be my first time traveling to another country alone. but since i feel like i have a pretty solid traveling experience, it won't be too bad. i've got most of the stuff that i'll need for traveling. i got my travelers cheques, made photocopies, already have a frame backpack which i used for europe, a money belt and locks for my pack.. most of the essentials. since it's really rainy right now in guatemala though, my friend got me such a wonderful bday gift!! got a rainjacket and a water filtration bottle. =) both very cool and very practical.

i'll be writing about my travels here. i'll have regular access to email so that would be the best way to communicate. i can't wait to see how much my spanish will have improved when i return! time to get packin...

funny @$$
The Pastor's Ass

The pastor entered his donkey in a race and it won.
The pastor was so pleased with the donkey that he entered it in the race again, and it won again.

The local paper read: PASTOR'S ASS OUT FRONT

The Bishop was so upset with this kind opublicity that he ordered the pastor not to enter the donkey in another race.

The next day, the local paper headline read:
BISHOP SCRATCHES PASTOR'S ASS.

This was too much for the bishop, so he ordered the pastor to get rid of the donkey. The pastor decided to give it to a nun in a nearby convent.

The local paper, hearing of the news, posted
the following headline the next day:
NUN HAS BEST ASS IN TOWN.

The bishop fainted. He informed the nun that she would have to get rid of the donkey, so she sold it to a farmer for $10.

The next day the paper read:
NUN SELLS ASS FOR $10

This was too much for the bishop, so he ordered the nun to buy back the donkey and lead it to the plains where it could run wild.

The next day the headlines read:
NUN ANNOUNCES HER ASS IS WILD AND FREE

The bishop was buried the next day.

The moral of the story is....

Being concerned about public opinion can bring you much grief and misery...and even shorten your life. So be yourself and enjoy life... Stop worrying about everyone else's ass and you'll be a lot happier and live longer!

thrice poked
got immunizations today in prep for my trip to guatemala. tetanus, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever. whee~ so much $

my ucla writing project is coming to an end. i have no idea where that month went. my last day of teaching for upward bound is also tomorrow. my last day of korean drumming is thursday, since i won't be here next month. i had my last soccer game, well until i return, this past sunday. so many endings...

but so many new beginnings are headed my way! the beginning to me being a fluent spanish speaker! the first trip to central america! the beginning of a new living situation upon my return! the beginning of another new school year! the return of my second group of students! =)

before i get too excited though, i must hash out this piece i'm working on to submit in our writing project anthology. procrastination, always a part of me. i will dearly miss my fellow writing project fellows. it should be a sin that we get paid for being in it. i'm fairly certain that i have forged some solid ties with a handful of folks there, and it will not be goodbye. *tear*

what else can i say that's interesting..? currently reading assata shakur's autobiography. it's CRAZY!! too big to carry with me on my trips, so instead i'm taking with me esperanza rising. another dilemma: to invest in a macbook or not to invest, that is the question. i get a free nano ipod if purchase one before sept. what to do?! my desktop is ancient and my ibook from lausd is farting.

still searching for a 2bd apt in k-town with 2 parking spaces. anyone know of any leads should send em my way. looking to move end of august. yay! my roommate is going to be the best!

nice to see that a national education organization is actually taking a stance!

PLEASE DISTRIBUTE WIDELY!

On Sunday, at its biannual convention in Boston, the American Federation of Teachers declared that it opposes the war in Iraq, calls upon the US for withdrawal of troops and military bases in "a rapid and timely manner," and directs the AFT to urge its local and state affiliates to work with AFT and AFL-CIO in working to bring the troops home rapidly. The actual resolution follows below.


Amended Resolution 31: US Policy in Iraq
(as passed by the AFT Convention)
(bold type indicates language inserted by members of AFT Peace and Justice Caucus in the International Releations Committee, after narrowly losing an effort to substitute language calling for immediate withdrawal)

WHEREAS, AFT has always supported American troops in combat; and

WHEREAS, we have now lost more than 2,500 brave Americans in Iraq to date, and Iraqi civilian dead and wounded number over 100,000;

RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers oppose the war in Iraq, and call upon our country's leaders to withdraw all troops, bases, and operations in a rapid and timely manner and to put a stop to the unending military presence that will waste lives and resources, undermine our nation's security and weaken our military; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT support AFL-CIO Resolution 53, below, on the war in Iraq; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT actively encourage its state and local affiliates to join AFT in working with the AFL-CIO to end the war in Iraq and bring our troops home rapidly.

my blogs are not that interesting. i just talk about what i do. if my blogs were more amusing or if i pondered weird shit, then i would say they're more interesting...

i will now take this opportunity to wish myself a happy birthday. =) dinner at a chic caribbean restaurant with yummy sangria, and then out to a chocolate bar, at a rather small venue that plays reggae, hip hop, neosoul, rare grooves, etc. never been there but it sounds good! most excited about the good company i'll be in. folks from different walks of life are going to converge... college life, soccer life, work life, grad school, community organizers and activists... i wonder how people will mesh. i have no high school buddies to represent. hayley! oh wait, there's makoto. =)

working on a piece to submit for publishing in an educational magazine. crazy! me, publish? i was encouraged to write about what happened at my school by one of the editors of the magazine, who came to present at the ucla writing project (i might have talked about her already in the previous entry). we'll see where the article leads...

summer is well under way! i see i have at least one loyal reader left. ucla writing project is an amazing experience! the opportunity to be in a roomful of very competent fellow teachers with sound pedagogy and practices, and sharing all our ideas, and having amazing guest speakers... is just, wow. on friday i got to meet linda christensen of rethinking schools magazine. i'm nearly on the verge of idolizing her. i give her much respect for the work that she does and how she exemplifies it in real life. practice and theory bound into one. i aspire to be there. she encouraged me to write a piece to publish in the magazine. me? publish? i dunno man... scary. apparently the writing project i'm in is just part of the entire national writing project. they're scoping us out for publishing opportunities and conference presentations/workshops. and on top of all this i get paid to participate. =) lovin it. the only hard part is digging deep into my past and revisiting times and feelings that i've put to rest. writing about that stuff ain't easy. lotsa self reflection and analysis going into our own writing, as well as learning about teaching writing. make sense?

on mondays and wednesday evenings i drive up to CSUN to teach an 11th grade writing class. most of the students are from westchester high. crazy cuz my fellow educator who i play soccer with teachers at westchester and we have a couple of the same students. i love teaching high school!!! i need to hurry up and look into getting a secondary credential. i love my 3rd graders and all, but the depth of conversation i could do with secondary level students! most of my students at this summer outreach program are african-american, one pilipino, and one vietnamese. they're DOPE. so much fun. =)

thursday korean drumming practice has begun and i'm totally lovin it too! i can't help but be happy about things right now. reconnecting with my roots and helping out my people. last saturday i volunteered for national citizenship day, which was an amazing experience! we helped almost 2,000 immigrants apply for naturalization. dozens of lawyers came to volunteer, i was helping folks in both korean and spanish, my dad and brother came out to help... my friends that i recruited came out... a beautiful beautiful thing.

soccer is huge in my life now too. what with the world cup, the copa comunidad soccer tournament on saturday (our team tied for the championship, and 2 goals by yours truly!), and regular soccer on sunday evenings... life is good. i'm getting plenty of exercise, frequenting the beach, hanging out with good folks, staying involved in the people's work, teaching high school youth, getting my learn on, eating and cooking yummy food, and in the company of a very cool someone i'm getting to know =) things are good...and soon i'll be off to guatemala! ooh, but i'm getting immunizations tomorrow. =(

but saturday.. is my birthday! i always look forward to being in the comforting company of good friends. =) it's that time of year again, the one opportunity when i let myself get drunk enough to tell everyone how much i love them.