IRTRA

View from the Broadbeck's Guest House

This weekend we had the pleasure of going down toward the coast and staying with the Broadbeck's (former directors here at IAS.)  There home is beautiful.  It is situated about 30 minutes from Xela toward the coast.  We enjoyed great fellowship and fantastic food.  Santa Maria is the name of the town where the Broadbeck's live.  As of Sunday afternoon, they have received 200 inches of rain this year!  No wonder the place is so lush and beautiful.

Enjoying the sun

The ladies of the group decided to get a massage on Saturday morning at a resort named "Irtra."  An hour massage for $15, you can't beat that.  While the ladies pampered themselves the guys worked out and played raquetball.  Michael and Dustin enjoyed the pool after some intense games.



The view from my seat for the weekend!

I took up residence during the day in this seat.  This was my view and I loved every minute of it!  Irtra is beautiful.  The weather was great and I even got a little tan.  This weekend was the perfect getaway from the cold and rain that we have been experiencing in Xela.  THANK YOU Broadbeck's for a wonderful weekend.

Family Breakfast

This morning we woke up and began the preparation for family breakfast!  Our friend James came over early and started making homemade biscuits while I began bacon and gravy.

The "Family"

Slowly all of the teachers arrived at our apartment each with a different addition to our breakfast feast. The menu for the morning was as follows: biscuits and gravy, bacon, quiche, yogurt, granola, fruit salad, beans, tortillas, banana bread, orange juice and coffee.

The perfect biscuit

James making homemade biscuits

Needless to say we are still recovering!  It was wonderful and all were saying how it felt like it was a holiday.  Lots of love and joy filled the room.  The fellowship was very refreshing and good for our spirits.  It was a nice morning to be inside secondary to tropical depression Matthew which has conveniently situated itself over Guatemala for the time being.  Rain, rain, and more rain! 

He Bought Me Flowers!

Dustin came home from the gym yesterday with his hands full of daisies! Wonderful!

Xela Weekends

Just a quick little blog about Saturday. Some teachers including D went off to climb the volcano (Santa Maria) mentioned a few entries ago and me and two friends stayed behind to enjoy a day of relaxation, coffee, and picture taking. A friend from camp, Jen Joy, came to Guatemala to visit for two weeks. It was very nice to have her around. We went to some coffee shops I haven't yet experienced and leisurely walked the streets in search of the perfect pictures! The picture below is at 4:15 a.m., D is ready to climb but still slightly asleep!



We visited the cemetary (when visiting Xela one must do this). The traditions of Guatemalan funerals and burials are very interesting. However, after dark the cemetary becomes very dangerous due to gang initiations and the fact that marble is stolen to sell on the black market. The following picture is of one of the statues in the cemetary, it may be hard to tell but the wing and hand of the statue has been broken off and stolen.

Xela Feria

Wednesday September 15 is Guatemalan's Independence Day which translates to a day of off school for us here at IAS and the week off of school for Guatemalan schools. This week is full of celebration, parades, parades, and more parades as well as Xela Feria. The Xela Fair! On Wednesday morning we decided to go. An overwhelming experience to say the least.



We ate churrasco and churros and left very happy until Guatemalan revenge struck and we hustled to the house. It was a great day to experience Guatemalan culture and share with them the excitement of their independence. Even though we experienced the fair in a 3rd world country there are many similarities food, rides, games and things to buy that none of us need!

Santa Maria

The second weekend of being here in Xela we decided to climb the local volcano known as Santa Maria. We woke up at 4:30 am to prepare for the hike. Santa Maria fortunately is no longer active however, Santiaguito (the volcano behind Santa Maria) is alive and well erupting daily with ash and rock. We got a taxi out to the base of the volcano and so the story begins. Dustin has climbed Santa Maria numerous times however, that was four years ago and the terrain has changed slightly. We got ourselves a little bit lost but with the help of some locals (who climb the volcano in jelly sandles with babies and wood strapped to their back in no time flat) we eventually made it to the correct path. The climb took us about 3 hours with the aforementioned native guatemalans passing us at annoyingly fast speeds. The altitude was hard to adjust to but we made it to the top. What a beautiful sight and well worth the hours of muddy, steep climbing. I would like to say that we descended and went on to have a productive day however, the fact is that we arrived home, ate, and fell smooth asleep.

Primera Semana De Clases (First Week of School)

When we talked about IAS (Inter-American School,)did we mention that it sits atop a huge hill?? My classroom (kristen) is located at the top of the hill, Dustin teaches middle school which is unfortunately located at the bottom of the hill. This fact lends itself towards an increased amount of acclimation to the altitude as he ascends IAS Hill 2-3 times per day.

The first week of school went well. Hiccups were minimal and the students were great. As we all have experienced, with comfort comes a little bit of mischevious behavior shining through now and then as the semester has progressed. Science is going well however, I have had to brush up on a few things...okay a lot of things. Dustin is in his element and loving this experience.

The new staff at IAS is wonderful. Teachers of all ages. We have a very newly wed couple who was married a week before they arrived here in Guatemala. What a honeymoon huh?!?

The teachers are quickly becoming a tight knit group which is very important when away from family and friends. Speaking of...we miss you very much.