1.Blue Jolly Ranchers. The village of Chirixquitzac (Are you ready for this? Pronounced Chit-ti-qui-zac) is about a 10 hour bus ride from Guatemala City. Towards the end of the drive, I didn't realize how close we were to the village and I popped in a blue Jolly Rancher. Now I usually avoid the blue ones because they turn your entire mouth blue (... go figure lex.) but for what ever reason I just didn't care that day.
Well it ended up being the BEST thing ever. As we pulled up to the village, all the locals were waiting anxiously for our arrival. As we stepped off the bus the kids all rushed forward to shake our hands and stare a little. I quietly stuck my tongue out to some of the kids knowing that it was blue, and it was so fun to watch their faces widen with surprise and hear them shrill with shock and amazement. (They can't stop staring at me!)
2. The affection. As a group, we discussed multiple times about how we couldn't even feel home sick because we were constantly showered with love and affection from the kids. They were constantly on top of our laps, rubbing our arms, calling our names, and spying on us.
See how they cling to Thomas? This is a regular sighting.
3. Obviously- The kids. Meet some of my favorites.
Ingri
Bento. (Aka: Bean)
Daisy.
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And my ABSOLUTE favorite-Carmalina.
4. The Project. It's an amazing feeling to know you work really hard all day to make a difference in someone else's life. This years project was building stoves. For thousands of years, the women in this village have been cooking over open fire stoves in their homes. Obviously, the room would fill with smoke and cause a lot of health problems. The leaders of the village and Choice workers helped create a stove that would get all the cooking done without the smoke, and the fire hazards.
We mostly just carried cinder blocks. Uphill. Many times- all day long.
And a little bit of digging (In their kitchen. Dirt floors in their kitchen)
Last years project: The school
Project two years ago: Water system
(Pictured below- Water basin)
5. The scenery
6. The choice employee's. I want to be them when I grow up. Literally.
7. Dancing in the rain in the middle of the jungle.
On the last day we were dancing and celebrating with the villagers and all of a sudden there was a DOWNPOUR. We were drenched before we could make it inside.
8. The Marimba. *Cough* Maybe not.... Especially not at 4 in the morning.
.... A mighty return? What does that mean?.... Whatever, I'm sticking with it.
Welcome back to the U.S.of A. kids!
I feel:
exhausted,
sad,
happy,
energized,
awake,
renewed,
open,
bruised,
and ready.
Rather than do one very large blog post on my entire trip, I am going to try and break it up a bit. First of all, I want to get my hands on the pictures everyone else took (partially because APPARENTLY, I am terrible at taking pictures of myself.... boo.) and Secondly, it's hard to read really long blog posts. It wears a girl out. (also hard to right.... that's right. I'm being lazy. But not completely. Give me a break I had a week of hard labor and sleeping on cement.)
The fire has been re-lit.
Alas, there are still so many things to worry about. I forever feel like I am lacking. Never enough time, and yet, I still manage to watch the Bachelorette each week. Sigh....
Well..... Tonight's the night. By this time tomorrow I will be in Guatemala.
*Could there be more gif's in a single blog post? My apologies. *
*I recently found out I might be in charge of the "official" Choice twitter and blog while we are there. If so, I will give you all the links as soon as I have them. *
- Meeting people that will change my life
-Bettering other peoples lives
-A week of non stop service
- A week of simplicity. No cell phone, no school, no drama, no computer.
-A week of realizing what I take for granted
- A week of empowering people and teaching them skills that will change them
- Getting chummy with DownEast "higher-up's".
- Getting chummy with everyone at Choice humanitarian
- Looking into possible Choice opportunities.
-Backpacking. I think I'm going to looove it.
-I'm going alone. I literally have zero relationships with anyone that will be there.
-Hiking / asthma/ allergy problems
-Hook worm? (Thank you Sadie Green for the nightmares.... )
- Sleeping on the floor of the jungle. (Okay... not really... but kinda...)
- Language barriers. The village we are in doesn't even speak Spanish. They speak their NATIVE tongue.
- What if I'm not cut out for it the way I think I am?
- What if I get sick?
- What if I Fuego explodes and I'm stranded for ever and ever?
- What if this is all a joke?
So remember how I am taking online classes this semester? Well one of them is a Natural Disasters class. Now, this class is actually quite awesome. Very interesting, lots of information, yada yada yada. Well guess what? It also makes me super paranoid.
And guess what. I bet you didn't know that Guatemala has a volcano name "Fuego" and it recently had the "Largest Eruption in years". Don't believe me? Read it here.
Can I just take a moment to tell you all how excited I am? I am not going to lie, I have been hesitant to post much on my blog about my trip because I don't want this to become "Lexi's brag blog". I am super blessed to get this opportunity and I honestly don't deserve it. But I just can't take it anymore so I am starting a 6 day countdown series to lead up for the big adventure.
Here is what I'm thinking:
Sunday: Intro
Monday: To-Do list before I leave
Tuesday: Something I'm trying not to think about
Wednesday: What I'm most worried about
Thursday: What I'm most excited about
Friday: Departure night.
Does that sound interesting to you guys? Anything you would like to hear from me before I leave?
Lets start out with how I got this amazing opportunity.
Like most students, I work. I don't mind it. It definitely keeps me busy, but busy is usually a good thing in my book. I started working for DownEast Basics last spring semester about a year ago. I started while I was up at school, and I loved it enough to stay with the company when I moved down to Utah these last couple of months.
At the beginning of the year, they started putting up announcements on the webpage that we clock in with about a scholarship opportunity to go with DownEast and Choice Humanitarian to Guatemala. What is funny is I literally didn't think anything about it for the longest time. To apply for the scholarship all you had to do was write a small essay about why you deserved to go. I literally didn't take it seriously until the day before it was due. Basically on a whim, I decided to email myself the scholarship application information.
Part of the reason I was hesitant to apply was because I knew they had 4 scholarships- two full scholarships (Where DownEast pays for every single part of the trip) and two half scholarships (where DownEast pays for the expedition but you have to pay for your flight and other travel expenses). I knew I would feel terrible if I was offered a half scholarship and had to turn it down because I wouldn't even be able to pay for the flight.
But I went with my gut. I applied anyway. I wrote my essay and got some help from my future Uncle-in-law Wes and sent the email off on it's way. And then.... (interestingly..) I sort of forgot about it. I was anxious to hear who won the scholarship, but I was also really trying not to get my hopes up, so any time I thought about it I would push it to the back of my mind.
I had just been promoted to the Warehouse sale manager, and had only been acting manager for a few days when MY manager got a mysterious phone call where she left the room. I tried not to pay much attention or act very curious about her suspicious behavior. When she came back she handed me a post it note with a phone number on it and said "This is Mike's number from H.R. He needs you to give him a call" with the most serious look on her face. I seriously thought I was fired. Either I was fired, or as new manager they were going to make me fire one of my friends. I had a pit in the bottom of my stomach. I dreaded it, but slowly walked into the back room and dialed the number.
When Mike first answered, I introduced myself and told him I was instructed to call him. He sounded so nice but quickly said "Hold on Lexi..." and quickly finished giving someone on his side of the line instructions about something or another. As he was talking to the invisible stranger my mind was whirling. He wouldn't have been so nice if I was fired, right? Or even if he was going to make me fire one of my girls? Maybe he just needed some paper work from me?
He quickly came back and picked up the conversation again. He asked me about my intentions with the company and I was as honest as possible. He seemed pleased and moved on to talking about the trip to Guatemala. I think because I was so worried about the phone call, it took a while for my brain to switch gears and figure out what he was talking about.
And then. It happened. He said the magic words.
"Lexi. DownEast wants to offer you one of our full scholarships to join us in Guatemala with Choice Humanitarian."
My heart literally skipped a beat. Did he just say what I think he said? Is he serious? Wait... REALLY? I started laughing and crying all at the same time. I was in the back room of the DownEast warehouse sale, all by myself, and was doubled over trying to hold myself together. I choked out a "THANK YOU! Oh my gosh... Oh my gosh... THANK YOU. You have no idea.... how much... this means to me. I'm sorry. I'm totally crying. I'm.... THANK YOU!" You could hear how pleased he was to hear me having this conniption fit on the other side of the line.
He gave me more details about how to prepare and what to be expecting in the next couple of months, and then asked me not to tell anyone who worked for the company because he needed some time to let the other winners know and to get the information out. By the end of our phone call I was a wreck. I finally pulled myself together enough to go out and do my job, but all I really wanted to do was shout from the roof tops "I'M GOING TO FREAKIN GUATEMALA! I HAVE THE FREAKIN BEST JOB IN THE WHOLE FREAKIN WORLD!"
I left the back room, and there stood Erin, my best friend and fellow co-worker. I wanted to tell her my amazing news and I couldn't! To make matters worse she could tell something was up, and was pestering me with questions about my grin and the make-up that was smeared all over my face. It was one of the hardest secrets I've ever had to keep in my entire life.
And now, it's upon us. We are in the final countdown. By this time next week I will be in the amazing country of Guatemala.
Why do we love the familiar so much? For example, I am so excited because this year, there are two movies coming out that I am beyond excited for. What's great is that both movies are literally some of my favorite stories of all time.
Let's start with Gatsby. Now I love to read. That being said, I have rarely enjoyed reading "The classics" that were forced upon me in the middle school/ high school English classes. Gatsby is one of a few exceptions. I loved reading The Great Gatsby. First of all, a lot of credit should go to my awesome sophomore English teacher. We read the book in class, and she did an amazing job of bringing the story and characters come to life for me. We found modern day songs that we thought applied to the story and I often think about our discussions on symbolism and themes through the book. Never before had I read a book where the characters were so truly miserable. Everyone was so miserable, but no one could see it in each other. A lot like real life.
Leonardo DeCaprio?- PERFECT. Toby Mcguire? Wouldn't have it any other way. I even kind of like that they used Kanye and Jay-z music in the trailer.
First of all, happily surprised with Anne Hathaway's voice. She is not the most perfect singer, but I kind of love that about it. I have always had a special place in my heart for Les Miserables. I remember when I was a little girl, my parents would watch one of the concert versions of the music on VHS. I grew up with the songs playing around the house. I adore the first act and honestly rarely get past it. Don't get me wrong, I know the second half is just as beautiful, but by the time the first act is over, I'm ready to re-wind and watch it again. Plus, (and maybe this is silly) but I often like seeing familiar faces in familiar parts.
Me, my dad, two brothers, and little sister Libby all drove 4 hours each way to Kanaraville, Utah to see the "Ring of Fire". We camped out for 4 hours in the field to see the spectacular event. We had so much fun bonding and getting pumped for the eclipse.
You guys. It was literally one of the most spectacular things I have ever seen. No picture or video will ever do it justice.
...Also here is a really good blog post written by someone else. It was fun to look at it because I saw so many of these people in the flesh and I WAS THERE!
