Man Down...time.

Much has occurred since my last entry; yet again, not much at all. Since Friday, we have remained at the monastery for a majority of the past week. Justin has since gotten quite sick with amoebas, parasites, and Guardia, and only today has he started feeling better. So, with him resting, sleeping, and generally experiencing a trip to Hell and back, I have been left to my own devices. While I've definitely managed to keep myself busy, some preparatory work has seemed like downtime in comparison to a trip to an aldea. The good news about this: 1. We will be amply prepared for our next aldea trips; 2. This blog entry need not be too long!

9/3 Saturday
A lazy Saturday after an exhausting week felt great. I woke recalling that Justin had gotten up an estimated 16 times during the night to a sudden onslaught of illness. Justin looked like he had been hit by a train. Fr. Bernie and I took Justin's product in a lab for any semblance of sickness. While waiting, Fr. Bernie and I purchased a slew of snacks and beer for the big Notre Dame game that afternoon.
We returned with the results, notifying Justin of his stool's status and giving him the proper medication from "la farmacia." For the rest of the afternoon, Justin rested while we watched our beloved Fighting Irish get stopped by the infamous Southern Florida Bulls. Similar to the game in South Bend, the day was raddled with thunder and heavy rain. Nevertheless, we received our Notre Dame game via Fr. Bernie's cool "Slingbox" program, which receives all the main channels from Minnesota. Later on, Fr. Bernie's friend Raul enjoyed whiskey drinks with us as we tried to explain to him what was going on in the appalling Notre Dame showdown.

9/4 Sunday
Didn't think a day could get lazier, but Sunday proved to top Saturday. Slept in late, played guitar, read a book in the hammock, I did whatever I could to relax and live the passive Guatemalan lifestyle. I was beginning to think the day was lost to laziness, yet I was wrong!
Fr. Bernie had recently ordered about 60 computers (monitors, CPU's, "mice," keyboards, the works) donated to the monastery. The computers will go to any Aldea that has access electricity. Justin and I will be assisting the people of the aldeas in learning the way of the computer and how to utilize it for educational programs. Today, Bernie got news that the truck had arrived in Coban. Time to start unloading!
The truck was huge, and even with 6 sturdy hombres, we managed to unload the whole load in 2 hours. In the process, I met Oscar and Alberto, both frequent workers of the monastery. After talking with them for a bit, I realized two things: 1) I would be spending a lot of time working with these two fine gentlemen, and 2) I spoke pure spanish for about 2 hours long! I didn't even realize it, but I had gotten very comfortable with using my broken Spanish. While it still needs work, I am proud that I was able to carry conversation. I shared about 4 beers with these guys (after I brought down a few of my own "Budweiser," Oscar insisted on continuing to go down to a local "tienda" and purchase the native "Gallo" beer for everyone to drink.
That night, I got the great hour of dining at Chilio and Maria's house, also friends of Fr. Bernie. Chilio and Maria live on a small piece of farmland in a neighboring pueblo. They have a thin, tall son Alexanjro who is 15, and a very pretty daughter Ines who is 17. During the whole dinner (which was outside under a white tent overlooking beautiful Guatemalan farm landscape) Ines was all over her boyfriend, Tavo, who was 23. Dinner included the best steak I've ever had, the best chips and guacamole I've ever had, and lots of whiskey. I was a happy man. After some liquid confidence, I began to try and put some personality into my Spanish. It worked; I ended up swapping numbers with Tavo (college student), who said that he would call me about a party a week from this Friday. I hope I can work my Spanish up enough for that one!

9/5 Monday

Organizing Wet Photos on Deck

Couldn't make it to 6:00a.m. prayer today for gulping whiskey like a sailor on Sunday; Justin couldn't make it as he was still sick as a sailor. After breakfast, I spent my morning sifting through old monastery photos which had been subject rainwater from a large crack in the darkroom. Unfortunately, many of the photographs were not salvageable. While this work wasn't necessary pro-altruistic, I know the importance of old photos and recognized the immediacy of the issue. Lunch and mid-day prayer came and went, and I soon found myself stuck in the hammock after siesta time. My hammock snooze turned into an all afternoon nap as rain drizzled in patterns of intensity on the deck roof. Evening prayer, dinner, bed.

Painting Screens for Projectors

9/6 Tuesday
Justin, either getting better or being too sick of the room, decided to get back at it today. We finished our paint job from last Friday (see rightt), and spent the afternoon trying to pick up a few necessities at the supermarket (to no avail- both of our debit cards failed to withdraw money from the ATM due to logisitcal mix-ups. I care not to bore my readers with this, but know that for possibly the next week I am without money in a different country. Whoops!). This, by the way, was my second solo trip with the Suzuki Jeep. Aside from a pretty much worthless drive to-and-from the supermarket, a didn't stall out the car to embarrassment this time! I just couldn't put the damn thing in reverse when trying to leave the monastery... Justin and I had to kick it in neutral and back it up manually :/. Dinner was a typical black bean and tortilla extravaganza. This called for the only snack we had: microwave popcorn. This, along with glass-bottled Coke and "The Untouchables" concluded our Tuesday.

9/7 Wednesday
Today was almost a full day, and I have just realized that my readers don't know what a "full day" is in the monastery. Check this schedule out:

6:00a.m. Morning Prayer
7:00a.m. Breakfast
8:00a.m. Morning Work Period Begins
12:30p.m. Mid-Day Prayer
12:45p.m. Lunch
1:00p.m. - 2:30p.m. Siesta
2:30p.m. Afternoon Work Period Begins
5:30p.m. Evening Prayer (Vespers)
6:00p.m. Mass
7:00p.m. Dinner
7:30p.m. - 8:15p.m. Vigil Prayer

A bit o' structure, huh? Its taken some getting used to, and by no means are Justin and I required to attend all of these events. It is expected (as it well should) that we participate in the community. Thus, I've configured a schedule to keep myself sane (I am, after all, not at all considering vows or whatnot). An hour for God is sufficient, and if I'm around, I'll go. Thus, Today, I went to Morning, Mid-day, and Evening Prayer, and chose to skip Mass to figure out my bank situation and blog. It may take longer to continue and figure out what is comfortable for me, but I am wary not to structure myself out too much. I need a bit o' time as well, ya know!

The whole day was spent testing the donated computers in the Faith Formation Buildings. We've only cycled through the monitors. Of 60 monitors donated, 50 worked. I was impressed with this figure, but Fr. Bernie seemed quite disappointed. We'll see what the CPU's, keyboards, etc. bring for the rest of the week. See Photos below...

Organizing Donated Computers

Does it work?

We would have much rather been visiting with locals or aldeas, but Justin and I reflected upon the fact that preparation time for these computers was necessary in order to benefit the people of the aldeas, even if we weren't seeing them face-to-face immediately.

One other point: one of the monks, Rolando, offered to take us this weekend on a trip to Puerto Barrio, a beautiful Port town on the Atlantic Ocean! He has business up there, and offered the opportunity for us to join him. Justin and I were overjoyed. After a week of feeling isolation inside the monastery walls, we were elated to hear that we would be on an another adventure by 8:00a.m. Friday. Get ready for some great photos... Puerto Barrio looks beautiful!

Week 2... Una Aldea y La Antigua

September 2, 2011

8/30 Tuesday

Most of the morning was spent catching up with blogging, e-mail correspondence, and documentation of the aldea experiences. In the afternoon, we met up with Fr. Bernie's friend Giovanni. Giovanni is a tech student at the local university; he specializes in information technology, and he will be teaching us how to install and use the free software LINUX on all the computers we are supplying to the aldeas. After a brief but helpful lesson with the computers, we enjoyed an episode of Sopranos prior to heading off to prayer, Mass, dinner, and bed.

8/31 Wednesday

Most of the day consisted of a trip out to the Ostou Aldea, where we delivered the most amount of filters we ever have in one day. Below is a video of preparing for the filter delivery:

The process for presentation and exchange of the filters was the same as days prior. After about an hour of listening to non-distinguishable Qui'Che instructions about how to use the filter, I dismissed myself to play futbol with the little ninos outside. 

It would have been better if I had stayed in the village community center. After about 10 minutes I was exhausted, and the kids had made a fool of me. see the progression of my energy in the photos below..

After handing out several filters and enjoying the typical pollo soup and fresco, we walked down the main road in the aldea to a central intersection where we could be picked up by someone going into town.

While I had anticipated receiving my first Spanish lesson today, my Spanish teacher called and cancelled the meeting, saying she had a family emergency and that she would call next week. While I would have loved to improve my Spanish, I wasn't distraught by the news. This gave me time to rest from the aldea trip.

Since we weren't going to be working on Thursday, Bernie suggested that we have a few drinks tonight. We weren't opposed, so Bernie flipped the keys to the Suzuki Jeep to me, passively saying, "Don't crash it." You got it, Bernie. 

We had no problems until we were actually leaving the supermarket with our new slew of booze, toiletries, food, and other necessities. Just as I'm driving up to the guard building to hand him the ticket to leave, the car stalls out. I try to shift over into first, and it stalls out again. I did this about 8 times before finally shifting into first safely and departing with a flushed face, nervously trying to avoid eye contact from the people waiting in the cars around me. Since this situation, however, I believe I've gotten a handle on the car, and I feel less nervous about using a manual transmission.

We polished off the night with some delicious whisky drinks. Bernie's friend Raul came to visit, and we swapped stories and shared laughs till late at night.

9/1Thursday

We began yesterday with an early start… 3:30a.m. Our plan: bring Padre Pedro to Antigua for a doctor's appointment, spend a few hours touring around Antigua, and drive back on the same day. Why leave so early? Antigua is about a 5 hour drive away.

The day was great, apart from the twisty, turny road that led to and from Antigua. Upon arriving, we stopped at Pollo Campero (Guatemalan-native fast food restaurant, fasted fast-food I've ever had). After dropping Padre Pedro off at the doctor, Fr. Bernie took us around town and showed us several beautiful churches, vast plazas and parks, and busy, never-ending markets. The city is overshadowed by a handful of volcanoes, especially Volcan Agua, which towers ominously on the east side of the city.

As great as Antigua was, Justin and I happened to have some bad luck with our cameras. I forgot my battery (which I had set out to charge the night before), and Justin's camera died right when we arrived. While I don't have pictures to assist with this day, I will return to Antigua for a weekend soon, and I will show you this gorgeous, Spain-looking city.

Our return was long and included a few eat stops, naps and books. It was right to bed when we returned.

9/2 Friday

Today has and will be spent doing some paint-jobs in the newly erected faith formation buildings. Several cement walls within these buildings will be used for projectors, and Fr. Bernie planned on painting the walls white with a black outlining, creating a movie theatre-like feel for several rooms. Pics to come!

Our First Sunday Mass Footage

Here is what we've been eating at the aldeas we've visited.

A musical encore after Mass from marimba players and other Guatemalan musicians.

First Sunday Mass

 August 30, 2011

Preparing for Mass

View from Aldea

8/28 Sunday

Padre Pedro Takes Confessions in this Contraption

We kicked off our first Sunday in Guatemala with a nice Mass at one of the aldeas. Because of the shortage of Qui'chi-speaking priests, many aldeas only experience Mass twice a year. With it being only twice a year, Mass is a huge deal for the aldeas. When we arrived at the Aldea on Sunday, we were welcomed to a chicken / tortilla meal with (a nice surprise) bottled water. After breakfast, we took videos of the masses of people that were assembling for mass as Padre Pedro took confessions.

The Mass lasted about 2-3 hours. I got several videos and pictures of participation. A native instrument called the marimba was used during Mass by musicians, and I even got a video recording of an encore performance. About 150 people attended Mass in a large four-walled pavilion. All the girls wore the same types of clothes, while the men wore collared shirts with jeans and the occasional cowboy hat or baseball cap (in hand, of course, as we were in Mass). As Rose and I sat in the back of the Mass, we watched a goofy little kid with a "Thomas the Tank Engine" hat run around and smile at us. Check out the pictures and videos for reference.

Mass

After Mass, we had a second lunch of boneless chicken and another bottle of water, and then it was back to the monastery. The rest of the day was relaxing. Dinner, however, was the same as our lunch. Didn't want to burn out on chicken just yet… so i had black beans and bread instead.

8/29 Monday

More work with the old folk's home kept our morning busy today. We moved several mattresses, scrubs, Depends pads, bedpans, etc. with a few trips in one of the monastery's pick-up. Our afternoon was open today, and we were able to do a bit more exploring around Coban. Today, we came across a wonderful place called "Xcape Coban," an outdoor half  coffee shop, half rainforest. It was a great place to grab a coffee and relax. On the way back to the monastery, we grabbed some pizza and Limon Fanta at a local restaurant. Que Bueno! 

Week 1... A Dive into Guatemalan Culture

August 29, 2011

Exactly a week has passed since my arrival here, and as cliche as it sounds, it seems like much longer than that. I have gotten used to communicating in broken Spanish, and my ability to speak the language has improved greatly. As I look forward to this new week, I cannot predict what I will be doing (recall that time is not structured here as it is in the States). I can, however, say that if this week is similar to the week past, I know that this trip will be incredibly rewarding. The following entries are LONG… but I promise they will get shorter as I go on. I want to cover 1-2 paragraphs every 1-2 days.. we'll see how this goes..

8/22 Monday

As you may recall, I arrived in Guatemala City on Monday at around 1:30p.m. The Flight was easy, and our arrival was welcomed by Padre Bernie's old Toyota Pick-up. The ride to Coban (about a 4 hour drive) was eye-opening. Along the way, Fr. Bernie showed us several fault lines that exist along the Central American and North American plates. 

Bernie turned and said, "I think we'll probably have an earthquake this year," going on to explain that the last major earthquake occurred 35 years ago, and that Guatemala is overdue. "WHAT?!" I think. I found out later (after asking a few other monks and friends) that I might take this with a grain of salt. Still, however, a disheartening notification on the first day.

View from Back of Truck... travelling to Coban Day 1

We stopped for lunch along the road. My first meal in Guatemala included black bean soup, tortillas, and "Gallo" beer. After another hour in the car, Fr. Bernie offered us Ice Cream at another pit stop for dessert. The trip to Coban was certainly an indication of the way time is viewed here: no rush.

As mentioned before, the ride to Coban was riddled with things I've never seen before. I asked Bernie what the most bizarre thing he has seen on this road. 

"Well I saw a guy hanging on barbed wire once… that's probably the most bizarre thing I've seen." This matter-of-fact way of talking about somber events is common for Bernie. I feel like it's a combination of desensitization and a way of coping with the "cheapness of life" in Guatemala. On the way in to Coban, Bernie pointed out several "narcos" houses, and the stories behind them. Bernie has a way of being very general and simplistic about explaining things here, which Justin and I have come to appreciate. After arriving at the monastery, we shared a whiskey drink with Fr. Bernie's friend Raul. Raul (as is the case with most of Bernie's friends) speaks only Spanish, so this was my first experience in working on my Spanish. While rough at first, a few glasses of whiskey gave me the liquid confidence to explore my Spanish vocabulary.

8/23 Tuesday

Our first full day at the monastery was rather uneventful. We learned the prayer schedule (Prayer at 6am, 12pm, 5:30pm, Mass 6pm) and the eating schedule (7am, 12:30pm, 7:15pm). We got a tour of the whole monastery. During the afternoon, we drilled two holes in the ceiling to string ethernet cables into our room for internet access at our desk. Mass was great: San Marco's Church is reminiscent of a small version of St. Therese's Church of Minnetonka and St. John the Baptist's Church of Excelsior. At night, we had another whiskey session with more of Bernie's friends, who we are finding out to be the most distinguished people of Coban.

8/24 Wednesday

Today we experienced the complete schedule, as we actually got up for 6am prayer (brutal at the time). After napping through breakfast, we went out to work with Hermano Juan, one of the monks. The morning was used for organizing an unkempt stack of sheets (las sevanas), bed covers (las bolsas), and pillowcases (las sobrefundas) for an old folk's home. In the afternoon, we took a trip into town to help a few students pick up some batteries and supplies. Justin and I purchased FRay Ban and FOakley sunglasses for 45 Quetzales (6 bucks). After mass, it was raining hard, and the monks put their hoods up as they returned to the monastery. The procession looked like a bunch of Jedi Master's moving swiftly through the dark, rainy night. A night cap included a few Budweisers while watching "Limitless" (shout-out Jacob Reiter, Tom Loonan, David Kiesner).

8/25 Thursday 

We began our first Thursday here by leaving at 8am for an aldea (village) about an hour away. We piled in a pick-up truck with a few villagers and about 50 water filter containers. As we rode through the streets of Coban and out to the country highway, I was snapping pics with a my new Nikon D3100 like a typical tourist. When we arrived at the "road" at to the aldea, we climbed a rocky washed-out pathway through the jungle for about 15 minutes. We were greeted by about 20 hombres (men from the village) who shook our hands and helped move the filters out to the local school/community center. 

Playing Futbol with Ninos

In the small cement community center, we were greeted with a hot refresco (juice drink)  Hermano Juan explained who we were and what we were doing. Justin and I introduced ourselves and received a round of applause (a very moving experience). As we all sat down, Hermano Juan began to explain the water filters to the villagers. This lasted awhile, and after about 20 minutes Hermano Juan took us aside and asked us if we wanted to play with the little ninos outside. Recess was in session for the kids, and as we went outside and took pictures, all the kids laughed playfully and ran away. All the girls were very shy, but through a little convincing and coaxing, we were able to play futbol (soccer) with their measly soccer ball (about the size of a small soft dodgeball). One nino with a LEGO shirt was the confident one who approached us first. After taking pictures and videos  and showing the kids (an amazing thing for them to see), we went back inside for lunch, which consisted of chicken legs in chicken soup. In only having a spoon (no napkins), I succeeded in making a complete mess of myself. Afterwards, I stated "estoy muy sucio!" which got a few laughs out of the villagers. 

Showing them the Camera

After lunch, further explanations of the filters were in order. We proceeded to pass out the filters and many pictures were taken and smiles exchanged. Eventually we gave our goodbyes, and the little ninos were clearly sad to see us go. Our truck had been taken on some other mission, so Jermano Juan, Santiago (another native), Justin and I walked all the way back to the main highway (hour and a half walk). From here, were picked up by a local cabby who had about 14 people in his Guatemalan equivalent of a EURO Van. As we were squeezed tightly in on our way back, a little nino in front of me had only enough room to stand. His knees continued to buckle and he fell asleep standing up, and I remember thinking, "My God, someone get this poor kid a place to lay down!" Finally we arrived at the main travel hub in the city, and got a taxi to the monastery. 

Being tired from our journey, we came back, showered, and took naps. After becoming well-rested, more work was in order. Just before dinner, we loaded six boxes into Allan's truck. Allan is a successful coffee plantation owner who helps the local schools. In finishing this task, Fr. Bernie took us up to the Gringo Room where we enjoyed a Budweisers with Allan.

Dinners on Thursday are with members of the local community, so we enjoyed a wonderful meal of chicken and noodles, polished off with an Oreo Ice Cream dessert. The rest of the evening consisted of relaxing and watching the Sopranos with Fr. Bernie.

8/26 Friday

We began Friday with a mass celebration at 7am with the Caramelite nuns down the road. Caramelite nuns remain in the convent for all of their lives in strict discipline, and only exit for medical emergencies. Fr. Bernie celebrates Mass with them everyday, and it was an enlightening experience to observe these women. All of them wore traditional habits, and attended mass through a room separated by an old barred gate to the left of the altar. During mass, Fr. Bernie beckoned us up to the altar, and we introduced ourselves to the smiling nuns. 

Upon returning to the monastery, we were greeted by Hermano Juan. "Quieres a ir un otro aldea?" "Si, sin duda!" Off to another aldea.

This aldea, named Santo Tomas, wasn't as far away. Prior to gathering for the water filter exchange, we were given a pre-lunch meal of chicken leg and soup, with the best cacao (chocolate) drink I've ever had.

Meal at Santo Tomas

The water filter session took two hours (as this aldea had never used water filters before). As we sat patiently, Justin and I got used to the constant stares and brief stare-to-runaway/hide from the little kids. One young guy our age took about 50 pictures of Justin during our whole trip. As with Inupal, we helped to hand out the filters after the instructional session, for which the villagers were very grateful.

Handing out Filters at Santo Tomas

One particular entertaining thing for us are the shirts which some of the villagers and kids wear. So far, we've got a Jonas Brothers shirt, Roseville football shirt, and a "Real Friends Don't Let Friends Be Packer Fans" shirt. Had to take a picture of this one for David Forster..

"Real Friends Don't Let Friends Be Packer Fans"

Our stay at the aldea was concluded by yet another meal, with (of course) chicken soup and chicken leg. "Thank God I've got the pills for 'Montezuma's 

Revenge from Dr. Maus" I thought. Our return to the monastery was easy yet rainy, and we rested and washed up. I called my parents and blogged a bit, before going to dinner. Dinner was a pleasant surprise: PIZZA! I stiffed myself full of pizza before knowing that Bernie was taking us to another friend's house for dinner. Opps! And I thought I was going to lose weight in Guatemala.

We visited Dr. Luis, a well-educated psychiatrist. Dr. Luis spoke fluent English, which was very refreshing. After whiskey, a dinner of roast beef, and a delicious ice cream dessert, we continued to talk politics until a power outage caused the lights to go out (Whoah? What's going on??). This seemed to be our cue to head off home for bed. Whilst nervous when stepping out into the darkened street, we hopped in Bernie's old dilapidated Suzuki Jeep and arrived home safely.

8/27 Saturday

For the weekends, Justin and I concluded that we would skip morning prayer. I was thankful for this on Saturday, as I felt much more refreshed for a 7am breakfast. The morning's focus was on donated deliveries to the newly erected old-folk's home. Deliveries included sheets, chairs, walkers, canes, etc. After our work session, Bernie took us out for a driving lesson on the manual drive Suzuki. Because Justin has a bad foot, I was elected the first apprentice. I gave myself a C+. I did just fine with gears 2-5, but shifting into first always yielded a whiplashing stall, which caused us to sit in front of not one, not two, but three green lights at one intersection. Damn.. I gotta figure out the slow shift timing on that beast of a car. 

During the afternoon, we were left to our own devices. Justin and I took a tour around the city, picking up a few necessities. I was able to find a nice black "Fernandez" guitar with a  low-cut neck. I hope to improve my guitar skills further on this trip!

After mass at night, we picked up the visiting Bishop of Alta Verapaz and headed back over to Dr. Luis's place for a wonderful spaghetti dinner. I discovered my new favorite dessert at this gathering: Rum and Raisin Ice Cream. While I usually like neither, I couldn't get over how good this ice cream. was. The fathering was pleasant riddled with several colorful conversations and laughs. Afterwards, we dropped off the Bishop at his lodgings and headed home for bed.

Coban, Guatemala... Painting a Picture

August 28, 2011

As with any such recording of incredible life-changing events, I have a difficult time finding the motivation to put into words what I've experienced thus far. My setting is perfect: rain drizzles slowly outside of my simple room in the monastery. I have fresh coffee on my desk, and my trusty sidekick J. Rose is trying to get a wink of shuteye in leu of boisterous thunder rolling overhead and Van Morrison's version of "Crazy Love" playing softly from my computer speakers. Still, I have a hard time getting started with the important, "set the scene" entry. Here goes nothing…

I live in a simple monastery in the middle of Coban. This community has the square footage of about a football field. The monastery includes about 8 structures in total, but it is hard to differentiate one building from another. The main structure, built in 1800's of old Khaki-colored cement block and sturdy wood, houses our room (bathroom attached), Fr. Bernie's muddled living quarters (bathroom, "video editing / radio" room, bedroom), the Gringo room (walls of old VHS videos, random boxes with various electronic equipment and cords, computers, TV's, and a projector perfect for a nightly movie or episode of "The Sopranos"), guest rooms, and long deck outfitted with aged chairs and a worn hammock; this being the second floor. The first floor includes Faith formation rooms, a laundry room, and the parish office. Across from the building includes several buildings connected with awnings- the chapel, kitchen, Bernie's "Computer office" (filled with obsolete computer equipment), the Dining hall, and a plaza with a beautiful garden in the middle, surrounded by rooms which house all the monks.

The Gringo Room

Several other buildings compose the rest of the monastery. Three newly built cement buildings, also used for faith formation, hold most of what I will be working on this year (deliveries of donated books, blankets, computers, clothes, etc.).  A large grass area and cement basketball court lie in front of the deck which my room is connected to, and the community church is a two minute walk down two large cement walkways which reach out to one of four big black gates that lead to the outside bustle of Coban's streets. All the other parts of the monastery are composed of rough grass, old trucks,  electronic satellites, and several unkempt cement monuments and structures. The whole monastery is surrounded by a 15 foot wall adorned with broken bottles glued to the top of it. I expect most of you to just look at the pictures for this kind of thing, but if you've read this far… well… too late.

(Entry to the Gringo Room)

Through the Front Gate

Our ride into Coban was quite eye-opening. From the perspective of a naive native of Suburban Minnesota, I have never seen people in such squalor. As Bernie said on the way in, "Life is Cheap here," and it certainly is. Passing the roads through Guatemala is best described by these next few points..

-Starved Dogs

-Bumpy, washed out roads

-Political ads.. EVERYWHERE (posters on EVERY telephone post, paint on every rock and most cement houses)

-Speed bumps

-Barbed wire fences

-Old trucks (few cars) and dirt bikes

-Stick-bundle carriers (much like Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti album cover)

-cheap roadside stops

-beautiful, green, lush mountainsides

People (especially children ages 3 and up) wander aimlessly along any roadside with a doldrum-like look on their faces. This description is adequate for all of Guatemala. For the cities (the major cities I've seen are only Coban and Guatemala City), add electronic and skilled trade shops, amateur clothing venders, uniformed school children, beggars, trash (everywhere), worn fast-food joints, noisy speakerphones preaching political motives.The city itself is a combination of sturdy and weak structures, with a majority being cement, one-story buildings with the occasional tin roof.  Aside from political ads, the most common brands painted on the sides of building and ruffled tin roofs are Orange Crush, 7UP, and Fanta.  I could go on and on, but I'll let the photos do the talking (see slideshow).

The city of Coban is surrounded by the most beautiful mountains I have ever seen. These mountains are constantly home to "los nubes," clouds  which creep lazily across lower-lying peaks. I have a perfect view of said mountains from my bedroom window. Justin and I have discussed what an interesting dichotomy it is: the beautiful mountains and the miserable state of living. This is something we will struggle to make sense of as we continue our adventures here.

Village Near Coban

The Streets of Coban

Much has occurred in the week that I have been here, but I wanted to just set the scene for you. I'll goal for an update later this week… for now, I just wanted to try and paint the picture of where I'm living. I will upload some great photos soon (unfortunately my brand new SLR digital camera didn't come with a USB connector. I know… ridiculous, right?) More pics and vids to come.

Another Adventure Begins

August 22, 2011

I look confidently back into my Mom's sleepy, leaky eyes. The statement "I'll be fine!" confidently rattles in my head as I verbalize it. I reassure my parents that I will send e-mails confirming addresses, phone numbers, and an "I'm alive" status. I can't help but to be perplexed about the situation. Not nervous, just perplexed. Here I am, departing for a year from the two people who have defined the word "Home"  for me for so long. No, I've never been gone this long before, but I'm ready. I've been ready since my last adventure ended.

I kiss and hug my Mom and Dad goodbye, and as I take one last look back at them as they jump into the car. My Dad quickly waves back at me, smiles, and I can read his thoughts, "Remember to have an exit strategy." Yes, yes, I know Dad. I'll stay safe.

I enter the terminal which looks more like the Chicago rail system after a big music festival. Who knew there could be so many people assembled at 5:30a.m. on a Monday? As I daydream about the possibility of a flash mob occurring at this time of day in a major airport terminal, my eyes lazily scan over the words "Continental Airlines," and I queue up. The line is short, and I quickly realize that I could have printed an e-ticket for self check-in. "Damn it," I think, "I'm in the 'I don't know what I'm doing' line." My assessment provided for great foreshadowing to my check-in.

"Good morning, sir!" says a cracked-out Venna White look-alike, "Where are you off to today?" 

"Guatemala," I say, and then hastily explain that I transfer flights in Houston. I show her my one checked bag and elect to take Venna's offer for an emergency exit seat, which has more leg room. My tickets are printed, scanned and scrutinized. "Wow, your flight back is May 22. That's a long time to be gone." Yes it is and believe me, Venna, I've heard it all.

"Please drop your bag over at the security scanner. Enjoy your flight!" As I walk away to drop off my bag and re-situate my belongings, Venna makes one last swift move to make me feel like an idiot. She curtly says, "Here ya go, Junior," As she hands me my passport and iPod that I forgot on the check-in counter. "Great start, Thomas" I think, "Why don't you just leave your passport around more often?"

The ex-marine security guy at the x-ray machine hears Venna as he takes my checked bag, "Don't be all nervous, now!" He says. I'm not sure what he means; perhaps just a feeble attempt to be playful with the situation.

As I prepare to go through security, I search for my 5 foot nothing partner, Justin Rose. After retracing a 6 foot-loop close to both the security checkpoint and entry/exit, I elect to ask a random man for use of his phone to call my friend. As I ask politely for use of his cellular device, The Russian-looking gentleman asks me "For what reason?" Well, I think, to call someone. Duh.

I leave a voicemail on Justin's phone telling him my location. After thanking the strange Russian, I immediately run into Justin and his sister.

While I felt like a fool when I checked in, Justin almost topped me. Being a last-minute packer and sometime worrywart, Justin packed a suitcase as well as two backpacks (one big, one small). I only had a backpack and duffle-bag. In the stuffing of his suitcase, Justin had exceeded weight capacity by a few pounds. "ZZZZIIIIPPP!!!" says the bag, and after some rearranging of clothes and shoes in front of the Continental check-in line, we figure it out.

We line up for security and Justin says goodbye to his sister as I give a friendly wave.

"That was one hell of a party on Friday, man," Justin says. Our send-off party seems like so long ago, but it was just a few days back. Now, here we are, in the airport, and Justin and I agree that "it's getting real…and fast."

A pleasant surprise with a swift security thoroughfare gives us about 30 minutes for breakfast. We both agree to get food that is horrible for us. BK Lounge is the answer. Soon enough, we're on the plane, munching on our hash browns and burning our mouths with BK's crappy coffee. 

Throughout the last few months, I've had to respond to a plethora of inquisitive probes and opinionated statements regarding my trip.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"A year is a long time."

"You are going to remember that for the rest of your life."

"What are you going to be doing down there?"

"What kind of service?"

"Sounds awesome, man."

"Wait… so you're going to a monastery?"

"It's so beautiful down there."

"What are you doing down there anyway?"

"Good for you."

"Are you going to be a monk?"

"Now's the time to do it."

"Have you reconsidered?"

"It's good to get that of your system now."

or, my personal favorite…

"Why?"

I click on "Back Down South" by Kings of Leon in my roomy flight seat, preparing myself to associate a new favorite artist with new memories. A service trip to Guatemala… for a whole year! I chuckle to myself as I reflect upon my responses to all the questions above, especially the "What are you going to be doing down there?" question. If I ever answered that question, I lied. Truthfully, I really have no clue. I  just know that I'll be living amongst monks in Resurrection Priory, volunteering by helping the local natives. Beyond that, it's a mystery. Risky? Maybe. Dangerous? Perhaps. 

Adventure? You're damn right. I can't wait.