10k's and Challenges

Since moving to Guatemala in July 2009, I've met several personal goals. One was learning the entire (looong) Guatemalan National Anthem by heart. One was improving my Spanish. One was learning how to cook Guatemalan food. One was reading the entire Bible every year. One was losing 60 pounds. One was learning how to run.

Some of these, like having healthier habits, were made easier just because we were moving and everything was changing anyways. I strove to keep some of those changes going until I could form them into a healthier lifestyle. Other changes were made easier by the lower cost of living, like the price of fresh, healthy produce. Still others were easier because I am surrounded by amazing, active, supportive people at my job. I love the people I work with!

After forming many of these habits (I'm nowhere near finished) I realize how much I could have done at home, but didn't know how or where to start.
-One of the drawbacks here is safety, yet many times I didn't take the chance to walk outside when I could at home... much less run.
-Here, there is a voracious amoeba problem during the rainy season, but I still managed to learn how to swim thanks to an amazing friend. (I only got amoebas once.)
-I had a treadmill and friends with exercise equipment I could have used for free, while here I have to pay for it... but again I didn't know how to use it or where to start!

One of the motivations (out of many) that has been driving me has been that I wanted to get into shape before another baby came along. We plan on using a midwife here. (Hospitals have a 70% cesarean rate here, among other personal reasons.) That thought for me could do two different things: 1)Cause fear because I hadn't educated myself enough or prepared my body for what was coming or 2)Motivate me to educate myself and get in the best shape I could.

I started by walking for an hour every night after putting our child to bed at 8. Then a friend taught me how to swim a little at a time. Then, we started working out at the gym. Then, we ran around her (safer) neighborhood. Then I participated in my first 5k (walking but I knew I could do more.) Then we hiked a bit of a difficult volcano for beginners: Pacaya. Finally, we began jogging regularly after school.

When the next 5k/10k came around I was super nervous, but since it was the same price to enter for either one, I chose to challenge myself with the 10k. I had nightmares the night before... but I finished, though slowly, with a time of 01:03:30.

I have so much more I want to do in life. I will forever be cautious and easier to scare than some people, but I have learned how to not let my fear control me.

Now, I see something that interests me that I have never done and instead of feeling only fear, I also feel the adrenaline rush of a possible new challenge to conquer!


What are you scared of? Can you turn it around and face it as a challenge? I am no super person. Any of this that I did, anyone else can do!

Indigenous Guatemalan Women's Clothing

Guatemala is divided into 22 departments, each having their own famous hand-woven textiles, and many departments are famous for more than one type of textile. People who have grown up here and studied Guatemalan culture can many times pick out a person's indigenous background and region by looking at the type of textiles they are wearing. Especially some of the women's beautiful handwoven clothing.

Guatemalan indigenous women typically wear "huipiles," or colorfully woven, embroidered blouses like the ones pictured below:

They also wear as a skirt a long loop of woven fabric that they step into and then wrap around themselves. This is held up by a very tightly cinched handwoven belt. Sometimes when women would come to the medical missions clinic that we translated for, many complaints were that their stomach's hurt. While sometimes this was caused by normal maladies, many times the doctor would also tell them not to cinch their belts so tightly.


Depending on the region, some women wear their hair covered with a panuelo, or scarf. Many times it is worn in a long, black braid. Sometimes with a cinta, or strip of fabric, braided into the hair. According to ehow.com on Guatemalan Hairstyles, "The cinta is essentially a sash made for the hair. The cinta features colors and patterns that reveal the social status of the woman who wears it. Cintas can be 4 or 5 feet long and are braided into long hair."



Another common and necessary accessory is the handwoven piece of fabric used to hold the baby on their back. The skill of getting their baby on their back and then tying it in all by themselves is something I admire. I've tried. It's very difficult! The fabric, however, is gorgeous.


If you visit any of the markets here in Guatemala, you will find these handwoven items for sale in many varieties. The fabric is made into modern versions of dresses, handbags, backpacks, stuffed animals, shoes/sandals with hand tooled leather, table clothes, and many, many more colorful items.

The hand weaving that goes into these items is very labor intensive, taking a lot of patience and talent. It is usually done on a backstrap loom. Because of the labor, it is also a bit expensive, although never what it would cost in the United States.
Many women are turning to cheaper alternatives, modern used clothing shipped down from the U.S. and sold in second hand shops. Some fear that the skill of backstrap weaving is slowly fading away and that an integral part of Indigenous Guatemalan beauty and pride will only be a memory for future generations. Some non-profit groups, like Education and More, are trying to prevent that from happening by helping the weavers goods get exposure, offering classes for people who would like to learn how to use a backstrap loom (I'd like to!) and, as the name suggests, finding ways to offer education to the indigenous people. As their website says: "Education And More is a Christian, Fair Trade charitable organization providing assistance to artisans and their families through educational opportunities and Fair Trade."

Do you own any hand-woven Guatemalan textiles? Do you know how to use a backstrap loom? What do you think of a Guatemalan women's typical dress?

Awesome 5th Grade Projects from 2010-2011

One of the many benefits of working in the upper elementary grades is that you can do some really cool projects because the kids have developed critical thinking skills and most have a good grasp on logic, cause and effect. Some of the amazing things we have done this year include:

Creating a door decoration that was based on a book for Children's Book Week. My class voted on books and chose "The Diary of a Wimpy Kid." They made the door decoration into a Pacman game with the Pacman as Greg, the antagonists as the ghost guys and the other protagonists as safe places on the game board for Greg to get to. I loved their ideas and the fact that they came up with it by themselves! The art wasn't excellent, but we worked with what we had. ;)


An awesome Science Fair with some great experiments including:
1)How does the color of food affect a person's choice of that food, (girls generally chose pink or purple tinted icing, boys- blue or green.)
2)Which gender can average more push ups in a minute, male or female? (male)
3)Will an older parrot or a younger parrot learn a phrase quicker? (Older in this experiment.)
4)Does the brand of balloon affect the amount of static electricity produced?

While studying integers, we made cartoons explaining absolute value. My kids came up with some interesting things! So far it has worked to keep it stuck in their heads that the absolute value sign means the distance from zero, so it's not negative!


We created a movie utilizing the archetypal patterns of a hero in which my kids came up with a spin-off of the Harry Potter characters: Hairy Potter was the hero, Bald-e-mort was the villain, Dumbledora was the guide, just to name a few. Just the fact that they felt comfortable enough with English to be making puns made up for any of the cheesiness in my opinion. Each section of 5th grade had their own version of a hero archetype based movie. We created a script and recorded the movie and at the end we presented it as a huge 5th grade premiere and invited the principals. They had a lot of fun and really put their spoken English to the test. They also get an awesome keepsake for this year!

We have done a lot of really interesting Science experiments, but one of the prettiest was the "Convection Currents" one. We set up a clear aquarium on wooden blocks with room temperature water. Then, a quarter-sized dot of red dye was injected onto the bottom of one side. A cup of boiling water was placed under the red dye. On the opposite end, we placed a very blue-tinted ice cube. The ice cube represented one of the poles and the hot water represented the equator. The hot, red water rose and moved toward the cold area, while the cold, blue water sank and went towards the warm. This created an amazing visual with swirling red and blue.

Coming up next are some great persuasive topics in our Language debate unit. We plan on getting each section to debate within their classroom and have a winner who will compete against the debate teams who win in each section. They have to use good debate etiquette, such as showing the opponent respect by calling them the "honorable opposition." We have practiced with some fun, but easy topics such as "which is better, chocolate or vanilla?" and they have to come up with arguments for both sides. I feel like a good set of debate skills will prepare them for the future. They need to know where they stand on issues and how to defend their stance! The kids are really getting into this and showing good use of logical reasoning, persuasion and passion! In English! Any second-language learner knows that it's harder to use a second language about something you feel passionately about and are trying to persuade someone with... I love it when they get excited about what they are learning and really get involved!

I truly believe that I am teaching Guatemala's future leaders and I can't wait to see what these kids do with their lives!

Learning to Read: Part 1

Since Talia was 1 1/2 we've been using http://www.starfall.com/ to introduce letters and their sounds (along with the regular old-fashioned book-reading!) Now that she is 3 she knows all of her letters and many of their sounds.

That is no record. I've seen sign-language taught babies reading before 2 years of age. But I'm not wanting to make this into a comparison, good or bad, of my child versus the rest in the world. It's just what we do. The key, I'm finding, is small, consistent steps that follow the pace and interest of your own child.

Starfall isn't something we spend hours on a day, or even visit every day. We go through an average of 4 letters each time, 5 days out of the week. This little bit of consistency, though, has shown results. She can spell her name and is getting better and better at writing the other letters on her own.

Along with this we like to play with the refrigerator magnet letters, point at letters in advertisements, and play with how the letters make funny sounds when you put them together in random (and sometimes mom-influenced) strings.

I teach 5th grade Language to children where, thankfully, most still love to read. The 5 or 6 who don't spend those consistent little bits of time in a book, have a hard time in many other subjects. I want Talia to learn to enjoy discovering words and ideas through reading.

Next year we are planning on beginning the homeschooling process, and, while in Guatemala- Starfall has a promising supplementary program for $35 a year that covers not only reading but other basic math facts, music and more which would be great since it's online. (Less to haul in a suitcase!)I am still looking into other curriculum options, but feel free to put in your opinion!

How do you encourage YOUR kids to read?

(p.s. Starfall is not paying me to write this, I just like the program. ;))

Traveling to El Salvador from Guatemala; Comparisons and Contrasts

For our Thanksgiving November break we took the opportunity of a few days off of work to travel to El Salvador to meet a friend and her family who live and work there.

I always get freaked out traveling in Central America, but I was very surprised when we crossed the Guatemalan border into El Salvador and noticed a dramatic decrease in big-gun toting guards. I suppose living in Guatemala has the benefit of making everywhere else on this side of the world seem quite safe in comparison.

The travel itself was very simple; just get to CA1 and keep driving and you'll get there. Something to keep in mind, though, once you cross the border you have to search for the Migration (Migracion.) It was not as obvious of a stop with people patrolling outside like the one to exit Guatemala.

There were physical land differences as well: it was flatter, though still dotted with various volcanoes, but not as mountainous as Guatemala. This was probably a contributing factor to the many, many bikes we saw. It was hotter. Instead of black beans, red beans were the staple. Another difference was that while cantaloupes weren't in season in Guatemala, we were surprised to see them at all of the road-side stands in El Salvador, along with pineapples.

One of the obvious things that people visit El Salvador for are the beaches, something we didn't get to experience this time. Hopefully we will get to visit in the future and experience more of this beautiful country.

Have you ever traveled from Guatemala to El Salvador? What was your experience?

Canning Tomato Sauce

Last weekend I learned how to can tomato sauce the real way! By real, I mean, with my own jars sealing and able to be unrefrigerated afterwards. In the past we made it and then just put it into recycled glass jars and then to the fridge.

Tomatoes are in season in Guatemala right now and we were able to get a 50 pound box for Q75, or about $9.50.

First we scrubbed all of the produce, which included tomatoes, red peppers, and onions and put it into big pots to simmer down and reduce into a pulpy, red deliciousness.


We cooked it with sea salt, thyme and laurel, and one batch with cilantro. The point was to have a tomato sauce base that could then be turned into spaghetti sauce, salsa or any other tomato based sauce.

When it was ready, we put it all in the blender for a nice, even consistency and then back in the pot to simmer a little longer. When it was perfect, (sampling was a fun part of this phase!) We began filling the (heated) jars.



When we finished we had 22 large jars of tomato sauce! Since there were three of us doing it together, that was 7-8 apiece. When we worked out the price, (with the jars included which will make it even cheaper next time since we'll already have them,) each jar of tomato sauce was about Q10 or $1.25. At the store a jar of that size is around Q40 or about $5. So, it was 1/4 of the store price and, in my opinion, a lot tastier too! Next time it will be closer to 1/8 of the price since the jars are already purchased. We each took our individual 8 or 7 home and boiled them there for the sealing phase.



So far we've added miltomate to part of one jar to make a delicious Salsa Ranchera to eat with our eggs in the morning and used the other part of the jar to make some amazing spaghetti marinara sauce!

Does Guatemala Need Another Justo Barrios?

Today we were discussing Justo Rufino Barrios in our literature class and discussing the qualities he had that made him heroic. Unlike other archetypal heroes, he wasn't born into royalty. He was born in a village called San Lorenzo.
His super powers were things like intelligence and energy. I was glad they brought up how both of those are needed for success: Intelligence coupled with laziness gets nowhere. Energy coupled with ignorance also makes no positive progress.
Barrios put this energy to good use first by going to the capital to study law and get his degree as a lawyer. We talked about how when the revolt happened he proved himself to be a capable military leader and what that meant. How much pressure leaders in the position to make life or death decisions are under.
When Barrios was eventually elected president, he used his position of power to help Guatemala. He installed telegraph and railroad systems, and started a public school system. He was an advocate for freedom of the press and an accountable police force. He wasn't know for letting power corrupt him or for diverting public funds into personal gain.
Perhaps one of the most eye-opening parts of the discussion occurred when we talked about what he was fighting for and eventually gave his life for: Reuniting Central America. They could not understand why instead of being just Guatemala, he would want to unite what is now Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Belize, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. We talked about how from a world viewpoint, all of those countries together could do more than they could separately.
We discussed how this tied to European invasion of the New World and how they would make allies with anyone who was an enemy of their enemies. (Such as the Spanish alliance with the K'iche' vs. Kaqchikel in earlier Guatemalan history.) Groups of people who can bind together against an invader are more powerful than individuals most of the time. If the Native Americans could have found a way to get beyond their differences long enough to fight for the common cause of keeping their land, it's possible that history would look very, very different.
I think it was one of the first times many of them saw their country from the viewpoint of "Team World" rather than "Team Guatemala."
I truly believe that I am teaching future leaders of Guatemala. I hope that when they have the power of change in their grasp that they, like Justo Barrios, can use it for good and for progress instead of personal gain.

Cobblestone Streets- Practical or Nostalgic?

There's something about a cobblestone street that, besides helping you twist your ankle, also makes traversing them seem more special than just walking down a normal road. Someone took effort to make this street. It wasn't just heavy machinery belching out black tar and concrete. It was crafted.

Guatemala has its share of cobblestone streets. We have one on the very steep road we drive up every morning. The constant traffic is constantly jarring stones loose and the resulting holes are then filled with pavement slowly morphing it into a more practical, mundane road.

According to Wikipedia, a benefit of cobblestone over pavement is "Cobblestones set in sand have the environmental advantage of being permeable paving, and of flexing rather than cracking with movements in the ground." In a land of long rainy seasons, frequent earth tremors and quakes, it seems like this would be beneficial. Something I know for a fact is that the pavement on the other roads going to school every day is constantly riddled with new potholes... especially after any rain.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/joseluiscastro/3961008577/ (This is a really good photo from Jose Luis Casro on Flicker. I am not posting the photo because I do not have the rights, but please click on the link. It's amazing!)

The flicker user Jose Luis Castro has some amazing photos with different perspectives in his shots of cobblestone streets.

Here is another one of his fabulous shots:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/joseluiscastro/3961783250/

It seems cobblestone streets are one of many things that make me wonder how effective some changes made in the name of "progress" have been. I know that I appreciate well-paved roads. I know that I don't have enough data to compare potholes in cobblestone vs. paved for effectiveness, but I would love to know the answer if you know.

Archetypes in Guatemalan Cultural Literature

We are studying archetypes in our fifth grade literature classes right now. I didn't realize how many of these existed in Guatemalan literature.

An archetype, by the way, is an original model of a person, ideal example, or a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated; a symbol universally recognized by all. Archetype refers to a generic version of a personality.

Hero archetype power point explanations available here:
http://www.tatsbox.com/hero/powerpnt.htm
http://www.slideshare.net/chrismurban/hero-archetype?src=related_normal&rel=808109

Archetypes generally follow this pattern:
1.Unusual Circumstances of Birth (Unusual Birth Often in danger or born into royalty)
2.Traumatic Event Leads to Quest
3.Special Weapon (Only the hero can wield it )
4.Supernatural Help -The hero often has spiritual guidance
5.Leaves Family Raised away from… -or separated from home
6.Traumatic Event The hero’s life is changed forever…
7.Proves self on Quest- The hero performs heroic feats
8.Journey and Unhealable Wound- Hero descends into a hell- like area and suffers wounding from an encounter with evil
9.Atonement With Father- The hero either redeems father’s evil deeds or reconciles with father over wrongs done by the hero
10.Spiritual Apotheosis- Hero is rewarded spiritually at the end of his, or her life

*Not every hero has all of the characteristics! That’s okay. -They don’t really have to… As long as a hero displays several of these characteristics, he, or she, is in the club!

We are studying archetypes in these four categories: tradition, myth, era and culture.

Archetypes in Guatemalan Tradition and Culture:
True Story of Tecun Uman
http://hubpages.com/hub/Tecun-Uman

Finding the archetypal pattern in Guatemalan Myth.
For MUCH more detail go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_Hero_Twins#Twin_Myth_Summary

A shorter summary of the Popol Vuh Twin Myth at: http://www.atitlan.net/maya/mayan-creation-myth.htm


Comparing the Hero Archetype in Different Guatemalan Eras:
Then we compare the fighting hero from the Tecun Uman era to Justo Barrios in the 1800s.

Justo Rufino Barrios (July 19, 1835 – April 2, 1885) was a President of Guatemala known for his liberal reforms and his attempts to reunite Central America.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justo_Rufino_Barrios

I love how we are integrating stories they have heard in Spanish class into their English curriculum! It makes learning much richer when it is tied to something that resonates from ones culture with familiarity.

Benefits of Working at an International School (part 1)

While there are many ways that teaching is a rewarding experience in whatever way you do it, I have found it particularly rewarding at an International School. Here are a few reasons why:

1) International schools not only attract the local people in the environment, but also a large number of international students who reside in that environment. Because of this, I have had the opportunity to not only learn about Guatemalan culture, but Korean, Hebrew, Arabic and Brazilian. I have students who offer to share their knowledge of foreign alphabets, foods, and customs. They love to switch roles and be my teacher and I really enjoy learning from them.

2)Guatemalan schools start in January. Particularly at this moment, I am grateful that I work in an International school where, in January, I am halfway through my school year!

3)I am constantly able to improve my Spanish vocabulary. With many local teachers more than happy to help me out with a word or phrase I don't understand, my Spanish has gotten much better since I began my job teaching in Guatemala. I appreciate having highly intelligent and bilingual people to learn from.

4) Teachers at International schools come from all over the world! Because of this I am constantly learning about new places and things I had limited knowledge of before. Not only do many teachers come from other places, but, after making new friends who were here last year, I now know people scattered in their new assignments all over the world. I get to read about current events in their countries and learn new things with them virtually. It's pretty amazing!

Have you ever attended or taught at an International school? What were your experiences? If not, would you like to?

The price of produce

One of my absolute favorite things about shopping in Guatemala is the low prices for fresh produce. There are a myriad of markets, stores, and produce-wagon-pushers to choose from. Since we usually have time for shopping only on the weekends, and we usually need more than produce, we usually just go to Paiz, the Guatemalan version of WalMart. Though it may be a bit more expensive, the guarded parking lot and other safety features make up for the small difference in price. Last weekend we had a cart full of produce:

1 Honeydew Melon Q5.50
1 large bunch of bananas Q4.70
1lb. bag of tomatoes Q4.19
1 bag of fresh green beans Q4.40
3 big stalks of broccoli Q5.95
2 avocados Q8.85
1 large bag of shelled English peas Q8.80
5 imported oranges (seedless) Q21.75
1 (amazing) pineapple Q13.95
5lbs. potatoes Q25.65
5 gala apples Q14.77

Total: Q118.51

Divide that by 8 to get an estimate of the dollars and we bought a cart full of produce for about $14.81. I love it. It's so much easier to eat healthier when the fresh produce cost less than the canned and packaged options!

New Christmas in Guatemala 101 Ebook on Sale!

Available now for 25% off normal price during pre-launch - our new ebook Christmas in Guatemala 101: Traditions, Fun Activities, and Recipes for an Authentic Guatemalan Christmas

This ebook offers 40 pages of specific family-friendly information about the Christmas season in Guatemala.  In addition, there are recipes and fun crafts for kids.  Also included (and this perhaps the best part!) are two bonuses: a bilingual cookbook of over 40 recipes for tamales from all regions of Guatemala, and over 50 Guatemalan Christmas coloring pages - fun for classes and kids in general.

Click to find out more about Christmas in Guatemala 101 now!

50 Shutterfly Christmas Cards

I was excited to hear about Shutterfly's newest promotion, allowing bloggers to blog about their cards for 50 free cards. They have a nice variety (New Year's cards for those who do not celebrate Christmas.) Since we are in Guatemala, winning things free online that can be shipped to one of our parent's houses is the way to go. From there, we can do our thing when we visit in December. I love that I can customize right from Guatemala before sending it off. And... photo cards are the best!

I like the way that this one is easy to save as a not-so-Christmassy keepsake.

And they way this one is square and collaged.

But I think this one is my favorite. It's focus isn't seasonal, and I like the layout. It has a lot of space to include cool Guatemalan pictures from this year for our families to have a neat keepsake of us from our life in Guatemala.

Reflections on Christmas in a "foreign" country

As I'm sitting in my living room in Guatemala City on a quiet Sunday afternoon in early November, listening to a somewhat drunk man outside doing covers of popular Latin pop songs, including "Feliz Navidad," it hits me again.

I live in a "foreign" country.

But do I?

Guatemala is foreign in the sense that life is different, the geography is different, people are different. Different than what should be considered normal, by anyone that I grew up with, and maybe by myself, too.

But the reality is that it's not really "foreign" to me anymore. Oh, it's different, and frustrating, and all of those other things. In spite all that, it's what I call "home" for now. The crazy driving, the loong waits everywhere, the fact that no one is in a hurry (unless they're driving!) - that's all normal to me now.

There are only a few reasons that I can feel this way, though. We speak Spanish, we enjoy the food (well, to some extent; Guatemalan tortillas still don't sit too well with me), and we enjoy meeting new people. I suppose if any of that were different, Guatemala would seem more "foreign."

This year will be different, though. Last year, we spent Christmas with just our little 3-person family alone in Guatemala, and we struggled to find our own traditions, since every other time we'd been with family in the USA. This year, we've decided to visit the US and enjoy the time with our extended family, since that's the main time everyone is guaranteed to be within arm-wrestling distance :D

Even though we won't be in Guatemala for Christmas, that doesn't mean that we won't be celebrating Christmas semi-Chapin style! We've got a lot planned before we go, including a trip to El Salvador over Thanksgiving weekend. I've been burning the midnight oil getting ready for the launch of our "Christmas in Guatemala 101" ebook - stay tuned for more details on that later this week!

Cooking Adjustments in Guatemala Part 1

With a few exceptions, you can cook anything in Guatemala that you would cook in the U.S. However, sometimes there are little things that can throw you off track if you don't know where to look.

For the first year here, I couldn't find baking powder, here called "polvo para hornear" or "Royal" after the brand. This had an impact on biscuit making and other breads.

I also had a less difficult time finding baking soda, or "bicarbonato." Sometimes this is only found in pharmacies, but I have also found it in Paiz. What was confusing for me was that this was not located next to the baking powder.

Corn starch was also a challenge since I didn't know the word for it. I have since then learned that it is Maizena or "fécula o almidón de maíz." This was not only a lack in vocabulary on my part, but it also had a little bit to do with culture. In the U.S., from what I could remember, corn starch is usually found near spices or on the baking aisle with flour, sugar and cornmeal. Here it was found near the cereals and oatmeals. Blanca told me that many people use it as meals, perhaps to make some sort of thickened breakfast soup or drink? If you have more information, please let me know. I am curious to find out how it would be used differently here than in the U.S.

Another adjustment on my part came about when we bought a gas oven here in Guatemala. I have never owned a gas oven before, and wasn't sure what to expect. I have learned that I prefer a gas oven here where power outages usually happen around supper time. We have to be a bit more vigilant for safety reasons (such as when our daughter wants to "help cook") but overall it has been a positive thing. Except for the oven. I couldn't figure out why an oven would only go up to 250 degrees, but I attributed that to gas being harder to regulate... Of course, when I figured out that the oven was in Celsius instead of Fahrenheit, that made me laugh at myself quite a bit! It also explained why things were burning on the bottom and not done on the top! I have found this conversion website helpful since most of my recipes are in Fahrenheit.

A spice that seems to be a Guatemalan staple, different from the seasoning salt at my house in the U.S., is some sort of chicken bouillon, or "consomé" this version at our house in Guatemala:

Something I found surprising was how difficult it is to find cardamom or "cardamomo" in the ground spice form, especially since cardamom is one of Guatemala's exports. I have heard that it is easy to find in markets, but I haven't had any luck with that yet. Cardamom comes from the Cardamom flower. The seeds look like this before they are ground. I believe they can be used green or roasted, if you have information on this, I would love to learn more about the process!
I especially like the unique flavor cardamom gives to fruit breads or challah. We like this recipe for the braided "challah" bread.


The things you just can not get seem to be things that are not grown in this region. For example, in Texas we had a yam-like sweet potato that I loved. They looked like this:
They have a smoother texture and creamy flavor that I find addicting. Something regular potatoes can not compare to! In fact, I used them exclusively- leaving the Irish white potatoes out of our diet while we were in Texas. We loved them mashed with butter and salt like regular mashed potatoes or baked... pretty much any way to cook them was great! The problem is that in Guatemala there is a completely different version of sweet potato that looks like this: These sweet potatoes have a grainier texture. They literally taste like sweet Irish white potatoes instead of the smooth buttery texture of the yam-like sweet potatoes of Texas. If you find out how to get the first version while in Guatemala, please let me know!

I'm sure there are many other things people have experienced that are different in the Guatemalan realm of cooking. I would love to hear about your experiences! What is something you had trouble finding or were excited to discover about cooking in Guatemala? Any recipes using the things I have mentioned? I am always looking for new things to do in the kitchen that have a Guatemalan influence.

Daily Life in Guatemala

The last few weeks have been pretty busy, mentally more than physically. Plans change, needs change, and you have to take steps as a responsible adult, father, husband, to make those changes become what they should.

The violence in Guatemala continues to be an issue, but what is more of an issue is the rainy season, which has been, from what I hear, the worst rainy season in several decades. So at school, traffic jams keep students out, landslides blocking roads - no one ever said living in Guatemala was boring!

On the web site front - All-About-Guatemala.com is alive and well. Some pages we've added lately:

Guatemala Airports - a series on as many small airports and international airports as we can find

Our new Guatemala Forum - if you have a question, submit it here and we or one of our readers will answer it :)

And the opportunity for readers to submit content - allowing them to channel their inner writer and build a solid resource for those interested in Guatemala at the same time.

Thanks for reading!

Happy Guatemalan Independence Day!

So far the bombas are going off and last night the car horns and trombones were in full force - we'll post more info as the day progresses :)

Hiking Pacaya

Last Saturday, August 21, I met a goal I've been working towards since moving to Guatemala; I hiked the volcano Pacaya.

We woke up at 5:30ish to get going. We arrived and bought the tickets.
They kept asking if we wanted to take a "horse taxi" the 3.something (steep) kilometers up the mountain.

The guide took time to explain the medicinal value of some of the plants we passed, and to describe what kind of animals lived there- though mostly before the latest eruption. He also explained how the eruption affected the community.

When we got to the top it was a little bit foggy so the picture isnt as great as it would be with better visibility.

At the top we poked a stick into one of the lava pores to catch it on fire to roast volcano marshmellows!

This makes three goals I have met: 1)losing weight 2) learning to swim and 3) Pacaya.
Disclaimer: Pacaya is probably a fairly simple hike for most people, I've just never done anything like that before.

Summer Vacation 2010: Driving from Texas to Guatemala as a Family

My summer vacation began June 19th when Talia and I flew back to NE TX to be with my family. Unfortunately, we used the last of our frequent flier miles to get there and Ben, always up for an adventure, drove up later after seeing to the last details of our moving from the apartment to a house in Guatemala. We were glad to see family and friends and Talia really loved going to VBS in Texas!

We left North East TX July 21st and began our epic-like journey back to Guatemala City with a toddler.

July 21: Wednesday we made it all the way to Eagle Pass. We had decided to take a middle route, though on the map it looks longer, because of the tropical storm damage that took its toll on both coasts. This ended up being a very good decision due to great toll roads and hardly any vehicle searches. Ben, who has made this trip on the Gulf route about 4 times (before this one,) said that even if it was a day longer, it was a much better drive and worth it.

July 22: Thursday we crossed the border with barely any trouble at all and made it to the state of Coahuila, MX; a beautiful state I wouldn't mind visiting again. We didn't make it very far into MX today because of the long time it took to get the paperwork done at the border and a collapsed bridge that we had to figure out how to detour, but progress, nonetheless. We stopped in Saltillo, MX- I felt very safe here and wouldn't mind living here some day as it is only 2 days drive from my family and it is still in a safer part of Latin America.



July 23: Friday we arrived at Tlaxcala, MX- described as a hidden gem of a town bypassed by most tourists. I would have to agree with that assessment. It was beautiful and had many things I would have loved to browse if it weren't raining this entire day! Unfortunately, Montezuma's revenge found me here. ;)



July 24: Saturday we arrived in Oaxaca, a rather large Mexican town with very confusing roads, especially at night. There were many times two roads going one direction on either side of a middle road going the opposite direction... and the roads on the outside frequently switched into the lanes on the other side of the road at stoplights. Imagine all of this at night with millions of headlights coming out of nowhere at every stoplight. I think this is something you would probably have to experience to get the full benefit of what I am trying to explain. ;) In Oaxaca we were so ready to be finished with the trip and getting pretty stressed. We stayed at a local hotel that had interior parking and weird smells. I didn't sleep very well.

July 25: Sunday- we arrived in Tapachula, the last town on the border in Mexico before crossing into Guatemala! I was thrilled to stay in a very nice Holiday Inn Express here that had wonderfully huge beds and clean showers and free breakfast and working wireless... It was the best night's sleep throughout this entire trip. We debated staying an extra night to just relax, but we were so close to home, only one more day- plus it was expensive at $100 a night.



July 26: Monday- we crossed the Mexican-Guatemalan border and immediately noticed that we were not in Mexico any more! The roads got bumpier, guards with guns were at every convenience store, barbed wire was the most noticeable decoration and, of course, there were locals protesting the increase in electricity prices blocking the only way through to the capital. After waiting in a huge line for about 4 hours, they decided to go home due to the rainy seasons gushing outburst. The next few hours were occupied with me trying to keep Talia occupied so she wouldn't scream while Ben was trying to drive through torrential rain. We stopped at a convenience store for a break and were soaked running the 12 feet to the entrance. This last day was a constant struggle since we were almost home and everyone was so tired. We were very happy to find a Sarita for supper with a great play place for Talia to run around in! We then dragged home and collapsed.

Overall, this was a lifetime experience I will never forget. I could literally feel people praying for us the whole trip. I wish I could explain that feeling. I cried out of gratefulness several times because things went so smoothly. Ben has made this trip about 5 different times now that this one is complete. He was amazed at how few times we were searched and how easy it was when we were. We didn't get any speeding tickets. We didn't have to pay any bribes. The only trouble we had with the vehicle was a flat tire that was on a toll road on the way to Tlaxcala where they have people hired to help you in an emergency. It was perfect because they came and changed the tire for us and if they had not come, Ben would not have known to use a certain tool to get to the spare tire and we would have been stuck! I am crying as I type this because I still feel so amazingly blessed and protected. Driving through Latin America always makes me feel like a spoiled rich kid in comparison to everything around me. Though I try to constantly be appreciative, I still feel like I have so much more than I deserve! If I could voluntarily choose to do this again, I would do everything in my power to fly instead, but I am immensely grateful for His hand on us this trip.

A Challenge to My Wonderful 5th Graders as You Graduate

Above the door in my classroom I have a sign that reads: “Through these doors walk the future leaders of Guatemala…” and this is something that I truly believe. I have been honored to teach students who are going to be great parents, politicians, doctors, teachers and businessmen and women. I have seen leadership qualities in the way that you work together and help others in the classroom and know that you have what it takes to be great leaders in the world.

That journey continues with your 5th grade graduation. I have been in Guatemala for 10 months and 3 weeks. That is enough time to see both sides of Guatemala, and I have. I have experienced the beauty, amazing friendships and social environment, but I have also dealt with robbery and fear. You must realize that you are the ones responsible for Guatemala’s future. Perhaps you wonder how, as a 5th grade, soon to be 6th grade student you can make a difference. You must prepare now for future actions. Now, when you see something that is not right there are two things you should do:

1)Think of a way that it could be done better. Don’t fall into the trap of just complaining about something without coming up with a solution.

2) Think of how you are developing in your own life. Are you a fair and just person? Are you developing character traits that Guatemala needs in its leaders? If you cheat on your test now, how do we know that as an official you won’t cheat there?

This is my challenge to you:

1) Search for truth- not popularity or even comfort.

2) Respect all people- regardless of race, intelligence, physical abilities or religion.

3) Embrace learning. Don’t be scared of not knowing- that is where the journey starts, be scared of not caring.

I will miss you, but I look forward to rejoicing with you in all of your successes!