Dear Ashley,

This one´s for you!

Love,

Katie

Stay tuned for pictures from our first weekend adventure!

Estoy Aqui!!!

 We made it to Guatemala!  And honestly, the trip here was not near as bad as you would expect it to be!  We got to the airport and met up with Krista, the girl I will be with while I am in Guatemala.  We hadn´t met before, and now I feel like I have known her all my life!  Honestly, we get along so well, have so much in common, and have a great time together!  Tender mercy! We left Salt Lake around noon and flew down to Dallas.  It was honestly the best flight I have ever had in my life.  I was next to the window in a secluded corner of the plane with an empty seat next to me and a sleeping woman by the aisle.  So, so nice!  We barely caught our connecting flight to Guatemala, but we made it!  The flight was full, and I was in between two very large Guatemalan men.  My first thought when I saw the seat left for me was ¨There is NO way I am going to fit in there!  I did, but it was a tight squeeze.  Both men were very nice, and between their bits of English, and mine of Spanish, we managed to have quite nice conversations throughout the flight.

We landed in Guatemala about seven thirty, and got out of customs about eight.  There was a driver waiting for us who drove us back to Patzacia, which was about an hour and a half away.  I had been worried about the appartment for weeks (having no idea what to expect) and was actually pleasantly surprised!  Here is where I live:

 

To get into the house you go through the garage, past the Micalax family home downstairs, and up some concrete steps.  There is Krista, sweeping out the flies she swatted!

You go in the door to the kitchen-dining area.  We have a fridge and a stove.  I am very happy about this.

 

The bathroom does leave a bit to be desired, but is better than I thought it would be and is totally managable!  As Krista put it ¨The toilet is enclosed, so I am good to go!¨  There is very little water pressure, which makes it hard to wash your hair, but the water is nice and warm!  The toilet flushes, and is clean.  What more can you ask for when you are in Guatemala!

This is the bedroom.  There are two sets of bunk beds.  The other two girls who were here before us left the day after we arive, so we each have our own set of beds, and really we have plenty of space to put everything we need!

Well, there is the grand tour!  Honestly, WAY nicer than I was expecting.  And with the exception of flies, one spider, and one odd beatle, I haven´t seen many bugs!  Hooray!  Welcome to Guatemala!

PS - I can´t seem to find a spell checker, so my Guatemalan posts will probably be filled with errors! 

Heading Out

 Well, today is the day!  I am leaving for Guatemala in two minutes (well, as soon as my parents pick me up to take me to the airport!  It has been an adventure trying to get ready!  Here is my two page, three column packing list:  

It was crazy!  I hate traveling with more than a backpack as a carry on, so I was bound and determined to make it all fit in my one huge suitcase since you can only check one bag.  It seemed like an impossible feat once I got it all gathered!

 

But somehow I managed to fit EVERYTHING in there.  I was quite proud of myself . . . and then I weighed it . . . and it was 15 pounds overweight.  So even though I could make everything fit in my huge suitcase, it turned out I needed to take a small suitcase as a carry on as well.  And I needed to make it fairly heavy.  Ug!  So here is what I am taking now:

It is going to be a long, long day!

To answer some questions about my trip:  I am going to Guatemala for 6-8 weeks to teach English and travel around Central America.  Basically, I am going so that I have something to do during the summer!  I will be living in a small town two hours west of Guatemala City.   No, I don't speak Spanish.  But I do speak Portuguese and have heard that I will do well.  Yes, I am quite terrified (though VERY excited!) Yes, I will be blogging as long as it is a possibility (which I think it is!) so stay tuned for more on my Guatemalan Adventure!

Surrounded By So Much Good

 I am surrounded by so many AMAZING and supportive people!  This week has been super hectic, but I have been blessed to spend some time with lots of friends and family!  I have gone on bike rides, ice cream outings, lunch with Lacey, breakfast with friends, and had many, many offers to help me get ready for my trip!  It has been super crazy, but a really good week all the same!  I spent yesterday morning hiking with some cute friends, and of course, couldn't resist taking pictures! 

Yay for summer, and HOORAH for such great friends and family!!! 

A Birthday Party for Three

 It seems like I am never home on my birthday, at least it has been that way for the past few years.  This year my family celebrated early, throwing my celebration in with little miss Aubrey's (who turned 1) and Ivy (who turned 4).  So we all shared the day and the festivities.

I got all sorts of really cool (and much needed) stuff for Guatemala.  A head lamp, flashlight, and of course, a mosquito net!  What more could a girl ask for?

I was also given a bunch of headbands, which I LOVE.  In Brazil it was so hot and humid that my hair was in a bun everyday.  I felt like a boy, and quite unattractive!  This time I was determined to find something I could do with my hair to feel more feminine - which is where the headbands come in!  They are cute and fun, and this one can work as a sleep mask if I want to sleep when the sun is up, and as a face cover if the smells ever get to be too much, or if I need to make a quick exit out of the country without anyone recognizing me :-) I love things that have multiple uses!  

My mom and dad made me this REALLY cool gift wrapping station.  It has everything I need to wrap presents right at my fingertips.  I have been running to my parents house every time I needed to wrap a gift for the last two years.  This is SUPER cool and will be used often! 

It was really fun to get to spend time with everyone before I take off.  I really do have a fantastic family!

 
 I'm not quite sure what I will be doing on my actual birthday this year, but I already feel very celebrated and loved!

I Shot A Gun!

In all my 26 years of life I have never shot a gun.  People around here look at me like I am crazy when I admit that, but it is true.  So when my ward had a skeet shooting activity I was thrilled!  I could finally shoot a gun! 

Of course when we got there we had to goof off a bit, because isn't that what you are suppose to do when a camera is around and a bunch of good friends?

I patiently waited and then finally got the chance to shoot a gun.  My friend Chris tried to give me instructions.  I can usually follow instructions pretty well, but I was in WAY over my head. 

I managed to calm my shaking enough to shoot the gun three times.  Impressive, I know.

This is kind of how I felt about guns after my first experience shooting:

It's not that it was bad, but learning with many, many people staring at you is not what I call fun.  Especially when you are as  un-gunsmart as I am. 
 

So then we goofed off a little bit more.  Which was helpful. 

And then a kind guy from the ward taught me how to shoot a different gun.  I didn't have to be in the center of everyone, so less people were staring.  He talked slower and didn't look at me like I was a dork when I didn't know how to check to see if the gun was loaded.  I still wasn't great, but I did manage to shoot a target!

All in all, not a terrible experience!   I'm glad I can say I did it!  I think I might even like it if I wasn't with such a big group, something to keep in mind for next time! 

One more thing to cross off the bucket list!

Do you ever feel like you're missing something?

Some random thoughts floating around in my head this fine day:

Where did May go?  For real! 

I have found that I cannot get enough peanut butter lately.  I put it on anything I can.  Peanut butter sandwiches. Peanut butter on banana’s.  Peanut butter on graham crackers.  Peanut butter on pancakes.  Peanut butter on apples.  Peanut butter on a spoon and in my mouth.  I am kind of worried about the fact that there is no peanut butter in Guatemala.   How will I survive?

I feel like I am losing my mind.  This tends to happen when the end of the year rolls around, I just forget.  I was telling one of the other 1st grade teachers that I was struggling to come up with questions to put on our class “Question of the day” graph.  She asked me how I had managed to get through all 300 questions they have listed on the back of the graph.  The questions listed where?  How on EARTH did I manage to miss the THREE HUNDRED questions they already have listed for you?  No, I did not get through all 300 questions, nor would I ever be able to since there are only 180 days in the school year!  I sure enjoyed that list for the last seven days of school.

Note to self – read the instructions on frozen food before throwing it in the microwave.  Even if it seems simple.  Frozen pancakes can be ruined.

Along the same lines – pancakes should not be frozen.  Fantastic concept, but they do not come out all light and fluffy and delicious like you hope they will.   Which is sad because being single and loving pancakes as much as I do is not the best combination.  Making pancakes for one person is a pain! Anyone want to have pancakes with me?

After totally rocking their 1st grade program I told my students they had earned a party.  I gave them two choices for a treat: Super yummy Oreo cupcakes (my coworker offered to make them, she really needs to open a cupcake show because they are SO good) or Popsicles. Honestly, the choice seemed clear to me, but they chose POPSICLES!!!! At what point in life does a gourmet cupcake finally win over a popsicle?

Favorite text of the week came from Lacey.  It said "We need a code word. If you or I were eve in trouble but couldn't outright tell each other, the code word is Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Okay? Okay. :)"  I laughed, and then had to text her back to see if it had been real.  It was.  I then persuaded her to use a more neutral code word, because if I started screaming "RUDOLPH THE RED NOSE REINDEER!" while in a dangerous situation it might make things worse.  She claims that the idea came to her because of a TV show she was watching.  I think it may have come because I informed her that if I die while in Guatemala, she is the one that they will contact.