A Quick Note

For the record, I was going to post more yesterday... but the power went out last night and killed our internet. Thanks alot Guatemala.

Now I'm off to Antigua and Monterrico for the weekend with friends from home, Jessi and Rachel, and Xela friends Brenda and Emelie. So no posting for a few days. Lo siento.

Another note, you may or may not know that there was a huge earthquake in Japan yesterday, causing some major tsunami action to head towards the States. Two of my best friends in the world, Dean and Tyler Brown, are in Hawaii. They are now sleeping in a Safeway parking lot last I heard. But they are safe and in high ground away from any tsunamis. Please keep them in mind today and everyone else effected by the quake/tsunami. Thanks.

Behind the Scenes Look at Semilla Nueva

I may or may not get a bit of grumpiness from my boss for posting some of these pics but I think that they give a good perspective of what actually happens on the job.

We ride around in the back of pickup trucks, going way too fast and ignoring way too many laws of the road.

Because we ignor such laws, sometimes things on our cars break. Like the brakes. Luckily Brooke and Darren are all that are man and fixed it (kinda) while parked in a McDonald's in Guatemala City.


We also have fun after work. Long trips can be stressful at times so we make sure to take a break here and there.


Yes, this is a mattress in a shed. With seed bags. We slept here. When I say 'slept,' I mean I laid there for 9 hours and didn't sleep. I hate this shed.

That's kind of a small look into the working life of a Semilla Nuevan. There will be a post on Semilla Nueva's blog eventually about something similar. Probably a little more PR friendly. I will say though, life here requires some flexiblity, which makes for some annoying times and for some fun times. It's been a geat learning experience in that reguard. How often does one change brake pads in a McDonald's parking lot? These are once in a lifetime experiences.

Thursday's Barrage of Blogging Begins

Alright friends... if you are still reading and following this blog, I applaud you and thank you fully and sincerely. Its been a fast and busy first month. I've got some writing to do with the blog, I need to shave, and a pile of laundry to do. But the goal today is to catch up on all of this.

So something I thought I'd do was take some time to explain what exactly I've been doing down here in Guatemala. I guess I could start by linking to a post I wrote for Semilla Nueva and just posted literally within the last hour. This was a trip we took two weeks ago out to San Martin (a little town northwest of Guatemala City) to visit Cruz Cún Cún, a veteran of the Campesino a Campesino movement.

What is this Campesino a Campesino movement that I speak of, you might ask? Its essentially the whole basis for Semilla Nueva. The idea (in a very small nutshell) is that we take new technologies for sustainable agriculture, teach them to leaders of farming communities that desire our help and knowledge, and then assist these leaders in promoting the new technologies to their peers, friends, neighbors, and families.

This is the idea of Semilla Nueva. Personally, right now, my current duties are:

• Learning Spanish - with the goal of me eventually working in the communities that I talked about above.
• Taking pictures of our trips - for promotional media, fundraising purposes.
• Write for the Semilla Nueva blog.
• Assisting with daily functions of Semilla Nueva - gathering materials for the workshops we put on, which can be a challenge in Xela.
• Researching and reading through scientific articles for data that we can use for grants.

That's my general 'internship/volunteering' overview. Things are nice cause it differs day to day and by time June comes, the look of my job will be completely different than it is right now.

Ok... blog #1 for today - done. More to come!

One Month in Xela

I realized two things today:

1. Its been over a week since my last post.
2. I've been in Xela for over a month now.

And while I'd like to spend some time reflecting on the month that I've spent here, time is not something I have right now. In about an hour, I'm heading off to Guatemala City for work and will be gone until late Tuesday night. However, look forward to Wednesday, because there will be new pictures, stories, and a bit of a longer post/multiple posts.

Just thought I'd let all who care that I was alive and hadn't forgotten my blogging duties.

Pictures of the Day - Xelaju Soccer Game Edition

This is Lisa. She is excited to be saving the kid from falling off the fence. I enjoy this picture.


This is Emelie and me. Me, sporting my new jersey. Emelie, balloning my head. Xelaju won 1-0 for those who care. Pretty spectacular game/adventure.

Sushi Night in Casa Latina

One thing that is amazing to me about living in Guatemala is the food. And not the local food. The local food is good, but it usually consists of some combo of corn, beans, rice, and eggs. But because people (at least travelers and gringos) grow tired of this 'ethnic' food, they make a solid effort to put together meals that remind them of home and the ample choices that their respective cities offer. So, with the help of my friend Mikiko, Wednesday we had one of my favorite foods in the world: sushi.

Due to the fact that there really isn't sushi grade fish down here, we made veggie, canned tuna, and teriyaki chicken rolls.

I've made rolls before but Mikiko wanted me to try to make inside out rolls - where the rice is on the outside. Harder but when its done, its looks so cool.

Here is Mikiko teaching Brenda, who doesn't like sushi, how to make rolls. I think Brenda ended up liking what she made.

The finished product.

The table after all the hardwork. We ate like kings, er... emperors that night!

A Posting Over at Semilla Nueva

Semilla Nueva has posted my write up about my trip last week to the coast and the farms. It includes more of my pictures, so have a look!