Greetings from Florida

As I sit amidst a 3 hour layover in the Ft. Lauderdale airport, excitement at finally being so close to home and stories and feelings from the past 6 months are filling my mind. I don't think I can summarize in a blog post what this trip and my work in Guatemala and Honduras meant to me. At least not yet, as I am still figuring that out.

I know I met some wonderful people, both through my volunteering with GVI and meeting travelers from all over while in each country from Mexico to Costa Rica. Traveling seems to bring together diverse people who would not otherwise make time for each other. The collective open-mindedness (mostly) and the need/desire to meet new people while traveling alone enables long or short-term friendships with people with whom at home I would probably not interact.

Another realization is that my motivation to rejoin my classroom at home is growing by the minute. This surprises me, and I owe it to my kids in Itzapa and San Rafael. Like kids all over the world, they take advantage of situations and are quite ornery, but they are kids who want to be in school. My teaching skills were challenged and improved in the last 6 months, and instead of dreading going back to traditional work, I am looking forward to it. And actually speaking English in my classroom will be quite a treat!

Since getting back from Mexico, I passed Semana Santa and Easter in Antigua, where people from all over the world literally packed the streets to see the colorful rugs made of sawdust, vegetables, plants, and flowers lining the roads to be walked over during the religious processions. The following week, I went to Honduras to say one more goodbye to my kids there en route to visit the GVI Nicaragua project. Copan did not disappoint, with the chance to play some drums during a hippie jam session, and a return to the Red Frog for one more world-famous uterus shot. In Esteli, Nicaragua, I had a wonderful time meeting and hanging out with the volunteers and staff there. They are working in a brand new GVI project, so brainstorming ideas for them and helping out for a few days was fun. And what else could be a better way to spend my second to last night in Central America than going to Las Vegas Nicaragua. Slot machines, neon lights, and girls without any substantial clothing filled the room decorated with images of the Vegas Strip. And yes, we did actually find ourselves dancing on the disco floor until midnight.

I got into Costa Rica late the next day, paid $5 for a 5-minute taxi ride (the equivalent in Nicaragua was 50 cents) to my hotel, and got up this morning to head to the airport. Falling into the category of people I would probably not interact with at home but that traveling brings us together, I had a couple of beers at the hotel last night with a very stereotypical surfer-dude from California living in Costa Rica. I thought the word "gnarly" was just from 80's movies, but no, it is a top word in this surfer's vocabulary.

And finally... I never did like the name of my blog, I just picked something. Now that I'm not in Central America, any suggestions?

Tacos are wonderful things

My first solo travel in Latin America did not disappoint. As I needed to renew my Visa, I headed to Mexico. San Cristobal de las Casas and Palenque, both in the Mexican state of Chiapas, brought adventures, friends, and fabulous food. I was a little anxious about the solo travel... finding hostels in each city, public transportation between different places... but excited to try it on my own. The trip had its negative points... including an unfortunate incident with my pants at the border, the downpour that proved my belt solution to the pants problem to be inadequate, that whole pesky bed-bug issue in Pelenque that I have feverishly fought off and defeated (I think!), and being told it was my lucky day by a man who said he would blow my f**king head off if he had a gun and a bullet when I wouldn't give him money to take care of his "lost passport" problem (perhaps this is a positive, as no gun and bullet were present).

San Cristobal is a beautiful colonial-style town, with lots of travelers and lots to do. Palenque is a city where tourists get in, do the two local attractions- Mayan ruins and waterfalls- and get out! Swimming in Misol-Ha falls was fantastic. I have never been so close to a powerful waterfall. The ruins were breathtaking, as all of the ruins sites I have visited just amaze me. In San Cristobal, I visited a Mayan natural medicine museum, getting to watch a 12-minute rather graphic video on Mayan childbirth. I also bought drops that are a natural remedy for cold sores (called "fuego de la boca- fire in the mouth) that also conveniently work for eye infections. From San Cristobal, I took a boat ride through the vast walls Canon del Sumidero and visited a rain forest style zoo.

Though I met cool people to do some of this stuff with, making the arrangements and travel on my own was good for me. Getting from San Cris to Palenque involved public transportation and switching in the middle, with me being the ony gringo the entire trip. And a little frustrating arriving in 100-degree Palenque (San Cris was in the 70's during the day) to find out I was too late to take either trip that day and was going to have to stay an extra night in this not overly-inviting town. Things always work out though, and that evening I met my new Aussie friend, a 57-year-old man riding his motorcycle from Chile to Alaska. We hung out for the rest of the time in Palenque and he was actually heading to San Cristobal next, so we had time together there as well. With a bit of job-hunting luck, I may meet him in Cali this summer.

As the date needed to renew my Visa was just before the start of spring break for the kids, I got to spend a week in Mexico. The next few days here in Antigua are going to be filled with processions, music, and colorful rugs decorating the streets for Holy Week and Easter. Monday is my last day at work, and Wednesday I head to Honduras to begin my journey home. The travel bug has hit me, though, so let's see what the summer brings!