my momma!

Sooo, my mom flew into town for a 10 day tour. Primarily she wanted to see my house, my neighborhood, meet my friends and be able to realy SEE my life here with her own two eyes. It meant so much to me that mom would spend the money & time to just see my world!

We had a really awesome time together working on home projects, cooking and travelling around San Salvador and greater El Salvador. Shane & I painted my back yard wall while mom surpervised. (I chose two potential colors and Shane suggested striping of some kind--well after two longs days of labor, the wall looks awesome and hanging in the backyard is so lovely. ) After the painting, mom & I hit the local nursery and purchased a bunch of flowers and herbs to complete the back yard. See the attached photos--Isn't it cool!? We also visited Price Mart, the local Costco and Super Selectos, the closest super market, A LOT.

And it was fun for here to meet the wonderful people that God has blessed me with here! Currently I have 5 people living in my house and mom quickly won everyone over with her sweet spirit and general momminess--and her awesome tacos. (We ate them twice will she was here!)

Mom flew out Thursday night, after a few tears, and I waited at the airport for a few hours until Darcy flew in! Next update... "Darcy visits Tina in El Salvador!"

antigua spanish school

In the last 5 months, I have spent 7 weeks in Antigua, Guatemala at the Christian Spanish Academy (CSA).

To give you an idea of what they looked chunk of time looked like, here is my general schedule:

7am - Breakfast
7:30am - Check email at school
8am - Class begins with my maestra Victoria
Noon - Break for lunch
2pm - Return to school

4pm - Finish class for the day, head to the gym

6pm - Get home, do some spanish homework
7pm - Dinner
8pm - More homework and whatever else I want to do...

Yep, it's a pretty full day with lots of class time and then lots of extra spanish speaking time after class. which is awesome and oh so tiring. But I really feel I learned a lot in a short amount of time, so I definitely recommend my program highly.

On both visits, I stayed with the Romero family--Hector, Sandra, Diego & Sofia. They are an amazing family that always made me feel totally at home and helped a lot with my Spanish.

On my first trip to CSA, I was super focused on my Spanish and purposely kept to myself--not thinking I had time for friendships and homework. Not surprisingly, this resulted in some pretty lonely weekends and nights and on my return trip I prayed that I be spared such feelings of loneliness. Well on this visit, I had a fellow housemate named Patrik that was from Sweden & Norway and he was answer to that prayer. Patrik was at my school trying to learn as much Spanish as possible before touring Central America. He was great for me because he actually got me out of my routine a bit and I saw a lot more of Antigua then I would have on my own. He also helped introduce me to people at the school and generally helped me have a much more enjoyable time--whether speaking Spanish or English! Through Patrik, I also met Nick, a fellow American and the three of us spent a great deal of time hanging out in Guatemala. More about them when I finally write about my time at Lago Atitlan.

lago atitlan

Well, this is about a month past my visit to Guatemala's lovely Lago Atitlan--but better late then never. After 3 weeks of Spanish class, I crammed my class load into four days and took a 3 day weekend along with my friend Patrik and Nick.

It was Valentine's Day weekend and apparently the lake is quite the spot for romance, so most of the hotels we tried were booked. After a few attempst we finally found Hotel De Terraza en San Antonio Polampa. This is a very small Mayan city off the typical tourist circuit with 2 hotels and 2 restaurants. When we got there on Friday afternoon, we were definitely the only 3 gringos in the city.

On our first walk around the city (totalling about 20 minutes including helping a stuck van get back on the road), we met Paulina, a young mayan woman, owner of one of the two restaurants and genereal entrepenuer. This was definitely providence at work because Paulina hooked us up with a boat driver, some meals, some great textiles and generally offered us her friendship from day one.

San Antonio Polompa was cool because I think it was a better view into how some Guatemalans live then in other tourist destinations. Most of the native men still wear the traditional dress made of textiles made by their wives and wrapped around their middle like a skirt. This town was a big producer of the textiles for sale in the cities. So it was cool to be able to buy direct from someone that actually had a loom right in their house.

Friday night we had fried fish and fries and ended our evening with cuban cigars--which are prevalent throughout Central America. It was my very first cigar! But although merely 21, Nick (as you see pictured) was an old pro.

On the Saturday, we rented our own boat and drove around to different lakeside communities. The lake is absolutely spellbinding and I loved just cruising around on the water. My parents live right by Lost Creek Lake in Southern Oregon and we spent many a great summer day on our boat on the lake. I kept thinking how much my dad would have loved to have been in that boat with me!

Sunday we went to a local ecopark that promised a butterfly garden. And we did see 2 moths and 2 monarchs, but that was about it. Mariposa does mean butterfly doesn't it?! Maybe we got the translation wrong and it was some other kind of garden?

All in all, it was a very chill weekend with good friends, laughter and a front row seat to some of the beauty that God created so long ago. I was so blessed by the time--it was renewing, interesting and down right fun. And all weeked long, I kept praising God for being so generous with his blessings. I kept thanking him for being a God that wants me to enjoy the world that He made. A God that takes delight in the smallest details. A God that sent his spirit of restoration, peace and joy so clearly into my 3 day weekend. It is so ridiculous to think that God of All would care about my school break--and yet I saw reminders of His presence everywhere. That is just cool.

So double humbs up on Lago Atitlan. As always, thanks for your prayers and emails. You guys rock!

introducing p 18 487

THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR PRAYERS!
Here is a direct answer! She is a 1989 Toyota Land Cruiser--diesel, 4-wheel drive, comfortably seats 6. She has been perfectly cared for and is in AMAZING condition for a car that is almost twenty years old. I'm thankful for her age, because it kept the price within my range for such a great car. So far I have driven her twice and each time it has been cake. The power steering works like a charm and she has such dirth that she is incredibly safe. Oh, and she has dual air conditioning and an ice maker/cooler. Yep, you read correctly!

Tomorrow I am heading out to explore some of El Salvador . Yea!!!! I am soo stoked. Thanks for your prayers and keep it up--now I'm on the roads of el salvador--I will definitely need more prayer.

what a little tlc can do

While I was home for the holidays, a lot of you commented that you like photos--so I am making an effort to take more pictures along the way and post them. A lot of you also liked the photos of my house because it helped you imagine where I was living. Well, after two weeks of appliance shopping, deliveries, gifts of randomn furniture from friends, etc, etc. phase 1 of my new lil home is done! And I thought I would share some pics. Check out the original photos of the house here to get an idea of how far we have come in a short time! the house in October

It has been really cool to see how everything came together to create a space that I feel comfy in that I could also afford. It's been a lot like college, where you take whatever anyone gives you and just find ways to cover it up if it needs a little cutening. My brother Pat gave me $100 at Christmas and I went directly to IKEA and purchased as many cheap, cute curtains and fabrics as I could. In the end, I have used every piece of fabric in some way and each has brought a sweet, freshness to the house.

I started sleeping here about 2 weeks ago and without a stove or fridge my food options have been limited. Two years ago my mom gave me an electric kettle and Jenny Dale gave me an AWESOME Starbucks thermal french press. My cousin Randy gave me a Starbucks gift card and I purchased a burr grinder. So the top priority--GOOD coffee has greeted me every morning. Ahhh, life is good. And I was also able to use the kettle to heat up water for oatmeal or ramen--yes, there are sooo many ways my life is similar to college right now. And Michelle gave me a ton of kitchen stuff that allows me to eat, cut things, dry my dishes and many of those "must haves" that just add up.

I was surprised initially to learn that I had to buy ALL my appliances. Think about that in a rental! And appliances are generally more expensive here then in the states. Gulp! But God truly provided everything that I needed, all for great prices. Yesterday I made iced tea--using my stove and my fridge. It was the tasty tea ever!

Dave & Jenny gave me a great big desk that has been a life saver to work from. I splurged a tiny bit and bought a new bed--rather then used from downtown markets--hoping to save my back from future problems and because honestly I am afraid of bed bugs. So I have been sleeping soundly. I also hung a cable curtain rod and have photos of all my friends, so every day I remember that they are all with me in spirit.

Even the weird "closet room" that initially freaked me out--why does one need an entire room for a closet?--has been an unknown blessing because I don't need any bedroom furniture. Everything I own can fit in 1/4 of the closet, including clothes, camping gear, hardware, luggage, everything!

And finally the walls were all painted in shades of warm yellow--sounds scary but looks great! And yes, that is me waving at you in my tiny bathroom.

Again, thank you for your prayers, contributions, etc. It's always so important for me to feel cozy at home, but I also wanted to create a space where guests could come and feel welcome. Everything here has been kept on the cheap, but I have been able to purchase every must have item. What a blessing!

home for Christmas

Oh, by the way, I had a WONDERFUL trip home for Christmas. I am so thankful for all of the great time with friend and family. I thought I would recap with a few photos of a few moments:

*Dance Party #2 - You got love a basement with some good lights and a dj.

*Kitties!! - I cannot express how nice it was to be home and cozy up with Pearl & Oly. I mean look at this furry little face!

*A Snowy Christmas - This is Lost Creek Lake, about 10 minutes from my parents house. As you can see, it was pretty breathtaking with a lovely dust of new snow.

*Dance Party #3 - You just can't get enough dance party in! Here I am smacking hips with DJ Danny-izle on New Year's Eve.

Yea, good times...

It's the little things

So, one of the great truths about being in El Sal is that I have been virtually helpless--relying on the continual kindness of new friends. And this has been a good thing--teaching me humiltiy, building friendships, etc.

That being said, there is also a lot of room here for me to bust out of comfort zones and try to wobble on my own two feet. For example, I was hungry the other night, but the stove still wasn't working and the frig wasn't here yet. So I decided it was time to try to order pizza on my own. I was tempted to call my lifelines--Dave, Jenny, Michelle--and ask them to order for me, but decided that at some point I just need to try it on my own. It may as well be now. And so I said a prayer and dialed the local pizza hut (they are all over the place down here) and started my conversation with “Lo siento, pero yo hablo espanol muy malo…”--"I'm sorry, but I speak Spanish poorly." What proceeded was I'm sure a comical exchange, but I only understood a bit of what the woman was asking me, so I can't tell you for sure. And slowly but surely I thought I understood and was able to express that I wanted a pepperoni pizza for delivery with orange soda. I was able to give her my address and directions to my house--although she put me on hold for about 5 minutes as she confered with someone about my directions. Yep, I prayed again. And finally, I was able to make out that I should see the delivery guy in about 15 minutes.

Of course, that is what I thought happened, but honestly, I had no clue if I was able to communicate properly. Normally when I order food here, I get something totally different then what I thought I ordered, or twice as much as what I thought I ordered or nothing at all and I've just learned to be flexible in what I eat and to keep trying. And so I said a third prayer and waited for the delivery.

Sure enough, 15 minutes later, Humberto showed up with my pizza! I have never been so elated to see a pizza delivery guy! I swear I almost kissed him. (Who knows, a few more deliveries and maybe I will be dating him...) AND he delivered what I thought I ordered--so double whammy! And as I sat down to eat my greasy delight, my meal time prayer was of simple thanksgiving.

Even the simplest task is still kind of hard for me here. And sure, that can be frustrating, but the cool part is that each task requires me to really ask God to help and to trust that he will. And oddly enough, he does help even with silly things and then I'm just filled with thankfulness for a pizza hut pizza. And that is a really great place to be--so thankful for so little--and I hope that one of the things that will stick with me in the years to come is learning to remain in that attitude of reliance, trust and thankfulness.

Today you should try something out of your comfort zone. It might be harder for you to find those opportunities in the comfort of your own culture, but they are there. We all have self-imposed limits. So pick one and step out--see what happens. I bet you will be grateful that you did!