It's been a while...

I am sitting on the front porch of our primary project site, the vocational school, listening to Ray LaMontagne, enjoying the company of the pups & one of my favorite ladies, Genevieve...it's a beautiful Saturday.  As it has been almost two months since the last time I blogged, it seems like the perfect time to share some of the shenanigans that have transpired in the recent past.

You can't see me...can you?

Recently, I have had the pleasure (& challenge) of caring for one of my co-worker's dogs, Whiskey.  This has included a trip to get the little girl spayed & a variety of hoop jumping activities in order to get said pup relocated to Canada.  Now as many of you know, I love dogs, & you also might know, Jake (my beloved pup), spent a large quantity of his life in a moving vehicle & he loved it...this is not true for all dogs...much to my surprise.  Interesting tid-bit...a pup can keep on vomiting long after you think she can't...yikes!    

Field day @ the park with the
Get Fresh Crew & the Técnico
Maya kiddos!

I also had the opportunity to managed my first group of volunteers in early August; a lively bunch of high school kids from UMass-Boston's Upward Bound program.  Upward Bound provides support for low-income, first generation, college bound students & this is the group's second service trip to come work with Long Way Home.  In the states, these kids often struggle to find the support many of us take for granted...yet, when talking to them it became clear to me how they recognize that in a global sense, they have opportunities that others will never have.  The kids in this group are vibrant, enthusiastic people with a great capacity for empathy & desire to be a part of something bigger than themselves....it was invigorating.  Managing a group is a lot of work, for sure, but I had an amazing week with the Get Fresh Crew! Check out their blog for a glimpse of their thoughts & experiences with us in Comalapa.

September brought with it my birthday!  Now I know that there are people out there who don't really enjoy their birthdays...I am NOT one of those people.  I love my birthday...& I think that this is a direct result of the fact that my Mama has always made sure my birthdays were fun & special.  Memories of homemade Wonder Woman cakes, theme slumber parties & sparkly confetti pepper the birthday photo album in my mind.  Even when we didn't have a lot she managed to whip up somethin' special for birthdays.  Well, this year I didn't have Mama's special touch directly...but she certainly guided the hands of my local family.  An evening of cards, laughter, black-bean burgers & a delicious cookie cake...followed by a day of relaxation!  To top it off, Genevieve & Slice (friends/co-workers), gave me a beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers & a bag of juicy clementines...it was yet another perfect birthday memory to add to my collection. 

Our view of the Fuego eruption

In the middle of the month the volcano Fuego erupted.  This eruption was a big one folks!  We see small puffs of grey smoke escaping from the live volcano from time to time...but this was different...warranting international news coverage.   Thankfully, we were well out of the danger zone & the wind was carrying the plume away from us, but it was a sight to behold. 

Well...as you can probably imagine this is only a peek into some of the happenings in my life over the past couple of months...but as I said before...it's some of the highlights.  There have been many other high & low points but it has all been wonderful.  I can hardly believe it but October marks the beginning of my sixth month in Guatemala...WOW!  As I sit here looking out over the Western Highlands on this perfectly sunny day my mind wanders....I am smiling at the thoughts of my time so far & I am enlivened by thoughts of things to come.  It makes me endlessly happy that I can say that my adventure continues....