LAGO

Lago de Atitlán, November 3^rd & 4^th:

A group of volunteers and I had the chance to vacation at the Lake. We stayed at an NPH employee’s house and it was stunning, it felt like we were the only people on the lake. The house was set far away from all other houses/villages. Minus the spiders, fire-ants, scorpions and iguanas it was a good trip. 

The house we stayed at was really unique, it had a house with all the bed rooms and then separate house with the living room, dining room and kitchen. Here are some of the volunteers hanging out, eating breakfast on the patio.

The Lake was relaxing and then we had the trip home. Not only did we have the spare tire fall from the van, we ran into a river which covered the road.  

Barriletes

Barriletes, November 1^st

All saints day, the first of November, is a unique celebration that I am happy I got to experience. The tradition includes making kites out of bamboo and tissue paper. The kites are covered head to toe in different designs and images. Thousands of people came to see the kites and the crowds were absolutely insane.

I found out later that the kites take months to make. Let me try to paint a picture, imagine a semi-truck standing vertically in the air, that’s about how big these kites were. I could be over exaggerating, but not by much.

The other interesting part of this festival is that it was held in a cemetery. Everyone was happy, drinking, taking pictures, socializing and having a good time on top of graves! The cemetery was so colorful and full of life, it's the opposite of what we think of cemeteries in the US.

Halloween

Halloween 2012:

Halloween was nothing like what I’m used to in Madison, WI, but it was memorable. It was the first Halloween I made a costume by hand, Nona and I spent four hours constructing them. Our ying & yang costumes consisted of a box of corn flakes and milk, together we made the perfect breakfast. In the end, we both found out that we are perfectionists… check out our “boxes” and the originals.

Some of the NPH employees and volunteers ended up going to a bar in Chimal (the next town over) to celebrate. I cannot complain because we had beer, music and good company, but my nick-name for the night consisted of “leche,” which I found annoying. Let me just add I did try to dance salsa in my costume and it was difficult.