My Humble Abode

I know some of you have been curious as to what my house looks like. So here it is. I would like to disclaimer that not all PC homes look like this. I just so happened to luck out with a newly built home. I have the entire upstairs of this house. There are 2 sides that mimic each other in size and style, but I only live on one side. I also have a patio which I did not picture here. So here it is, welcome to my little home :)

Here is my kitchen. I have a little stove top that is powed by a gas tank. A refrigerator that my parents bought me for Christmas when they came to visit and a toaster oven my grandma gave me for Christmas. Not everyone has refrigerators or ovens because on our budget it is way too expensive, so I lucked out! I built the "bookcase" - I built it one night at like 8 pm and finished at midnight one night when I had a lot on my mind and needed something to hit! It is a little lopsided, so it is tilted against the wall so it doesn't fall - because one time it did, lol. And my kitchen table that took me a year to buy because I couldn't afford it, haha.

Here is my wall of gossip magazines. Magazines I have collected through out my service. And, all my bags. The sad part is that I took a ton of bags home with me when I went home for Christmas and it still looks like I have way too many.

The entrance to the other room. On the floor are the 2 out of the 4 midwife kit boxes.

My room.

My "dresser", built out of cement blocks and wood shelves I found on my patio. Yes, I still am a hoarder of clothes.

Here is my desk. It is a little small but it is still functional. Now that I have completely organized it to my liking, this is where I spend most of my time when I am doing work, or in this instance updating my blog. Most of you are here - either in pictures, cards, gifts, etc. Can you find yourself? :)

And... last but not least, my bed :) My sanctuary. I. love. my. bed. I don't take nearly as many naps as I did when I was in the states, mainly because I have a normal sleep cycle here but my bed is where I read, watch movies and just relax.

until next time....

My very last Feria in Guatemala...

This past January my town had their "big" town fair. The first time I experienced the town fair was definitely an experience. Now that I have experienced 4 town fairs, I can safely say that I am "town-faired out". A week of not sleeping because my house was vibrating to music that lasted until 2 am and seeing way too many drunks roaming the street was not exactly ideal, but I'm glad I now know what a town fair is like in Guatemala.

I just wanted to throw in here the Midwife Kits that were donated by MedWish Foundation. My dad helped me pack all the supplies. Unfortunately the airline would only let me take 2 boxes with me, so I had to leave 2 behind. I am still trying to figure out how I'm going to ship the 2 remaining boxes to Guatemala. If anyone has any ideas please let me know!

The boxes all ready to go.

Walking into the soccer field filled with people.


During the town fair all the area schools in our municipality decorate floats. Here are a few of my favorites. This year was by far the most creative year with float decorations.

This float actually won. The theme this year was "medio ambiente" or The Environment. Here children were dressed in the traditional clothing of my town and were building a miniture mud home! When the parade started they started building the mud hme and then when they arrived to the soccer field they completed the mud home. Very creative! Mud homes here in my site and many rural, indigenous sites are all made out of mud. It is the cheapest and an environmentally friendly structure.

Ferris Wheel.

Here are all the elected "Little Queens" from all the schools in my town.

It can get pretty packed here.

Here is my town's Queen from last year (the girl at the top of the stairs), the reining queen with the wooden crown and the reining "sports queen" on the right for the year 2011.

This right here is what kept me up at night! Live bands that play throughout the night! This band was the "feature" band for the town fair and man, they blew. The lead singer had the worst mullet and looked like he was stuck in the 70's. Not only did he look rediculous, he sounded rediculous.

Here I am with my sitemates Stephen and Val.