Look at this list

I currently find myself in Antigua, Guatemala, or the Guatemala version of Disneyworld. It is developed, beautiful, has loads of tourists, and it is absolutely not what I think of when I think of Guatemala. Sure, it is nice to escape to a European-like city for a couple of days, but I believe I am experiencing somehwhat of a culture shock. Going from living a very basic life with the 300 people in my tiny village to a place that has incredible things such as lights, buildings that are not made out of sticks, stairs, and an ample supply of food has me dealing with sensory overload.

So what brings this small-town boy to the big city? I am here for an all-volunteer conference, Peace Corps-sponsored 4th of July festivities and a week of Q'eqchi classes in the Peace Corps center. I will be spending the better part of the month of July in Antigua due to these events and ecotourism meetings with my bosses.

The 4th of July party was a great time with hundreds of Peace Corps Guatemala Volunteers in attendance. I had one of those life-is-pretty-cool moments when my friend Kristin beautifully sang the national anthem at the beginning of the party. I thought about how lucky I am to be an American, how proud I am of the work that Peace Corps Volunteers do, and how honored I am to have been chosen to accept this tremendous responsibility. As far as I can tell, we only get one shot at this thing called life, and we are all interconnected, so why not use the opportunities that I have been given to create opportunities for others? Everybody wins when friendships and work relationships are forged across national boundaries.

I don't have the patience to write out all of the things that have happened to me recently, and if I am going to sit down to write out a blog post, I am going to spend my time writing interesting stories that highlight enlightening events, oddities, or the curious cast of characters that I meet during my service. Therefore, look at this list.

• Spoke with the US Ambassador at the Peace Corps 4th of July party for 15 minutes about learning mayan languages and life in the Foreign Service
  
• designed a brochure and t-shirt for my site

• got my phone stolen from my pocket(put a major damper on what was going to be a much-needed break for me)
  
• designed an inventory system using Excel for the store that my assocation runs
  
• developed incapicitating acid reflux from the nasty food at my site and had to spend Q1000 on three different types of medicine
  
• Construction started on my house, and it should be done by the time I get back from Antigua in a week

• diarrhea

• I have been getting much better at speaking Q'eqchi in my site(Some kid asked if I took a pill to become smart, because he wanted to know why I could learn Spanish and Q'eqchi, but he only could speak Qeqchi.I laughed and used that as an opportunity to tell im about the importance of studying, practice and hard work. He didn't understand a single word I said. This is a common occurrence in my site. So it goes.)

• My submission for the Volunteer-run publication, The Ego, won the best submission award, which is proof that goofy anecdotes about topless host mothers and howling church singers can be written about tastefully(I will upload my story within the next couple weeks)