Rio Dulce, Guatemala: Today is Tuesday, I think. You really do lose track of days out here. I´m still at the orphanage, and loving it. As I explained before, I don´t stay at the orphanage, but I take a boat to the orphanage at 7:30 in the morning.

I get to the orphanage around 8, and head to the library, where I work as the proctor. Basiscally just make sure everyone is on task and reading a book at their appropriate reading level. The kids are pretty good about coming in, grabbing a book, and sitting down to read. Discipline problems are very limited.

The kids are extremely courteous, and never disrespectful. Although some do get tired of reading for an hour and start walking around, but I guess that´s normal. I know a number of adults who can´t read for more than 20 minutes at a time.

Weekends at the orphanage are great, because all we do is play. Last weekend we set up a slip and slide for the young boys, which they loved, and went fishing the next day. The kids are very brilliant and resourceful, and can fish with a piece of string, a hook, and a homemade weight. If they can find a worm, they´ll use it, if not, a small piece of tortilla does the trick. They caught about ten fish in an hour. These are 5,6,7 and 8 year olds.

The volunteers, both long term and short term, like myself, are really great. I spent the last week hanging out with two folks from Australia, John and Josie, and a young guy from Scotland named Leeman.

I´m sharing a dorm room two other girls, one from Spain, and the other from Phoeniz, AZ. Both very cool, and fun to hang out with. The one from Phoenix may even join me on my trip to Antigua. That´s on Thursday.

Thursday is my last day, and as these trips always go, it´s felt as if its flown by. I have not yet had the opportunity to sit down with the president and ask her questions about the creation and development of the orphanage and hostel, but I will definitely make time for that between now and Thursday. They are doing an amazing job here.

I´m feeling a little under the weather today, and I felt the same yesterday. I´m sure i´ll be fine.

Hope everything is well back home. As far as pictures, still no memory chip, and i´m afraid that any attempts to mail one here will be unsuccessful. I´ll try to buy one in Antigua.

Love you all,

Michael

Rio Dulce, Guatemala - Today was my first full day at the orphanage. A full day is from 8am to 4pm. It started a bit hectic. Being the ¨punctual¨person that I am, I asked numerous times what time the boat to the orphanage was set to leave. In was repeatedly told 7:30am. I planned accordingly.

Of course at 7am the boat driver was yelling, ya nos vamos! What? I thought I had 30 minutes to get ready! I went out and explained that I was told 7:30, and that I needed the additional 30 minutes. Well, I didn´t need them, but someone else who was headed to the orphanage did, so I fought the additional half hour. The boat driver was none to happy, but we got there, eventually.

I´m staying at hotel backpackers, which is a 20 minute boat ride from Casa Guatemala orphanage.

The orphanage is huge, and holds up to 250 kids. On the weekends its a bit less, since some kids do have parents, but only see them on the weekends, since they don´t have the means to take care of them full time.

The kids are great. Everything you would expect. The younger kids don´t wait to ask your name before they´re hanging all over you. Some are more outgoing than others. All of them eventually warm up to you if your willing to show some love.

And the full time volunteers are amazing as well.

I´m volunteering for two weeks, which make me a Turismo Solidario. I´m not sure what that means exactly, but more or less, it means i´m a junior volunteer. I don´t stay at the orpanage, and my stay is not longer than three months.

But there are at least 20 volunteers who have committed at least 3 months of their live, most more than 6 months, to live and work at the orphanage. And they don´t get paid, in fact they have to pay.

They´re a diverse bunch. Some from Spain, Italy, Switzerland, the U.S., and a number of other countries. And of course, all speak spanish, but not great.

But their commitment to the kids is amazing. Not all of them have formal training to work with kids, but all have the desire to serve. Their schedules are much more demanding than mine. I leave at 4pm everyday, they live at the orphanage. I´ll be in Anitgua, Guatemala in two weeks ) a huge tourist destination), they´ll still be here.

Today we played futbol, I got burned. Both literally and figuratively. It was fun. And the kids went swimming. Sundays are as they say, fundays at the orphanage.

Tomorrow school starts. I was told i´ll be working in the library, helping the kids with their reading. I´m looking forward to it.

As always, internet time is limited here.

Please excuse any errors.

Hope all is well back home.

Love you all.

-Michael

Rio Dulce, Guatemala: This time it was closer to the real thing! I told you the other day about a kid who threatened my life, but his gun was his fingers. This time the gun was real, well real fake, allegedly. I arrived in Rio Dulce today, checked in to the Hotel Backpackers, and went to the center of town to look for a new chip for my camera.

No luck finding a chip, so I decided to grab a bite to eat. Was eating at a river side restaurant, when a crazy looking guy came by with a gun in his pants. He was waering sweats, and showing it off. I tried to ignore him, but it was clear he was crazy. He proceeded to disrobe and bath in the river. He got out got dressed, and saw me.

He starts yelling at me, something about Americanos, and nothing positive. And something else about ¨tengo un pistola¨. I´ll be honest, I was nervous. It was a restaurant with a bar, so I went up to a group of locals standing near the bar to try to blend in. The crazy guy clearly saw me and did not like me. And made it clear he had a gun. I started asking aimless questions, and the waitress kindly let me know that she did not understand a word I was saying. I let her know, in perfect spanish, that the reason I was over there was because this crazy man has a gun, and is yelling at me. I didn´t know what to do.

¨Don´t worry,¨ she says. Apparently he´s the town looney, and the gun is fake.

What a relief. But I was still uneasy. Where are the cops, I demanded.

Cops? That idea seemed foreign to her. Let´s just say i´m not in the U.S. anymore. Things are certainly different here. But a few minutes later I was back roaming the streets.

Hotel Backpackers is on the other side of the bridge from the center of town. Look it up on youtube, and look up Casa Guatemala. I may have to wait til I get to a big town to buy a new memory chip for my camera. Until then, no pictures.

Accomodations here are nice. The staff is friendly, mostly graduates of the orphanage.

One girl said she thought I was Guatemalen when she saw me. The crazy earlier in the day obviously didn´t think so.

Being here eases the homesickness. I´ll be here for two weeks, with a purpose. I´m looking to meeting some of the kids tomorrow, and finding out what exactly i´ll be doing.

The ride from Flores to Rio Dulce was short...three hours. I sat in the front row, listening to my Ipod most of the way. Lots of Radiohead and Chili Peppers, with Classic Rock and other various artists mixed in. I love music. Puts me in a good mood no matter where I am.

I know i´m jumping all over the place, but back to the hotel (although its more like a hostel..with dorm rooms); they have a great book exchange. Started a book today called Living Faith. A collection of sermons by...I forget his name now. But he gave them back in the 20´s and 30´s. Lots to think about.

As always, hope all is well back home. Keep saving your pennies and come visit me at some point,

Love you all,

Michael

Where did I leave off? I forget. But i´m currently in Flores, Guatemala, but will be leaving to Rio Dulce, Guatemala in the morning. Casa Guatemala, the orphanage, is in Rio Dulce.

I visited the Tikal ruins today, about an hour and a half from Flores. The best ruins yet, but have no camera to prove it. Actually, I have a camera, but no memory chip. Apparently while plugging it in to the computer, it contracted a virus. I don´t like public computers!

But somehow my old pictures were saved. Check them out on Facebook.

I arrived in Flores on Wednesday, after an 8 hour bus ride from Palenque, Chiapas, which included two buses and a boat ride. My first border crossing was easy. Jump on one bus. Get off. Walk to immigration, in the middle of nowhere. Walk a few feet to a boat that takes you across the border. Jump on another bus, which drives for 30 minutes to the Guatemalen immigration office. Then get back on the bus and on to Flores.

Lots more to write about but my time is limited. I´ll have much more time tomorrow.

Hope everything is well at home!

Love,

Michael

This was the bus to Guanajuato. Nothing like the bus to Guatemala. The bus to Guatemala was not nearly as comfortable. More on that later.

TBC

Palenque, Mexico: After a 14 hour bus ride, I arrived in Palenque, close to the Palenque ruins. Google for pictures, i will post mine whenever possible. This computer won´t let me.

Left Mexico City at 6pm, my cousin Moy took me to the airport. Gracias! It was a bit sad. After a month in Mexico City, I had become very attached to my family in Mexico.

Today marked the first day...alone. As Charles Dickens put it, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Close to being the happiest day of my life, traveling the Americas; and yet feeling so alone at times, and wishing one of my buddies or cousins were here with me.

But that´s what I bargained for, I guess.

The Palenque ruins were amazing! I can´t wait until I can upload the pictures. Much more amazing than the other ruins.

I´m staying at the Yaxkin hostel. The rooms are okay. I took a freezing cold shower at about 6pm, it felt great! The humidity is at about 110%. It´s awful! I stunk worse than anything today. Not my fault! And I think Guatemala is more of the same.

Met a girl named Miriam, who works at the hostel. This time, she´s from L.A. She´s been here for about two months. A long story, having to do with her baby, and her baby´s dad. She´s dying to go back, but can´t. I told her I would pray that she finds a way back home, with her baby. She extremely nice.

I had dinner at a local restaurant. Milanesa and papas. It was good!

After dinner had my life threatened. Well not really, but really. A little kid walked up to me and asked me for money. When I nodded no, he made the international gun symbol with his hands and repeated with a straight face, "te mato, te mato". I gave him a look and he left. He was about 11. I felt awful for him. Something tells me if something or someone does not intervene, he will make true on his threats someday.

Heading off to Guatemala in the morning. My first border crossing. Two buses, and a boat! Should be exciting. My internet time is limited here, so gotta run.

Mom, I love you!

Mare, I love you!

Family, I love you!

Friends, I love you guys!

Obviously a bit setimental at this point. lol.

But, having a great time!

Thanks for all the prayers, and stay tuned for photos!

-Michael

Tomorrow is my birthday!!!!

Mexico City, Mexico: Tomorrow is my birthday...I almost forgot! Well, I didn´t almost forget, I just didn´t think much of it. But, my family here in Mexico, being how great they are, threw me a surprise birthday party. My favorite part was the singing. There´s all kinds of songs that they sing here for birthdays. It was fun.

Below: My cousin/tia Patty, my Tia Goyeez, my cousin Mayyie, another cousin, my cousin Armando, and his wife. They made hamburgers, in honor of me. I was very thankful, but really would have preferred their Mexican cooking. The hamburgers were good, though. They put pineapples in them.

Above: My cousin Patty praying for me. Also in the picture, My tia´s Goyeez, Melda, and sitting down, Tia Terre.

Below: My birthday cake. My aunt said she was going to put Michael, but when they asked her how to spell it, she said, forget it, put Miguel. It says, Felicidades Miguel!

Below: My grandma´s sisters, Tia Goyeez, Melda, Terre, y Concha. My Tia Goyeez, to my right, is who I stayed with once my grandma left. My Tia Terre, the shortest of the bunch, is also the funniest of the bunch. My side hurts after listening to her, she´s so funny. They asked me if we had a joker back home. Well, Nathan is pretty funny, Moy is witty, and Uncle Daniel is a jokester, but no one like Tia Terre. She´s so unassuming, but when you least expect it, she´ll say something that has the whole room rolling!

Mexico City, Mexico: This will most likely be the last blog entry from Mexico City. Tomorrow i´m meeting a few friends (Erika and Deann), who are on vacation in Mexico City. We may go to Guanajuato on Friday, and i´m going to push hard to get them to go to Guadalajara. The most beautiful girls in the world there, according to one source. But i´m going for the tacos.

This last week has been exciting, as everything in Mexico City seems to be. I went to the Musuem of Anthropology, which was very educational. It took you through the history of Mexico, beginning way back. I also had an opportunity to visit my grandma`s old church, and her old school, as well as her old home. My tio Clemente still lives there. He´s almost 80 and still works every day at his taco stand. Above is a picture of him and his assistants, which are like family, but not exactly. Of course, every one here is like family. I swear, half the people I meet "son mis primos." They´re my cousins. But that´s the way it is out here, every one treats you like family. It´s great!

Almost a month in Mexico City, and I have made some observations that either confirm or contradict stereotypes or generalizations about Mexicans. And as a Mexican myself, i´ll take poetic license to comment on them. Here are some observations, comments, facts, and myths, that i´ve learned during my time here.

PDA-ville

Everywhere you go around here, there is a couple making out or hugging as if one of them is going off to war in the morning. I mean everywhere. PDA (public display of affection) is everywhere. At the park, on the sidewalk, at the market. Parks are the worst, because they can lay down. No exagerration, every 10 feet, there´s another couple laying on top of each other. I scratched my head about it for a few days, then came up with a theory that left me satisfied. I presented it to a cousin, and he concurred. I think, because families here live together for generations, there is no privacy in the home. Thus, they´re forced to show their affection elsewhere, like in public. Or maybe, Latinos are just much more affectionate than me? Who knows, but its still weird to me everytime I see it.

Hugs

I´m not sure if you´ve noticed, but when you hug, do you lean your head to the right or to the left? I think it´s to the left. Whichever way you lean, it has to be consistent. If one leans to their left, and another to their right, you end up meeting lips. Well, this is exactly what happened to me for the first three weeks. I was so used to leaning left, that I did so, but everyone here leans right, so, awkwardly, we were face to face, bobbing are heads trying to figure it out. Of course, since I am the one visiting, I should be the one to adjust to the local norms, but after years of hugging the wrong way, it was hard to change. lol. But I think i´ve finally got it. And everyone you meet here, you greet with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Not something that is completely foreign to me, so I did not mind at all, just had to remember to lean right.

Mexicans love Corona

Gotta say this is a false stereotype. There is a preconceived notion that the beer of choice for Mexicans is Corona. Well at least in Mexico City, this is not true. I rarely see anyone with a Corona. I´ve seen more Bud Light than Corona. Beer of choice here seems to be Indio, or Barrecilito (sp).

Mexicans love Tequila

True. No doubt about it. Young, old, saint, sinner...everyone in Mexico City drinks tequila. Of course some drink in excess, and some take a shot after a heavy meal to settle their stomachs, but almost everyone drinks it. They literally give it away. It´s like ordering water.

Cars

8 Mexicans in a car that seats 5! We´ve all heard the stereotype. Well I lived it. A Jetta that sits three in the back, uncomfortably, with six people! Luck for me I had window! Or a minivan that could possibly squeeze in 8, with 13! It´s true, Mexicans make use of all the space in a car. Some ideas why? Well, for one, not everyone has a car. Two, with traffic being like it is, it´s more effecient. And maybe because there are no strict seat belt laws. And baby seats are not required. I´ve seen 5 year olds in baby seats back home. I think here, they would think that is ridiculous. Two year olds sit on their moms lap. Things are just different here.

Religion

Religion plays a big part in Mexico. Although Mexico has no official religion, close to 90% of the population is Catholic, and it´s quite evident. Shrines to the Virgin, Rosaries, and signs of the Crucifix, are everywhere. But there is a growing number of Protestants in the country.

I had an opportunity to visit my grandma´s first church, and there were people standing on the sides, the church was so packed. Standing room only. It was a great message, about the Holy Spirit, and why it was given, so that we could love each other, and help those in need. So much emphasis is put on speaking in tongues, that we forget that after the day of Pentecost, most of the book of Acts is about people giving. Some even sold their homes so the needy could have their needs met. There is no ¨Prosperity Gospel¨ here. People don´t pray for a new car, or nicer house, they pray for the bare necessities. There is a real genuine purity to it. True humility.

Above is the entrance to my grandm´s old church. My cousin is in the doorway.

Painting above: The Spainards, nicely introducing the indigenous Mexicans to their religion. Baptism. Oh, those soldiers with spears, they´re just for decoration.

Below: My grandma´s church. Three hour service! But, most of it is prayer. Lots of emphasis on prayer in churches here.

Other things I observed and learned while in Mexico include the love people have for their country. Most people here are happy and have no desire to visit the U.S., much less live there. Como mi Mexico, no hay dos! That´s what they say. And life here is great!

Though there are people who would do anything for the opportunities we have back home. One man in particular, asked me, very sincerely, if there was anything I could do to help him get to the U.S. Of course there really wasn´t anything I could do. But he said he would do anything to be able to go and work in the U.S. That left me a bit sad, but also resolved to get back and not squander the opportunities I´ve been given. Of course, after my trip! We are truly blessed to live in a country like the U.S. I believe that will become more apparent as I head south into the America´s. Please don´t take any day for granted. Seize it, and make the best of it.

After Mexico City, the real trip starts, alone! Monday, the 15th of June I leave Mexico City and head to Palenque, in Chiapas. I´ll be on an ADO Bus, Mexico´s version of Greyhound. The bus is due to arrive in Palenque at 7am, Tuesday morning. I´ll do everything I can to make contact from there.

Someone please do me a favor and call my grandma, and let her know i´m ok, and tell her I love her. She´s upset that I don´t call, but I don´t have a phone. Internet is my only source of communication.

Love you mom, love you family, and friends...

I miss you all, love you all!

-Michael

I´m pretty sure I drank the water!

Mexico City, Mexico: Getting close to the end of my stay in Mexico City. For the first time during my trip, I woke up not knowing where I was. Has that ever happened to you? Woke up about 5am, local time, and thought, where am I? It took me a few seconds to realize, oh yeah, Mexico, at my tia´s house.

They say when you start dreaming in spanish, you know you´re becoming fluent. Well, no such luck for me, all my dreams are in english. And most of them are still about people back home. But my spanish is improving, day by day.

I clearly miss home, but that´s to be expected. No worse day than Sunday, though. Sunday is when I see my family, and friends. I always sit next to my grandma at church. So Sunday´s in Mexico are the longest for me. I can´t wait for them to end. But next Sunday i´m visiting my grandma´s old church. Where her legacy of faith began. It´s close to where she grew up. My grandfather also lived nearby, and the Gasso´s. I´ll be sure to take lots of photos for the family.

Pyramids of Teotihuacan

Scattered throughout the blog are pictures taken at the Pyramids of Teotihuacan. The pyramids date back to about 100 AD. It´s amazing to think that these have been preserved for so long. Long before Columbus set sail, there was civilization in Latin America. Pre-Columbian, or Pre-Hispanic Latin Americans were building pyramids!

Sitting atop the Pyramid of the Sun, I couldn´t help but wonder about daily life for those who lived here. Who built the pyramids? Was it slaves, was it a community effort? Why did they build it? What motivated them?

Historians would say they worshipped the Sun and the Moon, and hence, built a Pyramid to their ¨god¨. And evidence of human sacrifice was found by archaeologist at the Pyramid of the Moon (which can be seen in the pictures).

Sacrifice was a common theme in Pre-Hispanic cultures, or before the Spanish arrived. In the Aztec "Legend of the Five Suns", all the gods sacrificed themselves so that mankind could live.

As the story goes, some years after the Spanish conquest of Mexico, a body of Franciscans confronted the remaining Aztec priesthood and demanded, under threat of death, that they desist from their murderous practice. The Aztec response was interesting: Life is because of the gods; with their sacrifice they gave us life.

What the Aztec priests were referring to was a central Pre-Hispanic belief in Latin America: that a great, on-going sacrifice sustains the Universe. Everything is tonacayotl: the "spiritual flesh-hood" or "bodily sacrificial presence" of the gods on earth. Everything —earth, crops, moon, stars and people— springs from the severed or buried bodies, fingers, blood or the heads of the sacrificed gods. Humanity itself is macehualli, "those deserved and brought back to life through penance". So they sacrificed humans, to sustain the universe. It was religious act.

Interesting how at about the same time (100AD), thousands of miles away, a man named John the evangelist was finishing his written account about a man who claimed he was the the beginning and the end, the source of all things, in fact, God. The people here, building pyramids for human sacrifice had no idea who John was, and knew nothing about the man John was writing about. The man who, John would write, gave his life, the ultimate human sacrifice, so that in him, all the world could have life. No longer a need for human sacrifice, one man had paid it all. Thousands of years later, human sacrifice is shunned in most of the world. And Jesus of Nazareth is preached all over the globe. The little book John wrote, and its message, eventually made its way to this part of the world.

The Pyramids of Teotihuacan are the first of three ancient ruins i´ll visit before I get to Casa Guatemala Orphanage. After Mexico City, i´ll head to Palenque to visit more ruins, then to Tikal, in Guatemala. Tikal is supposed to be the best.

I´m from L.A.

Had an opportunity to go out a few times last week with my cousins. I made the mistake of telling one of my cousins that I thought they had better salsa dancers in L.A. Most of the dancers I had seen were ok, but not great. That´s until my cousin took me to a real salsa show. I was wrong. These folks know how to salsa. It was just fun watching. I gave it a crack, but I couldn´t keep up.

The next night we went to a birthday party at a really posh place. I thought there were tons of tourist there. The girls looked European. I even asked my cousin if we were near a hostel? He said no, those girls were all Mexicans, they´re from Polanco. A really rich part of town. The party was fun, but I decided I would try to talk to one of these girls. To practice my spanish of course.

After thinking through in my head what I would say, I gained the courage and attempted an introduction, in spanish. I forget what I said, but the conversation was going no where, until I said the four magic words. The four words that have turned many-a-boring conversations into hours of chat. Soy de Los Angeles...I´m from L.A. That´s it, that´s all I had to say. She did the rest of the talking. Unfortunately for me, she was born in Houston, and insisted on speaking to me in english (very bad english).

I was trying to practice my spanish, and she was apparently practicing her english. I tried to get away, but I was locked down. But she was nice, and interesting. But I didn´t get any practice time. But if I don´t say i´m from L.A., people just think i´m an idiot. A grown man who still doesn´t know how to speak.

She was talking to me so long that the ice in my drink melted. I´ve been sick ever since. Not bed-ridden sick, but let´s just say i´m sure not everything is ok. My guess is the ice melted, turned into water, and blended in to my drink, which I proceeded to drink. I inadvertently drank the water...not good. But i´m sure i´ll be fine, I took my Typhoid and Hep A shot before coming.

Lame James

Can´t wait for the finals to start. There is no Laker hysteria here, but I still watch. Out here it´s all about the Pumas, who just won the Mexican soccer league championship. My family here are all Pumas fans. They won the championship on Sunday.

Now it´s the Lakers turn. But we´re 0-2 against the Magic this year. I would have preferred to play the Cavs. But Lame James (no longer King James) couldn´t get it done in the East. Did anyone see or read his response after losing to the Magic. What a sore loser. He refused to congratulate the other team. His excuse: "I´m a winner, I hate to lose."

I´ve seen many winners, including Magic Johnson, Jordan, Kobe, Bird; go over and congratulate the other team after a loss. It´s called good sportmanship. Lebron is lame. In case he hasn´t noticed, he´s not a winner, he´s not won a game in the finals in his life.

I hope parents across the country use that as a lesson of what not to be. I´m glad he´s not in the Finals. That was just awful. But the best two players in the league will be in the Finals.

Kobe vs. Superman, I can´t wait. I say Lakers in 6; that way we win it at home!

That last part had nothing to do with Mexico, but watching the Lakers does ease the homesickness!