¡Soy Pura Guatemalteca!

After we figured out the house thing, we still had to pack all our stuff for Guatemala. When we packed to move, I tried to keep all the stuff we might need out of the boxes. We got back to Adam and Laura's at like 9:30 or 10:00 pm. Seth had to take back the Budget truck. So the packing was mostly up to me, which wasn't the best because, I had never been out of the county before, and I had lost the list of things to pack somewhere in the stuff in the storage unit. Now that I look back, I definately overpacked. I just wanted to be prepared. Seth maybe got 1 hour of sleep that night, and I stayed up the whole night. I finished packing at about 2:15 am, took a shower, and then we were on our way.

Bless Adam's heart, he took us to the airport at 3 something in the morning. You're the best Adam! We got to the airport, and no one was at the United counter. So we, and at least 15 other people waited until about 5 am for them to come and check us in. Seth and I made it to our flight just a few minutes before boarding time. We flew from Cleveland to Chicago O'hare, and when we got there our next flight was delayed for over and hour, and that meant we wouldn't make our flight from Charlotte, NC to Guatemala. So they put us on a different flight to Houston, TX on Continental Airlines. By this time I was pretty sure that our luggage was not coming to Guatemala with us, even though the airline lady said they would. We flew to Houston, bought me a ring to stand in as my wedding ring (because it wouldn't have been a good thing to bring my real one with me). Then we got on our flight to Guatemala. When we were flying over the country, I was amazed that almost all the cities and villages were built on top of mountains. Just about every inch of Guatemala that doesn't have a building on it is cultivated. Just about every hillside and mountain side had corn growing on it, or some other crop. Now that I have been here a while, I know that there are a lot of Guatemalans that are pretty much not afraid of anything.

When we arrived at the airport, we went to the baggage claim, and guess what! Our luggage didn't come. We waited there for 2 hours... no bags for us. That was the first time I got to practice speaking Spanish with a native Guatemalan. They understood me, and I was so happy about that!If we had left the airport, we wouldn't have been allowed to go back in. So, we then waited for the Anderson family, from Ashton, ID to arrive a little while after us. They are Leah Anderson's family. Leah and I were on the same Forensics (Speech and Debate) team at BYUI, and she was the one who told us about this opportunity. She has been in Momostenango, Guatemala since January. She is staying for a whole year. We we very happy to see her parents, Kathy and Steve, and their kids, Gary and Sally. I felt a whole lot more secure when they were there. We left the airport to find Julio Salazar, the director of the Rose Education Foundation in Guatemala who was going to be there waiting for us with a ride for us to Momos. Julio had been waiting for Seth and I for over 3 hours! That poor man. He was so nice, and wasn't even angry about it. He was just glad we were ok.

He put us all in a new, clean Microbus, with our driver, Luis. I asked them where the seatbelts were, and they said 'what seatbelts? People don't wear seatbelts in Guatemala.' Making the trek up to Momos was a very new experience for me. We drove through Guatemala City, which is crazy crowded and polluted. People drive like maniacs there! (I know now that it is actually the majority of drivers anywhere in Guatemala that drive like maniacs.) There were so many times when I had to cover my eyes because I thought we were going to die, or kill someone else. Thankfully we didn't, and now I am much more accustomed to the maniacal driving. We saw 3 gigantic volcanos on our way up into the mountains called Picaya, Fuego, and Agua. They were beautiful. Some of the roads were just like a giant minefield, covered in potholes as big as your car ,and 'derrumbes' or landslides. There was nothing keeping the mountain from falling on your vehicle. Some of the roads were so steep, I thought we would start sliding backwards, but we didn't. There are no street lights on those roads, and pretty much no guard rails, and yet, Luis still managed to go really fast. To me, it felt like we were going 60 miles an hour, but we weren't. I thought to myself, 'If my mom only knew what we were doing right now...' (Actually there have been a lot of times I have thought that, and those times are always accompanied by a lot of praying.) at 10pm, after 6 very long, dangerous hours, we arrived in Momos at our house. Although we got there exhausted, and with only one pair of extra clothes and a few necessities, we were so happy to be there.

The family we are staying with is wonderful! They were so inviting and kind to us. Mostly everyone was speaking Spanish really fast, which was difficult for me to understand, and impossible for Seth.

My first experience using a Guatemalan toilet was a little dicomforting. Now I am pretty much used to it, and not very grossed out by it. It is just the way they live. It is normal here to throw your toilet paper in the trash can after you finish with it. Let me tell you, this doesn't produce the best smell. But I am finding, that things here don't smell quite as bad, bugs don't scare me quite as much, and I can go to the bathroom even when I know it is not clean. When I am amazed, and somewhat scared of the happenings here, Leah always reminds me, 'You're in Guatemala now! This is another dimension!' She is right. In the States, only 2 people fit in a pickup truck - here 20 , only 50 people can fit on a bus - here 100, only 2 cars can fit on a 2 lane road - here 4, in the States you have to refridgerate your eggs, and all your vegetables - here you don't have to refridgerate them (I still don't believe that's safe, and yet I eat eggs here, and for some reason, they taste better here). Things that aren't sanitary in the States are sanitary here. I still panic a little bit when I see the way meat is prepared sometimes, and Leah tells me 'Sometimes you just have to look the other way. This is another dimension.' True story.

It is funny to think back to the first night here. One of the volunteers showed us all her flea bites and said they live in her bed, so we should sleep wearing bug spray. We sprayed ourselves, and our bed down with bug spray. I am really glad Seth was with me. It made me less scared. We woke up in the morning, no flea bites, So we continued that practice for a couple weeks. Now, I just get in bed and fall right to sleep. I often say 'This country has sleepy powers over me!' It is so true. It gets dark at 6 or 6:30 pm. So it just makes you think it is like 10 pm! It is usually so cold too, so I just want to curl up in my bed under the covers. It is about 70 degrees F during the day if it is sunny, but if it rains, or is at night time it is usually between 40 and 50 degrees. I was definately not prepared for that! (I assumed that Guatemala would all be subtropical and hot all the time.) In the mornings, when I walk to school I can see my breath.

The beds here are either made with springs that stick into your hips and back, or wooden slats with a thin matress on top. Fitted sheets are rare. The first week it was tough to get used to, but now I am just thankful to have a bed to sleep in and a somewhat warm room to protect me from the cold and rain outside. It is amazing what living in a 3rd(ish) world country for 4 weeks will do for your humility level. I find that most of the things I used to think were necessities are actually luxuries, and they are very rare here. And yet, people get by just fine, and many of them are very happy. They are happy becuase they have their families. They love and treasure one another. Everything is about families. I love that part of this culture. They feel so blessed if they get to have a highschool education. Some families that have 6 children have to try to get by on less than $100 a month. It is a whole different world here. I am very grateful to have been able to come here and see what it is like outside the comfortable American bubble, where some people have hardly anything, and they still share with you what they have. There is much about this experience that has changed me for the better and I am grateful. I am glad that, even if only for a short time, I can be here teaching these amazing children. I truly believe that the only way to break out of the cycle of poverty is education.

Coming back to the story, when Seth and I got there, it was 'Semana Ferria' or Fair week in Momos. Every year, each town has a fair. It is a week long, and there are tons of vendors everywhere crowding the streets with their stands with tons of food and toys, and other things. There are tons of people in the streets, and the center in the town has flags and streamers waving. They have music, and dancing, and people that dress up in costumes of animals like monkeys and cheetas, and of Guatemalan and Spanish men who do a dance that is a reeactment of the indiginous Mayan people taking their independence from the Spaniards. They do the Fair Week to honor/worship one of the Saints, or a couple of them. It was kind of confusing because they were doing Mayan sacrifices for Catholic Saints....

We went to our school MesoAmericano. It takes about 15 minutes to walk there. On the way we saw where the old school used to be. Kathy and Steve Anderson took all their 5 kids down to Momos 7 years ago to teach at the school for a year. (Kathy got pregnant as soon as they got their, and they left when she was six months pregnant). They were very nostalgic about this dirt lot that was covered in garbage. I guess the old school was completely made of tin. Leah told us that they didn't really have school that day because they we practicing for the huge band competition they have every year during fair week. We came up to the school, and the music was so loud! (They love all their music so loud here!) We listened until they finished the song and then opened the doors, after they had finished, clapping. They looked at us probably thinking 'who in the world are these crazy gringos?' They said that every school has a band. They all have a ton of trumpets, a few trombones, a bunch of xylophones, drums, platic cow-bell type instruments, and some silver cylindrical rythm instruments that I don't know the name of. The night after we arrived, Leah's sister Katie and her husband Eric and baby Kate got to Momos that night. They had to come on a "chicken bus." (At that point, I still didn't understand why they called it that. Now I know that They pack about 4 people into a seat for 2, and have a lot of people standing up in what was at one time an aisle, before all the people got on.)
This is the city building in the town square.
Just in case you can't tell, the place was packed! It's just another dimension, with no personal space boundaries, and more people can fit in one place, than in the states.

Since it was Fair week, there was this huge band competition. It was so awesome! There were 8 schools that competed, Mesoamericano being the best, obviously. They looked pretty darn studly. It was way fun to watch the parade, and then the competition. We sat and stood on the roof of the municipal building.

The day after the band competition, we went to a place called Palá Chiquito, which is just a little ways out of Momos, where you can swim. We didn't swim because it was freezing, but it was sure beautiful!

I have a trillion more things to say about our Guatemala trip, and I am still here for 3 more weeks teaching English. I will catch up as soon as I can. And I will post pictures when possible.

Long time no post!

I know it has been absolutely forever since I posted. These past two months are in the running for the most busy of my life so far. So I am going to try my very best to give an update of all the things that have happened. (Hopefully a few of you are still checking my blog)

In June the BYU-Idaho administration decided that the Forensics team will not travel but once per semester. All of us involved were pretty upset at first. I started working with the administration to find out why and what we could do to keep the program from going under. It turns out that they had very good reasons that made sense to me. I started working major overtime hours to work with administration, coaches, and students to come up with a new program that will be even better than before despite the new limitations. After about a month of work, on the week of graduation I sent in my final proposal for the new BYUI Forensics program and I think it was pretty darn good. I hope with all my heart that Forensics will continue at BYUI. Thank you to Sister Bergstrom, Brother and Sister Embree, my Comm. Case Studies group, and to Ashley Howey, and of course my husband Seth!

This is Sister Bergstrom. She is awesome! She is one of those teachers that really cares about their students. I have had so many of those, I can't even begin to thank them all!

This is Brother Anderson, my buddy. He taught my religion class my second semester, and we have been good friends ever since. I am friends with his family as well, one of his daughters, Aubrey, was my neighbor, and when I went on his church history tour, I really got to know his oter daughters Madi and Ashley, and his son and his wife, and his brother and his family. The Andersons are awesome!

These are the Taylors. They are practically family to us. Alan was our Bishop for about 2 years when we were dating and engaged. They have helped us out so many times! I got to live with them and their family for the month before we got married. They are so wonderful!

At the end of June I had to have ingrown toenail surgery on both sides of both my big toes. The first one was very painful, but I was able to do it on my own. There were only 4 anesthetic needle shots on that one. Seth picked me up afterward and I was in major pain, but I made it through ok, and could walk almost normally. It is amazing how whenevre I am injured, it seems like there is a magnet in that part of my body. I drop things on it, people bang into it or step on it. I need to figure out a solution to this probem. A week and a half later I had the second toe done, and it was literally a living nightmare. The doctor couldn´t get my toe asleep, and he kept starting the surgery when my toe was awake. It took 10 anesthetic shots in one side of my toe to the other side. Seth came to that surgery, and I think I was close to squeezing his arm off while I was sobbing uncontrollably. I can´t even describe the pain, and it could be gorey if I tried, so I won´t. Needless to say I was on a lot of Loritab after that. Now, over a month later, my toes almost look normal, and they don´t hurt anymore. I know that the Lord blessed me to get through that trial, like all the others, because it is a miracle that I survived that and got all my school work done while still working 2 jobs. Thank heavens for Seth. He takes such good care of me.

For my last semester, I had the awesomest job! I got to be a tutor at the reading center. My students were so awesome. I especially love tutoring my Korean students. Every week, I looked forward to talking to JaeNam and WonSik. Someday I want to go and visit Korea and see them there.

This is JaeNam. He is so funny! He always asked me what phrases meant from rap songs. He just finished his service in the Korean army, and is starting his degree at BYUI. He is so sincere, and fun to be around. I love to here his stories.


This is Won Sik. She is a genius and so sweet! She learned English from the missionaries in Korea and joined the church 4 years ago. She already has a college degree, and is getting a degree in Chemistry at BYUI, studying for the PCAT to go to pharmacy school in the states. She is a wonderful friend.

The week before finals I had this really weird thing happen to my gums where I had had my root canal in May. I looked like a crazy infection. Thankfully, Seth´s uncle Evan is a dentist in Idaho Falls, so I went in for him to look at it. The root canal that I had to have was on a baby molar that we are trying to save until we have dental insurance. To get it replaced will cost $3,000, so it was so important that I keep that tooth. Also, Guatemala is not a good place to have dental problems. There are a lot of people here missing a lot of teeth, or that have a lot of gold teeth. That is not the particular route I want to go. It turns out, the roots of my molar were going outward through my gums. Uncle Evan had to cut that whole part of my gums off, and part of my tooth, and stitch it all up. It wasn´t fun at all, but it was such a blessing to get it taken care of before our trip. Thank you Uncle Evan for all your continuous help!!!

So as most of you know, Seth got a job at National City Bank in Cleveland, OH, so it wasn´t any normal graduation/finals week. We had to pack all of our stuff to move, and separate all of our stuff to take to Guatemala. The new tenant were going to be moving in on the same day we were moving out. Looking back, I am just in awe that we got it all done. Thank you to Diana and Ben Hull, Jon Snodgrass, my sisters Claire and Hannah, my favorite friend of Claire´s Megan, my Dad and Seth´s Mom and Grandparents.Thank you for all your help to get us ready to move! I wasn´t much help that week because I had a bladder infection (really bad timing). It is so hard for me to ask people for help. I like to help everyone else, and work really hard, and do it all myself, but the Lord keeps reminding me to be humble and that I can´t do it on my own. So thank you to all of you who helped us and prayed for us.

It was a miracle that I had done well enough in all my classes that I didn´t have to worry much about my final tests, which was good because I was so sick I couldn´t study much. Seth did so well in his classes. He got a 4.0!!!! I was close behind with a 3.94. We are definately happy that we did well our last semester. So through it all, we graduated!!! It was awesome to graduate together. My Dad came all the way from Chicago (We were all sad my mom couldn´t come too). And my two sisters Hannah and Claire came. Seth´s Mom and Grandparents also came from Utah. It was wonderful to have them all there. We got to go to dinner at Bajio in Rexburg. We love that restaurant!!! I got my favorite meal in the world the stuffed green chile chicken quesadilla! So good! That is really one of the things that makes me sad to leave the west. No Bajio...

The Commencement was sooooo hot that I couldn´t pay attention to most of it. President Kim B. Clark gave us the advice that we should do three things: 1. Don´t let the world into your heart. 2. Follow the prophet 3. Keep the Spirit of the Lord with you always. At least that´s what I think he said. Sister Julie B. Beck, President of the General Relief Society (the women´s organization for our church) was the speaker. By the time she spoke I wanted to pass out from being so hot and thirsty, so I don´t remember what she said.

My Dad, and sisters Hannah (in Black) and Claire (in green).

Seth's Mom and her parents Gwen and Walden.

Then everyone dispersed to got to their college's convocation. That was nice because a few thousand people vacated the Hart Auditorium so it wasn't so hot anymore. Sister Robyn Bergstrom, my buddy, and the dean of the college of business and communications said some really nice words about how we are going to do wonderful things and go and change th world, and Seth's friends Briggs Depew gave a nice speech about recieving guidance from the Spirit of the Lord. I sat next to Seth in the Economics section so I got to walk across the stage with him. They read our majors too so I still graduated in Communications.


As soon as graduation was over and we took pictures we went back to our apartment for the last night to keep packing and cleaning. We wanted to leave at 4:00 am, but there was no way that was going to happen, so we decided on 8:00... we left at 1:00, but at least we left, and our apartment was clean and we didn't forget anything.

My sister Claire and my Dad drove in their car, and Seth and I drove in our Budget moving van towing our car behind. (We were going to go with Uhaul for $1500, but Seth found a deal for a bigger truck for only $580!!!! Way to go Seth! We ended up paying a billion dollars for gas, so I guess it evened out ok. Thank heavens for moving bonuses!) It is a 30 some hour drive to Cleveland and Seth and I were so exhausted from all we had just accomplished. Seth had to drive the whole way because I am not 24 yet. In 2 days I read him the entire book, 'Prince Caspian' from the Chronicles of Narnia. We started reading the series together on other road trips. We only have 2 left now. My Dad and Claire drove straight through, and Seth and I stopped at a ridiculously priced motel that was a smoking room for $100; sad. We got about 5 or 6 hours of sleep, and then we got back on the road. We arrived in Chicago at 10:30 pm. We got to spend some time with my family which was so nice. We had a cake and celebrated again. I wish we could have stayed longer.

We got on the road again at 5:00 am to go to Cleveland. It was a 6 hour drive. I was supposed to have an interview at 3:30 pm. Thankfully they called and rescheduled for the next day. I was glad because did not look fit for an interview. We got to Cleveland and had the wrong directions to our friends Adam and Laura Nelson's house. (Adam had been Seth's roommate and college and Laura was my next door neighbor. They started dating, got engaged, and got married at the same time we did, and they are our best friends. They were part of our motivation to move to Cleveland). We had their old address, and that meant that we had forwarded our mail to the wrong place. That was not a happy realization. We evetually found their place.

After some trouble we found a good storage unit to keep our stuff in. We had a nice dinner at their house that night. I set my alarm for 6:45 the next morning because my interview was at 9:00. Somehow I turned off my alarm in my sleep and I woke up at 8:10 am. I threw my suit on as fast as possible and Seth and I and Adam's brother Zach got in Adam' car to drive into the city. Traffic was bad and we were really late. Then when traffic let up we got on an exit ramp. Adam's tires were bald, and that combination with wet asphalt and high speeds sent us straight into the curb and flung us to the other side over the curb up this hill. It really messed up Adam's car. That was sad. Thankfully none of us were hurt. Somehow we got into the city from where we were and I walked to my interview. I was kind of in shock, and didn't feel like I could think on my feet just yet.

Laura works as a receptionist at Dix & Eaton. It is a public relations firm, and she helped me to get this interview for an internship. Vikki, my interviewer was really understanding and very nice to me. I was so glad. We did the interview and at the end she said, 'To be honest with you, I am so impressed with you, and I think you would fit perfect with our company, but we probably are not going to have a fall intern, and we are looking for someone with more public relations background. If you could learn the basics and practice some PR writing, I would be happy to look at it and help you to prepare for this position. I know a lot of firms and could give you some recomendations. I really want to stay in touch because I think you would be a great candidate for the future.' So I think the interview went really well, and I don't think it was a waste. I know I will find the right job for me, and I am so glad to know that Seth has a job already.

We then had only a few hours to find some type of dwelling for us when we come back from Guatemala. Thankfully, our friend Laura and Seth's sister Angie helped us to locate some great places. We went with a realtor, Betsy, to look at 2 houses. I immediately fell in love with the very first house we saw. We walked through it, and I liked it even more. There were a couple things that were questionable about the basement and the back porch, but it was definately a great home for us. The next house we saw was way too big. It was 2,600 sq. ft.! My whole family of 9 could comfortably fit in it. Even though they cost the same price, it would have cost a lot more to heat it in the winter. So we told Betsy we were going to look at one more place, and then call her to let her know our decision.

We had gotten the information of a duplex near that same area that was just what we were looking for if we didn't find a house. The owners live in the other half, and they are members of our same church, a couple just a little older than us. The husband is going to dental school. They were really nice and offered us an amazing price.

So we had a big decision to make. Should we go with the house that is in a nicer neighborhood, has an amazing new kitchen, a yard, and a higher price? Or should we go with the lower price duplex that is still very nice, but not in as nice as neighborhood, and isn't a house? That was a struggle because I thought both were realy nice, but I had already fallen in love with the idea of having our own wonderful house! Seth is more sensible than I am, so he was thinking more about the fact that they would both be just fine, and a great upgrade from apartment living. Eventually we decided to call the realtor and ask if the landlord would lower the price.

We called Betsy and told her we loved the house and wanted to move in right away, but that we could only pay $200 less than the asking price of rent per month which was $300 less than what the current tenant was paying. She said that would be difficult but she would see what she could do. So while we waited to hear back from her we went with Seth's sister and Angie and our neice Hadley and nephew Hyrum to see the outside of the house again and drive around the neighborhood. They live less than 5 minutes away from the house. While we were driving around the beautiful neighborhood, we got a call back from Betsy and she said that the land lord agreed as long as we paid rent for August. So we got the house for $200 less per month!!! Yay!!!

This house is so beautiful. I think it was built in the 1920's, and it is 1,600 sq.ft. It is in Cleveland Heights, just a few miles from Seth's work, and less than a mile from the train or bus to downtown. It is just a few blocks down from this quaint little area of shps and restaurants called Coventry Village. Our house is on a street that has a canopy of rich, old trees. All the houses are big, old tudors. Betsy said she had met all our neighbors and they sounded really nice. The house has a front and a back yard. (That will sure be a change from living in our apartment.) It has a two car garage that isn't exactly in top condition, but it will keep the snow off our car, and bikes. There is a porch on the side of the house the whole length of the house! It will be so nice to sit out there in the summer time! The house has a new kitchen with stainless steel everything. It has a dinning room with lots of windows, and it also has a living room with a wood burning fire place! I am so exited about that! The downstairs has all original wood floors. The basement is kind of dank, but maybe we can fix that with a dehumidifyer. There is only one bathroom, on the second floor, but it looks like it has been recently remodeled, and there are only two of us, so it will work just fine. There used to be 3 bedrooms, but they knocked a wall down between two of them to create a master suite. It is way big with lots of light and closet space. The other bedroom is a good size for an office or a nursery. We can't remember, but we think the upstairs and the attic is all carpeted. The attic is finished, and holds the heat in the summer and the cold in the winter, so that will be nice to keep the temperature good in the house. So I don't know if you can tell, but I am sooooooo EXCITED about our house! It will be so wonderful to have our own place in the world.

(P.S.) Just in case, it might look like I'm pregnant in this picture, but I'm not. And we are not photoshopped into the picture either.
After we figured out the house thing, we still had to pack all our stuff for Guatemala. When we packed to move, I tried to keep all the stuff we might need out of the boxes. We got back to Adam and Laura's at like 9:30 or 10:00 pm. Seth had to take back the Budget truck. So the packing was mostly up to me, which wasn't the best because, I had never been out of the county before, and I had lost the list of things to pack somewhere in the stuff in the storage unit. Now that I look back, I definately overpacked. I just wanted to be prepared. Seth maybe got 1 hour of sleep that night, and I stayed up the whole night. I finished packing at about 2:15 am, took a shower, and then we were on our way.