Friends to Visit

Two of my girls flew to visit me in Guate in late May - Emily and Erin. I haven´t seen Emily in over 2 years, since I graduated from grad school in 2008. Erin I haven´t seen in a little over a year, she came and saw me while I was living and working in MD.
It was so great to see both of them. I really needed the energy boost and it was nice to have people here that I am really close with, that have known me for quite some time.

We did a lot while they were here:
Day 1. Picked them up at the airport with my friend Juan. Before we got them, we went to buy a crap done of stuff to make sushi. SUSHI PARRRTY.
We spent the rest of the day walking around Antigua and the local market

Day 2. Shopped in the market for fresh goodies for the SUSHI PARTY for that evening. Went back to house, cooked a little and got ready for the party. We helped Juan pretty much all day cook and chop veggies for the rolls. It honestly took us forever to prepare everything. People showed up around 8pm, I think?
It was super fun, and there were a ton of rolls. We ¨officially¨had 3 rounds of gigantic rolls fully prepared by Juancho himself. It was delicious. Then people took turns creating and making their own rolls to share. By the end of the night, we were just eating rice and whatever ingredients were left over with our hands. A lot of friends from around town and work came to the party. We tried to keep it pretty small and fun - I think we were successful. We went home late, probably 1 or so in the morning, totally stuffed and satisfied.

Day 3. After a great night of stuffing ourselves silly, we headed to the beach with Juan and Fernando. We had a great drive, about an hour and 1/2 to the Pacific, Monterrico to be exact. Where it is hot, sunny and black sand beaches. I have still never been to Monterrico, so I was thrilled to go. We got lucky because Juan was able to hook us up with a pretty sweet beach house for the 2 days we were there. Nobody was in town, so we ended up having the whole place to ourselves, which included 5-6 pools that pretty much connected, a water slide - YES...., and of course the beach.
We played outside all day, and made food that night for dinner.

My friends are crazy, they brought their headlamps to Guatemala and as soon as I knew this I made fun of them. Like, when would they ever need that - we weren´t going to hike overnight???.

I told them they shouldn´t bring their rain coats - even though we are in rainy season, or their headlamps to the beach. Why would we possibly need them? No rain was in the forecast, and we were staying in a resort. That equals, hot showers, ac and lights. hahahahha.... well go figure. That night it rains, and by rain - it pours. It pours soo hard that the electricity goes out. haha Of course this happens to me. So much for not needing the rain coats or headlamp. So much for lights and hot showers and ac. We lost power all night and most of the morning the next day. This was the joke for the rest of the week. ¨You don´t need your rain jacket or headlamp, don´t be crazy¨

Day 4: So tired from the sun, water and the heat, we headed back to Antigua and slept the day away. The rest of the afternoon/evening we spent at the La Raiz concert, the band that Juan plays in. It was a great concert held at El Chaman. They usually play every Saturday there, and I was excited to share this experience with my girls. We went early to have their delicious pizza and to dance the night away. After, we headed to Juan´s house to hang out with the band and our friends. It was a great night to say the least.

Day 5:Pacaya Volcano Hike. So. Much. Fun
Juan took us up the Volcano. Me and Erin have hiked this volcano back in 2008, but since then Pacaya has erupted and changed, clearly. I hiked it back in 2010 when I moved to Antigua. Much has changed still, so I was happy to be able to take Erin back up it, and Emily for her first time. We had a blast. The way up is pretty easy, but we took our time and lots of photos - including some of us eating roasted marshmallows. The way down was more fun, we ran the whole way - slipping most of the time. It was a great time.

During one of the days we spend a good amount of time in the market buying goodies for the girls to take home. Another day we walked to Cerra de la Cruz - but due to my bad memory, I can´t remember what days they actually took place. Oh well.

Day 6 and 7 I think.:
We went to Lake Atitlan and spent the afternoon shopping around the markets. We had a delicious dinner at an Italian restaurant while it poured. We hopped from place to place the rest of the night trying not to get soaked. We ended up giving up and just went back to hotel. What felt like 2 in the morning, we headed to bed, realizing in the morning we actually went to bed between 10-11pm. Fantastic.
The next day we took a boat to San Marcus to do a little walking and cliff jumping. Bc of the terrible weather, we only jumped once. Once was enough, and once allowed our clothes and bathing suits to dry - we were ok with this.
That night, after a good nap together, we went out to Cafe No Se with Juan. We decided, even though our bodies were saying no, to have dinner and go to one bar. It was nice. We got there at 9:30pm and went home at 11pm. Can you same lame?

Day 8:
Girls flew home. How I already missed them by 9am.

It was so much fun to have them here. I really was thankful to have them visit. Most of the time I am good with not having many friends. But when they were in town, it really made me miss home. Home in the sense of close friends.

Things to write about

1. My friend's visit
2. My parent's visit
3. Moving, once again!
4. Dreams - I feel crazy!
5. Reality
6.Garden

*It is getting colder at night here and the days are starting to rain - welcome rainy season...oh how I don't like you. The rainy season, as known as winter here, begins June and goes until Octoberish. It begins to rain an hour or two in the afternoons, then usually late July it showers pretty much all afternoon and/or also. Honestly, it is nice at night to cool everything off, but trying to run trips makes it a little bit harder. We still go, but clients tend to be more weary.

As of now, it has only been raining for an hour or two in the late afternoons, so my days aren't ruined by the torrential downpour. It actually has been unusually nice to have some afternoon showers. But when it rains, it pours. Fast and hard!

*My job is still going great, I have been working on different agendas, making my job a lot more interesting lately. I really feel that I am getting involved and needed here. I work Tuesday - Saturday and have off Sunday and Monday. It is great to have every Monday off. I tend to work better through the week - well, that is what I tell myself anyway. I work 9-6pm, checking emails, working on itineraries, some marketing now ... I am learning a lot, and still have a way to go still. I don't know anything about Adobe.

*My hair is still dreading, about 8 months now, and it is doing well. I always said I wanted all natural, no wax, no weaving. But recently I have been considering weaving only because my hair is beginning to have lumps. The weaving pulls my own hair back in to make it more round, so in my mind, still all natural.
I wish my hair would just grow... I feel that it is taking forever!
I am at the point now where I only wash my hair about once every month or month 1/2. It is not gross ... my hair doesn't get greasy here. And I still shower everyday.

*Boyfriend - he is great! We have been dating for 3-4 months now, and we are doing well. He meet the rents and grandma, and my 2 friends that came to visit. Got the approval! :)
He is a little younger than me, and grew up in Guatemala City. I wouldn't necessarily call him "city boy" though. ha
We have a lot of things in common and both enjoy to stay home most nights.
He works with me at Old Town, guiding.


Overall, feeling good. I feel restful, peaceful and generally happy. :)