My amigos are arriving today!

This last week I have been wrapping up work at Avivara by doing some event planning for Avivara's November fundraiser in Seattle. The week has not been super exciting (hence the neglect of my blog) although I was shaken awake by a small earthquake this morning.

Today my cousin and some other friends are flying in and I can't wait! Tomorrow we are going into Guatemala City with Gary (Executive Director) of Avivara to learn more about Guatemala by visiting an organization that Gary has worked with in an impoverished area. On Friday we will visit my school as a group and have a "cultural exchange day." I'm sure we will take a lot of pictures and I am interested to hear the group's reactions from what they witness and learn.

Ziplining- what a rush

As we crept towards the wire line that faded into the clouds our hearts sank. "You're up, Tara." The guide hooked me to the line and with a leap of faith I was flying over the jungle!


Today I hiked with a group of friends, all doing construction volunteer projects in Guatemala, to the top of a mountain near Antigua and ziplined over a coffee field. It was quite exhilarating and the views were unbelievable.

6,000 flashcards later...

I taught at El Yalu last Thursday and had a great day with the students. Beforehand, I cut flash cards for students to practice English during their free time. I didn't realize when I started what a process that would be! Six thousand flashcards later (over 200 kids with 30 flash cards each), I finished filling my last envelope full of flashcards with cramped hands. The students wrote on their flashcards in class as I held up a big example flashcard for each one. I hope they use them to practice since I'll be leaving Guatemala soon.

On the way home via the motorcycle, Marvin and I stopped at a bar to watch some "futball" and have a cerveza. I ran into some other Guatemalan "amigos" at the bar. I'm really starting to feel like a local!