Greetings from Tikal, Guatemala

I have so much to catch up on. A lot has happened during the past couple of days and they have just flown by. I have barely had any time to stop and catch my breath, much less sit down at a computer and type a blog. We've finally had some down time to relax and enjoy our hotel so I decided to write everyone back home in Nebraska, which I hope isn't too unbearably cold.

We ended the first week at the schools in Corozal on Thursday. I left my classroom at St. Paul's to travel to the other schools with the other student teachers to take pictures. Thursday was also the day we passed out books and balls to the students. Some of the student teachers took part in a "Books and Balls for Belize" program where they collected books and balls to donate to the schools. Each school ended up receiving five to seven boxes filled with an assortment of balls for recess and books, markers, crayons, and coloring books for the classroom. I arrived with Kirsten, Sam and Annie at Mary Hill Roman Catholic School to begin blowing up balls and I started snapping pictures immediately. Although we arrived to school about a half hour early, most of the students were already running around the playground and the open field in the back of the school. Annie, Sam and Kirsten went to work and the students flocked to them. Some had great big smiles on their faces, but most had a look of astonishment. They were in awe at the amount of balls we were giving them. Each student stuck out their hand in hopes of grabbing a ball to play with. With a ball in hand, they would take off with another group of students and start laughing and screaming in the playground. They looked so excited and I had a blast watching them enjoy their games.

I headed into Kirsten's kindergarten classroom to take pictures of her teaching. We were waiting for the teacher to come to class when the school secretary walked in and told Kirsten her teacher had called in sick. Instead of bringing a substitute teacher into the class to take over, the secretary told Kirsten she would be in charge of the class. I saw a look of panic quickly cross over her face, but then she smiled and gladly accepted the job. Kirsten is going to make an amazing teacher. She was energetic about her lessons and made an effort to get the students involved. It was apparent that there had previously been little order to the classroom and Kirsten made attempted to teach her students about respect. They seemed very receptive to her as a teacher, but there were 30 students in her class. I think it is impossible to control 30 four and five year olds for an entire day. I offered help to Kirsten and ended up staying for the rest of the day to help her out. I was supposed to travel to some of the other classrooms to take pictures but I wasn't going to abandon Kirsten. I have a new respect for my kindergarten teacher. By the end of the day I was slumped in my chair because I was so exhausted. The day took a lot out of me but I think Kirsten did an amazing job to take control of the classroom on her fourth day of student teaching.

It was an early night because we were going to leave for Guatemala on Friday. Plus, I was exhausted and asleep within the first five minutes after I laid down. Each day I am so tired when I head to bed. You know how we always wish we could fit an extra three or four hours into each day? I'm pretty sure they have found out how to do that in Central America. My days are so full and I am exhausted by the time the sun dips below the horizon, but I never feel rushed. It is an amazing feeling, but I think I am getting too comfortable with it. It is going to be too hard to get back into a routine with a schedule and clock when I get back home.

We left for Guatemala early on Friday and stopped at the Belize Zoo along the way. The zoo was not like the ones we are used to in the U.S. It was completely natural and there were no cement buildings and sidewalks and the animal habitats were natural with only a wire fence separating the people from the wild animals. We saw a tapir, a jaguar, plus monkeys, birds, and other native animals. Awesome.

After the zoo we continued to drive to Guatemala. Once again, we had to get out of our bus and walk across the border. I can't believe how we have already been in three countries this quickly. It takes planning and a couple of days to drive to a border from Nebraska and it has only been a days drive to get across two borders. Guatemala is beautiful. It doesn't have mountains like Colorado, but it does have some lush, tree covered mountains. They are gorgeous and I couldn't stop staring out the window. We drove past people washing their clothes in the river and saw the most amazing lakes. They were huge and by the time we were passing them, the sun was low in the sky and the water sparkled. I couldn't believe how much it glittered.

We arrived at the Jaguar Inn late on Friday and headed to bed to be up at 4:00 a.m. for sunrise on the ruins. We climbed through the middle of the jungle in the pitch black darkness to sit on the side of a Mayan ruin. It was the most amazing, unforgettable experience. Who can say they sat on the side of a 20 story Mayan ruin to watch the sun rise? I have never felt so unbelievably connected to Earth and everything in it. When we first arrived at the ruin, it was dark and the stars seemed to be within an arms reach. We all sat in silence and enjoyed what was before us. I couldn't stop taking deep breaths, I just wanted to breath in all of the fresh, clean air that I could. It was a great release.

While we were on the side of the ruin, we saw the jungle slowly lighting up and things come to life. We heard birds and howler monkeys. I couldn't believe where I was and the things that I was hearing. I sat in shock and probably had a dumb smile across my face the entire time.

After we were done at the first ruin, we trekked through the jungle to the next ruin sight. It was about six square miles and had the most amazing ruins. We climbed up and around everything. These ruins weren't as tall the last one, but they were just as great. I kept thinking about the fact that we were walking in the same area that other people had hundreds of years ago. Life was so different back then.

After climbing the ruins, we headed back to our inn and go ready to go zip lining through the jungle. Wow. It was such an adrenaline rush. We went through eight different lines and each one got better than the rest. I had such a great time zooming over the forest below me. It went by too fast. I even got to go down face first. Unfortunately, when I got to the end, I couldn't seem to get up and everyone watched me scramble around trying to grab the cable or somehow manage to get my feet on the ground. I felt like an idiot but it was pretty funny.

I think I've caught you up on everything that you've been missing out on. This weekend has been incredible and a wonderful experience away from Corozal. I almost feel like a completely different person here. It is impossible to be upset or angry when the weather is this beautiful and the people are this friendly. I feel a sense of youthfulness that I haven't felt in a while. I laugh and play like I'm a kid again and it doesn't feel weird or out of place. Everyone seems to be having a great time and laughs and jokes around with each other. I'm loving it. So, so, so, so much.