Holy Toledo, It´s Almost Christmas

Here´s the thing: I have about 5 new articles that I want to post, but I can´t because I just don´t have time to type them up. And then I have another, oh, 15, articles that I will write. Sometime. Really.

But not now. Way too busy. People, you have to understand. I´ve got things going on. People to see, deals to seal and all that.

Quick and dirty:

- After Todos Santos / San Cristobal, I studied in Xela for another week.

- For the last two weeks I´ve been studying at the Mountain School, which is a sister school of the one here in Xela.

- I´m done studying now because I know Spanish perfectly. Eeees lah veardad.

- Over the next week I´ll be winding my way up to Tikal to marvel at how high people could pile rocks back in the day. (Kurt Vonnegut´s theory? That there was less gravity back then, so people just tossed huge stones around like they were pillows. Sounds smart to me.)

- Week after that I´ll be in Belize doing heaven only knows what. Probably swimming and getting malaria.

- December 12 I´ll be back in Michigan eating absurd amounts of incredibly unhealthy food. Happy Birthday Jesus, now pass me the yule-tide bacon-wrapped mayonnaise pie.

New photos are up! I´ll post more about these fun times (and honestly, it has been an AMAZING two weeks) over Christmas. In the meantime, you can look at the photos and make up your own story about what occurred. Hint: almost all of the photos sets started with a game of truth or dare. Enjoy.

Oh, all right. I´ll give some real hints.

Mountain School Miscellaneous - pictures of the school, a rather impressive set of pictorial instructions, a Marimba, our school won the soccer tourney against a couple other teams from Xela! youth activity night, various people and teachers.

The People and Land Near the Mountain School - soooooo, this is a bunch of pictures about the people and land near the mountain school.

Santiaguito - a mountain near the school that keeps blowing up. Predawn hike to see sunrise. More on the volcano here.

Mountain School - 1st Host Family - Juan, Cecilia, Marie Esperanza, a couple of little kids that I don't recognize, and PUPPIES! And two kittens! One was named Snoopy! And four chicks! They´re all friends! It´s like Noah´s ark!

San Alfonso Women´s Collective - a bunch of very strong women sticking together to survive in a fairly hostile environment. Photos of weaving, traditional dances, my family, I slept on a board in a shed, playing soccer with the boys, pictures of people, and where chocolate comes from.

Mountain School - 2nd Host Family - Lesbia is the Grandmum of Berenice (5) and Marie (4.) I played tag with the girls every morning after breakfast. And more puppies! Rocky, and Paulusa. Get this, Rocky was the name of not one, but TWO of the dogs I had when I was a child! And if you don´t think this set has some of the cutest pictures you've ever seen, I´ll fight you.

Purdy Flowers - I know none of you care, but I am still adding pictures here too. I´m just saying.

Gotta roll. Will try to post over the next couple of weeks.