Home, and Back Again
After a year in Cape Town, I returned home. However, my visit in the States only lasted three weeks. Between 1 October and 22 October I visited Knoxville, Nashville, New York City, and Boston to see close friends and family.…
Category Stories
Update on Our New Reality
The past two weeks have felt like the fog has lifted off our dream-like experience and the reality of our adventure here has slowly settled in. A couple weekends ago, some of our Guatemalan family took us sight-seeing. First, to…
Culture Fatigue
Sometimes it feels as if I was born again. New sights, sounds, and tastes are impossible to avoid when I leave the comforts of my small concrete home. Even the simplest things in life have become a demanding task that…
SuperVacas
This past week was SuperVacas!! All of our hard work and planning finally came together in a week full of dancing, crafting, singing, and water balloon wars. I won’t give a day-by-day account of everything that went on (to be…
Thai Street Market
Tour de Thai
Yesterday I was finally able to move into my new home at Princess Chulabhorn School in Chiang Rai, Thailand. Since it is still break for the students and faculty, we are able to have the week off to get settled…
Quick update @ Kwai River
Currently, I am sitting in a coffee shop in downtown waiting for the “Night Bazaar” to begin. Cannot wait for the bright lights, delicious food, and fellow ESL teachers to meet and enjoy the night here in Chiang Rai. Enjoy…
Top 5 Things
Our trip to Guatemala has so far been a whirlwind of learning, feeling ignorant, exploration, and gratitude. Here is my Top 5 List of things we have done up to this point: 5. Trip to Iximche/ Atitlan Last weekend, a…
Bangkok/Kanchanaburi
Four days ago, I boarded a 19 hour plane from Boston to Bangkok without any expectations for my arrival here in Thailand. I remember making the long walk through the Suvarnabhumi International Airport to find make it through customs, find…
What We’re Doing Here, Pt. 2
Part Two As you can see from part one, the perilous history of most Guatemalan Mayan communities sets the stage for generational poverty and lack of opportunity. The Cardenas family started CEMOC ten years ago with the firm belief that…