Catching Up with Pixels

October 31st: Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead)
While Halloween is one of my favorite holidays of the year, mostly because you seem to find glitter/body paint/hair dye in weird places for several days after the fun, I decided to keep it low key in 2010. Instead, the sitemate and I decided to join in on the local festivities. And I even made a few friends who had never seen a camera---and decided to take mine out for a spin.

Families visit loved ones at the cemetery

They celebrate by flying kites, lighting candles, and painting the tombs a new shade of color.

New friends who took my camera for a ride.

November 1st: Todos Santos (All Saints Day)

After consuming a coffee filled IV drip and slathering some sunblock on our appendages, the Santiago Kite Festival group was off to check out the (in)famous Kite Festival. Although weary at first, I have to admit that even if you do not care for kites, you have to go if only to see a horde of humans try to prop a massive kite that is (awkwardly) held together by a pile of bamboo sticks. *Teaser alert* 3 out of 5 kites fail to even make it upright!

In Santiago, Sacatepequez (the birthplace of the Kite Festival)

In order to honor the souls of the deceased, many fly kites. 

But apart from the small 'toy kites' there are enormous kites which are tested against the elements on Nov. 1st.

1st Week of November: Dogvention & Business Practices (with Guest Speaker A.K.S)*

Our little 'ol town in this here Guatemala had a visitor---Andrew, an MBA student who is doing his research around the world (I mean, he just came back from Africa, right Sara and Andrew?)! But while in town, he spent his time interviewing a number of business owners and learning just a tad about makes Guatemalan business owners tick. It was a blast having him! Come back soon! *Title is an inside joke, so apologies to those who are outside of the loop. [Photos courtesy of Andrew]

Andrew, Sara and I enjoying our favorite treat, Tortillas de Harina (a traditional food from the east)

Enjoying the Mercado (on a non-market day)

Helping to interview the Vet in town.

2nd Week of November: Sorpresas y Mas (Surpises and More)

After much planning, I managed to surprise the living cr*p out of my family with a visit home (and scaring each family member by jumping out from the car, pretending to be a neighbor picking up a package, and yelling surprise over and over again! I spent some quality time with the family, celebrated my sister's 21st birthday in style, and got to hang out with all my loves from NorCal! And a special shout out to Jeff and Nicole for letting me crash at your houses! Love you guys. Sorry if I didn't get a chance to see all of you--- but next time I will make ALL the rounds! Only negative of the trip was the usual TSA drama which means me being grilled by a TSA agent (this time, they gave me a Guatemalan TSA agent) to see if I was 'really' a Peace Corps volunteer. If anyone could tell me how I can find out if I'm on some sort of black list, let me know. I'm getting tired of the grill sessions which seem to increase in correlation to the amount of drama there is surrounding the TSA itself. Exhibit A: Naked Body Scanners.

First drink: Apple Martini. My sister is a classy gal.

Have you heard of 'Pika Pika'? Neither had I until I did it with Matt & Nicole! Thrilling and ridiculous.

Also managed to scare one of my amazing professors with the help of Misha.

3rd Week of November: Multimedia Bonanza

We have finally reached the present and the present is looking sweet. So far my life has been wholeheartedly consumed with teaching people from my town about the importance of self-expression through drawing, photography and film. I am partnering up with Sara to bring three different demographics: men, women, children/teens a FREE taller (workshop) surrounding Multimedia! So far the first few classes have not only been successful, but eye opening to both the teachers (Sara and I) and the students! And I still cannot believe the support we have gotten from the town itself: 600Q for equipment, a booth/space in our Feria (which slowly began yesterday and will reach it's climax on the 30th!), and a word of mouth campaign that beats Paranormal Activity's viral blitzkrieg advertising! Can't wait for the future classes and the chance of exhibiting the photos/film in an art space in Antigua (proposal is currently under review)!

Day 1: Perspective

Day 1: How I see the world

In unrelated, but somehow related, news--- Sara and I have a personal photography project HERE.

It is a photographic diary of sorts that features our town and our daily reaction to it. We don't tell each other what we're posting, so it is also a bit of a surprise to us to see how each other is feeling. Feel free to peruse and add it to your favorites. It's a sort of an experiment for us and we hope you like it!

Until next time, strangers.

See You Later, A Bientôt and Hasta Luego

One part of the whole leaving-the-country-for-the-Peace-Corps thing that I will not get used to is saying goodbye (or see you later as I was corrected many-a-times).

I finally made the trek back up to Northern California to say goodbye to everyone who stuck around after college. The first stop was San Francisco to chill with one of my very close friends, Mikey. She has been my artistic and movie buff counterpart since high school and I finally got to experience SF like a true San Franciscan. We watched Spring Awakening, listened to music, traveled around talking about our favorite novels, and just continued on as if we never left each other's side. It was awesome to say the least.

After the little mini trip to SF, I went down to Pacific. It was great to smell and feel my old stomping grounds, even if I was just a visitor this time. I'll definitely miss the walks over the levee, the smelly trees that bloom in the Spring, and being an RA. While back on campus though, I spent every minute seeing friends and professors--and yet it wasn't enough to see everyone I wanted to see. So to everyone I missed... sorry! I said a few see you laters  and left to travel on my last, nostalgic drive on the 5 (freeway, for all you non-Californians)--complete with glorious views of cows and the aromatic manure smell (no joke).

The trip, as a whole, was short, but made a huge impact. It's a bit sad I won't see everyone for 2+ years, but I am counting down the days until I am in Guatemala!