A la gran...

Great news. I'm not longer homeless. Thanks to my amazing TN manager, I am now living with Caty (yes ironic) and Jorge, in an extra room in their house. They are 65 years old, and are like the super sweet latino grandparents you never had. For almost half of what I paid for my place on Gilman; I have my own room with cable tv, three awesome homemade guate meals a day, and there is a muchacha (very common here) that makes my bed and does my laundry. I feel like a queen or something.

I wasn't planning on living with a family, but it just worked out this way and it will help me with my spanish for sure I think.

Another first happened today. First time lost in the City. Okay, so it doesn't take much for me to get lost and i even get lost in both Racine and Madison...but like any other time that i dont' know exactly where i am my heart beat speeds up and I walk a little faster. I was tempted to walk into a bank and ask for directions, but the police men standing out side of the building with rifles creeped me out and continued on my way. Solo gringa style in guate.... something you could not be doing once the sun goes down. Within 10 minutes I was back where i first started, straightened myself out, and attempted it again. Victory. Internet Cafe.

Lost in Translation

As my latino adventure began this weekend...a slight barrier was noticed: my spanishe is not so great. Now, in actaulity its not thaaaat horrible, and i can comunicate- but like expected, i can't be sarcastic, jokes fly over my head, and at the end of the day my head feels like its going to explode. But i'm trying, and i figure it can only get easier from here.

At first i was thinking how incredibly more difficult it would be if i went to a country where i knew not a lick of the language...but now i'm not so sure. Because you see now, since i can speak and basically understand a one on one conversation, most people expect i understand everthing and special attention isn't given to me; which is fine, but difficult. At least if i wasn't expected to know the language, then things would be expalined to me and some of my bumps in the road would happen. But then again- then were would all the fun be in trying to get by if it was handed to me on a sivler platter, and where would my stores come from? let me embelish...

Por ejemplo...

1)At Conga this weekend (@ guatemala national conference), In OC announements in the beginning we were told the bathrooms in our room don't work because the rooms are pretty new and plumming is hooked up completely yet. Yea, right ever my head and yes, i didnt' think twice as i used the bathroom in my room Sunday night. Enough said....wwopps

2) Saturday you will have to wear business casual because we are having our sponsers speak, business profesionals, and alumi througout the day. Please be respectful when you come down to plenary Sat morning.

I figured out real quick when i walked into plenary in sweat pants and my "Hella diverse" @ Bay area T shirt that I needed to go right back to my room and change- pronto.

3) During a session with a former MCP de @ Gaute, i was pointed out as a"this is what @ is" type of example. I was then asked in front of everyone

What part of the US are you from? (or something to that effect)

I'm thinking to teach english at the Academia was not the answer he was looking for, after the fact.


Such is life, and such is the experience of living the dream. More to come in time....

and i'm off...

A nomad I will remain for life, in love with distant and uncharted places.
Isabelle Eberhardt

With almost all my goodbyes said, one more trip out to the stores left, a suitcase not yet packed and my final emails written to Guatemala... there is not much left to do except the inevitable job of packing.

Yesterday I spent the day in Chicago with my two best friends and got my Ecuadorian Visa- all systems go with little trouble communicating fully in spanish, thankgoodness. The rest of the day was great- expept Cody and Rachel took an abnormal amount of pictures of me standing next to things and not of them selves... I felt as though they were documenting my last day on earth and it was creeping me out.

My random moments of sadness and nervousness have almost completley disappeared for some reason. Even though at dinner My mother asked me who was picking me up from the airport...and i replied with 'i dont know.' And when she asked me where i'm staying tomorrow night...i replied with 'i dont know..."

A calming has come over me as in the last few days my inbox has been filled with- " see you thursday, i have a band we can go see when you get here... and dont' forget your boots- i have a great volcano i want to hike with you..." I know i'll be taken care off- and the rest of it, I'll figure out myself.

Next post will be in Guatemala, Guatemala.

epic

My mom had to pull the car over on the way home from madison so i could lay in the ditch and puke for 10 minutes. With broken sandals, a bloody toe, a headache and mascara still streaking down my cheecks...at least i know i went out with a bang.

oh no...

These chicas just informed me that i'm going to need a role call. shit.

Full circle

I didn't go to Roks this semester. For all concerned parties, no worries- I will be at a CONGA (guate roks??) next weekend introducing AIESEC to a whole bunch of newbies in another country.

kinda nice to know...

Two finals down and two to go and the semester will be done! I don't have too bad of a finals schedule so things are going well...plenty (okay, not plenty, but enough) time to check things of my list of "things to do in the next 11 days."

A great friend of mine is leaving for Germany for a year at the end of the summer...crazy. We will go 2 years without seeing eachother when we used to see each other 3 times a day at a minimum. Things change.

My mom has asked me twice in the past couple of days if i have changed my mind yet. I haven't and although I haven't left yet, i feel a sense of accomplishment that I'm actually going. I think most of my family, and possibly me, thought this idea I've had for the past 4 years would never actually materialize.

I can't say however that I don't think about it all the time, and that I am nervous at random times during the day, and some times freak out a little bit- but I'm dealing. It's comforting to know that there will be Badgers all over the globe this summer going through things similar to me...

Xiomara (Tunisia), Anne (China), Bryon (Kenya), Danielle (India), Giulia (China), Drews (Turkey), Bobby (Brazil), Ali (Tunisia)

oomygoodness

Flight CO502
Depart Thu, May 24 03:21p Chicago OHare International Apt, US (ORD)
Arrive Thu, May 24 06:14p Houston George Bush Intercontinental Ap, US (IAH)
Flight Time 02hr 53min | Economy
Aircraft Boeing 737-500
Seat : : (Non - Smoking)

Continental Airlines Flight CO453
Depart Thu, May 24 07:10p Houston George Bush Intercontinental Ap, US (IAH)
Arrive Thu, May 24 09:02p Guatemala City, GT (GUA)
Flight Time 01hr 52min | Economy
Aircraft Boeing 737-800
Seat : : (Non - Smoking)

Copa Airlines Flight CM319
Depart Sat, Aug 25 02:41p Guatemala City, GT (GUA)
Arrive Sat, Aug 25 05:54p Panama City Tocumen Internationl, PA (PTY)
Flight Time 02hr 13min | Economy
Aircraft Boeing 737-700

Copa Airlines Flight CM211
Depart Sat, Aug 25 08:36p Panama City Tocumen Internationl, PA (PTY)
Arrive Sat, Aug 25 10:26p Quito, EC (UIO)
Flight Time 01hr 50min | Economy
Aircraft Boeing 737-700

Continental Airlines Flight CO654
Depart Sun, Dec 23 07:40a Quito, EC (UIO)
Arrive Sun, Dec 23 12:03p Houston George Bush Intercontinental Ap, US (IAH)
Flight Time 05hr 23min | Economy
Aircraft Boeing 757-200/300

Take it in...

This seems to be the theme of the week, but yes- I'm taking it in too. The past three days have been a rush. It started with two days of powering through the editing of the senior dvd for the banquet. I've been putting bits and pieces together for a while now, but the good 24 (practically straight hours of listening to "bye bye miss american pie" were a little intense. Looking back at all the pictures of all the seniors- over, and over and over... gave me goose bumps and my stomach do flip flops. My entire college career has been with this gang, defining my experience thus far- and i'm not sure how i'm going to say goodbye to them.

As I think about the seniors leaving madison and each doing their own thang- i look back at myself and think about how my life is going to be changing drastically very soon as well. In a couple of weeks Ill be gone as well... exploring Guatemala for the summer and then off to see how they roll in Ecuador.

It's so weird to think that the next time i'm back in madison- the vibe could be very different. I hope what we have here lasts.

what am i becoming

like a cat i slipped in the building unnoticed, did a few dive rolls across the lobby, the damage was done and i waltzed out the front door all mission impossible like. I'd make a great bond girl.

Real Life

After an insane two days of nonstop craziness... I have to buckle down at the library all day to study for a spanish final tomorrow. It's a little hard to focus on a spanish class though...when you just found out that you will be living the latino dream for seven months starting in aprox T-3 weeks.

suggestions??

• I have a pending ET in Guatemala for the summer.
• I have a suggestion to work this summer and take 2nd semester off and do a TN then- after Quito.
• I just got an email from the director of opperations from my dad's company- in Madrid. I have a job waiting for me from may 22- August 24.

In other thoughts...i called the ecuadorian consulate to get a visa appt- the # was disconnected.

day dreaming...

As i walked home from the bank this afternoon I passed by some activity at the capital with latino music blasting, and then past Frida's with people relaxing and eating in the sun... I suddenly wanted to be back in Mexico, enjoying a michelada in the sun.