If you read “teaching job in Guatemala” in my last post and envisioned me sweating it out in a humid, windowless shack while my students sat on the dirt floor, shoeless yet eager to learn…well, you’d be a tad bit off with that one. The reality is that I teach in a very posh International… Read More My New Job
My goals for coming to Guatemala were simple: Become fluent in Spanish, write a book and volunteer. Well, thus far I’ve managed to become fluent in SpanGlish, write two-thirds of a book and volunteer for two whole hours at a domestic violence shelter. So basically I’m zero for three on the goal front. But I… Read More I Found a Job!
My roommate shrugged and then said the line that we use so often here it’s practically become our life motto: “Well, that’s Guatemala…” Tweet
Today my Dutch roommate told me that he doesn’t like living with expats. “At home I’m special,” he explained. “But here, no one cares that I used to live in Curacao,” naming the Caribbean island he lived on for five months before moving to Guatemala. It’s true. I live in a house with mostly other foreigners who… Read More Why I like Living Abroad
When I showed up to Spanish school this past Monday, I was informed by the school’s secretary that: 1. My Spanish teacher had “amoebas” 2. He wouldn’t be coming back to school any time soon Well. I’m not entirely sure what amoebas are, but if they’re anything like the food poisoning I had a few… Read More My Spanish Teacher
All of these photos were taken by a friend of mine who lives in Panajachel, Guatemala. Some of her students (she teaches at an Elementary school) lost their homes during Tropical Storm Agatha. If you’d like to help out, the school she works for (the Robert Muller Life School) is accepting donations. All of the… Read More Agatha Aftermath: Want to Help Out?
I watched this 19-minute speech by Elizabeth Gilbert (author of Eat Pray Love) the other night and loved the little anecdote she gave about creative inspiration. I’ve included a transcript of it below, but you should also watch the whole clip. Her speech about ‘nurturing creativity’ is honest and spot-on. Here’s the exert: “I met… Read More Creativity: Where does it come from?
An article I wrote for the Matador Network: The World’s Largest Independent Travel Magazine was published this morning. !!!!!!!!! I know, right? “Get published in Matador” has been on my life to-do list ever since I first discovered the webzine two years ago. Seriously. It’s been right up there with “Write a book”, “Learn French”… Read More I’m in a Magazine!