The ACTUAL Dia de Independencia

I was curious about the events that would take place on Guatemala's actual Independence Day, considering the amount of activities that have been taking place for over a week now. They did not disappoint :) The day started with a 3 hour parade and even now as I write this, bands continue to march and dance down the streets while playing their jubilant and festive songs. This has truly been a day filled with patriotism, culture and beauty. Antigua has welcomed thousands of visitors for the weekend festivities, and the streets are filled with vendors, music and laughter. I'm thinking that this next Fourth of July I'm going to make more of an effort because the past week has been so much fun! The Feldhacker Family Farm is going to be the place to celebrate July 4th, 2013!!

There were torch runners everywhere. I joined 3 different groups on my run yesterday.

The first act of the 3 hour parade

Future Firefighter

Miss Maize

Fuego

Of all the volcanoes surrounding Antigua, Fuego is the only active one.  Yesterday, Fuego decided to show it’s energetic side as it came to life, resulting in evacuations and world news. Antigua is far enough away that it is sheltered from all volcanic activity, but we are still close enough to get a glimpse of the action. Last night we took a chicken bus to nearby Alotenango to get a closer look of the lava at night. So fascinating to see churning and burping as lava and ash shoot into the air. Little did we know we managed to catch the last bus to Alotenango which resulted in an interesting evening of trying to manage our way back to Antigua, but that’s a whole other story ;)

NASA caught a glimpse of Fuego erupting from space. It's quite the cloud of ash!

 

The Embassy of the United States of America Guatemala City, Guatemala

Emergency Message for U.S. Citizens

September 13, 2012

Dear American Citizen:

The following Emergency Message alerts U.S. citizens to the ongoing seismic activity at the Fuego Volcano, located approximately 22 miles southwest of Guatemala City and eight miles south of Antigua.  Please share the following information with other U.S. citizens.  We hope to have this message disseminated as widely as possible within the U.S. citizen community. Please contact the American Citizen Services Unit via email (amcitsguatemala@state.gov), fax (2331-3804), or telephone (2326-4501) if you have any questions. Thank you very much for your support and assistance.

This Message alerts U.S. citizens residing and traveling in Guatemala, particularly in the areas immediately surrounding the Fuego Volcano (“Volcan de Fuego”), of increased seismic activity.

According to Guatemalan government agencies that are closely monitoring the situation, the Fuego Volcano continues to experience high levels of seismic activity, including explosions.  Volcanic ash is reaching up to 3000 meters above the crater of the volcano and is being driven southwest and north/northwest by current winds.  Lava is flowing in streams of up to 500 meters long.  CONRED, the Guatemalan National Disaster Coordination Agency, has raised the alert level to orange.  As of midday Thursday, September 13, Guatemala City’s La Aurora International Airport is not affected by the situation.

U.S. citizens should monitor local and international media reports and follow the instructions of local emergency officials as conditions can change rapidly.  U.S. citizens should carry their travel documents or copies thereof at all times (i.e. U.S. passport, birth certificate, picture IDs, etc.) or secure them in safe, waterproof locations.  We also suggest that U.S. citizens contact friends and family in the United States with updates about their whereabouts.

Dia de Independencia (Week)

I thought that those in the U.S. emanated patriotism, especially around the 4^th of July, but we don’t even come close to what I’ve witnessed in Guatemala. Somehow Independence Day has turned into Independence Week. The past month has consisted of every school gearing up and practicing for Guatemala’s Independence Day, which is this Saturday, Sept. 15^th. Each day this week at Los Gozosos we’ve had lots of irregular activities to celebrate including a feed full of delicious Guatemalan food, Nina Independencia, and marching in a parade. It’s been a lot of extra work, but everyone involved had so much fun—myself included :)

Our food fundraiser full of delicious, typical, Guatemalan cuisine

Beautiful!

The judges of the cook-off

Soy de Guatemala... except that I'm huge.

Zonte Beach, El Salvador

A few pictures from an incredible weekend full of amazing people, great food, much needed rest and relaxation and unexpected adventure! 

The crowded border to El Salvador. Those yellow lines are merely a suggestion of which side you should be on...

Surf boot camp!

Slowly getting the hang of it!

There was an El Salvador women's soccer game while we were there

Best and cheapest food! For $2.00 I was overly full with a fresh fruit smoothie and delicious pupusas. YUM.

And to top off an already great weekend, the ISU/Iowa game was randomly on in El Salvador and I got to watch my Cyclones win! :)

An Unexpected Souvenir

This past weekend a couple girls from my house and I planned a trip to the small town of Zonte Beach, El Salvador. This small surf town is home to a couple restaurants and tiendas as well as several beach shacks housing locals who live a refreshingly slow-paced life. As we drove the winding roads to this beautiful area I could literally feel time decelerate to a speed where the only cares are when the tide is coming and going. After about 5 hours of travel, including one incredibly backed-up border, we rolled up to our hostel and surf house. Alex, the man in charge, warmly greeted us and quickly explained our plans for the next couple days… BIG plans: surfing, sleeping, eating and relaxing! However, there was one surprise in our plan that could not have worked out better; I love when impromptu weekends result in unexpected rewards. Alex explained that the following morning he would be holding a surf camp for paraplegics and would love a few extra hands if we didn’t mind volunteering. Didn’t mind?! I was ecstatic— in the words of my professor, Dr. Blanchard, “OT rocks!” I am so lucky to have chosen a profession which continues to be integrated into every part of life, no matter the country or culture in which I find myself. I was so elated to have the opportunity to be able to bring happiness and quality of life to a group of men who thought that the opportunity of surfing was something which was never available to them.

In the morning, we had a brief meeting to explain the logistics and be assigned to teams: 6 persons to each participant-- 2 deep to judge waves and push, 2 in the middle to help guide, and 2 near the shore to catch the arriving surfer.  In reverse order, we worked as a human chain to float them back out to the waves to catch another ride in. I could tell that the men (aged 16-40ish) were nervous… how incredibly trusting of them to enter the ocean when most of them couldn’t swim and were reliant upon a team of volunteers. Reflecting on their trust alone, it is evident how much this morning meant to them.  

Each man was piggy-backed to the beach while wheelchairs were carried behind

 

We dispersed into our teams and slowly brought the men out on the boards; I settled into the middle spot, prepared to catch, guide and tow as needed. Watching the smiles on each participant’s face after catching the first wave made waking up early, baking in the sun and choking on salt water worth it tenfold. I never dreamed that I would get the opportunity to be a part of something so magical and heart-warming. It is humbling to see people like Alex and those who work for him volunteer their time and efforts to help fulfill the dreams of others. There is truly no better gift than that of opportunity and opened doors when something seems improbable or even impossible. The men repeated thanked us… and I was just as thankful to them for yet another opportunity on this trip to engage in OT in another culture and context. 

I love my job!