Woah so it has been waaaaaaaaaaaay too long since my last blog but I've been sooooooooooooooooooooo busy I really haven't had a chance. I'm ill today so thoguht I'd take the chance to update my blog before dying in my bed.

So I'll try and take up where I left off. The weekend after my last blog I got a chicken bus to a macadamia nut farm close to Antigua, it was really cool, we got a tour of the farm and also a free facial with macadamia oils and tried the macadamia pancakes and nuts and chocolates all of which were delicious. The weekend after that was a pretty relaxing one, my friend Sally and I went up to this place in the mountains about 20 mins drive from Antigua called Earth Lodge. The drive up and back is in the back of a pick up truck, which was awesome! It's really relaxing up there with an amazing view (there are photos on facebook) and there were hammocks and stuff and cool people up there. There was also this really cool thing called an Indo Board which is like a circular rolly thing with a board that goes on top of it that you have to balance on, I can't really explain it very well but if your interested there are photos on facebook or you can google it haha. I also moved house to the street where all the other volunteers live (when I arrived there was a big influx of volunteers but now there are less so I have moved onto the same street as them because the road I was living on was further away and it wasn't so well lit and wasn't very safe at night).

The weekend after that my friend Jane left, which I was really upset about because she's ace and hilarious, now there are only me and Chelsea left from our group who all arrived together, everyone else has gone! There are a lot of new people though. It's really interesting to be here for a long time and see people coming and going, but just reminds me of how the children are constantly getting abandonned and reminds me how glad I am that I decided to extend my time here in Guatemala so I could spend more time with my kids. Anyway, the Saturday morning of that weekend I woke up at 5.30am to go to the active volcano Pacaya which I climbed up with my friend Laila, Ella and Laura. The climb up took about an hour and a half to two hours and the first half an hour or 45 minutes was pretty hard, but after that it wasn't so bad as that was where the volcanic rock started so we were going slower. It was sooooo cool, I got to walk over rocks which I could see orange glowing from underneath, then stood about 5m away from a river of lava. It was boiling hot like almost unbearably and there was a wind aswell which was blowing the heat onto us, but it was definitely worth it. I wanted to roast a marshmallow at the top but I couldn't find any at the shop at the bottom unfortunately :( Amazing experience though. That evening I went to Rainbow as usual to see my friends' band then I went back to their house in a town called San Lucas and chilled with them for Sunday which was really fun.

This weekend just gone I went with my friends Sally and Morgan to the Pacific Coast to a town and beach called Monterrico. We stayed at a place called Johnny's Place which was really cool with straw roofs and everything and amazing smoothies. It was very very hot but I got more tanned so I didn't mind haha. The sand was black because it is formed from volcanic rock which is really cool but it gets so hot during the day because it absorbed all the heat that you can't walk on it without flip flops otherwise your feet get burnt, and everyone knows how hard/annoying it is to walk on sand in flip flops! The ocean was warm which was awesome, I've never been in a sea that isn't freezing before! We didn't swim because there is a really strong undercurrent there so it's pretty dangerous to swim but we did paddle and splash and things, it was so cool. Also, in the evening there were tequila shots for 10Q, which is equal to roughly 75p. I think no more needs to be said on that matter... haha. There was a party at Johnny's Place in the evening which was really good fun, and a guy who was doing this cool fire thing where he has fire on the end of two chains and spins it round and stuff, a bit like juggling with fire but more like a dance type of thing, it was really cool. Anyway, we ended up going to bed at about 3am but then woke up at 5.30am because we had already organised to go on a private boat ride to see the sunrise. It was kind of like a dream because we were so tired but it was amazing, the sunrise was so beautiful, the sun was just glowing red and orange and we saw it come up above the horizon and it rose pretty quickly into the sky. It was incredible, so glad I woke up to do it! We went back to sleep when we got back to the hotel as we were exhausted then when we woke up again we went down to the hammocks and then onto the beach for another couple of hours before getting the minibus back to Antigua.

The last 5 weeks or so up at the school have been brilliant. I feel like I really know all of my class really well now, I only have 2 weeks left with them as they have the week leading up to Easter off school, so I have this week and the week after Easter before I move onto Honduras. I have had the best time ever in Guatemala and I am going to miss them SOOOOO much! Pedro, my favourite boy in the morning, is probably the best child known to man, I'm going to be a mess on my last day at the school (9th of April, my birthday!) when I have to say goodbye to them. I have really got into the swing of things with my teaching now and am really enjoying it. This last week I have had another guy come into my class called Alex who is 36 and a new volunteer. It is really helpful to have another person in the class! He was only meant to be here for 3 weeks but I think he is planning on staying longer now so he will be taking over my class after I leave I assume. Argh I really don't want to leave my kids I'm going to miss them so much! At least one of the girls brings me a flower almost everyday now and some of them keep making me little notes saying things like "thankyou for teaching me I love you because you are beautiful" haha they are so cute and affectionate! I feel like I have the best age group to teach (2nd grade, they are between 7 and 10) as they are still little and sweet and cute but I can also teach them slightly more complicated things that just letters and numbers.

Also, just to give you an idea of the sort of children I am dealing with out here, I am going to copy and paste one of my friend Sarah's blogs that she wrote to here:

"

What do I say to the little boy who comes up to me everyday with tummy ache?

Kids have tummy ache all the time in the Western world. If they aren't worried about anything it is normally caused by the food they have eaten, irritable bowl syndrome or gas. But what if they haven't eaten anything? In our Western diets we get many different styles of food to try each and every day and some may upset us. But what if from the day you were born you have eaten corn tortillas, beans and coffee?

So what would you say to the little boy who has tummy ache when it is simply because he is starving?

He is a child so you would naturally want to protect him, to make him feel better, and at GVI we give them Atole and fruit everyday to compliment their diet. But what if there isn't a diet to compliment? A cuddle can't prevent the effects of global warming.

In Guatemala there used to be a rainy season and a dry season. Six months of each. In the rainy season you would grow crops and in the dry season you would sell them. This wasn't a sure-fire plan, you still had starving people, but it was a plan. Now, the climate is changing, something we can easily deny in the comfortable Western world. Now, the farmers can't rely on the rainy season and can't rely on the dry season. This year there was hardly any rain in the rainy season and too much in the dry season. In the rainy season the crops died and in the dry season the unexpected rain killed those that survived. Guatemala was suffering and now it is suffering more.

According to UNICEF 49% of children in Guatemala are malnourished and in Mayan communities it is up to 80%. Guatemala has the forth highest rate of malnutrition in the world and more than one child dies per day. And this year it is going to get worse as we are relying on only 40% of the usual number of crops.

But if you don't believe the statistics then believe me. I am watching children deteriorate everyday.

So next time you leave a light on, flick on the air conditioning, leave the internet on overnight when you are all sleeping or get into your gas guzzling car remember these kids. Because it is effecting them.

And whilst you're there please tell leave a comment telling me what I should say tomorrow when the little boy asks me 'Why does my tummy hurt?'"

I thought that was really good (probably because I'm also out here watching the kids deteriorate, but it's something to think about anyway). I also translated something from one of the 6th graders' workbooks that she wrote on her dreams for the future in Guatemala:

"

My dream for the future is that everyone has a better and healthier life without violence and discrimination so that we have a better world.

The world will be much better if there are no robbers to steal from people.

All we need to complete it would be to say no one is sick anymore.

If we have a new, more beautiful world, Guatemala can help others in the world to work and be happy so that everyone is comfortable.

If my dream comes true and everyone is helped and no-one is robbed again Guatemala will have a better future.

I hope the world can be free and everyone can save more countries, this is something that they all need like we do too. We can support them so that they can have a better world without violence.

This is the dream I want.

Blanca, 14 years old."

Last week on Friday during the lunch time, Elena who helps run the school let me and a few of my friends dress up in the traditional Mayan clothes, which was a pretty big honour as they only offer when people have been there quite a long time. It was so cool but I really don't understand how they walk around in the sun in those clothes all the time because they are really heavy and hot! They are beautiful though and all hand-made, takes about 6 months to make one skirt for example.

Anyway, that's all I can think of for the time being, I'm off to enjoy my last 3 weeks of Guatemala! I really don't want to leave but know I will have an amazing time in the other countries too. Miss you all lots!

Joelle
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