Adventures In Guatemala (and elsewhere): The end of November!

Here we are at the end of November and I can't believe that yet another month has gone by. At this point we have roughly three months left of service and it is completely surreal. I remember preparing to leave for Guatemala and thinking that 27 months sounded like so much time. While some days I definitely feel the time crawling by, overall it felt like after Tuesday the week was over. I guess the whole long days, short weeks thing rung true.

Other updates from this side: I have new friends (look at me go)! Although this in itself is pretty exciting, there's more! These friends, well, one friend in particular (I shall call her Books) have become a catalyst of sorts in my desire to change my post Peace Corps plans. Though I still plan on applying to grad school and getting my social worker on...I have decided that before doing that I am going to travel around Europe for some time .Perhaps for the first time since I was a wee child I feel like I have no strings attaching me to anything (in the best way possible), my heart is complete and completely mine and I am ready to fall head over heels for traveling, new languages, and new countries (Germany, France, Austria, who knows?!) Please pardon the vague nature of all this, I still haven't decided how long or where I would like to travel and be away for. My goal is to be back by Thanksgiving next year since I haven't spent holidays with the whole family in many years at this point.

The strangest part of this decision has been how easy it was to make. This might be one of the first instances where I did not have to fight for what I wanted, the option was just there, and it makes me a little nervous. I have become so accustomed to things not coming easily that when they do it causes great distrust on my part. Thus I am faced with this strange feeling of having the desire to do something and every reason to do so with no restraints and no actual fear, just the nagging reminder that "if something is too good to be true it probably is" in the back of my mind, but that can't always be the case, right? Every once in a blue moon something good *must* also be easy, no? I have always heard if something is worth having it's worth fighting for, so does that mean if you don't have to fight for it that it has less value?

Well, I guess I will find out soon.

This also means that the window for seeing my face in the states will be far smaller than I had originally anticipated, so when I know more about dates in the US I will post them and hope to see all you lovelies.

Photographic evidence of friends and assorted shenanigans:

Special shout out to this amazing lady, Eli. She is easily one of the best humans in the universe and over the past 20 months has kept me sane(ish). From before day one in country (we threw some mad shade at staging before getting to country) she has been an incredible resource, sounding board, mentor and friend. Last week she and her husband recieved the wonderful news that they are expecting and are now RPCVs living in the states!

SO many great memories made all over Guate with this Chula, here are some highlights

Xela Xit Xow?

Tigs July 4, 2014

SLMA, Swear in day (we were so clean back then!)

Tigs, Week 5 of training, first night out!

Girls time!

Tigs, Halloween 2014

Livingston, Thanksgiving 2014

I will miss the hell out of y'all but could not be more happy for you, and I can't wait to meet the luckiest kid ever, oh and I guess to see you guys again. LKM! <3

I refuse to end on a note that makes me sad, so here are photos of other friends and things that make me happy:

Pregnant lady in a tequila advertisement #alwaysclassy

Feliz Thanksgiving from our lovely get together on Thursday

View of my lake from Santa Cruz

Devil scorpion in the bedroom, it looks misleading small here, it was actually a very good size and decided to hangout right above my bag of clothes way too early in the morning. Luckily, Books saved me.