I had a pretty eventful few weeks leading up to thanksgiving.

After re-uniting in Xela with Oliver and Jamie, my companions from the previous 2 half-marathons, we ran the Xela half-marathon together on Nov 15^th. It was a lot different from Coban or Antigua, since it was at over a mile of elevation. In the morning before the race it was so cold you could see your breath, but once the sun came out I started warming up, especially after hitting the several hills on the course. I felt great, though, and it was definitely my best race yet! I finished in 1 hr 47 min, almost 10 minutes faster than in Coban. It always feels so incredible to cross the finish line, and the fact that I seem to be getting stronger for each race motivates me to keep running here at my site. I've even considered attempting a full marathon, but on second thought, I've always thought running a marathon could be one of those things I'll do when I'm 40 and need to prove to myself that I'm still young...

After the race the three of us took a few days off to travel. After the race we went to the hot springs at Fuentes Georginas for a post-race soak. On Monday morning we headed to Jaime's site in San Marcos, almost at the base of Tajamulco, Central America's highest volcano, and only a short distance from the Pacific Coast. Looking across the valley from my site, I can just see to San Marcos, and what I believe is Tajamulco, and I've been wanting to visit for months. The first afternoon we went to visit some friends of Jamie's that own a small coffee plantation. The family was incredibly warm and inviting, and were proud to show us around and explain the whole process of growing and making coffee. They fed us a great lunch in their dining room (I'll never forget the enormous lazy Susan on the table), and afterwords we were serenaded to a few marimba songs from the father and son in the living. Looking around the house you could sense it had lots of history and character. It was a really incredible cultural experience, as well as being a lot of fun. It was a side of Guatemala I'd never seen before, and really impressed upon me the diversity of the country.

The next morning we visited Jamie's park, where he works as a sustainable community eco-tourism volunteer. The park's most notable attraction is having Quetzales, Guatemala's beautiful national bird. While we didn't see any Quetzales on our hike, we did see and hear lots of tropical birds and had some incredible views. It was striking to feel how different the climate was—in contrast to the dry, temperate air of the highlands where I live, San Marcos is lush, warm, and green, with spectacular mountains sloping downwards towards the Pacific. At one point we came to a large vine, which we used as a Tarzan-style rope swing, blindly trusting Jamie's assertion that the vine was strong enough to hold.

From San Marcos we made the long-haul series of bus transfers (stopping for donuts at the Mennonite bakery in Xela) to Antigua, then to the Peace Corps center for 3 days of in-service training. The workshops were very helpful, covering many of the educational and health related topics we had requested during previous trainings. It gave me new ideas, new perspective, and new inspiration to go back to my schools for another year of trying to make a difference. It was also great being back with everyone from my training group and hanging out in Antigua after work. It's crazy to think we've been in country almost 11 months, and still have 30 of the original 32 volunteers we flew together to Guatemala from Washington with last January!

The following weekend was the confirmation for Erik and Yelmi, my host siblings from training in Santo Domingo Xenacoj, which now seems ages ago. I enjoyed spending time with the family, helping them get set up and decorate the house the day before, and celebrating with yummy food, drinks, and dancing!

When I got home after the weekend, I spent several hours rushing to prepare materials for my first English class. The class went well, although turnout was not as high as I'd expected. People have been asking me about teaching English ever since I got here, and I'm hoping the classes will also be a good way for me to meet more people in my community.

I spent the next few days in my room cooking for Thanksgiving. I've really enjoyed learning to cook new dishes in my free time the past months, and volunteered to make lots of things-- Home-made bagels (sesame, cinnamon raisin, and jalapaño garlic), 2 apple pies (one gluten-free for Courtenay), banana nut bread, carrot raisin bread, and last but not least, mashed potatoes! After baking for a day and a half, I carefully packaged up the goodies for the long ride to the coast.

Courtenay and I left before 5 in the morning, and were able to catch a ride for several hours in the back of a pickup truck. Despite being VERY cold, it was a fun ride and saved us time and money. We met the rest of our group in Antigua and took a private shuttle to the Pacific Coast in Monterico, where we rented a beautiful house on the beach for the next 4 days. The house was really nice, complete with pool, hammocks, and even air-conditioning, a luxury I haven't seen anywhere else in Guatemala! Shortly after arriving, we felt a small earthquake, the second I've felt in Guatemala. The first night, as I was walking down from the rooftop terrace, I noticed a faint red glow in the sky. I paused, expecting to see a fire-work burst momentarily, but the glow stayed still. After a few seconds, I realized I was looking at the distant lava flows of Pacaya, Guatemala's most active volcano, which I had seen earlier in the day while en route from Antigua. During the day you could clearly see the volcano, but the light from the sun made it too bright to see the lava flows (like stars during the day). At night it was reversed; through the darkness you could see the lava flowing down into what appeared to be empty space. One morning I woke up to watch the sunset, and the light was just enough to see the lava flowing against the conical silhouette of Pacaya. The sunrises and sunsets over the water were also amazing!

The weekend was pretty relaxing. I enjoyed meeting new people, long walks on the beach with my good friends Susy and Courtenay, and of course lots of good food and drink. The buffet for the meal was incredible, and we had lots of leftovers for the next day.

There hasn't been much going on since I've been back home. I had my second English class a few days ago, which the students seem to be enjoying. I'm also beginning to plan for the teacher training workshops I'll lead the first week of January. I'm getting excited for a visit during Christmas from my friend Erin, a returned Peace Corps volunteer from Peru, as well as my brother Eric! We're hoping to do a 5 day hike through the Jungle to the Mayan Ruins of 'El Mirador'. My Dad's planning to visit for a week in mid-January, and Eric will stay for a month before flying back with him, so I should have a lot going on for the next few months!