Every Day

So Tyler and I have been driving for two days to get me to Kentucky tonight for my internship at the Reptile Zoo! (Which Im pretty excited for by the way) Its dark out and we are excited to almost be in Kentucky after passing through so many other states the whole day. We drive over this hill and this is what we see: The sky is all lit up orange and its kind of flickering and both Ty and I go “oh F***” Something is on fire and we think theres a horrible exploding accident on the highway. As we come down this hill, we notice that there is no horrible accident but theres fire from a factory. The orange lights are lighting up the foggy night sky and its glaring. Orange lights, smoke stacks and fires from the factory are all over and we are disgusted. It is the ugliest thing I have ever seen. There is a billboard with an american flag (‘MERICA!) and we find out its an oil factory. On the other part of the highway is a sign as we come over the bridge: Welcome to Kentucky.  Not a v

Hey all! While I was having the time of my life in Guatemala, I wrote blogs in my journal. So Im going to catch up on those blogs soon enough. BUT I wanted to give y'all a brief overview of what happened and get you excited for the upcoming blogs. Amazing. That really sums up all of my trip. Its a beautiful country with wonderful people and very inexpensive for American tourists, like me. The first thing I notice when I step onto States soil is that my brain is slowly turning to mush. I had to constantly think in another language, try to translate and think of words and conversations in Spanish. When I got back my brain didn't have to work so hard and at first I was still thinking in Spanish but it soon slowed down. Now its almost gone already. It really made me want to transition to a spanish speaking country for longer than a few weeks and maybe even take a Spanish course. I learned so much in only those 11 days! Also, being disconnected is the best feeling ever. I

7:09 am Its been a habit of waking up early. A lot of the people here are up already too. I like how I feel when I go to bed early and wake up early. I feel like I have so much more time to get things done or to just relax in the morning and not feel like Ive wasted so much time. Its hard to keep up this schedule in the States though because I need to use the evening hours to get stuff done and thats the lifestyle there. The sun is out today and I dont see any clouds, how exciting! But, its our last few hours here so we can't enjoy it fully... Im excited to get home, traveling can get exhausting but I also dont want to leave Guatemala. Its so beautiful here, everyone is so friendly and I love exploring new places. I forgot to talk about the heat lightning! Last night we had some which created a cool atmosphere as we walked around the city at night. There was a lot of it at the Yoga Forest too. Especially the last night that one of the girls from our retreat taught yoga. It w

5:11 pm Today was really fun. We hiked Volcan Pacaya! We took the longest bus/shuttle ride there. It ended up being 2.5 hours instead of the supposed 1.5 hours. It was along twisty turn roads too. There was a lot of traffic and the gas got to me but I was able to take a short nap. When we got there I was so happy to get out of the car! Once we got out of the car we had to pay our entrance fee and I tried to get to know some of the other people on our tour. Then we got introduced to our guide who was awesome! He spoke clear, slow Spanish that I could actually understand. Too bad no one else could speak Spanish because it would have been cool to do the whole tour in Spanish and see how much I could actually understand. Then we started the long hike to the top! It was all uphill but not too bad as we made frequent stops at the beautiful outlooks along the way. I was chatting with the other people on the trip who were pretty cool. Some from Spain, New Zealand, UK and Australia! The a

9:21 A We got a little turned around on our way to breakfast but glad we stuck with it and found it! At Fernando's Kaffe I ate crepes with fruit and chocolate. It was lovely and delicious! Such a cute place. 12:09pm We just checked into El Hostel and its so nice. People, young people, hanging out in the common space which has an open air courtyard. Melanie and I splurged on a double room for some privacy an its super cute! Theres a tree painted on the wall and its very colonial themed. It is a lot cleaner than out previous hostel, Hostel Capitan Tom. The woman was so nice and it was ok for the price but I feel much more at home here at this place. Its colorful, clean, decorated and lively. Its also in a cooler part of town with bars and young people. Granted the whole city is only like a mile by a mile... Its perfect though. 3:51pm Im back at El Hostel. Its nice to come back to a clean, relaxing place. This afternoon we were getting ready to do some exploring when a girl als

6:44pm Today Melanie and I packed up at the beautiful Earth Lodge. It was a little bit drizzly in the morning . We had to was up the steep hill with all of our things. I was pretty warm at the tom! Then we waited for the shuttle with some guy whose name starts with an M from Australia. He was an interesting fellow and we chatted about travel and life. It is always fun meeting cool travelers because they always have the best stories. Once we got to antigua I helped us all figure out how much the shuttle was because I was the one who spoke the most spanish. M-guy took off as soon as we got the money figured out, solo traveler. It took a bit to find our hostel. I had to ask for directions. Our Hostel Capitan Tom isn't fancy at all but the woman at the front desk is very nice. When we came in from the rain she told us to grab tea or coffee to stay warm (I won't mention that the sugar had bugs crawling in it...) We spent most of the afternoon walking around the city. We found t

4:04pm Its friday the thirteenth and I didn't even realize! So, today I slept in until 7 am and took an hour and a half nap mid-day. Ive had an annoying headache all day. I drank, ate and took a nap but it was still there. I think my sleep schedule is just weird... Melanie and I ate lunch (an avocado, pesto and grilled cheese sandwich. as good as it sounds) at the lodge and then went on a little adventure hike. There are little trails all over this mountain because of the locals. Thats how they get around. On the way to el mirador, the lookout, we were unsure if we were on the right path. We had a map but it wasn't very good. I asked almost everyone we passed of we were going the right direction. This little boy we first met was so cute. He asked in spanish if we were looking for el mirador. I said "si" and he pointed up the steep path and said "ariba!" up! So we continued up this horribly steep hill... I just spilled delicious popsicle all over myse

7:35am Im sitting next to a tree trunk in my tree house, looking at an amazing view of Antigua below, mountains and volcanoes surrounding. So lush and green. I didnt sleep very well because the light from the city shone so bright into where my bed was in the top portion of the tree house, where my bed is but it was ok. I miss the Yoga Forest and my friends from there. Yesterday we got to Antigua and had to say goodbye to another woman who had to get to the airport for her flight. The rest of us had some time to explore Antigua for a bit. First, We went to this awesome Mayan textile store that our retreat leader told us about. There were so many beautiful things! Thats where I bought an awesome tie for my Ty, haha.  Then it was time for lunch. We ate at some place that was close and convenient. The food was alright but the company was better :) After lunch we had to say goodbye to another woman from our group. I walked her to her shuttle so she wouldn't get lost be

So today was a travel day/ saying goodbye to my six women friends. Im pretty ok with goodbyes like that because Ive had to say goodbye a lot in the past. We took so many pictures together and then had coffee before our shuttle. Luckily we were all able to get in the same shuttle to Antigua. Saying goodbye to our retreat leader was hard. She ran after our shuttle for a minute and it was so cute that I almost started to tear up a little. The ride up the mountain was so beautiful and I was glad I got to see it during the day. The volcanoes/mountains over the lake were so stunning from up higher. I felt like I could see for forever! Then came the switchbacks... I dont know why we all felt ok on the way down (maybe not being able to see helped?) but most of us felt at least a little car sick cruising on those roads. We all chatted a lot about our adventure and our new blog on health and wellness. These girls are such an interesting bunch and I feel so close to them. I want to get to

11/11/15 10:15 pm Today was the last day of our retreat. Its a hard thing to say goodbye to these ladies who Ive gotten so close to. We are all going to Antigua together so I feel like its not exactly saying goodbye yet. This evening we did a dancing ceremony which was SO fun! This woman came and led it who was such a beautiful young spirit. She started out the night by handing out Glitter!!! I was so happy; it was the best thing ever. All of us had glitter everywhere so we sparkled as we moved. This woman played this tribal, EDM, irish infused shit that was so bad ass and the speakers even had colorful lights. It made us all want to move. We all just frolicked around this candle-lit open space without any judgement or care in the world! It was the best movement/dancing of my life because I felt like I could be myself, completely myself, without worrying about what others thought or feeling that I should "look cool". Each woman there had her own style of dancing and compl

9:22 pm Tonight we had our cacao/new moon ceremony and I left early. Ive been really tired lately and so I took my chance to leave when I could to come write and sleep early. It started out with a ton of us sitting around a fire. Id say close to 30 or more. The people leading the cacao ceremony prepared our cacao and then sent around mugs which we sweetened with honey. They were wearing these tall pointy brimmed hats, not like a witches hat like suuuuuper pointed. Apparently it takes a lot to make cacao. We started out with the new moon ceremony where we chanted songs and banged on drums. The woman who led this had a beautiful voice and so I didn't do much chant/singing but listened to her. Im also not much of a chanter... We then invited the four directions (NSEW) to join us by shaking our gourds in each direction after their invite. As we were doing this, I noticed that the stars were so bright and beautiful in the sky. At this point our fire started to die and I wanted s

Today was another one of our free days in San Marcos. I just did an energy massage which was really interesting. It was color therapy, reiki, chakra balancing and regular massage. So basically, I chose some colors that "called" to me and they meant something. The gist of what she said was that I need to talk about my feelings or they get bottled up inside, Im very in tune with the logical/rational part of my brain. Also, I am good at explaining things in different ways to different types of people and am my best when I am outdoors and surrounded by nature. Thats why Im an outdoor educator! Then she gave me a shoulder/face massage and some reiki on my head and Ive never gotten that before but it was nice. Then came the chakra balancing which was bizarre. She tapped on the part of my body that corresponded with the chakra and then tried to separate my hands which were together above my head. My third and fifth chakras were out of balance because my hands separated so easily

11/9/2015 10:03pm I just had a very magical experience, but let me give you the events leading up to this magical experience.  All us girls went into the sauna together which was this little adobe/rock-like hut which one of the men stocked with fire to keep it hot. It was a Mayan sauna. It was pretty hot in there with all of us but it felt great. We all sang some songs because it had a nice echo inside. We were all talking girl talk which I haven’t done in forever and I talked about how awesome science is and Bill Nye. Nerd status.  Anyway, so we are all deciding to leave and our retreat leader accidentally grabs onto the hot pole which heats the building. She puts some cold water on it right away and some try to assist her. A few of us decide to get moving and B decides she's gonna stay for a bit but a second later she comes out holding her hand and says “I just did the exact same thing!” So, B joins the group tending to the other burned hand. For a minute Im thinking I

11/9/2015 9:43am I pooped! haha I ate SO much food at breakfast in the hopes that it would push something through and it did. I also didn't mind hanging out in the bathroom with the amazing views for a little longer than normal. Im getting eaten alive by sand flies. My ankles are soooooo itchy but not as bad as my bites in the VI and the other girls are worse… I havent seen myself in a mirror since the airport and its weird but also liberating. I dont judge myself as much and mostly focus on my inner beauty and how I feel I look (which is awesomesause!). I do like to see what I look like though cause Im not bad looking and I like to confirm that sometimes. lol I am lounging on the hammock in the sun outside my bungalow, cabin, whatever. Its pretty perfect. And now I feel like I want to take a nap…

11/7/2015 11:56 am The bathroom views are amazing! I took a poo yesterday looking out at the lake and volcanoes in the distance. Absolutely stunning. I dont mind taking my time in the bathroom with views like that! 11/8/2015 3:36pm We had a day of exploration in San Marcos today. First the group of girls went to hang out by the lake, Lago Atitlan. It was very rocky, like a cliff-side almost. Not like a beach at all. But we climbed down the rocks to check out the water and it was cool, but not cold like lake Michigan. I put my feet in the water and soaked in the morning sun.  Its SO fun to chat with all the ladies here. I feel like Im a part of something and they all have such interesting things to say. I want to know all about them! 9:45pm This morning’s yoga was taught by one of the girls in my group, K. I love taking classes by people I know because it brings a whole new level to the experience. She came around and did excellent adjustments and it was so calming.

11:44am I just got through some writing exercises and the girls in my retreat are wonderful! I feel like I can be myself around them. The property is so beautiful. Its very one-with-nature. Compost toilets, biodegradable products, farm animals, gardens and all of us hardly produce any trash. Nothing is disposable, lots of reusables and everyone is thinking about how they can make a smaller footprint. But its not hard, its just how it is. They make it really easy to be more connected to nature. 5:52pm Its that time of night, dusk, where people turn on lights but its still just light enough to see. I LOVE this time, only when I can really appreciate it. Like camping, or glamping like I feel like I'm doing now. Its so peaceful and quiet. The night animals start to come out and the daytime animals get sleepy. Like me now, been a long few days with not a whole lot of sleep. Ive been relaxing on the hammock outside the cabana after dinner and could probably fall asleep but we have a

The following is a conglomeration of journal writings that I made about my travel day to San Marcos, Guatemala and some additions to make it all run together smoothly: 11/5/15 6:60am Chicago I JUST made my first flight. It helped that the dude behind me in the security line was on my flight. We chatted a bit about travel and it eased my mind a little. I get so stressed out when Im not early... I had to take the earliest bus from Milwaukee at 4:30 am. I slept three hours. 10:55am ATL I think I smell... I didn't do that deodorant thing this morning. Whatever. I had less than an hour layover and had to run through the huge ATL airport to get to my gate. I got there with a bit of time though which is nice. Im between two not so fun humans. One is a very large man who thinks he can have half of my seat (though at least he seems nice) and an older woman who I don't think speaks good spanish or engligh. Also, when she's passed out its fine but as soon as she wakes up, the