“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.”

The T.S Eliot quote (one of my favs) felt appropriate as this past month I have been able to watch people do things they once thought was not possible; or at least were highly unlikely. I also saw that I should not doubt myself, but, this time, that was not the best part.

Xela to Lake Trek

Since arriving in Guate, I have heard about a hike you can do from Quetzaltenango (second largest city in Guatemala) to Lake Atitlan. People who had done it talked about it and two friends (Krista and Ashleigh) had talked about wanting to do it. I am always up for a hike, so I was in without knowing anything about it. If you care to know, go here: http://www.quetzaltrekkers.com/guatelagoatitlan.html.

Getting ready to head out, day 1

So we planned it for the last long weekend of the school year. Ten of us were going. As the date neared, nerves started getting the better of some. No doubt it would be a hard hike: three days, full backpacks, 45 km, elevations of 3050m; but never did I think anyone would not make it. Others were not so sure. Lucky for them, others of us don't let people back off :)

The hike was amazing. We went through beautiful cloud and rainforests, numerous small villages, and had a great time. There was a lot of laughing, some beautiful singing; everyone was easily getting along with each other. But there were also doubt. There were many times when I heard "I think I am going to catch the bus at the next road crossing" or "tomorrow I am just going to ___ and then will take the bus the rest of the way." But it did not happen. And it did not even take all that much encouragement! With each point we passed still as a group, I felt more and more excited. It is a trip I would take again (assuming there is not a new adventure out there to grab) and will always remember.

Enjoying the hike!

End of day 1.  Tired, but still going!

Children in one of the villages we passed through on day 2

Having fun at sunrise over Lake Atitlan - and a great new cover photo for this blog :)

Coban Medio Maraton

Another thing I heard about again and again was the 1/2 marathon in Coban. It is the biggest race (numbers, not distance) in Guatemala, but what I heard from people did not make me really want to do it. I heard that it was hilly and hard, it was a miserable run, there were too many people, and any number of other un-encouraging things. But, I had friends (Kelly and Pam) who were going to run it and figured I should do it at least once; it is the biggest after all.

I was initially excited, but as my training started going down the gutter, I was getting less and less so. It is difficult to run in Guate unless you don't mind doing lap after lab or you have a car to take you places more conducive (aka safer) to running. I started thinking I wasn't going to run. But Kelly somehow knew and took me to sign up. I think she has a 6th sense about it, because as I was getting frustrated with the fact that a long run meant 15+ laps around school, she asked if I wanted to join them on their weekend run. I was starting to feel better about the whole thing, until I pulled something in my calf (or at least I think that is what it was, I never actually got it looked at as I put off doctors as long as possible). At one point I actually thought "yes I have an out." But that was not the case as it only took a week to heal. So, I was packed and heading to Coban to run a race that I heard is terrible, feeling quite unprepared for the whole thing.

I don't know if my training was better than I thought or if the people just gave me the energy I needed, but the race was amazing. I have done races that are more beautiful (Desert Rats in Fruita, for one), but never have I been so overwhelmed by people. On the whole course, the biggest space between people cheering was not larger than 20 meters. My favorite moment was coming down a hill to arrive in a town where the streets were lined with girls in traditional clothing singing. If I had a camera, I would have stopped to film it. It was so beautiful; I had tears in my eyes. I have never experienced anything like that. Hopefully I will again some day.

One of the lead runners passing the singing girls.  I love this photo!

Amazing how photogenic I am when running :P

In the end, I ran faster than I thought I would and only had trouble the last 3K. I think part of it was the energy of the people, but I also think that I (as I tend to do) had underestimated what I was capable of.

Kelly and Pam, much more photogenic :)

After finishing, I waited at the finish for my friends. Security asked many times for me to go, get my metal, and relax, but I was not going anywhere (I just pretended I did not understand!). This was the first 1/2 marathon for both Kelly and Pam and I was going to be there at the finish to cheer them on. Being able to watch them finish once again brought tears to my eyes, they were amazing.

Tired and happy finishers!

I think goals are an important part of life. I know I am more motivated in all parts of my life when I have big goals, and not much is better than the feeling of achieving something you once doubted you could do. I love it for myself, and love sharing those times with others. It is something that can never be taken away.

Next goal: Miami marathon, January 2013 :)

A little bit of this and that...

I feel like moving to a new country and starting a new job should lead to things so exciting that I have great things to tell people every day. I am not sure if that is not the case or if I am just failing to see the novelty in what I am doing. Maybe it is a little of each. Tomorrow the students come and I should be moving out of the hotel and into my condo; both of those will bring novelty that I don't think I will be able to overlook. I will let you know. In the meantime, here is a little about what has been going on:

Food

In one word – difficult. There are not a lot of vegetarians in Guatemala and the restaurants show that. As I am living in a hotel, I am eating out almost every day. This has made my diet pretty crummy. 

Problems:

 #1 → restaurants rarely have more than two veggie options. 

#2 → These two options usually involve tortillas, beans, and cheese (not bad, just not good every night). #3 → I don't know all the spanish words for different kinds of meat (I have had to ignored my rule of not eating “contaminated” food). 

#4 → for Guatemalans carne = beef so a meal “sin carne” could have chicken, bacon, fish, etc. 

All of these problems could easily be solved if I just decided to eat meat, but after 9 years that is a little hard to do. I am hoping it will all be better once I am cooking my own food and not eating out every day. All that said, I did have an amazing meal this evening at a Mayan restaurant: roasted eggplant with pine nuts.

Fitness

Before I left I was doing something active almost every day. I would run with the Attack Pack twice (sometimes three times) a week, dace three-four days a week, yoga usually once a week, and a number of bike rides and hikes mixed in for good measure. In the 17 days I have been here, three have involved working out. I used the treadmill one (I would rather not run, than run on a treadmill), played soccer (that was humerus), and today I ended up walked around for over four hours (not a planned workout, but I'll take it). Running is quite difficult as there are rarely quality sidewalks and it is not always safe for me as a female to be running alone. I could run at the school (the campus is huge) and may start doing so, it is just hard after being so spoiled in C/S. I am hoping to wrangle some other teachers into running so I don't lose what I have.

School

Front of my classroom (we fixed the Mrs)

The inside when I 1st walked in

The view from my classroom

Amazing. I am so spoiled at this school. Teachers in the US, you may want to stop reading because I guarantee you will be jealous. We have a "day 1/day 2" schedule that rotates from one to the other. On day 1, I teach three 70 minute science classes, have a 10 minute advisory, and 140 mins of plan time (not including the 45 mins for lunch and recess). On day 2, I teach two 70 minute science classes and a 30 minute exploratory (I get to pick the topic), have a 10 min advisory, and 210 mins of plan time (again, not counting the 45 mins for lunch and recess). So, in two days, I teach 380 mins and have 350 mins of plan (plus 90 mins for lunch and recess). In addition to all that plan time,I have helpers to make all my copies and a science lab teacher who sets up and cleans up after all labs. All of this in a place that has no inside hallways and enormous windows in every classroom, an amazing administration, and great, positive, fun teachers from both the US and Guatemala. There will probably be a point where school will be stressful and I will want to complain. I hope you all give me a hard time if I ever do.

Wistfulness

Current events in Colorado have caused me a lot of longing. First was the Pikes Peak Ascent. My favorite race. I missed it and so many of my friends were involved. I know it will be there in the future, but I had a hard time reading of others experiences and successes when I am stuck in a lack of fitness routine. Second is the Pro Cycling Challenge. I really got into the Tour de France this year, and to have the opportunity to see them all riding through my hometown would be amazing. But while they are all there, I am here. I keep trying to remind myself that my experience here will be much more than what I could get from a few days of watching (and probably stalking) professional cyclists. I am not being as successful as I would like but I know I will make it through :)

So, that is all for now. Guess it was not such a positive post, regardless, I am enjoying myself.  Students start tomorrow and I am sure I will have a lot to share in that regard. If nothing else, the fact that I am going from teaching low income students to kids wealthy and powerful enough to own helicopters and have their own body guards could be an interesting adjustment...