Luces Campero

Well, again I'm way late on my posts, there is just so much to do these days... shopping, shopping, oh and more shopping. I think I haven't gained any extra pounds because of all the walking in the malls! We are almost done with presents, thank goodness, and we also bought a 20lb turkey for Christmas dinner, the thing is huge!
Holidays in Guate start with La Quema del Diablo, I didn't post anything because I was working and spent pretty much all day there, when my mom picked me up after work it was all over. Plus this year a youth organization started a program to recycle paper instead of burning, I really like this idea because the planet doesn't need thousands of people burning stuff right now and also because they were going to sell everything they gathered to a recycling company and use the money to buy food for families in need.

Well, on the 12th we had the infamous Luces Campero, it has been this way since I have memory. Family comes to my grandma's house, which is like having honor seats to watch the show. So many people comes to watch them that the traffic police has to close the streets, all for a half hour firework and music show.
Little Diego (almost 5yo) really enjoyed it this time, in the past he was too scared of all the noise and the exploitions. I have some video of the highlights of the show, you can hear him in the back squealing with joy haha. The show is called La Noche de los Deseos (the night of wishes) so he thought every firework was a chance for a wish, wanna know what he asked for? "MUCHO DINERO!" (LOTS OF MONEY!) haha he can crack us up. We had a great time.
Like many other countries, it has gotten cold here, very cold, it rained for a couple of days but we are having sunshine again which is great, otherwise all the fireworks joy at midnight would have been ruined!

Now, on to the video and pics! It's a bit long but it's worth it

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

p.s. This is post # 100! finally!!

had a crappy fist day at work

yes, it was awful! I had NO IDEA of what I was doing!! I kept getting calls I didn't know what to do, I was in panic, I wrote down everything and said I was going to send their money back, redelivery, whatever the system told me to, but have no idea if I actually did!?
I scored a 100 in all the training tests, but those where nothing compared to actually taking calls!
I left the place horrified, I felt like a big failure, and the worst part is that I am dreading the time to go back for another 5 hours of hell!!
I might be exaggerating , but I feel like I dont need to go thru all that but I don't want to be a quitter though by this thoughts I already am!! It never crossed my mind that it would be so hard!
Jesus!!! Help me!!!!!

Ok, I took a little time while writing this post, and decided I'm going to face my fears, at least for today, maybe it will be better right? (please God make it better!!). I don't want to feel like a loser and regret the fact that I didn't try. (big sigh...) Let's do this.

And for a personal record... Silvia Navarro my fav actress inspired me not to give up on this kind of issues.

This blog neglecting girl has a job

Yes, this was my 3rd day. I am on training for 1-800-flowers.com, did my interview last wednesday, another interview on the phone with a new yorker (that went very well, I had compliments on my english!) and I was hired on friday. They are offering temporary positions since it's a high season for sales and costumer service, so instead of the 3 week training we are going to have 1 week and they we are thrown to the "platform" to recieve calls from all over the world, especially the US.
I will probably work there for 3 weeks, at least I can earn some money to buy my books for next year, and maybe, just maybe some clothes and shoes?
I am not aware of many things happening outside since I will sit for 8 hours (2 to 10pm) in front of a computer and talking on the phone, but we are having very nice weather, traffic is starting to be a problem with the holidays getting closer and we set our tree and Chirstmas stuff until today, it looks really pretty...
I feel bad because my mom has to stay up until 10pm to pick me up, I will have to work even on sundays and probably Christmas day or New Year's Eve! :s

Happy Thanksgiving day

To all my american friends reading this blog, we don't celebrate Thanksgiving in Guate but what better day to be thankful for friendship and all the blessings in our lives?! Of course we have to be thankful everyday.
Well, the days when we stuff ourselves with delicious food are coming so I'm just going to be patient... I already have a few more pounds on me so...

We had another earthquake today... God! It was soooo scary!! I know I always say that but this one was really terrible! My mom was so close to a panic attack, I was on the verge of tears and we were about to run down stairs and out of the building when it stopped.
According to the news it was 6 degrees in the Richter scale and happened in El Salvador, though we could feel it in many places here.
There were reports of material damages in houses and buildings but no one got hurt, thank goodness.

My grandma is back from her trip, she's very happy, had a great time and came back with lots of funny stories to tell, believe me they are all very special. It's great that she got to be with her brothers and sisters, she hardly ever sees them, specially sinces my great-grandma passed a couple of years ago. We've got to make this kind of reunions more often!


We got to skype with "sweetpea" (Angelina decided that is her new name) and her family. We got to meet her aunt and uncle, her grandma and our dear friend Joan were there too. Andrea and Angelina are so cute! Andrea showed us her pink skates and Angelina just wanted to sing the "monkey's song" and jump in her trampolin. Truly adorable.
I am thankful for Angelina, for her wonderful family, for getting to see her grow up and just know how loved she is and how happy she is with her family. We sure miss her a lot, and think about her everyday, but we know she is doing great. And that brings peace to our minds and hearts.

holiday season!

Yes, holiday season has officialy started in Guate, Christmas decorations everywhere, the Arbol Gallo lights up every night and Avenida Reforma too, it has been like that for 24 years now, its a tradition that started in Guate City and now is done all around the country. We even have a Chirstmas parade today, not that we are going to watch it, it's a little bit far from home.



We are having GORGEOUS weather, and I can't believe how fast time passes! It's my grandma's birthday today but she went away in a trip to her home town, to celebrate with her twin sister, more sisters, nephews and nieces who live there and we hardly ever see. It's hard for her to leave like this, she doesn't like to leave her house and the students living there are still going to school and she doesn't have a rest until they are gone. Anyway, I will have to stay at her house until she comes back, that's next wednesday, I am the only one who doesn't have anything better to do :s haha Oh well... I am armed with my laptop and books and TV and that will have to do.
Oh and cousin Brandon's 14th birthday was yesterday, we didn't see him all day but we sent him his present and they (his brother and my brother) headed to the mall to buy more Yu-gi-oh! (or however that is spelled?) cards for their collection.
We had pizza and ice cream cake last night, it was yummie and we had a good time. I have no picture since my sister took the camera :(

BUT... we got pictures from Angie's mom a few days ago, their 09 Christmas pics, both girls looked beautiful in their dresses and hair bows! Goodness I love them to death! I'm leaving you with my fav pic of the bunch!

I LOVE YOU BABY GIRL!

p.s. I have a new nephew! he was born on wednesday o thursday, not sure :s he's name is Javier (everyone calls him Javi!) he's really big and and beautiful! When did I stop having cousins and start having nieces and nephews??!! (sigh...)

feeling the winter

winter is showing its face around here. It's been a few days now with rain, cold, clouds, you know, that kind of day when all you want is to stay in bed all warm and cozy. Not my kind of weather really, this year has been pretty hot, the rainy season is coming waayy late. It means we are using sweaters, scarf, boots or sneakers, I even wore gloves yesterday... GLOVES!! and I am Miss I.Always.wear.Sandals for Christ sake!
Anyway, we did have a couple of hours of sunshine today, then the rain came back :( , this is all because of a hurricane near Nicaragua that is now heading north. They said in the news the rain will be over by the 10th and then we can expect more cold. Great! ¬¬

I got a call from the call center I was trying to work for, they wanted to hire me!! too bad the schedules they were offering were way different from the times my mom can drive me. And as dangerous as it has been around lately, I rather stay home with no money but safe. I mean seriously, there have been attacks to police cars and 17 to 20 people are killed every day due to violence. I had to say no.


News from the US, little Angie, my sweet girl, it's going to school now with her sister. Her mommy told us that according to her teacher, Miss Megan (she has mentioned her on skype talks), she is the smartest in her group and is really good paying attention in class and follows instructions very well! Believe me she is sooo smart, I mean she had words at 9 months old! and at age 2 she has 4 and 5 words sentences! God I love this child to pieces.
We get to see both babies every friday now, which is great, though within a week there is not much to talk about, our life is not that exciting. lol!

Have a great week!

xoxo

the pics... finally

I am so sorry it took me so long to upload the pics, I've been using the laptop lately and I have no pics or anything there yet.

I'll let the pics do all the talking and show the fun. I'm doing a double post and I'm adding pics from my night out last week and some from November 1st, when we celebrate "Dia de todos los Santos". Families gather, visit the graveyards to put flowers to their gone loved ones and eat Fiambre a delicious dish with all kinds of ingredients and it's yummie!!
For some reason some pics are a little grainy but I think they do the job...


Now, here are some pics of November 1st at my grandma's. I have no pics of the graveyard because my sister took the camera, we went there on the 31st because it gets way too crowded on the 1st, even if it was a day before the holiday there was a lot of peoples and flowers where everywhere, pretty nice! Abuelita Mary made a beautiful flower arrangement for my uncle's grave.

we had a little photoshoot right before eating, we are all so grown up! He looks so proud!

Abuelito Tuti ROCKS!!

Grandchildren

a close-up to the Fiambree! DELICIOUS!

we really enjoyed the time together, we bought this Fiambre from my uncle's mother in law. My grandma used to make it herself but it takes time and money to accomplish this.

with our bellies FULL!


NIGHT OUT WITH FRIENDS!!!

"little" Max being funny ¬¬

sipping some "playa azul" - those were good!

MARGARITAS!!

I don't know about you but I think the waiters shirt's were AWFUL!!!

I think we look cute in this one, I love the blouse I was wearing (thanks daddy!)

Can you tell we were having fun??!!

cute gurls!! Those drinks are "sex in the beach"... what a name!

After four rounds of drinks and food, we headed (well not all of us, just me and 3 more girls) to Ana Lucia's house for a sleep-over night. I wont post any pics of that since all the glamour was gone and we just chatted until 3 am. My mom showed up at 8:30 am when we were just waking up... the woman can live without me lol... we are inseparable.


Hope you liked them!


xoxo

wondering what happened?

Well, no job, my guess is that they didn't like the fact that I am a med student and I am most likely to quit after a couple of months. They didn't want to give me neither the full time nor the morning part time schedule! arghh! They did point the fact that my english and accent is pretty good and that if I stayed I could be promoted quickly... anyway what they were offering did not work well for us, the whole idea was to drop both me and my sister in the morning and then pick us up at night... Anyway... I don't know if you picked it from the last post but I didn't really want to work! (don't tell my mom! and...was it really obvious?) Oh and please don't think I screwed up my own interview, Im just not that kind of person, I gave my best, they didn't want me.
It was a call center for a Texas Energy Company, basically they answer calls from people who has trouble with their electric bills, whose energy service was cut or whatever... my sister said you get yelled at all the time and people are very rude. As soon as she noticed what account it was she said "This account sucks! don't take the job".... my answer? ¬¬

In other news, I opened a facebook account for my mom today, a lot of her childhood are showing up and they all ask for a fb account, she had to have one! we spent over an hour searching picture files and picking pics to upload to her profile! she picked 8, she wanted more but I was starting to get exasperated, seriously we have tons of pictures!

It's little Andrea's Birthday today so a BIG

HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY!!

for her, she is such a beautiful child, inside and out.
We love her so very much!

I'm sorry I will leave the pics for tomorrow, this thing just won't upload them and it's making everything go super S-L-O-W!


xoxo

Night out , Update & New Job??

I got my grades today and I am oficially off of school for this year, I am on vacation (finally!!!)
I was really longing for some free time and so I thought this next two months I would be home with my mom and brother and keep feeding my internet addiction as long as I could until it was time to put full focus on my studies again... WRONG!
I have a job interview tomorrow, if they hire me I'll be working full time for the next two months doing costumer service in a call center getting calls from all over America... this call center has several accounts that provide different assistance of which I have no idea. I have to go under a training period of time and then I'll start answering calls. Not my idea of a vacation to be honest but at least I will have my own money for the first time, and I can even get Christmas presents for my family and some clothes for myself which I really really need! Ooohh! and save money so we can get our visas! I HAVE TO SEE MY BABY GIRL!!
I'll let you know how the interview goes... I got the call like an hour after I sent the email, so now can you tell how much the fact of speaking english can help you when you want a job??



I so enjoy seeing Angie and her family every friday night, I guess that will have to change. Angelina is getting so big, she's going to school now with her big sister. They are both so smart! I love the fact that she knows who we are and that we love her beyond words.
She is quite the dancer let me tell you, and LOVES her mommy, she gets prettier by the day and her temper is the same than when she was here with us. Little Andrea on the other hand is full of energy, she never stops but is the sweetest little girl, LOVES her mommy and sister and has a crush on my brother LOL she goes wild every time she sees him. They are both super cute!

Oh I went out with some friends yesterday, we went to this place called LaPlaya (the beach) they pull this thing on tuesdays and thursdays where all the drinks are 4x1 for women!! we had to take advantage of that! LOL we were celebrating we are on vacation and free of school for long enough, next year will be rough and only to get even more rough in the years to come... living in the hospital and stuff... (sigh).... long and hard road ahead. Lets pray for the best.
Pictures are to be posted tomorrow! stay tuned!


xoxo

I am not alone! :D

A friend posted this at Facebook and I loved it, seems like I am not alone in this world, even with people older than me, I agree with what she says in a lot of ways, even if it doesn't really have to do with my religion or lifestyle (which are very different by the way). And it's my choice to stay this way, I know I am not missing anything too great. It's just not my time yet, and if the time never comes I won't need anything from anybody to be happy and have a fulfilling life!

27 year old virgin

P.D. I know, I know... long time no post... its been kind of crazy around here lately, it's not that there are no posting themes, I actually write posts in my head all the time, just not enough time or energy to do it... plus I am a huge FB junkie :s!!
Now that my finals are "over" ¬¬ I might have more time to post or take pictures to post or whatever... (did I sound mad or sarcastic?... that's another post... ha!)

more pics & video!

I made this slide because it's easier to upload them and I also added a couple of videos from the independence parades we witnessed while we were in Flores, Petén.
Watching the parades brought so many memories to me, I used to be one of those children and young men and women, wearing my costume or uniform or holding the school flag or the guatemalan flag, well the videos in the slide were taken at night but there are also parades at noon, which are terrible for the kids, I remember losing my skin from the sun burns! ugh!
Anyway, it's amazing how much work and thought they put into the costumes and the dancing and acting shows they present at the park or wherever they end up.
Oh how I wanted to be in those little shows, or play something in the school band, but I was too shy and small to carry any instrument! lol!

Hope you like it, though I warn you it's a little long :s Sorry if there are some pics that I had already posted!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

also, we've been having some hot weather lately along with some rain. I am actually glad the rain is coming back, since this has been the driest year from the last 30 years and is causing serious trouble with the harvest all over the country, and at the same time leaving whole families with literally nothing to eat, I hate to see children and parents pleading for food and help. Thank goodness this has brought generosity out of a lot of people both here in Guate and internationally. This independence day really showed how we want to make this a better country and that we are starting to show how much we all love Guate.

we are back!

We came back home on Monday evening, to be honest we could not stand the HOT weather any longer! We felt like we were melting, it got better after the sun went down, but still it was really hot. This has been a very hot year, even here in the city!
Don't get me wrong, we had a great time, lots of beautiful sights, and we got to see some friends and family that we hadn't seen in a long while.
I think that the best thing of all was spending time together, we had a lot of that in the road. It took us 9 and a half hours to get to Flores, a ride that would usually take about 7 hours. That's because it was raining heavily in some parts of the highway and then we got stuck in a trailer/truck wreck. Anyway, we were laughing and singing the whole time in the car, and thank goodness for the A/C!

We had a good time at Flores, even with the hot weather and all, it has changed a lot since the time we used to live there, there are a lot more hotels and nice things like a new levee, which is not finished yet but almost...
The opening of the stadium was really fun, lots of family members, good food and an astonishing view of the Petén Itzá Lake. Seems like my uncle has helped that little town a lot, it is really nice.

Well, enough yapping and lets get into the pictures, I know that is what you're waiting for

Here we are... having a photoshoot while we waited in the road




This is one of the sights on the way to the stadium




The sights of San José, Petén... this is another soccer field in the town


The sight from the new stadium, we used the view to strike some poses, my sister is a natural...



Here's my brother sporting the family futbol uniform, they played twice that day



The team, all uncles and nephews got their uniforms


Mom and Dad showing some love lol!


The levee (is that the right word?)


Nice! I think we look cute in this one! We stayed there for about 15 minutes and that was it... it was 10 am and it was about 100.4º!



This is the island's church, it was way too hot to be inside with it full of people so we waited outside and just listened to the sermon

Here we are, sitting in the park infront of the church

Ok, I will include more pics in my next post so stay tuned! I have a LOT!

RoadTrip!

Oh Yeah! we are going on a trip to our home town, well, my parents hometown. There is a big family reunion there and luckily we all have vacation, which is pretty rare. We leave today at noon and will be coming back probably on Monday.
We are going to Flores, Petén. A little island that has changed a lot from the time we used to live there and it's pretty nice and most important... it's HOT! I mean the weather is super hot there which is one of the reasons we left.
Anyway, we are determined to have fun and enjoy this few days together, on the road for 7 hours if we are lucky and don't have to stop many times on our way :s
I'm looking forward to see some old friends and family that we haven't seen in a while.
It's been a crazy week, my dad's bday last wednesday, aunt Sofi's bday on thursday and we are leaving today!
Promise to take a lot of pics to share with you when I come back! It truly is a beautiful place!

P.S. in other news I got my grades from the last exams.... I did Great! Oh my goodness I am proud of myself; I got my hands into a female corpse to check the reproductive organs; Independence day next tuesday, September 15th! Lots of parades and flags around. I love Guatemala!

August Birthdays Part 2

That's my brother's birthday, he turned the big 16!
He is such a good boy, I love him so much, I don't know if it because he spends so much time with us girls but he is really a good boy. He is so into sports, seriously he is all about training, playing soccer or whatever sport he finds.
I love how responsible and how caring he is. Oh and he is so handsome!
Well as most birthdays we celebrate, we just ordered pizza (that's because my brother wanted, cause my mom had cooked dinner already, he insisted he deserved to have something else...) and had some cake. Then we just talked and had a good time together!

By the way, I am soo late in my post, I have a couple of drafts waiting to be finished!

This is my little brother, Jose Antonio, but we call him Tonito! I love him sooo much!

The birthday cake! Yumm!

I love my brother and sister!

The girls!enjoying the pizza, you can see my dad and my sister's boyfriend in this one

August Birthdays part 1

August 12th is my uncle's birthday. I have to admit I have no idea of how old he is but we sure love him a ton! He is my mom's brother, the only one since uncle Byron passed away a few years ago :,(
Tio Marito (as we call him) has a great sense of humor and it's a great dad, they are now expecting their second child (fingers crossed hoping it's a girl! My sister and I are the only girls in my mom's side of the family).

Ok, his mother in law cooked a very special dinner for him, so they invited the rest of our family and tia Sofi's family, well... enough talking let's get to the pics!

first of all, the kids! can you tell they love the Power Rangers?

The Family of four

Birthday boy and his pretty nieces! ;)

after the fabulous dinner!