Third Goal

puppy love

in a rare moment of stillness, my host sister cuddles her new puppy

Sparkly.

Some of the boys making flowers to decorate a car for the Parade. What you don't know from this picture is that about 30 seconds after I took it, a major Glittler-throwing war began and ended with about 10 sparkly 13 year old boys. It was quite hillarious. 

Flowers.

Some of the girls making flowers out of plastic bottle to decorate a car with for the Parade. I was impressed with their creativity!

The Masses.

Feria, Day #1. Early in the morning, the Premaria (elementary school) students had a parade throughout town (which I encountered while out running errands). The parade ended up here at this futbol field directly in front of my house where the announcer gave the statistics for the school and the kids got to do their dance in front of everyone. But what you can't hear in Michael Jackson playing in the background which makes this scene truly magical...

Conservative?

As conservative as Guatemalan culture is, especailly in my site where the majority of the population is indigenous and wear their traditional "Traje," It was amazing for me to see the outfits my kids wore for the Feria - or the town Fair, as in this picture. But they were so proud as they were dancing down the streets of our town. I couldn't help but be proud!

Helping Hands

Traditional handicraft is a huge part of our Amerindian village's culture and identity.  Hats, fans, necklaces, baskets, a backpack of sorts called a Warshi, and other items are made from the surrounding resources.  They use certain vines, grasses, and the leaves of the Ite' Palm to create the items and then use them till they degrade to the point that they can't use them anymore. In trying to preserve part of their culture, older members of the community hold small seminars and invite the yo...

Village Art Day

Mountains in Naxchivan

This photo was taken during the 2010 Novrus holiday on our way to visit a holy place in the mountains.

Spring time in Azerbaijan

This photo was taken during the Novrus holiday in Naxchivan, Azerbaijan. The beginning of spring was warm causing all the trees to bloom early before a quick freeze just in time for the holiday.

Moments of awareness

One of the most difficult parts of becoming a volunteer is the Pre-Service Training prior to swearing into the US Peace Corps. This photo was taken in our training community, and seeing this type of thing every day helped us to become more aware of just how different life was going to be for us.