Meet the Brownios

My lil bro has been galavanting around Europe for the past 7 months or so. I have been getting lots of questions about how he is, where he is, when hes coming home etc so I thought I would give a little update. After attending bibleschool in Austria for 3 months he bought a car and has been driving around/living out of it like a hobo :) Some of the countries/cities hes been to include(in no particular order); Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Prague, Romania, Poland, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Morrocco, France, Holland, England, and Scotland. (sorry if I forgot any Kris). Currently he is in Scotland and absolutely loving it.     

AND as of three weeks from now...he will be in SEATTLE!!! Hooray! The prodigal son has returned! :)

Even though I won't be there for the homecoming I am super excited that he has seen the world, met some awesome people, had many many adventures, and is returning safe and sound. How long he'll stay here though is a different story ;)

WELCOME (almost) HOME KRISSY!! oh hes gonna love that :)

Last weekend some of the girls at school decided to get away from the hustle and bustle of the ciudad and get some R&R at the beach! Monterrico is a little village located on a bbeeeaaauuuuttiful black sand beach. In order to get there we had to take a 'ferry' along a mangrove lined river - very romantic :)

It was pretty eye-opening for us to get out of Antigua, which is a relatively rich city, and into the 'real' Guatemala.

Our 'Ferry'

The girls relaxing in front of the hotel. We got a room that was right on the beach, with a great pool, and mucho hammocks for $4/night - Crazy!

Oh but don't forget the free mosquito nets, discoteca music in the middle of the night, and of course the stained sheets. I love traveling!

La Playa

Monterrico is known for its fresh and fantastic seafood so of course we had to try it. Little did we know, we were being a little more adventurous than we thought! Above is the 'fried fish', below is the shark...before they cook it of course!

Monterrico is also known for its eco-tourism. There is a company that harvests turtle eggs from the beach so animals, tourists, etc can't kill them. Each Saturday they release all the baby tortuegas that were born during the week into the ocean to begin their fight for survival. It was actually a very sad thing to watch. For 10Q you can 'buy' a baby turtle and race them against other baby turtles. The person whos turtle gets across the line first gets a free dinner. So, they still get released to the ocean but not before getting handled, dropped, and yelled at by a bunch of lame tourists.
One thing this trip has taught me thus far, I am definitely not a fan of 'tourist' :(

So after two full weeks I am finally getting some pictures up of school. Mi escuela se llama Christian Spanish Academy. CSA es muy bonita! I spend the first 5 hours of my day here getting one-on-one lessons con mi maestra Claudia.
In the afternoons I usually return after a quick lunch to take advantage of the free wi-fi, cafe y

Mi maestra Claudia es muy interesante! Yo no estoy aburrido en la clase de espanol...:)

 

Just kidding! I LOVE Claudia! Ella es el meyor maestra en la escuela :)

I survived climbing a Volcano!! Just barely though J We got so close to the lava I thought my legs were going to burn off, scary!! The hike up was muy buen, not too hard but just enough to make me feel like I was getting some exercise J. Once up we had the most amazing view of the valley. This country is seriously the most beautiful place I have ever seen.
The tour included a ride to the Volcano, which was about an hour and a half away from Antigua, and provided us with a great guide - all for US $6!! Guatemala is so cheap!! Enjoy the pictures!

We had to leave bright and early - 5:45am!! Can you tell I'm tired?? :)

This rooster was guarding the toilets we used before the hike. Let me tell you they were not pleasant:) Actually, none of the toilets here are very pleasant. The pipes can't handle any toilet paper so you have to throw it in the garbage can next to the toilet. yuck. I feel sorry for whoever has to take out the garbage!

A bunch of locals kept following us REALLY close w/ their horses. Just in case we got too tired to go on and had to get a 'taxi' up the mountain :) We were more concerned with the horses stepping on us then getting too tired to go on.

The walk up was enchanting - Thru lush foliage, past magical white horses that looked like unicorns, thru maize fields, and as our guide helpfully pointed out...by free Leche(milk) if we were thirsty! Gross!! ;)

The Volcano smoking in the distance

The view from the top - That is Volcan Agua in the distance which is really close to Antigua

The base of Volcan Pacaya. Tell me this does not look like Mordor...I know its nerdy but I couldn't help thinking that! I kept waiting to hear..."FRODO!!"
haha :)

Yes that is lava people. Muy miedo (scary!). We were within 10 feet of it and man was it HOT!!

A Brit in our tour group had the BRILLIANT idea of bring some mallows to roast over the lava! They were muy delicioso!!

There were lots of stray dogs at the bottom that wanted our food. Lisa was sad that she couldn't feed them all :(

Go Team Puma!!

I have only been here 5 days but I have already settled into a pretty consistent routine. Here is the day in the life of a Guatemalan wanna-be :)
6:00am Wake up!
Get ready and do some quick studying to make sure I didn’t forget everything I learned the day before J

7:00am Desayuno/Breakfast
El desayuno de typical Guatemala/The typical Guatemalan breakfast consists of:
                        - huervos/scrambled eggs with tomato and onion
                        - frijoles/black beans(usually mashed)
                        - fried plantanos (bananas)
                        - pan, pan, and more pan (lots of breadJ)
            My house mom is so sweet she has also made me pancake de Americano, cereal w/ fruta, and mosh (like oatmeal)

8:00am - 1:00pm School

            I am studying one-on-one for 5 hours/day. My teachers name is Claudia and she’s fantastic! We get along very well and end up laughing a lot at our mistakes. Language differences are so funny - She says hilarious things in English on accident and I know that I make a total fool of myself in Spanish quite often J

2:00pm Almuerzo/Lunch

            Lunch is their biggest meal of the day. My mom apparently thinks all Americans eat a ton (which is partially true I suppose J) because she always gives me WAY too much food! The picture is a bit of an exaggeration, just a bit though! We always have mucho tortillas, sopa(soup), frijoles, usually pollo o carne(chicken or beef), papa o arroz(potatoes or rice), ensalada, and whatever else they have lying around. It is definitely filling!!

2:30-6:30pm Afternoon free time

            In the afternoon I do a lot of different things: explore the city with friends, shop at the million tiendas and mercardos(stores and markets), go to a coffee shop to study and use the internet, take a siesta, or just people watch in the Parque Centrale (Central Park). I always have way too many options and there are just not enough hours in the day!

Studying at a YWAM cafe' in Antigua with some friends from school. Elizabeth on my left is from Snohomish! (Erika, her sister is friends with Ingrid!! Crazy...its a small world after all :) Her last name is McArthur) Lisa on my right is from Texas.

They are super fun and we are planning on traveling together every weekend!!

7:00pm Cena/Dinner
            Dinner is usually the smallest meal of the day.  It usually consists of tamale, tostada (hard tortilla w/ frijoles or guacamole), or carne y papa. 
8:00pm more free time
            There is quite the nightlife in Antigua, especially on the weekends. So far I have; watched Fight Club at a Café, gone to a bar to watch the Guatemala vs Cuba football(soccer) game - muy loco!!, hung out at various bars and cafes, and stayed at home to study or watch Spanish TV with my family J. 

As you can see I am definitely staying busy! At this rate the next 7 weeks will fly by!

Here are some pictures of my temporary home. The school placed me with the Mendoza family - they are absolutely precious!! It is an older couple and their adult daughter. The older couple are 80 years old but so active! Mi mama or mama Tutsi as she likes to be called speaks absolutely no english but loves chatting with me. She makes all my meals (except for Domingo, Sunday) and is an EXCELLENT cook! I am eating lots of comida typicale Guatemala, typical Guatemalan food. Basically frijoles(black beans), corn tortillas, huevos(eggs), tostadas, arroz(rice), and mucho fruta(fruit). Basically I am in heaven! They are absolutely spoiling me rotten. I have my own room w/ a bathroom. So far I am the only student but there is a couple coming on the 20th.
They don't let me do anything around the houes because they have a maid and I am 'paying to relax and enjoy'. I have been taking their advice very literally and will probably be very gordo(fat) and lazy when I get home :).
Thankfully the daughter, mi hermana(sister:)), speaks fairly good english so she has been helping me alot. Enjoy the pictures below! the first is the view from the front door - it doubles as a door and a garage!

Mama Tutsi. Isn't she adorable!!! She is so sweet - always asking me how I am, what I like to eat, giving me hugs and kisses, and talking to me like I know what she is talking about :) Their house looks kind of like a green house on the inside. It is so beautiful and very unique.
The first couple pictures are of random rooms/the entry way of the house. The last four are my room!!

Hola mi amigos! I made it safe and sound to Antigua, Guatemala praise the Lord! Not only that but I have been here a whole cuatro dias (!!) and haven’t had one bad experience. Not bad eh J Thank you all so much for your prayers! I know they are working! Thus far I have loved everything about Antigua. It is an absolutely beautiful city - full of old buildings, fun markets, and super friendly people.

so try not worry too much about me. I am having the time of my life!! Plus, Antigua does have a Burger King, McDonalds, and a Subway! Oh and their version of Kentuck Fried Chicken - Pollo Campera, Guatemalans favorite food! Miss you all!! I'll update again soon, *Love Kelley

Obviously I'm joking.  My best friend, who I happen to be marrying in about 4 months, is gone to a 3rd world country to learn a new language and help a non-profit group in a rural village in guatemala for 2 months.  I just wanted to write this quick post to say how proud I am of Kelley, and that although I will miss her tremendously (already do:)), I know this is an incredible experience for the both of us.  She will grow exponentially through this experience, I will make the most of this time to grow closer to my friends, and we both will grow in our relationship due to this time away (there's truth in the saying that absence makes the heart grow fonder:).  Alright, I said it would be quick, that's it for now.  Love you Kelley <3 (that's a heart)

Well, here I go! I miss you all already :) Keep checking back for updates and pictures
*LOVE you all!

Antigua - Where I will be going to language school

Since I will be leaving for two months, Gregg took a day off work so we could have a fun day! And boy was it fun :)

First activity of the day: Picnic lunch in the car! Gregg is a very good sandwich maker :)

Next: Putt Putt Golf!! Whoo hoo!

Greggs the winner!! He got a hole-in-one (it only took four tries :)) on the last hole so he even got a cool Parkland Putters trophy - lucky!

Next activity of the day: Blackberry picking! We picked TONS of blackberries from my parents drive-way. We were able to get enough to make a cobbler and blackberry muffins! Delicious!

Last but not least: SUSHI! Delicious :)



All in all it was a fantastic day! Gregg and I had tons of fun just playing all day together. It definitely made me realize how much I am going to miss him :(

I think he's going to miss me too... :)