Asian Update...

So I am here at the KLCC or Kuala Lumpur Convention Center after just finishing 3 very long days of intense discussion, social networking and eating good food. I am kind of sad, the same way I normally feel after any event. It really isn't that this city has been so spectacular or the convention awe inspiring (though it was very worthwhile and valuable). I don't know. I am just sort of sad. There is just something to be said being immersed in such a positive aura. Everyone here is trying to benefit mankind and help to world to develop. Being a part of this energy is such a privileged. I felt somewhat out of place at first thinking that I was just some young guy who is volunteering in Guatemala, teaching some English, doing other odd jobs. However I suppose that is how it all starts, from the heart, possessing the spirit to serve. I hope this signals a life of serve ahead of me (I am pretty sure it does), because without the overall goal of better the lives of everyone including but not limited to ourselves, why are we living on this Earth? Just my philosophical remark of the day. More to come about Malaysia. I have a 36 hour adventure to get home to Quiche where I can't wait to see my wife and cat.

Toby

The Amazing Race: Guatemala Style

On our recent trip to Guatemala we were incredibly close to the airport and had some money to blow, so... we decided to do our own little "Amazing Race" and visit some of the sites that sat only a plane flight away. The only question was... where to go to first!?!?!

Being in Guatemala we thought it only fitting to hit some ancient Mayan Ruins...

Then we went to Spain where Toby found a beautiful bench from the 15th Century.

After that it was on to none other than the city of romance... Paris.

Being so close to the Middle East, Israel was alway on our list of must see places so we took a little stopover...

And of course our trip would not have been completed without a little return to the good 'ole U.S. of A.

Toby in Southeast Asia

Yes, that's right folks; Toby is currently in Southeast Asia. That lucky dog!

We were both presented with the opportunity to attend the Third Global Knowledge Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. However, only one of us could receive the scholarship that included airfare, hotel, and registration to the event. I decided that Toby should go and represent Enlace Quiché, since he has had fewer chances to travel than I have. He will do an excellent job networking, presenting information on a panel, and representing the organization. Hopefully he will make some good contacts and bring back applicable ideas that we can carry out here in Quiché. Maybe he'll even make a few contacts to further his future career as well!

Since Kuala Lumpur is 14 hours ahead of us here in Quiché, Toby is likely mingling right now at the conference and enjoying the various strategic coffee breaks. The Global Knowledge Partnership has organized the event, and thousands from all over the world will be attending. Toby already told me he has chatted with a South African guy, a woman from Sri Lanka, and others. Unfortunately, since this is a business trip, he doesn't have much time to do a lot of site-seeing and take advantage of his time there. However, I think he's going to do his best to see what he can, including the famous Petronas Towers that are near the conference center.

Fascinating Discovery

Calling all IKEA fans!!!

Last night when I was surfing the net before my class, I came upon a fascinating discovery. I was checking out the IKEA website and looking at their newest and latest products. A few of the chairs really caught my eye...but not for the usual reasons. Please check out the site here and see what I mean.

***It's also important to know that Toby's first 2 names are actually TOBIAS SEBASTIAN.***

Zaculeu - Mam Kingdom

After our trip to Todos Santos, Toby and I decided to take advantage of our time in Huehuetenangango and visit the ruins of Zaculeu, the former Mayan Mam stronghold, on our 1 year anniversary.


Zaculeu was established around 1200 AD, and eventually conquered by the Spaniards on October 27, 1525, after a 4 month siege, by Gonzalo de Alvarado. Their battles were pretty crazy, with people being killed and shoved into any old location. The on-site musuem even has a cut-out view of a clay pot with a human skeleton inside, showing one person's death, and also many other tools, pottery, and things found amongst the structures.


Oddly enough, the United Fruit Company did some very poor renovation of the structures around the seventies. Most temples and altars are covered with a thick layer of concrete/plaster so that the original stones are not showing. Nevertheless, the monuments are quite large and impressive, and the grounds are kept very clean and beautiful. It makes a great place for a picnic for locals and foreigners alike.

Todos Santos Drunken Festival

A few weeks back Toby and I had a few days off work to celebrate the holidays of Día de Los Santos (All Saint's Day) on November 1st and Día de Los Muertos (All Soul's Day or Day of the Dead) on November 2nd. We decided to take the opportunity to travel and experience more of the local culture by attending a town festival. All cities in Guatemala have a patron saint connected with their community and the basis of their week-long festivals. However, in the town of Todos Santos, they fittingly celebrate all saints during the week of Día de Los Santos, and particularly on the first.


We set out at 6am on the 1st to travel to Huehuetenango, from where we planned to catch a van to Todos Santos, way up in the Cuchumatán mountains. Little did we know that no transportation was running to the town that day due to the festival! After a few hours of waiting and deliberation we walked to one last location where we might find transportation, and luckily a pick-up truck driven by a friendly Guatemalan doctor picked us up with a load of Guatemalans. We were on our way...but uncertain how we would make it back or if there was a place to stay...but we were going!


Once in Todos Santos, it was a drunken muddy madness all over. The streets were crowded with locals swaying with their Gallo beer bottles, and many tourists following suit. All the indigenous in this small community wear their traje (typical clothing), including the men, which isn't really the case in most of Guatemala. So it's also a very colorful site of purples, blues, and cute woven hats. It's unbelievable how Guatemalans drink and pass out in the oddest positions laying in mud, rocks, losing their clothing, you name it. This even occurs in our neighborhood in Quiché, but not nearly to the extent of this festival. And, the drunken activities were just beginning...


The true excitement of the day was a drunken horse race that takes place on a mud road with hundreds of people crowding along the route to cheer and watch. Horse owners loan their animals to beer-brave riders for Q10 a lap in which they race madly down and back at the sound of whistles. This can get somewhat chaotic since the riders aren't really in their right state of mind, so falls and crashes are quite common. One accident cracked open a rider's head and left the horse down in the mud to be carried off by many men...and probably later killed. Toby was even offered a free ride in the event by a guy that befriended us, but after the disastrous accident and without medical insurance, there was no way he was going in there!

At around 4pm we decided to try our luck heading back to Huehuetenango, because we didn't want to get stuck in the town with a bunch of raging drunks in the streets. Fortunately, there was one bus heading out of town but only about halfway to where we needed to go, but took it anyway and tried our luck. Almost immediately we were disappointed with our decision when a group of drunk and muddy men started fighting and falling all over me on the bus. They could barely stand as we drove up the narrow mountainside road, only to be propped up by me avoiding getting crushed. The bus driver couldn't take anymore of it though and stopped the bus to kick some of them off, and I I took the opportunity to move farther back into the bus for safety. From then on it was a smoother ride with only one person vomiting out a window in the back and 3 guys breaking open their beer bottles. We were also very thankful to meet a lovely Guatemalan woman who was in the same predicament as us and needed some way back to Huehue. Thanks to God we were able to find a van to drive us back there and we arrived in one piece after a very adventurous day.

Thanksgiving Update: GO PACK GO!

Well as hard as it is being away from family, good food on Thanksgiving, and having to work, I had one thing to look forward to today: watching my beloved Packers kick the Lions butt during the traditional Thanksgiving Day game. However, to my dismay and horror, when I came home from work at lunch to watch the game, the same one that has been advertized on EPSN Latin America all week, it wasn't on. No it wasn't a scheduling error. We simply had no cable. Stupid, unreliable, good for nothing Guatemalan cable had to go out at the very time it could actually feel like Thanksgiving in Guatemala. So today I guess I should be thankful for the reliability of TV in the United States. Lets recap the day: No Turkey (or Tofurkey), no pumpkin pie, no good beer, and no Packers. Welcome to Guatemala!

At least the Packers won!