Disney World, Cuba & Guatemala - Summary of the Past Eight Months 2010

It's been forever since I've updated the blog, but I'm back!

New Years Eve was spent in Antigua with Kammie and Jaime. We spent most of the evening at an Irish pub where we ran into Hermano. We stepped outside for a bit to watch the fireworks and grab a bite of street food - yummy! The weather was perfect and we had a great time.

At the end of February, Sienna and I headed to the Earth Lodge in Antigua with Amy and her family. The evening was gorgeous, nice and cool in a chilled atmosphere, but the evening wasn't so great. Sienna decided she didn't want to sleep, for some odd reason, and I dealt with her irrational crying and begging to go outside to see the gato. The morning finally arrived and there was a concert, but the heat blazed in and I was happy to head home for a shower.

Sienna and I flew to Orlando for Semana Santa (Easter week) where we met my mom, dad, sister and Madi and stayed at a nice resort with a bunch of fun activities. We headed to Disney World for a day and spent Easter Sunday at my aunt and uncle's house in Orlando where my two cousins and their families gathered for an Easter egg hunt, delicious meal and video games.

The James Bond Ball took place at the British Embassy and was highly overrated. We had a blast dressing up, though!

For Mother's Day weekend, Sienna and I headed to Antigua to stay at La Quinta de Las Flores. It was beautiful and relaxing with an added bonus that Amy and her son stopped by to take a dip in the pool.

June began with the Pacaya Volcano erupting in Antigua and covering all of Guatemala City in volcanic sand. This surprise was followed up by floods due to Tropical Cyclone Agatha. President Colom shut down all schools in Guatemala for a week and everybody spent the time cleaning up the city.

My third school year in Guatemala came to an end and Sienna and I took off for a week to Cuba. We had a great trip, staying the whole time in Havana (in the Vedado neighborhood) at a casa particular run by a very nice couple, Nidia and Alberto (537-832-1657   nidiagarcia05@yahoo.com). It was a fascinating experience and a destination that I'd recommend to anyone.

Upon return to Guatemala, we unpacked our Cuba bags and packed our Minnesota bags, taking off for the next six weeks to the States. One of those weeks was spent in California where I was able to catch up with several friends and spend a lot of time with my Cali relatives.

We arrived in Guatemala two weeks before the start of my fourth school year and got settled back in quickly. School started two weeks ago and I'm teaching 6th grade Math. The students are pretty good, adjusting as well as can be expected to life in Middle School. Life is lookin' good!