update...

2 more days until we find out our future town for the next 2 years of our lives and the specifics of our projects. Then 3 more weeks until we swear in as real Peace Corps volunteers and move to our sites. We can´t wait!

Today we had the opportunity to meet the US ambassador to Guatemala. It was a very informal meeting at the Peace Corps training center. They even ordered Domino´s pizza! The ambassador is very down to earth and open and honest about his roll here. It was also interesting to learn about the US agenda in Guatemala. Peace Corps and the State Department are completely seperated in order for PC to be effective and remain independent of foreign policy. This issue is very stressed on both sides. Anyway, it was an interesting meeting because as peace corps volunteers we were able to ask more pointed questions than your average ¨government¨ employee.

We´ll keep you informed about were we are placed. Until then you are all missed and in our thoughts. Lots of love!!

More Photos

Matt and Sean are the Best!!!

I would just like to take a moment to thank Matt and Sean for their wonderful and super thoughtful carepackage. We are more than open to letters, packages, and responses to our blogs.

Kelly and I have just returned from a week in and around Xela. We had the opportunity to teach a weeks worth of classes to 6th graders in the beautiful town of Cantel. The kids were so generous and fun to work with. It gives me hope that I (Mosiah) may have the strength to survive the next two years. We will post pictures as soon as we have more than a few moments of free time. Hope eveyone is well and we hope to hear from people soon.

Fotos

Here´s a small selection of some of our pictures thus far.

The small business group with Carlos our trainer

Spanish classes at Kate´s house

Kelly´s host brothers dressed up for mother´s day

View from Mosiah´s roof

Mosiah and other youth volunteers in Magdelana (Mosiah´s town)

Cowboys in Antigua

Elmo piñta as promised

Girls in Nahuala

poco a poco

We have been in Guatemala for a month now and the rain has finally started. Hurricane Barbara is off the Pacific coast of Mexico so we´ve been getting rain for the past few days... For some reason I had it in my head that Guatemala was going to be warm, even hot. To my surprise it´s been chilly and now wet.

Training is flying by; we have less than 2 months to go. We´re busy with classes from sunrise until sunset 6 days a week, but it feels like our Spanish and technical skills are coming along slowly. Our teachers keep reminding us poco a poca (little by little). We have our first language assessment on Monday. We have to reach a intermedio medio level to swear in as Peace Corps Volunteers on July 19th.

Mosiah and I spent this week in the indigenous town of Nahuala south east Xela on our PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer) visit. We stayed with 2 volunteers doing some amazing work with a local radio station, women's groups that do weaving and a technology center. It was nice to see volunteers in action and makes us eager to get to our site and start!

(Humm... I just had to kill a little cockroach crawling across my screen... )

Thanks to everyone for your comments and words of support. We´ll try and post more often about the specifics and i´m still trying to upload our pictures.

Lots of love!!

cell phones

Yes... I know cell phones in the Peace Corps... Most of the volunteers get cell phones as it´s a cheap way to communicate with each other and with the Peace Corps Office for security.

If anyone is interested our numbers are:

Mosiah: 59054853
Kelly: 59085840

We're here!

We are alive and well! Our apologies for the delay to those waiting for a post... There has been very little "free" time and competing for time on the Internet is difficult. Enough "excusas"... Thanks for your patience! We have been in Guatemala for almost 2 weeks and are living at 7,000 feet between Guatemala City and Antigua near the Peace Corps training center in Santa Lucia. After the first few days at the training center where we were drilled on how to keep safe and healthy in Guatemala we separated into groups and moved to our villages where we will live and train for the next 3 months. We were placed in 2 wonderful families in neighboring villages, only about a 20 minute walk apart. Both families are sympathetic to the fact that we are living "separado". Our days have been filled with Spanish lessons, safety and security training, technical training, health lectures; thrown between long meals with families as we struggle to have menial conversations. Also lots of homework! The Peace Corps keeps you busy during training!

Some interesting tid-bits

- 5/7 - We experienced our 1st earthquake
- We haven't actually had a cup of Guatemalan coffee yet as it's mostly all exported (Guatemalans drink instant)
- Trying to Explain why I'm a vegetarian in Spanish (kelly)
- Watching a gigantic Elmo piñata get beat to a pulp at a birthday party (pictures soon to follow)
- Working at a center for street children (mosiah)
- Getting sick and having to give a stool sample... (kelly) i'm better now :)
- Host mom holding my hand as i walk around town (kelly)
- Fireworks at 4:30 am and singing to celebrate Mother's Day
- Getting "used to" dead dogs in the streets (mosiah)
- Visited a Mayan women's co-op and green been factory (other PCV's projects)

These first 2 weeks have been challenging and we're learning a lot. You are all in our thought and we love you!

Oh... we found out that the Guatemalan postal Service is now being run by a private Canadian company and is now much more reliable. So... care packages of all shapes and sizes are now safe to send :). For those of you that forgot our address it is:

Kelly & Mosiah Montoya, PCT
8 Calle 6-55, Zona 9
Guatemala City, 01009
Guatemala, Central America

Note: PLEASE only send via US Postal Service and NOT FedEx or UPS.

We love and miss you all!

Until next time,
Kelly & Mosiah