Performing at his Best

Toss brought a mouse in the house today. It was dead when I found it. He wanted to pose with it for a picture. It's times like these when I understand why really big cats were never domesticated. Are domestic cats really domesticated?

Raspberries!

We went berry picking in our yard this afternoon. I'm so glad to be home! In my own house! Working on my own projects! Enjoying my own landscape!

We found the raspberry bushes dripping with berries.

The bushes surround the south and east sides of the house.

Look at them all! :) 

Fat and tasty!

What are we going to do with this bounty?

I'm off to find even more of these... the creeks are teaming with them!

Guatemala City, May 22

I kept a detailed journal during my time in Guatemala. Here is what I had to say about Guatemala City, followed by a series of my first photos taken in the country. 

"After checking into the Howard Johnson in Guatemala City, I went walking with my fellow students into Zona 10. We walked across the patchwork sidewalks, past gated compounds with razor blade barbed wire fences and beautiful old world architecture. There were many types of trees and flowers of many colors, red and purple and pink, many originating in Asia. Later we all took a rickety old teeny city bus with squeaky benches too small for our large frames. We took the bus to an area where we walked to a restaurant. I had chicken with lime, rice, fresh corn on the cob and tortillas. I drank purified water in a bottle and a lot of coffee."

My fellow students

No more military policy!

The teeny bus

Hola is Over

At the airport of Dallas and Fort Worth while re-entering the United States from Costa Rica, I greeted the customs officer with a cheery "¡Hola!" After seven weeks of depending on my knowledge of Spanish as a matter of survival, I am not sure of the reason I said it if not to prolong the immersion experience.

"Hola is over," the officer responded, and then informing me of my mistake he states: "you just said "hola" when you came up to the counter. There is no more of that here." It was rather funny to hear a statement like that from a United States customs officer with a thick Texas drawl.

So, now that hola is over...

I am recovering from a urinary infection (contracted in Costa Rica and worsened by the long international flight where only terrorists have liquids). The water in our home faucet is foreign to me - it tastes of putrid minerals and I don't want to drink it. I miss drinking the water in Costa Rica, soft and smooth. I'm sure I will get accustomed to our water here in no time.

I am enjoying the quietness of our peaceful mountain home and taking some time to catch up on my life here in Colorado. Our cats, Toss and Bell, are in good spirits. They are running about in the yard eating grass and chasing chipmunks.

Dusty was promoted to manager within Sam's Club and will report to Idaho Falls this weekend to begin training. When the training is over, in about 10 weeks, he will probably be working at a club somewhere in Utah for 18 months. I have decided to stay here in Colorado and continue classes at the university, since I am so close to completing my B.A. in Anthropology. We are not happy about the separation, but we are looking at the future and all the opportunities there.

I am starting fall classes this Monday, studying: basic archaeology, emergence of agriculture and urban society, climate and vegetation, world geography, and my first advanced Spanish class. I've received some scholarships and grants, and I will continue my work with the Heller Center.

I plan to post pictures and stories of my recent experiences in Central America, so until then, ¡adiós!