Guatemala, we meet again!

It’s good to be back.

There haven’t been any earthquakes so far, thank God. However, our power here has been going on and off very ten minutes or so.

This is my second semester abroad in Guatemala. In Antigua. Through Spring Arbor University. Through La Union Spanish School. With the same family.

Today is Friday, but again, because of the power outages, this will likely be posted on Saturday.

It is good to be back. I have a wide variety of emotions so far, and I have also started thinking in Spanish again. It is different. Last year, everything here was completely new and foreign and exciting. Now, so far, it is still exciting but much less familiar. In many ways, it feels familiar and wonderful to see everything here. It is similar to returning home to Woodstock Illinois in that everything looks the same, but remains slightly different.

This semester I received the Gilman scholarship, an amazing $3,000 scholarship that had helped to fund this trip this semester. I submitted my application for the scholarship in Spring, which consisted of two essays. The first essay outlined how and why I thought I deserved the scholarship. The second essay included exactly what I would do to promote the Gilman scholarship. Due to this essay I am obligated to do a variety of things, or else they will take thei moneys back. Thankfully, my requirements from this second essay, or my “follow-on project” are completely attainable. Two important aspects of this you should know are:

1) I am required to tweet once a day
And
2) I am required to blog bi-weekly

I am excited about this. This will actually force me to blog more and write more, something I haven’t done really since… February. It seems that blogging is easier to do in a traveling, cross cultural setting.

And besides, I’m being paid for this.

So, right now, in this moment, I write on my iPhone. I hope I can get my hands on a real computer so I can type with more than just my thumbs.

I wish I would have been blogging more. I love this stuff, and a lot of amazing and wonderful things have happened. I finished my Junior year of school with a 4.0 GPA, which has been a SMART goal of mine since freshman year. I worked a crazy summer job in Milwaukee with Youthworks.

Most importantly, Valerie and I are now engaged! Valerie deserves a blog post. I am in love with the coolest, sweetest, most wonderful person I have ever met. It is such an amazing blessing to know her as a friend and now, a fiancé. I am beyond excited!

Anyways, life is crazy, but life is going great! I am looking forward to what is to come.

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned.

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