End of January

Here I am wrapping up the month of January already! I have a lot going on in my site and I am feeling like things are falling into place here.

I have all of my stove project grant paperwork filled out except for the budget and pricing estimates as I´m waiting on my counterpart to get back to me with that information. We plan to build 57 stoves in the community so that every house will have a new stove. This will improve the health of the population immensely!

I am also so excited because my parents will be down next week! I can´t wait for them to see the country and see my site and get to know everyone that I am always talking about and get a feel for my experiences and life here in Guatemala. We are going to spend a week touring around some of my favorite parts of the country - it´s going to be a blast!

Also, there are 2 volunteers at my site and we have been able to get some good things started. We are going to paint the back comedor area of the hotel, so they were washing the walls, prepping to get started with the painting. It is so fun to have other volunteers stay at the hotel at site. It is great to be able to speak English, watch movies and just have some other people to bounce ideas off of. It really makes a difference and the days are flying by.

Other than that, I have been trying to step up my exercise routine at site and try to get up to the soccer field or do a workout DVD as often as I can. Plus, I found a gym down in town that I can get to about once a week, so that will be some luxury that I can look forward to each week.

I´ve been studying for the GRE and am starting to look into grad schools as well. I plan to go back to school either the summer or fall of 2012. It is exciting looking at the programs and possibilities. I am looking seriously at a school in Oregon and Florida. There are a couple of cool program options, one being a Masters of Arts of International Business and another is a MBA with a Global Management focus. I know that I want to keep working in the international realm when I am done or else I am thinking about maybe being a professor at a university so either way, I figure that grad school will keep these two options open to me. I just need to find a way to keep my love of travel and culture intertwined with my work life.

Today I´ve got a fun free day and in town. I´ve already enjoyed a delicious pineapple smoothie and might even have to hit up McDonalds or try to find the Mexican torta place that I always hear advertised on the radio. This is my favorite part of coming to town - the food! Oh and the shopping - even though I have a Peace Corps budget - I can always look. But before I leave, I do want to buy a cool pair of shoes down here. They have the best shoes - more like fun party shoes - but I gotta get a pair before I leave.

I´m counting down the days until my Mom and Dad get here! Can´t wait for a little vacation!

Thanks for reading!
Cheers,
Tara