BIG TIME UPDATE

Hello all readers! Sorry for it taking two months to getting around to updating on here, but today is the day... First off, I am still not in my site. Many people already know that I have been temporarily evacuated from my site in the region of Alta Verapaz in Guatemala since December 20th. Thankfully I got to go home and have a great vacation with family and friends for the holidays. I got back to Guatemala January 6th and still haven't been "home" YET! It has been quite an adventure. Long story short, we were evacuated for the state of siege that the Guatemalan president declared and then extended for two months. The siege was started in order to fight narcotics traffickers in our region, and especially the Mexican Zetas cartel. The extension is set to be over February 17th and we will then know if we are allowed to go back or not. The decision, from what I understand, is that of the US Ambassador here in Guatemala.

So over the last few weeks I have had the opportunity to see many friends and visit many different places. Two of my favorite visited places are the beach on the Pacific coast where we released over 130 baby sea turtles at another PCV's site and the other is a friend's site that is located on Lake Atitlan. Beautiful places and great times with friends...

There are several new photos in my Picassa album located to the right. The photos are from Thanksgiving, my brother Hunter's visit to Guatemala, and then adventures over the last couple of weeks.

I know this post isn't very informative. Just know that I am safe, healthy for now, and waiting to know if I can get back to my site....I need lot's of positive thoughts and prayers. It has been pretty difficult dealing with this situation and trying to make some pretty big decisions over the last few weeks. However, I am enjoying getting to spend time with friends in other places and refocus on why I am serving in the Peace Corps. Hope all is well with everyone and I will hopefully be more motivated over the coming weeks to write eloquent blog posts!