Standing Fast for the Elections

> So today were the elections for the president of Guatemala, as well as many other governmental positions like mayors, congressional representatives, etc. Peace Corps had alerted us in advance that all volunteers here would be on what we call 'Standfast' for several days. This just means that you must report where you are and stay there until the 'standfast' is cleared. Since we got a good heads-up for the occasion, I stocked up on lots of good foods from our Walmart owned store, Paiz. My grocery bag was filled to the brim: four Dr. Peppers (a new product for Guatemala- props walmart), pretzel sticks, BBQ kettle chips, turkey, cheese, whole wheat pasta, sun dried tomato pesto, spinach, Pop Tarts, Betty Crocker brownie mix, honey nut cheerios, milk, etc. I think you get the idea... I've been on a huge binge fest the last few days.
>
> Besides being consistently stuffed for the last few days, I have had a lot of time on my hands to read the news and catch up on international issues, to watch a ton of music videos and see what is hip in the States right now, soak up some rays, and basically get lots of R & R in my hammock. Well, I know people are reading this and thinking, "I thought you joined the Peace Corps...This doesn't sound too challenging or difficult, or productive..." Well I prepared for binge fest 2011 because I knew that I was going to be pretty bummed out and lonely this weekend. Friday my whole family gathered in Little Rock to celebrate my older brother's engagement with his fiancé and her family. I got to see pictures and also be passed around the party on the phone that night. I was really bummed I couldn't be there but I am so happy for Hunter and Courtney and can't wait to get home and celebrate!
>
> Missing the big engagement hoopla wasn't the only bummer this weekend. So last night I decided I was going to take a benadryl and turn in early since it was rainy here at the coffee co-op and there wasn't much to do. I was sound asleep by 9pm... but not for long. At about midnight I thought I was having a weird dream because it felt like something was crawling on me but I was in such a deep slumber that I couldn't differentiate reality from dreaming. Well I soon awoke and found thousands of ants all over my bed, in my sheets, in my clothes, on my face, all over the walls, EVERYWHERE! I panicked and started killing them all one at a time. I've lived in the same house for a year and have never experienced this before. I think it was some freak nature thing where the ants were disturbed and all were moving inside. Needless to say, last night wasn't too restful and I spent hours last night and today cleaning. Today I moved my bed out for the first time in a year and mopped where my bed had been. It was pretty gross (pictures to come).
>
> All in all though the last few days have been nice and relaxing. I'll definitely be ready for the work week... Not too sure what I'm going to work on this next week though because the project proposal we turned in last week hasn't gone before the committee yet so we don't know if we should carry on with those project activities quite yet. We should know about this funding possibility though by the end of this week. I'm sure something will come up to work on for this week though.
>
> Here are a few news links that discuss the elections that were held today:
>
> http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/10/world/americas/10guatemala.html?_r=4&pagewanted=1&hp
>
> http://www.economist.com/node/21528620
>
> http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/americas/09/09/guatemala.violence/index.html
>
> As you can see, this election is of interest on the international scale. We'll see how everything pans out over the next couple of days after the results...