Winnipeg

So I'm back home! I got here on a few days ago and have just been hanging out with friends and family. Got a job at a restaurant/cake shop for the next few months before I take off again... so just plan on working a lot for the next little bit and that's about it!

Calabasas, CA

So I left Derek and Anaheim and met my friend Lily. I'm now staying in Calabasas for a few days, and plan on going to Newport Beach and Laguna Beach tomorrow, before heading back to Big Sur early next week. We went for sushi last night and it is remarkable how much fresher the fish is here than Winnipeg or New York. It's not even comparable! Lily and I are planning on going to Malibu today before meeting up with friends from Winnipeg (Tristan and Shalen) for dinner. 

The weather is amazing here and I could definitely get used to it! Hopefully Winnipeg is nice (and not raining!) when I get back, which is coming up soon!

LA

So I did actually make it down to LA the other day. I left Lukie and took a bus down to LA where I met a friend, Derek, and stayed with him for 2 nights in Anaheim Hills. Tomorrow I am going to meet another friend, Lily, and stay with her for a few days before heading back to Big Sur. Also planning to meet up with other people from back home that now live in LA. My friend, Shalen, is living in Santa Montica, and his brother, Tristan, is visiting for their birthday this weekend, so I'll be able to celebrate with them! And Lily and I plan on going to Newport Beach on Friday to meet up with a friend of hers.

I really like California actually. The weather is amazing-much nicer than Winnipeg. Hopefull when I get back to Winnipeg the weather is nice cause it will be hard to adjust otherwise.

I've been thinking about plans for next year and I'm looking in to Spanish schools in Costa Rica.. right now I'm thinking about going to school for about 8 weeks in October and November, before heading back to Guatemala for Thanksgiving in Novemeber (American Thanksgiving), when some people from New School will be returning. Then back to Winnipeg before heading to Africa in January. Well at least that is the plan as of today, it seems to be changing daily!

Some pictures

California

So I left Guatemala yesterday and arrived in California. I was supposed to go stay with my friend, Lukie, in Big Sur, but because of the wildfires they have all been evacuated and are staying in Pebble Beach (outside Monterey). It is a really beautiful spot, but it's kind of hectic with about 4 families living in the house.. but it is making it quite exciting and jam packed days. I think we are going to try to get to Big Sur on the weekend, or Monday, to start up the camp that I was going to work at with kids from the area. I was originally going to try to visit some friends in LA and other areas but now not sure if I'll be able to make it down... but I guess we will see what happens!

Then I should be back in Winnipeg on July 25th, and thinking about staying there for about a month before taking off somewhere else.. thinking about costa rica!

Backpacking Guatemala

So we (my friend Jane and Trey) left San Lucas Toliman and started our own adventure around Guatemala. Trey and I started by traveling to Quezeltenango (Xela) in search for indigo.. which turned out to be quite the search indeed.. we didn't end up finding the natural die, but we did get to stay in a hotel that was a converted prison! It was such a strange hotel, but had an amazing view of the town square. After that Trey and I met up with Jane in Antigua, spent a few nights there, and then started our trek north. We went to see caves in Lanquin, the ruins in Tikal, we stayed in the creepiest hotel in Chisec which had huge statues of dinosaurs and mushrooms with fake tree waterslides, then we went to the jungle where we had to hike 4 km to get to our "hotel" and went swimming in the clearest, most beautiful lake! We then went to Coban, stayed there for a night, before going back to Antigua. We stayed in Antigua for the last 3 nights or so. Jane and I went on an adventure up a volcano and saw lava and Jane got to poke the lava with her stick.... and then we came back to Antigua and left Guatemala yesterday morning. I know that was a long long list of random names but I will try to give more details or pictures sometime soon....