friday

so, life is absoluetly crazy but completely AWESOME.
don't remember when i last sent a message, but i know that it was while we were still in xela. right now, i am typing from a cafe in copan honduras (yes, that is a new country). it has been a crazy weekend. we finished language school last friday. the night before we had a big going away party which included a dance competition (won by allyn and christopher, though shiloh stole the show. also, somehow kristina and i took 4th, only god knows how). then on friday mornging we split off in groups of 3 or 4 to go to different cities in the plunge (pronounced pluunge). i went with allyn k, kelsey o, and laura h to a town called totonicipan. it wasn't that small and was close to xela. basically we were checked into our hostel by 10:30 after leaving xela at like 9. so with travel out of the way, we explored the city a little (which is known for its indigenous clothes). it was pretty tight. then we took a walk into the mountains and ran into a procession of the virgin of candalaria. it was pretty crazy.
the next day, we got up and went mass (i haven't converted,..... yet) and the priest said some amazing liberation theology things about how there is poverty in both material and personal ways and that only christ can pull them together. it was pretty tight (and i was stoked because i understood basically everything, even being in another language). afterward, we were looking around for something to do and then 34 disney characters appeared comming down the street. they were wearing the HUGE disneyland style costumes and they came and danced for about 20 mintues in the street to a marimba band that was on the back of a flat bed truck. this truck was connected to another speaker truck that was powered by a dude who connected some jumper cables to the power lines. it was pretty crazy. i promise that i will put up some pictures at some point (though not tonight because i don't have time or my adapter with me, so it won't happen for quite a while). after that, we headed to the main part of town and were buying a frozen banana and started talking to the woman who was selling it. she was really nice and gave us some free flan. then as we continued to talk, she revealed that her family was mormon and that they wanted the four of us to come over for dinner. so we did. it was a good dinner. they gave us a full fashon show of indigenous clothing and their family pictures. it was great. then we tried to watch the book of mormon in spanish on dvd, but right as christ was decending onto the steps of this temple, the disk broke. i was curious about what was going to happen next (but again, not going to convert). so then the mom gave us a very heartfelt discussion about how much people didn't like mormons and how they were just trying to present a good life for others. it was quite touching. so we gave them the gifts that we had brought (which was some play doh, pan dulce (sweet bread), and crayons). they were so moved that they gave us each gifts. the girls got whicker baskets and i got A POT. it am very grateful, but my first thought was "how in the hell am i going to truck this through central america for 3 more months?" but it will work out somehow. it was quite a dinner. we then headed back to the hostel to watch the 4th quarter of the superbowl (by the way, the spanish announcers scream TOUCHDOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN, oddly similar to their GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLL screams when people score).
on monday morning we headed to antigua to meet up with the group. after a little detour to see a really pretty church and some bad directions on which busses to take, we got there (and were not surprisingly the last group to arrive). it was really great to reunite with the other groups and to hear about all the things that they did during their pluunges (just pronounce it like it looks and you can be in on the jokes).
yesterday, we went to one of the coolest museums that i have ever been to. it started out with a gallery of drawings of mayan artwork and other loca history stuff. as we followed the arrows, the museum just kept on getting bigger. there was a huge room with photography. then there was a cool exhibit that compared mayan and modern sculptures of the same topic (like fat guys or something). then we went out the back door and there were the ruins of an old convent/monastry. it was fascinating. there was a really cool part on spanish art, two crypts that you could see the bones of people that had been buriried there (including one that you stood on glass and looked down at the bones, CREEPY). also there was a candle making place. then cheri and i accidentally got lost in the hotel part of the museum, which turned out to be pretty cool because there was lots more cool art. then, after a lunch "entrevista" with our kim, our spanish prof, cheri and i went on a self guided tour of catholic churches in antigua. the first was the main one which was huge and beautiful. my favorite part of this one was that there was a cross that didn't have jesus on it. it was in a display case (sorry to any cathoics, but i don't know the real word for what the sculptures are kept in) that was supposed to show the trinity. i have always thought that catholics worry too much about good friday and that protestants only think about easter sunday and thsi was a cross over between the two. it was great. the second church was the main one in the central park. it was really cool and had a great painting of the last supper, but also had a plasma tv on the wall, kinda strange. the third church was definetly one for the common people and had a beautiful mureal (spelling?) of monks doing good work for the poor. YEA FOR LIBERATION THEOLOGY. and finally we hit up the church called san francisco. their is a saint named hermano pedro who is buried there. it was pretty awesome. also it was a jesuit monestary. so yea, i got a lot of education out of that day. i should note that antigua is a beautiful city and it felt that behind every wall was going to be another beautiful courtyard. i really like courtyards. also, at night we did kareoke. i think that our rentition of sexual healing brought down the house (no, it sucked).
this morning we hit the road at about 5 and got here to honduras by 1. we are a little angered because we didn't get new stamps in our passports.
tomorrow we are going to go to the copan ruins and get our homestay stuff. that is the big thing about this message. THIS IS MY LAST MESSAGE FOR 3 WEEKS. i absolutely love you all and will let you know about what happened when i get to the other side, but this is the last time you will be hearing from me. i think that there is a mail drop before then, just a reminder.

prayer requests
safety - we are going to be alone for a long time. i don't want to get sick or anything crappy. it will be tough.
awkwardness - the first few days are going to be hard because the family will really not get whey some gringos are hanging out in their town. yea.
language - i think i'll be fine, but scholastic spanish is very different from what they speak in the campo (fields)
god - he is going to some awesome things, i have no doubt about this, but just a little prodding for reminding him to work in my wouldn't hurt
me - yea, i just would love you to pray that i do what i am supposed to do, whatever that is. yea. i have now idea, and i am completely ok with that, but i would love prayer.

so this is the end. i love you all and will hear form you when i get back? (please don't let me have an inbox that only has aswu messages). yea, that was a helpless plea. so thank you for your prayers, thoughts, and love. I will let you all know how life is on feb 27 or 28 (depending on how much "oh my gosh, we need to hang out as a group" time we need. so, thank you for being special.

so remember that "the worst sin in the indifference of society." please tell me about what you think about this all. so yea, sorry, i'll get off my soap box and just send this message

With all the love that our good lord has placed in my heart and in the heart of those that love him,
joe

life is good

hey
yea, i´m doing well. first off, i am going to pass on the message that we all miss everyone who is still in spokane and we (that is all 26 of us) would LOVE to hear from people. basically, we aren´t going to ever come back if you we don´t hear from people that we care about.

that being said, i am doing well. we only have 2 more days of language school. today was salsa lessons in the afternoon and we have lectures about liberation theology, free trade and the like quite often. last week we watched a mayan priest preform a ceremony (yea, they didn´t sacrifice though). we enjoyed a three day weekend. on friday we hiked up to a sacred mayan lake in the mountains here. it was really beautiful. when we got down the mountain, our bus was really late in coming to pick us up and so we played soccer with local kids for an hour and a half. in the evening we all went out (students, TA´s, and professors) to a discoteca. it was hilarious to see 30 americans take over the dance floor with our uncoordinated (or at least my) dancing. on saturday morning we headed up to some hot springs and basically enjoyed our first time to really relax on the trip. in the evening we all went to a futbol game. it was amazing. it was the rivalry game between the home team (xela) and one of the teams from the capital (municipal). the fans were incredible. the entire time the had songs going. most of them included lots of cuss words which just made it that much better. before the game started, the fans lit off hundreds of fireworks (guatemala LOVES their fireworks, we hear them every day) and lit a paper mache repleca of municipal´s mascot on fire. it was rediculous. the game itself ended in a tie but it was a brutal game. the opposing goalie got a red card for kicking one of the xela players in the juevos. so yea, one of my life goals is now checked off. on sunday we went to one of the biggest markets in guatemala in a city called chichicastenango. it was cool, but we are gettting to be very put off by the whole tourism thing because we are studying all the affects and can see the negatives that it brings to the whole situation. we all agree that everyone fells a little less human when we are in one of these markets. but they did have some good ice cream. so, that is basically all i have. I would love prayer for the upcoming weekend in which we are going to be heading off in small groups all across guatemala to practice our spanish and our ability to survive in the society. i could also use some prayer that we will make it across the boarder to honduras next week and that we have a great home stay. probably by next saturday, i will be no longer be able to be in consistant contact with you all. so, if you have any questions, comments, etc. make sure they are in before then. i´ll try to send another update before we peace out. so, that being said, i love you all and i´ll leave with the statement that the liberation theology speaker said on monday

indifference is the worst sin of the society.

don´t let that be you, everyone is counting on it.
in the one who made a perfect world that we´re all trying to help to fix
joe

i am annoying

hey everybody
sorry about all the spanish. we were enghaging in boca dura (which was basically a spin off of mano dura and we could only speak in spanish). basically i said you should send messages to people on the trip (not just me) by friday at 5. as for my life, it is going well. language school is pretty cool. I know that my spanish skills are getting a lot better. over the weekend, we went to panahachel. it was really strange because it is a very touristy city. we spent the day hanging out and a nature reserve. on sunday, we took a boat ride to the other side of the lake to go to a church where a priest was killed for his civil rights work during the civil war. it was really humbling. yea, i really dont know what else to say and i am late for dancing class. so, look at the pictures on facebook. i really like you all. oh yea, malaria pills are awesome. last night i had a dream that bethany pile was trying to kill me with a sledge hammer, but it was easily evading her. yup. peace. send me any questions you have and i will either answer you personally or ut it in my next bi email.

pictures at at this link
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2018575&l=1c45c&id=59400432

quiero una carta

hola, no puedo esribir en ingles porque estamos tratando una broma y entonce no podemos usar esta idioma. pero, estoy diciendo que este viernes es el ultimo dia para escribir cartas a los miembros de nuestro viaje. este mensaje no es solo para mi, pero para los otros que quieren oir que tienen amigos que le aman. entonces, si quieres, escribir una cosa para nosotros y enviarlo en whitworth antes de este viernes a las 5 en la tarde. enviarlo a este vestido

Joe Tobiason (o otro nombre)
Central America Study Program
c/o Charles Tappa
Off-Campus Programs
Whitworth University
300 W. Hawthorne Rd
Spokane, WA 99202

grasias para todos,
Joe

I´m not dead

hey
I just want to say that I am still alive. We left whitworth at 430 on friday afternoon and arrived here in Xela (the coloquial name for quetzaltenango) at 8pm central time on saturday. so yes, that does mean that we were traveling for something like 25.5 hours. it was really great. I am staying in a home stay with a family here in xela. the mom (se llama Flor Maria) is really cool and reminds me of betty power. it is fun. she is a really good cook and she is going to teach us how to make the guatemalan tamales that we have had a few times. I am living with Jeremy Mohlinaro and Ryan Sabata. some of you know them. during the mornings, we have language school. we start at 8am and end at 1pm and do one on one teaching for the whole time. it isn´t as bad as it sounds, but it can be a little long. We do get go to on field trips whenever we want. in the afternoons, we have activities. today we went to the ome of a woman who makes chocolate for hot chocolate. it should be noted that the hot chocolate is SOOOOO good here. we have had a few free afternoons. yesterday Jer, Ryan and I went to this cafe that is on a balcony on the second floor of this building that overlooks the central park. se just sat there, drank hot chocolate, and people watched. It is really interesting to see how everyone interacts with each other. There are guards everywhere and they usually have shot guns or machine guns. so yea, we feel real safe!!! It is funny because we feel so much more educated because we speak decent spanish and are trying not to be obvious gringos, but it is hilarious to watch the other gringos. I am not joking when I say that yesterday i saw a dude who was a pale as printer paper, wearing black flip flops, blue board shorts, some crappy shirt, sunglasses, a black fanny pack and is taking pictures of EVERYTHING!!!!! we laughed pretty hard. Naturally we all have stories to tell. the other day, I almost got knifed by a drunk lady (mom, don´t worry, she was too drunk to find my legs), one of the guys on the trip got hit by the mirror of a bus, and we got hit on by some guatemala girls. needless to say, we are having a great time. Just to let you know, it is probably about 25 C (75 ish) in the day, and we have all aclimated enough to wear sweatshirts basically all day. at night it does get pretty cold (down to about 0) so we have to bundle up under the covers a little. Personally, I am doing ok. I am a little sick. I have been dealing with a really bad cough which has kept me up the last few nights. I think it is moving on because I am moving into the phlegm stage. also, I have a little diharreha. all is to be expected. well, that is about all i have to say now. We are heading out to go to the party at the central park to commorate the new municipal leaders who are taking their offices today (this is after the concert following the change of the president yesterday). But all is well. As for prayers, I would love some about getting completely healthy soon and that language school will become even better of an experience. thank you all for the prayers I have gotten so far and I´ll talk to you later.
Joe (guatemalanly pronounced jo-ay)

Less than 48 hrs

Hey everyone

wow......... I am leaving on friday, that is (according to my facebook at this moment) 1 day, 15 hrs, and 51 minutes away.  wow.  First of all, I want to say how awesome you all have been.  I am overwhelmed by the support that I have been blessed with.  Every time that I start to talk about this trip I get more excited.  It has been great to see you all join me in that joy.  But, I guess I should start my updates.  We have been in class at Whitworth for the last 2 days.  Literally I am in the HUB from 9 or 10 am until 4 or 5 pm which sounds more brutal than it really is or maybe just sounds like I am whining.  So, that is about all I really have to update you all on but it also doesn't scratch the surface about what I have to say.  Mainly, I am writing this to write a basic itinerary so that you can stay up on what I am doing if you want.

Jan 11-12: Depart (Meet in the HUB at 4 for a prayer/send off) Spokane --> Seattle --> Houston --> Guatemala City --> Quezaltenango

Jan 12-Feb 5 or 6: Be in Quezaltenango for language school

JAN 25: DEADLINE FOR LETTERS, POSTCARDS, AND CARDS TO CHARLES TAPPA #1 (see below for address)

Feb 5-6: move to Copan

Feb 8: Students disperse to their assigned service sites with partner non-governmental organizations in northern Honduras.  They will be in the various communities for approximately 3 1/2 weeks.  During this time, the students may not have access to telephones or internet

FEB 26: DEADLINES FOR LETTERS, POSTCARDS, AND CARDS TO CHARLES TAPPA #2

March 1: Fly to San Jose, Costa Rica 

March 3-9: Group Retreat to Punta Mona

MAR 14: DEADLINE FOR LETTERS, POSTCARDS, AND CARDS TO CHARLES TAPPA #3

Mar 20-23: Easter in San Jose

Mar 24: Travel to Managua, Nicaragua (we will be there for 3 weeks doing various things)

April 11: Travel to El Salvador (we will be there for 3 weeks doing various things)

May 2: return to Spokane

May 10: closing celebration at Whitworth.  CASP PRESENTATION AT 1:30.  Basically we will try to sum up what we have learned.

So that is probably more information than you probably want, but maybe you do want it for some reason.  So there you go.  oh yea, if you are in Spokane.  Caleb Knox is throwing a little shin dig at Applebees at 10pm on thursday if you want to come.

Prayer Requests

• Safe travel: we have a lot of people going a long way and crazy things can happen
• That our team continues to bond
• That God shows up big time
• That I don't forget anything important (remember the underwear story)

So yea.  Maybe I will see you guys before I peace out, maybe I won't, but thanks for paying attention to my life.  I love you guys.

PS if you want to get ahold of me:

1) send me a letter to this address

Joseph Tobiason

Central America Study Program

c/o Charles Tappa

Off - Campus Studies

Whitworth University

300 W Hawthorne Rd

Spokane, WA 99251

dates:

1/25/2008, 2/26/2008, 3/14/2008 (all arrive by 5pm)

2) send me an email/facebook message

3) comment on this blog

Ok, I'm done now.  I promise

I'm not studying

Hey

So this is my first blog posting.  I should be studying for my Spanish test tomorrow, but who needs sleep anyway?  Who knows when you are actually going to read this, whether tonight (12/12/07), tomorrow, Christmas morning, sometime in January, or maybe even after I have gone.  You are probably wondering why I named this blog what I did.  Honestly, I don't know.  It may even change.  But I have been told that When I get back, my life will have changed, so I have made many jokes during this semester about how I'm "going down there to have my life put through a blender."  Meaning, that I'm going to be changed.  Since this is going to be my life online, I guess we can all try to figure out whether or not I am a different person yet.  Yea, it's kinda a dumb name, but who cares?  That is pretty much all I have.  I'll keep on posting until after I get back (and maybe even longer).  I'll set up a facebook group that will have all of these postings on it too.  Probably that is how you got here to begin with.  Anyway, I am being pulled back to my book by the illustrious Carlos I (who is also called Carlos V, but that is a long story).  Yea, thanks for reading and continuing to read.

If you want to contact me, make a comment on this blog, write me an email (jtobiason08@whitworth.edu or jtobiason08@gmail.com), post on my facebook wall, or the most awesome choice would be to write me a letter.  If you are doing the latter, please don't include anything that isn't just paper (i.e. candy, money, elephants, Emmys, paint sprayers... would be no good) .  The letters are brought down with the professors whenever they come to or from the States (if you don't get what I'm saying, ask someone to help you).  You can send these to me at: (I don't know the address yet, but it will be up soon).

PRAYER REQUESTS (I am going to have this section on every posting because I know how awesome and important it is for my life)

• That I don't forget anything.  My short term memory is not so good.  I once forgot to bring underwear on a week-long mission trip to Mexico.
• That I can become more spiritually, emotionally, physically, etc. ready to leave.
• That God will continue to show me his will through this experience.

You all are the best.  I can't wait to talk to you when I get back and have stories.  Hopefully this message has blessed you as your thoughts and prayers have blessed me.  Peace!!

Joe