it´s all work, work, work.

sorry for the delay in posting a new message. however i have been working very hard over the last two weeks in mastering a new language. i am coming along steadily but there is still a long long way to go. i´m doing 5 hours a day one to one (8am to 1pm) and I have the afternoons to myself. although i have to do homework on top of my 5 hours! the school organises lots of trips so there is no time to get bored. I´m playing football every week amongst other things. last weekend i climbed the highest point in central america- volcano tajumulco. it was a gruelling climb and the altitude made it so much harder. but i managed it. and we even got up at 4am to see the sun rise over guatemala (you can even see all the way to mexico). off to the beach this saturday...
i´m living with Antonio and Rosa Barrios and their family. their house is about 10 mins walk from the school which is pretty handy and they are very kind and friendly...and don´t speak a word of english!



here´s a pic of me on top of a small hill above Xela called ´El Baul´. My house is close to the bottom of this hill.

and finally... some photos

Caye caulker has a very relaxed way of life. the creole language is most common on the island and this is what is used in the sign above.

Something a little arty for you... also taken in caye caulker

My lovely travelling companions from Canada, Valerie and Martin. this shot was taken near their cabaña in caye calker. I didn´t get to say goodbye before we parted company... but i feel our paths may cross again.

This is the main street in caye caulker, the best little place i have ever visited. i was staying just off the main street in a little hostel...right next to a nightclub! suprisingly i didn´t get woken by the music at all.

Here is a pic of Tulum, the first place i visited after arriving in Cancun. a nice little spot with some cool maya ruins right on the beach.... but in hindsight, not my favourite place i have visited so far (that would be caye caulker!)

Happy Baron Bliss Day!

I'm very sorry, i'm sure you already realised but I should have been wishing you a happy Baron Bliss Day on Monday. however I couldn't access the internet so you'lll have to make do with a late greeting. for those of you who don't know [and i'm sure it's not many of you!] Baron Bliss was an English man who loved Belize so much that he gave the country lots of money. so they have a holiday to celebrate his generousity. lovely. so, caye caulker, what a place. I went out on a sail boat and went snorkling with sharks and rays and various beautiful fish as well as seeing the 2nd largest coral reef in the world. i also got invited round to the house of the people who owned the hostel I was staying at and ate the best fish [barracuda] i have ever tasted. everyday i told myself i would be leaving the next day but ended up staying for almost a week. i'm pretty sure i will be heading back there at some point in my life. from caye caukler I headed [along with my canadian friends] to san ignacio in the very west of belize. we hireda 4x4 and went out in to the jungle to find some mayan ruins. boy they were special. not many people visit because it is so far out and the road is terrible but with a 4x4 we were ok. i still can't upload any photos yet but as soon as i get to xela where i'm doing my spanish school i will put some on the blog page. keep holding out. they will arrive. i'm in guatemala now. in a lovely little place called flores which is actually and island on a little lake. staying for one night then it's off to the rather polluted and not very pleasant guatemala city [ciudad de guatemala]. anybody read what's so amazing about grace by phillip yancey? it's my travelling companion at the moment and it's top notch. look it out.
keep on keeping on brothers and sisters, keep on keeping on.

Why God created smiling

I think that God created smiling, amongst other reasons, because the belizean people would not know what to do if he hadn't. they are most friendly and smiley people i think I've ever met. everybody says hello and generally has abroad grin on their faces. it's great. if you hadn't already guessed... i'm in belize. or to be more precise, a small island off the coast of belize called caye caulker. it's so beautiful and very relaxed. i plan to stay here another 4/5 days or so then take a stroll towards guatemala. I managed to meet a couple of lovely french canadians on the bus from chetumal on the mexican border to belize city. we found a guest house together as we arrived at night and by all accounts it is pretty dangerous to wander round on your own in the city. martin and valerie (the aforementioned travelling companions) also came to caye caulker but have found their own accommodation on the island. the island's so small that we didn't bother making specific arrangements to meet up as the likelihood of bumping into each other is very high. i highly, highly recommend coming here. everything about the place is amazing.

Welcome to Mexico

hola!
greetings one and all. i´m currently lounging in a small internet cafe on the main street of Tulum, a lovely little town just south of Cancun. I arrived in Mexico (via Toronto) on Sunday eve and just had a very chilled evening in Cancun taking in the atmosphere. I still have no real plans other than that I have to be in Quetzaltenango in Guatemala in 2 weeks time for my spanish school. so between now and then I will probably just spend my time seeeing some sights, reading and attempting to improve my spanish... which at present is almost non existant. i just keep telling my self it will all be ok once i´ve done the spanish school, but that seems a long way off. So, tomorrow will be a sight seeing day. the hostel i´m staying in has a bus that takes you free of charge to the beach where there are some cool mayan ruins. i´ll post some snaps soon.
over and out. jackson five.

3 top tips

here are 3 top tips for you, from me, absolutely free of charge.

number 1- (music) scott matthews. check out his myspace next door and have a little listen to passenging stranger or dream song. immense.
number 2- (wine) banrock station 'the reserve' 2005 cabernet sauvignon shiraz. on offer at sainsburys at the moment. get yourself a few bottles. trust me, i'm an expert.
number 3- (book) irresistible revolution: living as an ordinary radical by shane claiborne. If you wanna get challenged about living a radical and sacrificial life for God then this is an A-Mazing read.

Here we are then, a few little snaps of everybody celebrating my departure. how many different nationalities can you spot, i think i make it 6!

party time... some pics from my leaving do!

Mr Yousef with a small Congolese friend!