My life as a rAndOm sampler

And they wandered in the wilderness for 40...hours

2011-10-18T00:03:00.000-07:00

My friend Amber is one cool cat. And she is a botanist. She works for a non-profit out here in LA that collects and documents rare native plants that grow in the deserts of California. Anyways, she is a genius when it comes to plants. She has been trying to get me to venture in the desert with her for months now for one of her excursions. And I finally did it. I took my incredible roommate Mary along for the ride. He headed out to the Mojave and Colorado deserts. It was about a 3 hour car ride.

Here are some photos from the trip.

This is Amber at work. She was really excited because we found this incredible plant called the unicorn weed. It had gorgeous mustard-colored blossoms. We found it using some coordinates and a GPS. It was pretty rad. If you have heard of Geo caching it is the same basic idea but called Eco caching.

The fox tail cactus

It was almost a full moon and I was able to get some cool pictures.

We found a really secluded little mountain in the Maria Mountain Range to camp next to. For dinner we made some incredible Fajitas. New favorite camping food!!! We had a camp stove but the pipe that connects the propane to the stove was left at home so we had to improvise. We rigged up a stove using the skillet and rocks. The chicken was perfectly cooked and marinated and the veggies were awesome.

We even had hot tortillas! Thanks to Mary's smarts.

I really learned a lot about the desert. I learned the names of most of the plants out there. Amber knew them all. And she knew all about them. It was darn impressive to see how much she knew. She really does love the desert. Let's see what I can remember. Here are the names of the ones that we saw:
-Creosote
-Chinse Weed
-Burrow Bush
-Rattlesnake Weed
-Evening Primrose
-Iron Wood Tree
-Brassica (the devil weed that is killing off the dunes)
-Foxtail and Beavertail Cactus

Ok I nerded out enough. I know there are lots I can't think of right now. But seriously, it was such an awesome trip. Amber could tell us all about the plants and Mary spent a lot of her time drawing the plants. She is a fantastic artist. I loved looking at the plants and the place through their eyes. They both could find so much grace and detail in a rather stark environment.

Saturday night I slept out under the stars. The moon was so bright and the wind was hollowing so much that I was woken up every hour but it was still so incredible (except for the first hour in which I was convinced a kit fox was going to start chewing on my face). The stars were quite bright (especially when the moon went down around 3:30. Yeah i was awake). The desert is so breath-takingly lonely. But it is also lovely...when you look close enough. It is pretty awe-inspiring to think that all of the smallest most intricate little plants were created for us to appreciate...even if it is just a handful of people who see them and who actually take the time to marvel at them.

It reminded me a lot of growing up in the desert of West Texas. There is a part of me that will always love that flat, arid brown land.

Barney died...and became my new favorite piece of furniture

2011-10-13T00:01:00.000-07:00

Celebrating Rosh Hashanah in Style

2011-10-12T23:34:00.000-07:00

This October has been interesting because I have had several looong weekends. I work for an Orthodox Jewish company and so we celebrate the Jewish holidays. I had a Thursday and Friday off at the beginning of the month in Celebration of Rosh Hashanah. My sister, Marnie and I decided to go to Santa Barbara for a "day"cation (that is what the trendy kids are calling it).

We grabbed some very authentic Mexican food for lunch. It was so authentic that I had to order in Spanish and they didn't have chips and salsa for us to munch on before the food came. That is a pretty Americanized addition. Marn was a little disappointed.

Then we drove around the town a bit. Santa Barbara is a pretty rad place. It feels kinda similar to Pasadena actually: lots of old money that keeps it well-kept and beautiful but also loads of hipster kids running around the busy streets.

While we were there we saw the...

Which was beautiful.

We also headed over to the Old Santa Barbara Courthouse.

Then we drove back to Camarillo and got a pedicure. I'll admit that it felt rather strange to be doing such a typical "sisterly bonding" activity with my sister. We aren't really the type to do that but it was still nice. We sat there with our massaging chairs, our feet in steaming water and with magazines in our laps.

In the evening, we headed to the outlets in Camarillo on the hunt for I can't remember what now.

All in all, I was a really nice way to spend my Rosh Hashanah. But I did forget to blow my shofar

...next year.

Bag Lady

2011-09-20T17:00:00.000-07:00

I live in Los Angeles...beaches, sun, palm trees. The weather is fantastic.

Here is the ironic part,

I work in an office building for 8 hours a day, under an air conditioning vent that shoots out freezing air at full blast. The area around my desk maintains a steady temperature of 63-65 degrees. By 10 in the morning, I am an icicle. My nose is an icicle. My fingers are icicles that stiffly clunk against the keys on my keyboard. My legs and arms are icicles. In the beginning I would just bear it. I've learned better. Today I am wearing two cardigans, a dense scarf and a friend's sweater around my legs (and I am wearing pants today not a skirt).

So basically, I have become this:

or this:

I just need to invest in a shopping cart.

NewPad

2011-08-17T22:38:00.000-07:00

You want to see my new pad?

I thought so.

Palo Alto and San Francisco

2011-08-08T22:11:00.000-07:00

For the fourth of July weekend I went to visit my good friend Rachel and her family in Palo Alto. It was a 6 hour drive from LA which for me is not bad at all. I love a good road trip and I find that I am very good at keeping myself company on the drive. While there, we went to San Francisco a couple of times. Wow I love that city! I had never been there before.

Rachel's daughter, Lealah

Rachel and Kyo have a friend who was interning at an investment bank in one of the tallest buildings in San Francisco. He let us come up to the conference room. It was an incredible view of the city.

Rachel, Lealah and Kyo

Chinatown

We went for a bike ride around Stanford.

Lealah came too

In front of the main quad at Stanford

Architecture around Stanford

Gorgeous fresco church in the middle of campus

Lealah!

Fourth of July breakfast

Saying goodbye.

Delicious curry crepes from Crepevine in down town Palo Alto

Memorial Day Weekend at Newport Beach

2011-06-21T22:40:00.000-07:00

Sorry guys, I know this is a little late. I always post things about 2-3 weeks after they actually happen. But that is how I roll so you are going to have to deal with it.

For Memorial day weekend, some friends and I rented a condo near the beach, Newport Beach that is. It was RAD! Seriously, I had a fantastic time getting to know some of my dear friends better. Also, it helped to continue my courtship with the ocean. I am loving living near the ocean after being land-locked in Texas my whole life.

Here are some photos:

My dear friend, Saerim in our sa-weet condo. It was seriously all decked out.

The view from our condo

paddle boards.

Balboa Bars!

Read this today and loved it

2011-06-01T12:24:00.000-07:00

"This is what you shall do; Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body."

— Walt Whitma n

Vienna waits for you...

2011-05-20T21:23:00.000-07:00

Slow down, you crazy child

you're so ambitious for a juvenile

But then if you're so smart, tell me

Why are you still so afraid?

Where's the fire, what's the hurry about?

You'd better cool it off before you burn it out

You've got so much to do and

Only so many hours in a day

But you know that when the truth is told..

That you can get what you want or you get old

You're gonna kick off before you even

Get halfway through

When will you realize, Vienna waits for you?

Slow down, you're doing fine

You can't be everything you want to be

Before your time

Although it's so romantic on the borderline tonight

Tonight,...

Too bad but it's the life you lead

you're so ahead of yourself that you forgot what you need

Though you can see when you're wrong, you know

You can't always see when you're right. you're right

You've got your passion, you've got your pride

but don't you know that only fools are satisfied?

Dream on, but don't imagine they'll all come true

When will you realize, Vienna waits for you?

Slow down, you crazy child

and take the phone off the hook and disappear for awhile

it's all right, you can afford to lose a day or two

When will you realize,..Vienna waits for you?

And you know that when the truth is told

that you can get what you want or you can just get old

You're gonna kick off before you even get half through

Why don't you realize,. Vienna waits for you

When will you realize, Vienna waits for you?

Billy Joel you've got my number.

To: To My Wife Blog Guy

2011-05-17T21:21:00.000-07:00

I would be ok if I married a guy just like you...just so you know.

http://tomywife.tumblr.com/

How I Met Your Father

2011-05-14T17:40:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to teach Relief Society on Mother's day. In preparation for the lesson, I was rereading a lot of the family books and documents that I have. My mom's parents are quite prolific in their genealogy work. It is honestly pretty incredible. In one of their books, 'Judd and Kathryn Allsop Family History' they had all of their children write out the story of how they met their spouses. I don't think I had actually realized that this was in the back of the book before last weekend, so when I started to read my mom and dad's story it was the first time I had read it. Of course, I have heard it many times and I have told it many times because I love it. But there was something incredible about reading my mom's writing, hearing her distinctive voice in the words and learning new details about how my parents came together. Also I love thinking about my parents at my age going through things that I go through.

I think it is a hilarious and unique story so I thought I would share it with you.

Sorry the scanned picture of them is not so grand but I sneakily did it at work and that is all I've got. :)

RUTH AND DAVID

I realize the account of my courtship will not be the normal, or usual experience of meeting and falling in love, but that is because it was not. I will try to just state facts and not enhance them. The facts and events themselves are unusual enough without the need to embellish.

David and I first meet in 1967. We were 13 years old. My family had just moved to Wapato, Washington, from Virginia. I'm not sure when in 1967, but it seems like it was some time in the beginning of the year. Our ward building was in Toppenish. Dad took us to M.I.A. for the first time and that was when I first saw David. I remember he was wearing a scout uniform. He looked like Ernie Douglas from "My Three Sons." I tell you all this only so you will realize we had known each other for most of our lives.

Now at this point you might think we became "high school sweet hearts," however, we did not. In fact, I think I dated most every other boy in the ward but David. He was rather shy and I was a flirt. I flirted with everyone but David.

From high school we went to college, David down to BYU and I to Ricks. After a semester at college, David went on a mission. By the time he returned from his mission, I was attending BYU also. He came home in February of 1973. For some reason, Myra and I decided to go home for a quick visit in March.

When I saw David at church that weekend, I thought he was so cute. I couldn't believe how much he had changed. I went back to school and told my roommate, who was also from home, how cute David was. Well, when we were back home for summer break, that same roommate told me he looked the same as he always had. I couldn't believe she couldn't see the difference. Something had changed for me.

I started flirting with him. I wanted to go out with him and check things out. After three dates I knew he liked me a lot. I knew if we continued dating, he would ask me to marry him before the summer was over. I knew I didn't want to do that. I also didn't want him to ask and then have to tell him NO to his face. I thought it would devastate him and embarrass me. I knew I didn't love him, so I bailed out. The very next Sunday I gave him the cold shoulder. He picked up the signal fast. We didn't date again. We didn't talk either. No explanations were ever given.

Summer ended and we were back at college. David and I had a class together. I was so mixed up. I wanted to sit by him and hold his hand. I was physically drawn to him, but I knew that I didn't want to marry him. I couldn't understand the mixed feelings. It frustrated me. I didn't know what to think. I also knew I was sending mixed signals to David, but he never asked me out.

By October of 1974, I had decided to go on a mission. One night while David was over to my apartment, working on a paper we were doing together for this class, I told him about my decisions. I asked him what he thought about it. It was then, for the first time, we decided to clear the air from the summer. He told me that he had always known that he was going to marry me. From the time he was thirteen, or fourteen, he had received a very strong impression that he would marry me.

In all honesty, that really scared me. Of all the guys I knew, I knew David was the kind of guy the Lord would give that kind of information to. I had no doubts. I just hadn't received it, nor did I want to. He wasn't who I wanted to marry. He wasn't tall. He was short. He was David Keller, a guy from home. Where was the romance in that? I didn't love him. I tried very hard to explain my feelings, but that was only more corhsing. I mean, how do you say, "I like you a lot. I like being with you. I like being near you. I like holding your hand. You make me laugh. You make me happy. I like spending time with you. I just don't want to marry you." He took it all very well.

I went on my mission. While there I received a letter from Mom. In it she made one little comment about David and I quote, "That David Keller sure is a cute boy." I don't remember sharing with Mom what had happened between David and me. However, that comment, innocently made, sure threw me for a loop.

I thought about it for days. Then, soon after receiving the letter, I had the same dream three nights in a row. Each time it was slightly different. The first night the dream went like this. David and I are sitting in the chapel of the temple. We're holding hands. I lean over and ask him, "Are you sure we are doing the right thing?" He looks at me and says, "Yes." The next night the dream goes like this. Again we are in the temple. We're in the chapel, holding hands and I lean over and ask the same question. Only this time he says, "I'm sure it is right." On the third night we are walking down the hall to the sealing room. Again I ask the same question. "Are you sure we are doing the right thing?" He says, "I'm positive."Then in my mind I think, "I can always say no at the altar."

Even though the dreams were no more specific than that, I felt the Lord was preparing me. A seed had been planted, and the Lord knew it needed time to grow in my heart.

I finished my mission the end of August in 1976. David and some other friends were at the airport when I got home. Within a few days he came by the house to see me and say "hi. ". He went back to college in September. I went back in October to start on the block.

I saw him the first week I was back at the "Y." He was at the Wilkinson Center reading the newspaper and eating donuts I had no sooner sat down to talk, when David immediately jumped up and said he had to go to the library to study. (Yah, like I believed that.) I decided it didn't matter. For the next two months, I set out to get as many dates as I could. I turned to a talent that had never failed me. I flirted with every guy that I thought could be a possible marriage candidate. Not one asked me out

I don't remember what happened during Christmas break, but sometime after we got back to the "Y", and before school started again in January, David accepted a challenge to call and asked me out.

It was not what you would call the best date, but it was like we both knew we were in it for keeps. We dated regularly. By the first week of February, I called Mom and said things were going too fast. What should I do? I knew he was to ask me to marry him, and I knew I wasn't ready. I got off the phone with Mom having decided to slow it down.

On February 14, 1977, David asked me to marry him. We were sitting in his car at an A&W in Provo. I couldn't say yes. I just couldn't. I still didn't love him like I thought I would love the man I married. I wasn't head over heals in love. I knew I was suppose to marry him, I had no doubts about that, but I was wanting something more. There was nothing in my heart. I told him I was not saying no, I was only saying ask me again tomorrow. When he dropped me off that night, I don't know what he was thinking. I only know we both knew we would be getting married, but we were not engaged yet.

The next day when David came to pick me up at work, we went for a walk up to the bell tower by the Marriot Center. I told him to ask me again. This time when he did, I said yes. Nothing had changed in me, but it did not change the fact that I knew beyond a shadow of doubt, the Lord wanted me to marry David. David had known for years and I had known since my mission. We called everyone and announced the news. Even though my heart was holding back, it was still an exciting time.

A couple of days later David received news that his Grandma Keller had died. He wanted me to go to the funeral with him. I had a big presentation due in one of my classes and felt I better stay. So that night after I had dropped him back at his apartment, I went home. I sat in my car and cried for about 3 hours. I asked the Lord to change my heart. I knew he could. He had changed the hearts of the Lamanites in the Book of Mormon and I wanted him to change mine. That was all I wanted. I wanted a changed heart. I finally went in and called Maurine. I asked her to fast with me the next day while David was gone. I also asked her to tell no one.

Well, we fasted. David came back that night. I was anxious to see him. He called to see if he could come over. The moment I saw him, I knew my fasting and prayers had been answered. I couldn't keep me eyes off him. It was like I couldn't get enough of him. He knew immediately something had change within me, but was not sure what. He only knew he liked it, and I did too.

From that time on I have loved David as I had always dreamed. In my Patriarchal blessing, I am told I would marry a man that the Lord had prepared for me. Inside the ring I made for David, I had engraved, "You are he who was prepared for me."

I guess it is time to conclude the tale. Before I do so, though, there are a few things I must say. I will be eternally grateful for my mission. It taught me things that I will never forget. Things that are a part of the very fiber of my heart and soul. My mission taught me there is no greater principle than obedience and there are great blessings for obedience. David is one of them.

It was on my mission I learned the power of prayer and the understanding of how hearts can change. It was through that knowledge that I knew he could change mine and he did. It was on my mission I decided I didn't just want to marry a return missionary. I had seen too many that weren't worth much. I decided on my mission I wanted to marry a "Man of God." David is one of them. I can honestly say my mission has had and will continue to have eternal significance in my life.

Thanks mom! It was good to hear from you.

I almost forgot about Seattle!

2011-04-11T11:48:00.000-07:00

I was looking through some of my traveling pics from 2010 and I realized I had forgotten to include my sweet trip to Seattle with one of my best friends, Julie. It truly was an incredible trip. I was so used to doing road trips by myself for the couple months before that I had forgotten how great it was to have someone to drive with. Here are some photos:

This guy was solving the rubick's cube, hula hooping, and spinning something on his finger.

Me and Chief Seattle

In the Elevator in the Seattle Public library. Freaking sweet building!

Went to Beth's Restaurant for breakfast with my cousin, Liv and her awesome husband. This was my 6 egg omelete. So good. But so big.

the Fremont troll

With Liv

Blast!

2011-04-03T23:18:00.000-07:00

I didn't make one post in March....I really meant to too.

iPodcast.

2011-02-16T14:47:00.000-08:00

My life, at the moment, lends itself to lots of time sitting and listening.
-I have a real full-time job where I sit at a desk in front of a computer.
-I have a 30 minute commute to and from work everyday.
-I also often go and visit my sister who lives about 50 minutes away.
And of course all of these times can increase drastically if there is traffic. Gotta love LA.

I love music but sometimes I just want more. It doesn't always do it for me.

A couple of years back I subscribed to the CES fireside, LDS General Conference and BYU Speeches podcasts. These are still some of my favorite podcasts for obvious reasons. I love being able to listen to a prophet's voice where ever I am at. It is an awesome thing to be able to access such spiritual resources whenever I want to.

_________________________________

What I didn't know was that there was a whole world of podcasts out there. Last year, I stumbled across the This American Life podcast and it began a love affair for me. I couldn't wait for a new episode each week. If you haven't listened to it before you SHOULD!! Ira Glass is fantastic.

So a quick synopsis: There’s a theme to each episode, and a variety of stories on that theme. The theme is normally on something that is very "American." It’s mostly true stories of everyday people, though not always. There’s lots more to the show, but it’s sort of hard to describe. Go and listen to the favorite episodes. It's a good place to begin. You can subscribe to the podcast for free on itunes or you can just go and listen for free on their website as well.

Here are some of my favorite episodes:

-Superpowers

-Babysitting

-The invention of money

-Stories pitched by our parents

-Going big

and the holiday shows are always fun: 2010, 2009

This American Life is clean, well-researched, bizarre, funny, inspiring, etc... I just can't say enough good things about this show!!

_________________________________

I soon learned about a bunch of other podcasts that I now love as well.

Radiolab is becoming a favorite.

Synopsis: "Radiolab believes your ears are a portal to another world. Where sound illuminates ideas, and the boundaries blur between science, philosophy, and human experience. Big questions are investigated, tinkered with, and encouraged to grow. Bring your curiosity, and we'll feed it with possibility."

Here are some of my favorite episodes:

-The universe knows my name

-Words This episode will blow your freaking mind! Seriously, listen to it and then talk to me about it. It is so interesting and I am still thinking about it.

-Falling

-Lost and Found

-Choice

What I love about radiolab is that it approaches its theme in such a different way than I ever would think to. It feels scientific but not in a 'too technical' and unreachable way. I can grasp the ideas. they stretch my brain but that is what I like about it. After I have listened to a podcast I normally spend the rest of the day thinking about it.

_________________________________

I am also now obsessed with Selected Shorts

Here is the website. You can subscribe to the podcast for free there or just on itunes.

Synopsis: "Each week on public radio stations nationwide, great actors from stage, screen and television bring short stories to life. Selected Shorts is an award-winning, one-hour program featuring readings of classic and new short fiction, recorded live at New York’s Symphony Space and on tour around the country. One of the most popular series on the airwaves, this unique show is hosted by Isaiah Sheffer and produced for radio by Symphony Space and WNYC Radio."

Obviously there is a variety of different types of stories but I have enjoyed almost all of them. One or two have been a little crude. The other day I was listening to one while I was at work. I was in the file room, filing to my heart's content and I listened to this incredible story called "Silver Water" by Amy Bloom. It was powerfully funny and emotional. I started crying. I had to try and pull it back together before I went back to my desk.

I love that Selected Shorts is a celebration of the short story, because it really is. In college, one of my favorite literature classes was an intense study of the short story. We read over 50 stories and I became addicted. This podcast helps me get my weekly fix.

_________________________________

Here are some other good ones you should check out:

here's the link

here's the link

here's the link

If you know any good ones please feel free to share.

Get ready cuz podcasts will change your life!

My To Do List At work

2011-02-09T09:07:00.000-08:00

To Do:
-Learn how to transfer calls
-Ask IT how to put me as the last one on the list for the call center
-Write Amanda and Luis!
-Take dayquil after lunch
-Learn how to use the intercom (not like I'll ever need it)
-Return redbox video
-Pick up library book
-Finish scanning docs due by friday
-Curl up and die

Did I ever tell you that I jigged around El Salvador this summer?

2011-01-31T23:42:00.000-08:00

No?

Well I did.

http://www.youtube.com/user/HELPElSalvador2010?blend=23&ob=5#p/a/u/0/B-XAiKRwbK8

The Tragic Traffic Jam Thirst

2011-01-13T21:58:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, before I got my job, after going to some interviews in the morning I decided to go and do a session at the temple. My afternoon was free and it seemed like a great idea. It was a great idea. The temple is always a great idea. When I got out, although I was feeling spiritually replenished I was physically quite thirsty. I stopped at a gas station near by to fill up my car and bought a SoBe lifewater and some Gardettos as a special treat for myself. Lifewaters are always too expensive but after a good interview, I was feeling excited about the prospect of employment in the near future and I splurged. I got back in the car and headed for "home" (or the home of the kind Terrills who were letting me stay with them). It was unfortunate timing because I got on the 405 freeway heading north at 4:45 pm. Traffic was so intense that it took me 30 minutes to go 1/2 a mile to the on ramp. But I figured I had my ipod, my snack and my SoBe so I could weather the storm. I ate a handful of Gardettos and then wanted some liquid. I went to open my delectable drink and much like the cars in front of me the lid refused to budge an inch. I normally like to think that I am a pretty strong person, especially for a girl.

But for all of my huffing and puffing, I could not get it open.

--I covered the lid with cloth and then tried to open it....Nothing.

--I pounded the lid against every hard surface in my car including the dashboard, the steering wheel and even some of the random junk I had in the back seat (I was at that time basically a traveling circus. I was carrying everything I owned)...Nothing

--I griped on to the lid with my teeth and tried to get it to turn...Nothing

After 15 minutes of exasperating attempts to open the dang bottle I threw it, defeatedly, into the passenger seat.

It was tragic.

I hadn't had anything to drink since I had left early that morning. And I was stuck in what looked to be a couple hours worth of traffic. And I had just eaten a couple of handfuls of gardettos goodness. The salty aftermath was hanging on my lips. I was needing liquid and needing it stat.

stage 1: outrage

stage 2: sense of tragedy and irony

I found my camera in a pile of a bunch of random items on my passenger seat. The moment was so powerfully pathetic I knew I needed to document it. This is me going through the stages of outrage at first and then a sense of tragedy and irony. What I didn't get a picture of was the painful acceptance that finally came. I was defeated by my lack of arm strength or by some bottling machine probably located in Denton, TX that had done its job too well.

It took me 2 hours and 45 minutes to get from the temple to the Terrills. Thankfully, I could keep myself somewhat distracted from the crippling thirst with a couple of episodes of my BYU Speeches and This American Life podcasts. Thank goodness for podcasts! (Seriously they have become my best friends...I'm sure I will expound my love for them in a future post...that is how strong it is.)

So what did I do with the bottle?

You bet I still wanted to drink it (and maybe just teach it a lesson) so I stabbed it with a knife and gulped her down.

Happy Birthday Mother Dear!

2011-01-09T23:41:00.000-08:00

Today, Mom, you would have turned 58.

I've been thinking about you a lot lately; wondering what gems of advise you would have for me in this new stage of life I'm in. Or thinking about what you're up to...

So this post is dedicated to you, Ruth Allsop Keller, my fabulous mother.

Tonight, Scott, Ashley and I played snarf in your honor (via skype). I also spent much of the day looking at a lot of old family pictures. (Thanks Dad! That dvd of pictures has been so special) I found some awesome photos. Here are some of the great ones of you. You were such a beauty. I just love looking at pictures of you as a young mom. I can just feel your love for us kids. We were your life. I will never be able to fully express my gratitude for the countless gifts that you gave/give me. Thanks for making my life so meaningful. I love you for eternity!

Thanks mom. I love you and I hope that you still get to celebrate your birthday in the spirit world.

Oh and this is just a funny picture of me as a kid. I had never seen it before.

My Friday night

2011-01-08T00:12:00.000-08:00

Tonight, I spent my evening immersed in the pages of Gordon B. Hinckley's biography. I cried a lot.

His work ethic and zeal for God, people and the gospel blow me away. He used up every hour he could in the pursuit of shedding the Savior's love abroad and building up the men and women that make up Heavenly Father's kingdom. Wow. I have been so edified by reading of his experiences. In the same stroke, he inspires me to "stand taller" and be better than I've ever been while also causing me to feel chastened by own lack of vision and effort. Learning of him has astounded me. I love him a great deal and wish to become like him.

Gordon B. Hinckley truly was a prophet of God! This I know with absolute confidence.

It's 2011 so I think you deserve an actual real live update about my life...I know...Be surprised!

2010-12-31T15:28:00.000-08:00

I'll be the first one to admit that I am bad at actually telling what's going on in my present life but I wanted to start the new year off fresh.

The end of my 2010 proved to be very eventful (let's be honest, my whole 2010 was pretty eventful!) and life changing. It was a good thing though!

Here are the facts of Juliann Keller that you may not know and may want to:

1. I live in LA.

To be more precise, Pasadena.

The nice thing about Pasadena is that it doesn't feel like you are in the heart of the chaos that is LA. But Pasadena is only about 10-15 miles from downtown LA and it is itself a center of culture and arts in the area so there is a load of things to do.

This is the Pasadena city hall. I think it is just a beautiful building! Built in 1927. The old downtown part of Pasadena is a lot of fun. There are tons of shops and cool buildings. There are several old Spanish colonial-style cathedrals.

The Rose Bowl and the Rose Parade are here and no I didn't go to the parade this year...next year!

The Huntington Library is a big deal here as well. It is a museum/library/arboretum. The grounds are extensive. It looks like Eden in some parts. Come visit and I will take you there.

Living in LA is nice too because I live close to my sister and her family. That means that I get to hang out with these adorable little people more often!

2. I have a job!

I am a Bilingual Programs Specialist/Administrative Assistant at

That's right, I am working at a tax credit company in North Hollywood. I'm glad I'm putting that English degree to good use. Actually, it is funny because many of the people I work with are liberal arts majors. I think all of us are kind of wondering how the heck we ended up there. My supervisor has a Masters in literature.

Also, interestingly enough, the company is run by Orthodox Jews. Stephan likes to say that I am working for Jewish money-changers. I suppose I am. I've already had some pretty funny conversations with some of the people there. They all work very hard. The company is doing really well. Last year was a huge year for them and they are expecting this year to be bigger. And they said that they are gong to expand quickly and I can expect to get promoted. So I might have a future in the money-changing business! I honestly don't know how I feel about that. We'll see. For now it just feels good to have a job, an income and feel productive.

Here is my company's website. Right here. You can learn more what we do. It's actually kind of interesting. What I do specifically is a handful of things. I talk with employees of our clients and see if they can qualify their companies tax credit. For example, if an employee lives in a low income area their company gets money for hiring them. Also, if they are ex-offenders, if they have been unemployed for the two months previous the their hire, if they have served in the military, if they are Native American, etc... Also, I work on scanning documents so that we have a digital copy of everything. Yeah, I'm kind of the peon in the office but so it goes.

I've learned a lot about work these last couple of months. I realized that it doesn't matter what kind of work you do but that just working itself is ennobling. I have been spoiled by my last several years of work. I worked at the BYU Bookstore, then as a full-time missionary, then as a teacher at the MTC, then I taught career workshops in Peru and then did a whole range of incredible things in El Salvador with HELP International. With all of these jobs it didn't feel like a job. It was something that I was highly interested and invested in and I was helping tons of people. So, when I first took this job and started working I felt super crappy about it. I felt like I had settled and hadn't searched long enough. For the last while, I have been really bent on working at a non-profit promoting education, literacy, housing and/or helping the Latin community. I still want this! But also, I am seeing more clearly that you don't have to be doing some grand thing for humanity to still feel good about working. I'll be the first one to admit that I don't love this job and probably never will but as I get to know the people I work with and understand what I am doing I can still be satisfied...in a way. It's different obviously but it works. And I still get to use my Spanish a lot which is nice.

My boss, when he was interviewing me asked, "So are you going to be ok just saving people money on their taxes and not saving the world?"

3. My records are actually in a ward!

It has been more than 8 months since I've been a part of a ward and had a calling. I'm in the Glendale 7th Single's ward and it seems pretty cool. We'll see. It's a big ward and there are constantly activities and such. The people seem interesting. A new adventure... sigh.

There you go! An update just for you.

Photo Fun at the British Museum

2010-12-17T22:03:00.000-08:00

What my CAMERA saw as I was

meandering the halls of history:

IWe

2010-12-14T19:37:00.000-08:00

Am an I

But

Sometimes

I wish

I were a

Why I left Utah

2010-12-09T01:39:00.001-08:00

Eng-a-land: The mother country

2010-11-28T22:36:00.001-08:00

The highlight of my Europe trip was most definitely going to London. Wow! Seriously, it was phenomenal. I am sure that me having studied English history and literature for over three years helped me enjoy it even more. It was fantastic to visit places that I learned about in a classroom or imagined from the pages of a book. Here is just a collection of photos from my time in London.

Number 10 Downing St. is where the Prime Minister lives. His is actually technically a "black" house. Black brick anyways.

Frances and I in front of the National Gallery which we did not go in. I know realize that was a big mistake. Oh well. That will have to be on the list for my next London trip. We are also in Trafalgar square.

good ole' fish and chips. I'm not always the biggest seafood fan so I was a little nervous to try this but I was delighted to find out that it tasted like a giant fish stick.

Piccadilly Circus

Three cheers for Wicked!

In front of St. Paul's. Chilling with Queen Anne

From the top dome at St. Paul's overlooking the city

Christopher Wren's beauty.

My favorite part of St. Paul's was finding John Donne's effigy. John Donne might just be my favorite English poet. He was a bit of a player in his youth and some of his love/seduction poems are incredible. In Donne's latter years he married and had 12 children. He turned to faith. For the last decade of his life he became Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral, where he wrote rousing sermons and continued to write poetry.

“

... any mans death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankinde; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee.

”

The tower bridge

again

This is a kind of hideous looking monument to Jane Grey and two of King Henry VIII's wives, Anne Boleyn and Catherin Howard. It is a glass pillow where they can rest their heads in peace for eternity even though they died in infamy.

Where the moat would have once been at the Tower of London. It is said to be so green because the moat was also where they threw the sewage for centuries of years. Seems to be pretty good fertilizer.

My tour guide at the TofL. He was freaking hilarious. He would call the children in the group up close to him and then tell them the story of the two princes who were murdered in their sleep through suffocation. And he would do it in such a gruesome way. Parents started to pull their kids away. Then he said, "Oh yeah, Did I tell you how much I hate kids? Bloody little demons!" Crazy guy seriously. But he relayed the history with so much conviction and life it was absolutely entertaining.

I walked all along the Thames one day and it was very fun to take pictures along the way. Here is the London Bridge and it doesn't appear to be falling down at all, contrary to how I always sang about it as a child.

Seeing the Globe theatre was one of the highlights of the trip.

In front of the stage

I absolutely loved the Tate Modern Museum. I wished I had a whole day to wander around it.

This was one of the exhibits they had on display. This may look like just an empty warehouse space but the ground is covered with about 6-8 inches of handmade porcelain sunflower seeds. Sounds strange, I know. Each one of them had been individually crafted and painted. There were 100 million seeds made. I was absolutely blown away by this exhibit. They showed a video about it as well. I at first couldn't imagine why someone would spend so much time, money and resources on such a seemingly simple and strange project, BUT as you sit there staring at all of these sunflower seeds and begin to think about it you start thinking about lots of deep stuff. For example: I am one seed. I was individually made. What was the purpose for my creation? etc... you get the idea. The whole experience was intense and thoroughly enjoyable.

If you want to learn more about the exhibit and the Tate Modern check this out.

You know in the sixth Harry Potter movie where the Death Eaters attack muggles on a walking bridge in London. This is that bridge. Here is St. Paul's in the background.

I couldn't get enough of St. Pauls

The British Museum=Awesomeness and many many many hours

So, basically I LOVED London. Nothing else needs to be said.

Belgium: Waffles, and Chocolate and Lace. Oh My!

2010-11-28T22:14:00.000-08:00

Yes, I realize that these posts are about two months too late and that there have been some crazy stuff in my life (like moving to LA) that I should probably report on but I actually have had these pictures uploaded for weeks now and I have just needed to freaking post them. So here you go.

So, I went to Belgium and England! Yes, that equals four stamps in my passport this year. Quite the triumph I must say! Especially since I didn't even have one stamp in my passport until last year. I suppose I am trying to make up for lost time.

The story of how I got to go on this incredible trip goes like this: A dear family friend, Frances, promised me years ago that if I could graduate from college without getting married than she would take me to Europe. Anyone who knows me well, knows that this was indeed quite a difficulty for me. Men lining up from all over to marry me but I must say that I PREVAILED!! Good for me. I deserved a pat on the back...and apparently a trip across the pond!! Yeah!

Frances was the ultimate traveling companion. She is a pro and had everything lined up and prepared. We traveled over there on standby tickets which was a new thing for me. At first, it seemed frustrating because in the states I got kicked off of one flight and bumped to a later flight but it was all worth it though because when we traveled across the Atlantic we traveled in style. First Class Baby!

That's right. This is my ticket and my seat assignment is 1B. 1B!!!! I think I normally sit in the 20's back by the lavatory where I can hear and sometimes smell flushing the whole flight. But this, this was HEAVEN!! For those of you who have never experienced the perks of first class let me expound upon some of them for you:

-You have your own little pod...I mean you don't have to sit very near to the people around you. Space!

-The chair is FULLY reclineable into a comfy bed

-The screen is attached to an adjustable pole that you can situate so that you can enjoy a movie even while fully reclined.

-You have your pick of tons of movies and tv shows for free (well I suppose that the normal people do indeed pay for them)

-There is a little "party favor" is what I will call it for every person. It included a nifty little bag and ear plugs, chap stick, comfy socks, a mask, a pen, etc...

-Three course meals for dinner and breakfast. That's right they had breakfast dessert. I had never heard of such a thing except for the hobbits in Lord of the Rings. "What about second breakfast?"

-hot towels

Ok and the list could probably go on but I'll stop there. As you can see, I was fairly ecstatic at the prospect of flying first class.

This is me on our first train ride from Brussels to Ghent.

Ghent! Such a cool old medieval city.

Frances eating her first real Belgian waffle

These waffles were a perfect combination of airy on the inside and crunchy on the outside. Very delicious. Frances and I were sold.

A medieval castle in the middle of town. Unfortunately it was closed the day we were visiting.

The houses have these wonderful stepped facades. It was really very original.

This is a random shot from our hotel room that had a view of the lounge. These girls were dressed the same because they were working an even going on in the hotel that night. I thought it was cool they were also seated the exact way.

Everybody, I mean everybody bikes in Ghent.

This is the Church of Our Lady in Bruges, Belgium. Bruges was our second stop in Belgium. Frances had always wanted to see the Michelangelo sculpture entitled Madonna and Child that resides in this cathedral.

Here it is. This piece does no favors for the other sculptures that are all throughout the cathedral and town. It is so rich in both detail and artistry that they other pieces seem to just fade out of focus. This is one of Michelangelo's only sculptures that is not in Italy.

My feet enjoying the beautiful fall leaves in Bruges. I think we were also lost and wandering the city. I find that is always a good time to start snapping pictures.

Not to be confused with a Taco wagon, this is a waffle wagon.

Sporting my new Belgian scarf on a boat ride through Bruges

I loved this quaint little shops.

No caption needed

Except I'm going to put one. Frances was hunting for the most delicious chocolate to buy fro her friends and family so we stopped in every chocoletier shop there was. It got to be pretty entertaining. They do some incredible things with chocolate.

We only had a half day in Brussels before we hopped on a train to go through the chunnel to London. This is me in the town square of Brussels.

School kids on an excursion

Belgium was incredible. The people were so clean and beautiful there. I know that sounds weird but seriously. I found them so interesting to look at. Such solid colors and straight lines. All of them with their big muffling scarfs and their worn leather coats and boots riding their bikes. Eating fries and waffles and babbling away in some language that was very foreign. It felt like an odd dream for me. So very different from my other travels in Latin America. Belgium was my first experience in Europe and I really rather enjoyed it. I liked not being able to speak any of the three national languages. It was actually exciting and nerve wreaking all at the same time. Thanks Belgium! I'll be back some day.

Wait for it because the next post is all about London and it is a bigger!

Yo Marnie, It's Yo' Birthday!

2010-11-27T23:35:00.000-08:00

Here is a tasty little video that the kids and I made during Thanksgiving break for Marnie's birthday. It is sure to become another instant Keller Klassic. All I know is that we are ri-dic-u-lus. And that Ashley is the best rapper by far!

check it out here.

HELP Video

2010-11-10T15:39:00.000-08:00

I know that I have lots of post about El Sal but here is just one more and then I promise to move on to my more recent adventures. Lots of you...(being my family because I'm pretty sure you are my only audience) have already seen this but some may not. It is a pretty sweet video about the stuff we did down there. Enjoy. Also, see if you can notice the ridiculous photos of me asleep on a curb waiting for a bus and also making a crazy face. Tyler so kindly slipped those babies into the video.

Here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKGggRPpDkk

Yo corazon Guatemala

2010-11-06T21:44:00.000-07:00

When everyone else was jetting back to the states to go to school after our time was done in El Salvador, I was heading to Guatemala. Because I graduated in April, I didn't have any rush to get back. Don't get me wrong I was feeling ready to have hot showers and my own space finally but I also have always wanted to see Guatemala. And it was just four hours away so it seemed ridiculous to leave without going there first. I am really glad that I went. I saw some of the most beautiful places and I met some of the most incredible people from all over the place.

Our adventures started at the Guatemala City Temple. I love that the two temples that I have been to in Latin America look exactly like the Dallas temple. They have the same layout. This one and the Lima, Peru temple. Makes me feel at home. There were so many beautiful families at the temple.

Then our next stop was TIKAL! So if you don't know, Guatemala was, at one point, the heart of the Mayan empire. In the north of Guatemala are these incredible ruins. The architecture dates as far back as the 4th century BC. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

We had a little bit of a hike before we got to the ruins. Along the way we saw some crazy stuff. I had to keep reminding myself that I was in the rain forest for real.

This tree is one of my favorite tress ever. It is a ceiba tree. They are very unique looking and just really beautiful. Often Ceiba trees have thick spines covering the whole trunk and branches. They were and are sacred to the Mayan people.
We also saw some crazy spiders. Here is a black widow above and a giant tarantula below.

This was the first sight I had of any of the temples. It is pretty overwhelming to see this at first and then make your way towards it.
Here I am with McCall at Tikal. Yeah I know they rhyme. I actually got a pretty big kick out of saying them together over and over again. She probably got irritated. I would have.

This is a round sacrificial altar of sorts. They would lay the person, or human sacrifice rather, on the altar in front of this giant carved stone and quickly slit there throats, letting the blood run over the altar. Fun stuff huh? Got to love those Mayans. They actually had several preferred ways of killing their offerings. The altar/slitting throat is one way. Another is to take a large group of painted blue slaves or captives to the top of the temples, extract their hearts and hold the struggling sacrifices limbs till they stop flailing about. There was also decapitation, flaying and hurling bodies off precipices and temples. All of this, of course, was for the good of the people and to please the blood-thirsty gods. At least you can say that they put their creativity to use right?

Here is a Spider Monkey just chilling in the rain forest canopy hanging from his tail. When I saw him I had to do a double take. I couldn't believe how calm and cool he was. And once again I had to remind myself I was in the jungle and that my life rocks.
This is an older Ceiba tree. This was obviously an older tree. Its root system was just huge.
All the temples have numbers and such. I don't remember them and I don't feel like looking them up. for some reason, I want to say that this is temple five. It is a little shorter and stouter than some of the other temples but no less impressive. The cool thing about these temples is to imagine them back at the height of Tikal prominence. The Mayans would have painted them many bright colors especially red and yellow. At the top of each temple there is a tall strange adornment. These would have been very colorful and covered in Mayan hieroglyphics. The Jaguar was sacred to the Mayans and would have been depicted all over the temples as well.
We got to climb to the top of a view of them. The original Mayan steps are too narrow and too tiny for people to use today (the Mayans average about 5 feet and a couple inches high today but they were likely even smaller in ancient times). Those upkeeping the park built wooden stairs up to the temples. This is a view sitting on top of one of the temples and it is incredible because you can see other temples popping out of the canopy. We learned that in the days of Tikal's prominence there wouldn't have been nearly so many trees.

Here you can see the intense "stairs" up to the top of one of the temples. They were much more like a very ridiculously tall ladder. When I saw it I freaked out slightly. I have this love/hate relationship with heights. I am quite afraid of them and if I think about it at all I can terrify myself but I also can never say no. I always do what terrifies me. And I get a huge thrill out of it. These stairs are a classic example I at first talked myself out of going up. That resolve lasted about 15 seconds and then I headed up. It was an incredible view and well worth it. But going up was the easy part. Going down was pretty intense.

There is a little restaurant on the grounds of the national park but it was honestly pretty disgusting. Here I am drinking a licuado. The Guatemalans just don't know how to make them like the Salvadorans do.

Here is a small version of Tikal at the visitor center. You can see that it spreads out for a while and that there were lots of different places to see. Because of our sleep deprivation (demonstrated in the following picture), we didn't have a ton of energy to go and see it all. We did see a large chunk of it and I felt satisfied.

The three nights previous to going to Tikal had been filled with finishing up everything in El Salvador with projects and partners. Then we had taken an over night bus from Guatemala City to Tikal but I was freezing because of the air conditioning and the bumps that I hardly got any sleep. I was running on about 3 1/2 hours of sleep for four days by the time we began to climb around Tikal. Not the best way to enjoy it but I still got a lot out of the visit.
After we got back from Tikal we went to Flores. It is this incredible little island town. It basically exists because of its proximity to Tikal and all of the tourists that come to see it. There are tons of hostals and restaurants targeted at tourists from all over. We ended up staying there over night and got some blissful sleep. The bed wasn't great or anything but I was SO RIDICULOUSLY tired that it didn't matter. We had to stay because I had left my camera on the bus back from Tikal. I had a little freak out session after I realized what I had done and raced back to the bus terminal. After getting pretty unruly with some of the men working there I was finally able to find out that the driver still had the camera and that he would bring it to me the next day. It was such a relief. They men looked at me pretty surprised that I was not only talking heavy and fast but in Spanish. I'm pretty sure that they thought I was hilarious. But in the end there were some really helpful guys who made sure I got my camera back.
This is a German couple that we met at Tikal and spent the day with in Flores. They are Mark and Ana. We got along great with them. We went on a boat ride, a short hike and to the zoo with them. That night we also ate dinner with them. Ana had found out that McCall and I were Mormons and she was fascinated. She taught religion at a school in Germany and asked us if we would tell her about what we believe. She said that she would love to share with her class about how she met two Mormons on her trip to Central America. McCall is also a return missionary and we just kind of played off of each other as we taught them about the restoration and the Book of Mormon. It was one of those experiences that are just so rare and strange that I will never be able to forget it. Sitting in a Peruvian restaurant in Guatemala teaching the gospel to a German couple. How unbelievable.

at the zoo

toucan sam

Jaguar

Then we reach Antigua! We also made friends with a great couple who were both students in Seattle, but she was originally from Guatemala. We went on a tour with them in Tikal but then ran into them again on the bus back to Guate City. They offered us breakfast at her dad's house and then a free ride to Antigua. We couldn't pass it up.
Personally, I find this fountain in the main plaza of Antigua a little awkward but you know different strokes for different folks.
Antigua used to be the capital of Guatemala but after an earthquake in 1717 hit the city and more than 3,000 buildings were destroyed, they moved the capital to Guatemala City. There are some truly beautiful old buildings in Antigua, of course most of them are churches.
This group of 6 Guatemalan guys came up to us one night and asked if they could take their pictures with the beautiful American girls. We allowed them to and then we began talking. They thought it was cool that I could speak Spanish and they taught me all sorts of Chapin (Guatemalan slang) words. It was awesome. They also thought it was hilarious how I would joke around with them. We actually ended up walking around the city with them that night. It was a bizarre night but they actually made for really entertaining company. I think that three of them feel in love with McCall so we didn't stay out too late with them but it made for an interesting evening.

The view from our hostal

This yellow and white Cathedral was just so breathtakingly beautiful. The contrast was just really pleasing to the eyes.

el arco

I could have walked around this place all day. It was a convent and cathedral when an earthquake destroyed all of the domes and roofing. What remains is just an awe-inspiring place that allows the blue sky and sun to seep in and the plants to grow up naturally among the architecture. It made for some incredible photos.

I just love the architecture and design around the city. Loads of bright colonial colors and beautiful window and door fixtures.

On the last leg of our trip we decided to run over to Lago Atitlan. It is this high-altitude lake set in the mouth of an ancient volcano. Pretty picturesque setting... I know. But first of all, we met the greatest Icelandic couple on our way there. We shared a shuttle together. We talked the whole time to them. Come to find out that McCall is Icelandic. Her grandmother immigrated from there over forty years ago and apparently there is a whole large Icelandic population in Spanish Fork, Utah. They were taught the gospel and many headed west to meet up with the rest of the church. Ingumar and Valy were both astonished by this news. They knew hardly anything about Utah let alone that there was an outpost of Icelanders there. When I looked at Valy I realized that McCall really does have similar facial traits. Small world. Very Small world.

Anyways, we became grand friends with the two of them and we ended up going to the same hostal for the night. We talked for hours. They shared random Icelandic traditions and taught us words like sticky and rad in Icelandic. Sadly, I don't remember how to say them. Also, they taught us how to sing happy birthday in Icelandic because it was Ingumar's birthday the next day. We taught them about American high school and what it means to go trick-or-treating. It was all very fascinating.

After a family-style dinner at the hostal we found the run down sauna that technically wasn't working and while they drank some beers we all talked on and on. It was another one of those moments that when I pulled myself out just for a second to think about where I was and who I was with I just felt oddly comfortable and at home. I was sitting in a broken sauna with an incredible Icelandic couple that has traveled the world on the edge of a volcanic lake in Guatemala. Who am I really? What have I done to deserve this!? It was just...something. I just can't describe it.
Having just woken up and going to the pier. This lake is thought by many to be the waters of Mormon. Although I don't really believe that the waters of mormon were in a volcano, McCall and I started the morning by reading Mosiah 18. It just felt right. I loved studying the Book of Mormon on my journeys because it was easy to imagine the Nephites and the Lamanites wandering those lands and building their temples and cities. It is easy to see the Maya people as their descendents.

Valy and Ingumar on the dock

pretty pretty huh?

Lago Atitlan, view from the boat

When I travel, I like to talk to people. They fascinate me. I heard this couple speaking Spanish and I immediately knew they were from Spain. They are from Bilbao up in the north. We hit it off immediately and talked for a good half-hour while waiting for the bus. We also ran into them several times in Antigua. It is great to know that there are just so many genuinely good people out in the world like Marta and Unai.
The last visit was while I had a 5 hour lay over in Houston. My good friend and roommate, Alyssa got married and moved to Houston while I was gone. It was a productive four months for her. :) I called her and she came and picked me up and we went out to dinner for a little bit. It was great to see her especially since I had missed out on her wedding and some many other details. It was great to catch each other up.

I know that this is a really rather long post and I hope that the ones to come wont be as long but if you make it to the end then just know that I appreciate it. There is just so much to share.

El Sal: The Adventures!

2010-10-25T09:46:00.000-07:00

So here's the deal. The four months that I spent in El Salvador this summer were incredible but there is almost no way to communicate it all. It is kind of like a mission. You know. I wanted to be able to sum up what I did this summer in two blog posts. I already did one that talks about the different projects that we were involved in. Here is another one that is focused on our cool adventures. It is pretty random but enjoy.

I figure that if I can finish updating about el sal and this summer and then I can move on to the five other trips I have taken since then. So here goes...

The crew on a boat at Suchitoto. It was in this lake that I lost my red sunglasses to a watery death. They fell off my head as we were speeding along and I was enjoying putting my hands in the water. Don't worry I bought $2 red "Raybans" at the central market the next week. I have to have red glasses. They are my trademark.

This is the morning before I lost the glasses. As you can see they are still happily propped on my head. So unaware of what it coming. I'm sorry little buddies. Here are Tyler and I enjoying a delicious licuado to get the day started off right.

The sexy country directors. I seriously don' think we could get any more ridiculous.

Mindy was the best site visitor ever. She was from the board of directors and came to check up on us and make sure that Tyler and I weren't botching everything up. She became an instant friend. As you can see we bonded over jumping in front of a lake. Does every friendship good. Notice my freaking sweet World Cup shirt. Yes that is a zebra coming out of Africa with a soccer ball. The best part is that it says 2010 World Coup

There are women making pupusas in that tapestry. If you couldn't see the shirt very well in the last picture you can see it much better here.

Ziplining in Apaneca!!

The crazy ladies and their crazy equipment!

We went to Ruta de los Flores, a sweet old route of colonial cities but we picked the wrong weekend to do it. It was during Tropical storm Agatha. We didn't realize it was a tropical storm till afterwards but it does explain all of the rain and wind. We were absolutely soaked by the end of it.

Stuffed in the back of a truck. Man, life doesn't get better than this.

Practicing our Mayan human sacrificing at the national history museum in San Sal.

Ok, Ok. So this maybe one of the funniest things we did while we were down there. They have these "hamster balls" (that is what we called them) in front of the malls down there. They have a giant zipper and a person can crawl into them then they put in a leave blower and fill the things with air (very technical equipment, I know). It is hilarious to see the person in the ball without air. It looks like they are a giant fetus or something. Once the balls are filled completely with air, they zip you up and let you roll around in this shallow pool of water. You can barely stand up but it is fun to watch you try. It is just highly entertaining overall. We should do stuff like this in the states. But alas, we don't

Dusty in his hamster ball

In the bus with McCall and Mary

This is (or will be) the San Salvador temple. It is almost finished. It will be dedicated spring of next year. It is awesome that the saints there will have a temple! How wonderful.

For my birthday, one of my students from my Advanced English class got me this cool chocolate apple. It made my day. And as you can see, this is how my hair looked most of the summer. My bangs did a weird curly swish across my forehead. My hair was always a wavy mess. Also, my hair was bleached a much lighter shade by the sun. I always wanted to do my hair but never had enough time or energy to.

One of the best places to go on the weekends was the beach house. One of the members of the ward was RICH and they had this private beach house that they would let us use whenever we wanted it mostly. It was incredible. Here is the view from the house.

Here is the hammock hut at the house. Many hours were spent here reading.

Tyler, me and Mindy with the view of San Salvador behind us.

This is a hole in the bottom of a bus. Yes, I stepped through this hole without seeing it and had my whole foot on the road for a moment. I was so shocked and panicked that I ripped my leg out of the hole, leaving a long gash on my leg. My friends laughed and laughed because they said that I just suddenly disappeared. Got to love public transportation in Central America.

Tyler and I sporting our Che Guevara hats

This was the craziest begger I have seen. She was sitting in front of a church and asking for money but she was also getting more and more drunk as she would ask people. You can see her beer can at her feet. Kinda makes you not want to give her money.

At Luisito's birthday party

Me and the boys at Tazumal. The biggest Mayan ruins in El Sal. Pretty anticlimactic once you have seen Tikal and Machu Picchu.

Our fourth of July was a BLAST! Way way way too many firecrackers were purchased and shot at each other. We went to the beach and all stayed at a hostal there. It was a party.

Sparkler fun

Mark got a little crazy in the Roman Candle war

Esther doing flips in front of the ocean

Ok, so this was a pretty hilarious game we played. You had to hold one of the roman candles over your head and spin in ten circles and then throw the stick to the ground and jump over it. Of course everyone just falls over but we had a grand ole time watching everyone fall. Here is Tyler spinning before he falls on his face.

This is me after we had cleaned up after the war. Lots and lots of roman candles. It was a little ridiculous.

This is where I slept that night. You may think that it looks very comfortable but actually, hammocks are not the best place to get a night's sleep. For napping they are great but not for REM cycles and all that jazz.

It really didn't matter that I got all that much sleep because I woke up at 4:30 the next morning and got in a boat and went in the ocean to go fishing. We caught all sorts of things. Like small hammer head sharks.
Sting rays. Which, may I just say, are the coolest looking things ever.

We also went for a dip in the ocean

Us on the boat.

Esther, me and America were very lucky and we got to go on a trip with Hermano Hernandez. We really did go t work but we ahd a few pit stops on the way. One was El Boqueron or the San Salvador Valcano. It has been inactive for decades. It was really breathtaking.

There is a minicrater in the crater of the volcano. It was rather incredible.

My last time visiting the beach in El Salvador. I just loved so much of my experience in El Sal. It was hard to say goodbye.

El Sal: The Projects!

2010-10-22T08:47:00.000-07:00

So, as promised, here is one of the BIG posts about my time in El Salvador this summer. This one is dedicated to some of the projects that we did this summer. We did SIXTEEN different projects ranging from teaching English to building family gardens and painting murals. It was such a CRAZY summer. I'll be the first to admit that it was HARD WORK. Honestly, I have never worked harder. We stayed up lat at nights balancing the budget and making sure projects and volunteers were working smoothly. Then we woke up early and got on buses to get to our projects. Sometimes we had to travel up to 4 hours crammed into a bus where our heads were often taller than the roof to get to our destinations. It was an adventure every single day. From these pictures you should be able to get a better idea. It was hard to just pick so few but here you go: Enjoy! I sure did!

HABITAT PARA LA HUMANIDAD

After a long day's work, waiting to get on a truck to take us to a bus and two hour ride back to San Salvador

McCall and the cutest girl ever

Giro

So, I became friends with all the little boys early on in the summer by sharing my animal crackers with them and teaching them the sounds animals make in English. They began to follow me around the worksite. They would help shovel and move rocks. It was fun. This was our last day at Habitat.

Franklin and me. He was the first kid I met when I went to Habitat. He told me that he had never talked to a white person before and he thought they were all mean. He told me I spoke ugly. Ha Ha He was super truthful about everything, which was sometimes harsh but hilarious. He liked my red sunglasses and would steal them every once and a while. He taught me Spanish kids' songs and I taught him some of ours. He loved Ring Around the Rosies because we all fell down at the end. I met his mom and his siblings while we were making cement cupcakes (that's what we called them), or spacers for the cement molds that they used down there to quickly build houses. His mom told me all about the tropical storm that had come the year before and taken everything from them. The storm created a massive landslide that took away their home, foundation and all. All of their possessions were gone. But thankfully all of the members of the family were able to make it out ok. 220 other Salvadorans in the area were not so fortunate. I fell in love with his family. They were working at Habitat everyday so that they could receive one of the homes that we were building.

ENGLISH CLASS

We worked with the LDS Employment Center and taught four English classes at different levels to the members and non members in the capital. Starting out we had over 120 students. I taught the advanced class. It was a blast! We had class three times a week for an hour. My class was mostly guys who had learned a lot of English on their missions with their North American companions. We became super close as a class. The greatest part was that the class was focused on conversation so we got a chance to get to know each other well too. Also, two of my students were preparing for their own missions. That was fun because as a class of mostly returned missionaries we got to help them. They both got their calls English-speaking, one to LA and one to England. He was the first Central American called to serve in England ever. Pretty impressive.

This was my birthday party. We had s'mores and talked about how birthday traditions differ in America and in El Salvador.

At our closing party and graduation we played Limbo and lots of games with all of the classes together.

Here is me and my class at the end of the summer. They were the valiant ones that kept coming to class all summer long. They are awesome! I miss them a lot.

As part of the English teaching project this summer, we also wanted to make sure that classes continued after we left. We trained the advanced class how to be teachers. I had them practice making lesson plans and planning to meet the needs of their students (teaching at the MTC prepared me well for this). they also practiced several times throughout the summer teaching the other classes. At the end we picked a lead teacher and he was to organize the other teachers and classes. We also created a HUGE English teaching manual for the new teachers to use with simple principles and activities that they could use. When I saw we, I mean America, one of our incredible volunteers did almost all of it. She was a monster. In the end she created an incredible text BOOK of about 140 pages. It was one of the coolest things we made this summer.

CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL BENJAMIN BLOOM

We created a whole new signage system at the biggest children's hospital in El Salvador and most of Central America. The signs had been obsolete for 17 years and the hospital was so huge that many people got lost everyday. Also, the signs weren't helpful for the large illiterate population that used the hospital. Thanks to some awesome volunteers we created an illiterate friendly system using colors and symbols.

This is Sameal and Roxana who worked with the Public Relations and Communications departments of the hospital. We worked closely with them. Sameal, as you can see from this picture, kind of got a little too close to me. I had to stop going to some of the meetings because he got a little ridiculous. He kept asking if I would ever marry a Salvadoran.

This is Jaclyn and Jessica, the brains behind the project, working on some of the signs inside our house. Oh I miss that house...

CENTRO INFANTIL PARA LA PROTECCION INMEDIATO or CIPI

There is so much to say about this place. I basically lived here this summer. I was there at least three days a week if not more. It is a immediate care center for kids who are either found in the streets or who are in very abusive situations. We worked really closely with a group of about 55 adolescent girls who most of them had been physically and sexually abused mostly by their fathers. Many of them had children that were fathered by their fathers. Some days I would leave this place wanting to punch every man I saw. Don't worry I rarely did.

We did five different types of projects here. We taught dance, art and business/education workshops. We created a small business using the items they sew, we painted three murals, we had an Education fair and we created a network of university student volunteers so they could carry on the work after us. Needless to say it was AWESOME!

The Murals were the coolest. And they would have been completely impossible without the incredible artisitic skills of one Jeanette Langston. She had a great vision and ability to make something really meaningful for the kids that lived there. She is in the middle here with an awesome mural we created for the boys. It is a like a treasure map or better an adventure map. It is entitled "With Imagination, we'll get there."

Jeanette and Jaclyn and me jumping in front of the finally completed mural

Another mural completed

Jaclyn putting the finishing touches on one of the murals.

This is in the cafeteria where the girls all eat. This is before...

This is after. The theme of this one is "Our dreams can be a reality." There are women doing 6 different occupations: a teacher, actress, dancer, artist, mother, and nurse. The girls loved it.

Here is Jeanette and I with a bunch of the girls who helped paint the mural

I got to put my skills of teaching about employment and education that I taught in Peru to use again. We created a little workshop for some of the girls. They learned about interview skills and how to set goals. Here is our last day. We had a graduation with them.

This is Esther, one of our volunteers. she was the dance instructor and this was her last day. As you can tell the girls absolutely loved her. They were quite distraught she was leaving.

This is me with our business/education workshop group. We are doing our hooray.

THE NATIONAL LIBRARY BIBLIOBUS

We worked with the national library's program where they go out and work with kids to get them to fall in love with reading. We take this giant bus that has been made into a kids library and then we read to them as well. It was pretty sweet.

BALSAMO: FAMILY GARDENS AND NUTRITION CLASSES

We took about a four hour bus ride to these 4 very rural and impoverished communities. We taught 20 families about how build a square-foot garden and how to use the nutrients available better. the community members were in the most humble circumstances I have ever seen. But they were the warmest, kindest people you will ever meet.

Here is Luz and her family after they built their garden

We stayed over night there several times because it was so far away. Our last stay there we got to be part of the Corn festival. We always stayed on some spare beds they had in central gathering spot. Many members of the communities came at 4:00 in the morning to prepare the corn. We got up and helped them. It was pretty incredible shucking corn with all these people so early in the morning.

We loved the community kids...and they loved us...or just mostly thought we were crazy

I love this picture. This is so El Salvador!

This is Tyler my co-Country Director. This basically explains our relationship...I carried all the weight. Ha ha. Just kidding Tyler. So the road into the communities is always flooded. And I always wore shoes I could slip off and walk through it barefoot. Tyler always wore big ole tennis shoes and it was such a hassle to take them off and on and if he just got them soaked it was a annoying to deal with all day. So I carried him across the river.

At the beginning of the summer we had a beginning party. Nobody was dancing so we had to get the party going. I look insane in this picture...maybe that explains things quite well.

There you go. You got a good window into what I did this summer.

there is something coming I promise...

2010-09-14T21:31:00.000-07:00

Just stay tuned.

MASSIVE PICTURE DUMP--El Sal style

2010-06-25T13:04:00.000-07:00

Ok So I just found this post that I never posted. So I am going to post it. I made it while in El Salvador. It is a bit random and there will be minimal captionage so forgive me for that. There is more coming. I promise...Seriously this time though. I spent the morning starting two big posts summing up everything I did this summer.

Honestly, I don't even remember where this is...Suchitoto? Yes, we'll say that. This is Suchitoto, a cute old colonial town.

LICUADOS!!! Oh how I miss these delicious little drinks. I know how to make them but...it is not as easy as spending 30 cents and getting delicious fruity goodness down in your stomach.

I found these ridiculous little plaster furry bears for sale and it made me laugh. I had a colection of 12 of these little things when I was a little girl. I was slightly obsessed with them. Barbie taught them school. My teddy bears got them food and I always made sure they were lined up perfectly on my shelf before I went to bed every night. I was a strange child, I'll admit. Siblings you guys remember those little bears?

At a single adult dance

This is Estela. She was our cook the whole summer. She was our awesome Salvadoran mother. We did actually pay her money but also we paid her in love and lots of massages. She loved them. She told all of her friends that we were her children from the Milk man.

Sweet view of the city. Me with Kenna and Kristen.

holding babies in the orphanage. This is the only time I did this. Most of the time we were working with their moms.

The HELP boys. Notice Tyler, the second one from the right. He was my Co-Country Director...needless to say it was a crazy year.

So one of the coolest things was when I got to see three of the missionaries that I had taught in the MTC. Their mission president and his wife lived in our ward. Her and I became very close and one day she called me and told me that I had to go to the church because several of my elders were there. They were so surprised when they looked back and saw me sitting on the back row of their zone conference. I got to chat with them a little before they took off. It was awesome to see how much they have grown in the time that they have been in country. Their Spanish was really great!

no caption needed

The El Sal team blog

2010-06-01T15:23:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! Just wanted to remind you to ontinue checking out our team blog. I´t sometimes better at updating it than I am my own...because you know, it´s required.

http://help-elsalvador.blogspot.com/

One week

2010-05-31T18:37:00.000-07:00

Man I’m a slacker! I have now started several blog entries but then gotten one line in and my motivation has fizzled. I get so tired! We get up so early and when we get back from dinner we just want to go to sleep. sometimes I'm in bed by 10 o'clock. When I sleep it's like I'm dead to the world. I don't even feel the metal bars cutting into my back from my bunk bed. Well I shall not fizzle tonight! I am not leaving this computer until I have written a whole entire blog entry!! and even posted it! I shall persevere! (It only took me five minutes to learn how to spell persevere right! Darn you Spanish! I kept wanting to say preserver as in “Preseverar”)

Well, as usual there is so much to say. So much has happened. I want to just give you an idea of how one week goes here. This is the week of May 9th to the 15th. This will just show how crazy busy and wonderful everything is with HELP International in El Salvador.

-Sunday May 9^th Tyler and I went to a Priesthood leadership meeting for all the stake presidents in the San Salvador area. Presiding were Elder Rivas and Elder Falabella of the Quorum of the Seventy. It was freaking awesome!! We got up to announce about our English classes and they all had questions and even said that they themselves would come. Kind of crazy that I had something that they would want to hear about. Hermano Hernandez, the manager of the Centro de Recursos de Empleos (LDS Emploment Center) took us there. I think he and I will become great friends. Hno. Hernandez is the best. I really enjoy working with him.

-This was also Mother’s day in the United States. I was having some great talks with several of the volunteers. It came up about the accident and I told them about losing my mom. It is interesting that I have now had 5 mother’s day without a mother. I would love to call her up, wish her a happy mother's day and let her know all about what’s going on down here. I shall write her a letter today.

-Monday May 10^th This is Mother’s day in El Salvador. We had a meeting with Rosi Herrera who works at the NGO Balsamo. But when she made the appointment with me she forgot that it was mother’s day. They were having a big ole party when we arrived. We took all the volunteers because we wanted to be able to have them all make an input. So they interrupted their party to talk to us. Half of us had to leave early because our English Classes were starting that day. Well, we were having pruebas de nivelacion (leveling tests) for all of the students so we could know what level to put them in. Funny thing: I keep mixing the English word level with its Spanish equivalent nivel and it keeps coming out nevel, like Nevel Longbottom. Anyways, at our pruebas that night we had one hundred and ten people show up. It was completely crazy!! They all were so excited to learn English from us. It is interesting because yeah, in the States people have somewhat of a desire to learn Spanish but here there is such an urgency to learn English. Parents want their children to learn it so they can get better jobs and better provide for their families.

Once again I found myself talking to a group of about 100 people, speaking in Spanish and they all looked at me as if I were the expert, their superior almost, because I could speak both languages and because my skin was white. So surreal. I love being in charge and at the head of a group but I still am not completely used to it. It is not the same as when I was a teacher at the MTC. Which by the way, I miss like crazy!! I keep thinking of my little missionaries all over the world. A crazy thing is that the Mission President and his family are in our ward. I have become good friends with Hermana Lopez. She is really an incredible woman. There is such a light that exudes from her. Anyways, I was talking to her and then I asked her about some of my missionaries that I had sent here last November. She totally knows them and was giving me a little update. She says they are all doing super well and that she will even help me to see them sometime before I go.

- Tuesday May 11^th We met up with Gail from Habitat para la Humanidad and we took a 2 ½ hour bus ride out to San Vicinte. It is a beautiful place under the shadow of the double breasted volcano, ha ha that is really what they call it! Anyways, last November, a huge storm happened there and there were crazy mudslides that took out hundreds and hundreds of homes. 200 people were killed and even more lost everything they had even their land which had been their whole subsistence. So we are working on a project with Habitat to build 50 houses for families that were displaced from the mudslides. It is pretty hefty work. We were digging holes for the foundation. We used pick axes, shovels, hoes, and heavy iron bars. To be honest, some of the volunteers totally scared me with their pick axes and such. ahh. let's hope I don't get a puncture wound. But it should be an interesting project and hopefully we will be able to see most if not all of the construction process.

After that we were called by Hno. Hernandez and he told us that there was another big group of English students waiting to be tested. So we quickly got ready and ran over the centro Americana

-Wednesday May 12^th We went with FUDEM on their outreach eye camps. Me and four others went to Santa Ana. We were at a Catholic Seminary where they teach young boys how to be priests. It was hilarious because it was just like the little catholic orphanage in Nacho Libre. Kenna, Brian and I were joking the whole time about it. We were quoting lines and taking pictures of us clenching our butt cheeks while we said things like “Sometimes when you’re a man you were stretchy pants, It’s for fun.”

When we came home we all wanted to shower but the water was out again! It was such a mess for a while because the water was absolutely temperamental and would be gone when we needed it to be there. That night we were going to the Campestre Ward’s mother’s day activity. They wanted us to sing something so really quickly we just threw together a song from the Primary song book. We practiced it twice and then were on our way without having showered or anything. We were a funny looking group. But thankfully the bishop forgot about having asked us to perform something until the end and then we told him that we didn’t really have anything as nearly as good as the other shows so we got ourselves out of it.

-Thursday May 13^th Tyler and I had some meetings that morning. We went to go check out Hogar Providencia. Then us English teachers went to go make a carne and talk business with Hno. Hernandez. After we finished, he actually told us the whole story of how he and his wife met and got married. It was pretty intense. She was being persued by several guys and hno. Hernandez won in the end. She also refused to be married any where else except the temple but at that time there were no temples in central America at all. The closest one was in mesa Arizona. They took an epic journey and made it to the temple. She also wouldn’t let him even kiss her until they got married. Ha ha. He was great. It was fun for all the girls as well because it was a great comprehension activity.

-Friday May 14^th We went to Habitat and worked a full day. We got home and thankfully there was water so we could all shower and then get ready for a JAS (YSA) dance in Lyco. That was pretty fun. We left pretty late (story of my life here!!) so we only got to dance for about an hour and a half. We met all of Kenna’s friends that she had met when she came last year with her family. Also it was pretty hilarious because this kid comes up to me near the end of the dance and says, “vas a dar la ultima oracion (you're going to give the closing prayer) ” I thought “ok if you want I'll do it even though i don't know you at all and you've only asked me because I'm a gringa.” He then told me that his stake president who had been at the meeting that I made the announcement at about the English classes recognized me and told him to go and get me to say the closing prayer. It was pretty funny.

Ok so this is a lot but this is just an idea of what is going on. I will keep trying to do more posts but be happy with what you get! ha ha. Love you all. Keep it real.

Initiation: La Libertad fish market

2010-05-07T10:45:00.000-07:00

This is Kassandra with the head of a hammer head shark in her bag.

You know those days when you look back and you say, “Wow I can’t believe that I did that!” But you look back with pride like you are so pleased with yourself that you did it? Today we made that one of those days for our volunteers. We took them to this giant fish market in La Libertad right on the peir. Then we gave them the challenge to buy the grossest thing that they could find and then take it with us back to the house. The prize was that Tyler and I would take them out to dinner and that they would have first choice of vacation spots.

They all, at first, were creeped out by the fish market. It smells absolutely terrible and there are all sorts of questionable sanitary things going on. Rusty knifes and dirty old hands cutting open manta rays and still breathing catfish. Most of the volunteers especially the girls didn´t want to participate but we egged them on and they sarted to have a lot of fun with it. A man we met there started to show us around to all of the particularly gross parts of the market. He showed us the hammer head sharks and the guts they had just freshly cut out. It was great! ha ha.

This is the whole group and their bags of mysteries to be revealed later.

Everyone ended up buying something. We then had a big safety training and before the meeting really got going we had them each unveil what they bought. It was awesome!! Here is what they got:

Brian bought the head of a giant red fish

Kenna bought a big bag of blue crabs

Kristen bought the mouth or a manta ray (it was the skeleton)

Esther bought a dried out fish that had been cut in half and had a demon face painted on it. It was awesome and the winner even though it was quite a close competition.

Kassandra bought the head of a hammer head shark

Alex bought Shark Liver oil…you’re supposed to drink it when you have the cold. It smells retched as you can probably guess.

It was a great day.

I want to upload some videos but after waiting for it to upload for an hour and a half I figured it wasn´t worth it. Sorry guys

Random thoughts from my bottom bunk in San Salvador

2010-05-07T10:36:00.000-07:00

Time: 12:08 am

Place: San Salvador, El Salvador, Residencial Albert Einstein, Calle Circunvencion, Casa #7, Girl’s room, Bunk bed number one, bottom bunk, flat mattress covered in lavender gingham sheets, metal bars cutting into my butt through mattress

Last Shower: This morning FREEZING!!

Last mosquito bite: A lage patch of them showed up on my right upper calf on Tuesday morning. They found a good spot and didn’t let up.

How many in room: five in total, three on beds, two on cots

Here I am and I have much to write about!! Obviously!!! I am in El Freaking Salvador!! So here is a quick and random list of all the things that we did this week already leading up to tonight in which the Volunteers arrived. Ignore grammar and language problems in general. I now live in a world where Spangish reigns supreme and spanish keyboards really suck!

-Met Estela, Ligia, Adriana, Fernanda

-Met our first El Salvadorian pupusas and devoured them!

-Slept at Estela’s house in her son’s room

-Had meeting with FUDEM. Saw their sweet facilities. Got excited to work with them and set up a time for our volunteers to be trained on vision acuity testing so we can go out in the rural villages and help people get screened for glasses next week.

-Went house shopping. Were stuck between two. I really love the second one. So beautiful and rustic feeling. But it had a lot of fix up to it and was a little further away. Prayed about it and felt good with the first. Rented it! I freaking am renting a house in San Salvador!

-Got our stuff from the storage unit. There’s a ton of crud! And it was in complete disarray. Made a pact to leave it clean and organized for next year’s CDs (Country Directors)

-Met with Carlos Hernandez and they others that work at the CRE (LDS Employment Center)! They are fabulous! They took us to lunch at Kentucky Fried Chicken. Yes I mean KFC. That’s right they have that here…and they deliver! Ha ha Set up English Classes that we will teach this year at their facilities to members of the church. Lots of excitement to be in a CRE again. They are probably going to let me teach the career workshop down here and I want to build a project helping the expand their reach with the workshop itself. Excitement!

-Went to the mall to check out and went to see clash of the titans in the theatre. Not great but not terrible. The movie theatres in El Salvador are the only places here that I can wear a cardigan to. I brought four…What in the wide world was I thinking!!!!

-Met with Pati from Habitat for Humanity. Putting us in charge of a project this summer to build 50 homes for familes whose houses were ruined in the flood here last November. Also, letting us help in the family selection process. Sweet!!

-Met with Norma, la directora of NGO Balsamo. They love HELP volunteers. We are going to go work with small rural communities outside the city teaching how to make square foot gardens, adobe stoves, education and business classes, and much much more!

-scrubbed and scrubbed the house. Hands and knees cleaning the girl’s room floor. And downstairs.

-went through HELP stuff…lots of good stuff, lots of random stuff, lots of non-helpful stuff

-Went to the beach at La Libertad. Checked out the fish Market to see if that would be a good initiation to El Sal for the volunteers arriving first wave. Turns out its perfect!! Super gross. They’re cutting up manta rays and displaying their guts. Rubbing salt all over the insides of the fish to preserve them longer. Shoving them in your face as you approach. Smells disgusting! Its great! (insert mischievous laugh here)

-We’re waking the poor little schmucks up at 7 and telling them they have 30 minutes and then we are shoving them onto two different busses for an hour with crowds of people mobbing and selling things and then we will arrive at the beach and the Fish Market. They are going to love us!

-The beach itself is fantastic! Black sands. soccer goals. Super warm water. Surfers galor

-Ok yesterday after we went to la libertad we went to the airport and picked up Kristen at 2 in the afternoon. She had to just kind of chill with us for the afternoon even during our naps because we were exhausted from a long and sweltering morning

-This afternoon got a call from Kassandra telling us that she is waiting at the airport for us. We didn’t know that she was coming earlier in the afternoon. I grabbed a taxi and flew to the airport. Wilmer was the name of the taxista. Great guy I shared the last several parts of the first lesson with him and a little card for him to check out mormon. Org. He believes in God but doesn’t practice the catholic religion anymore. Felt the spirit as I testified about how God loves him and knows him well. He has met several missionaries and loves them a lot.

-I’ve shared to gospel with three of our taxistas and with a man on the bus. I can’t stop myself!

-Our Volunteers arrived (the rest of them) at 8:00 tonight. They are super great. Although the girls are all 20. I kind of feel like a girl’s camp advisor. Ha ha… seriously though. They are all awesome girls though! Two boys arrived as well. Good solid guys. Although out of this group of 7 volunteers only one and half feel really confident speaking Spanish. This shall be interesting. My training at the MTC making my missionaries “Speak Your Language” will come in handy. They all want to learn but don’t really want to speak which doesn’t really work.

-I’ve never really felt more like a parent even though they are only like four or five years younger than me. I’m excited when the other RM girls arrive in 6 weeks. Although I fully intend to party it up with these ones and show them a good time. It is funny that I am their leader. They totally look to me and Tyler for everything. It’s actually kind of awesome!! I can do this!!!

-I sat down on my terribly uncomfortable bed and wrote this entry in my journal.

-My eyes are drooooooooopy and I have a big day of pushing fish guts into my volunteers faces so I should go to bed.

Buenos Nachos!!

Mucho Gusto El Salvador!

2010-05-03T20:04:00.000-07:00

Hey guys so I don't have a ton of time right now...I actually have to go take a shower because the water has been down in our house for the last couple of days and we are at a member's house. Anyways, here is what I've captured up to this point.

This is part of the city where we are at. Notice the big golden arches.

This old lady who lives right down the street from us. That is a giant vat of corn masa (dough) and she is making pupusas... and she is sweating like a horse.

Me and Tyler, the beautiful and brave Country Directors!!

This is Ligia and Adriana, her daughter. They are the daughter and granddaughter of our cook, Estela. We just absolutely love them. Every time I walk in the door, Adri runs and gives me a giant hug.

Tyler and his wife, America ready to eat a giant feast at Estela's.

Estela lets us cook sometimes. these are some tamales that she cooked in banana leaves.

me and estela. I love this woman!! We call her mami. Don't you like my beautiful dress? No, sadly I didn't buy this here. Actually, TJ Maxx.

The view from our street.

America and I in front of our house. Yeah that is right I freaking bought a house in El Salvador!! Ok I rented it but still pretty sweet right. We had an interesting little journey finding this house but it turned out all right and we love it! Funny though, Tyler and I were busy buying a house and then unpacking all the HELP stuff that had been stored. It was like we were a newly married couple or something...taking all these big steps together. We joked about how we are the married ones and America is the mistress who hangs around. We make a funny little trio.

"El Salvador is always waiting with open arms"

Our house!!!

Adriana and Fernanda, Estela's granddaughters made us a sign for when we arrived. It said "Venvenidos a El Salvador! con amor Fer y Adri" they are the cutest girls

Okay, so I am running out of time.

Good news, I took a shower and I feel alive again. Showers are wonderful wonderful things and even better when they are not ice cold.

Also, we did laundry. Clean clothes! Clean garments!

There are lots of funny and interesting stories to tell but it will have to wait for another day.

HOLY CRUD I'M IN EL SAL!!

2010-04-28T08:37:00.000-07:00

Well, I’m in San salvador, El Salvador!!!! Holy Crappers!! This is so sweet. So when I took one step off the plane I was slammed with a wretched, heavy heat that my clothes and my skin began to soak up right away. It is so blasted hot here but it is not the heat that gets you. It’s the humidity. There is a rich thickness to the air.

As the plane was descending into San Salvador, my heart was starting to beat harder and harder. I began to be filled with a quiet yet unsettling anxiety about what I was doing. Why in the world was I chosen for this position? Can I do all that I need to do? Is my Spanish good enough? Am I going to be a good leader to this awesome group of kids? But as we stepped outside of the airport and as our taxi took as along the winding roads past the coast and into the city I knew I could do it. And not only am I going to be able to do it I am going to do it well and have the time of my life too! I am so excited that I’m here!!

We went right away to Estella’s home. She is our FABULOUS cook and friend. She is a convert to the church as of 6 years and is just completely wonderful. Her daughter Ligia and her granddaughter Adriana are great as well. I can already tell that Adriana and I are going to be good friends…She had on some funky shoes. J

And what should be our first meal but PUPUSAS!!!!!! These are the most famous El Salvadorian plate that exists. Oh gosh I ate them faster than I maybe should of but they were so deliciously delicious! They say the difference is the cheese and they are right. The cheese is stringier and more luscious here in E Sal.

I just want you all to know that I feel absolutely, completely, and utterly spoiled! Heavenly Father has spoiled me once again. He is so good to His children. He knew that this job was for me and that I was for this job. He once again has shown me a beautiful window to get through when yet another door has closed on my face.

I have got to go to bed…I am running off of about a total of 1 hour and 10 minutes of sleep for the last two and a half days.

I will keep you all updated as my adventures and service continue here in El Sal. Chao!

Day 2 bring it on!

2 very laughable moments

2010-04-09T23:18:00.001-07:00

Moment #1: The boy, the cell phone and the glass window

I went to Macy's to do some light shopping. I was walking up to the sliding glass doors right behind a guy who was busy texting someone on his phone. He was headed towards one of the big plate glass windows that are on either side of the sliding doors. You know how you often wonder what people are up to but then you just think 'oh they know what they are doing.' Well, this was not one of those scenarios.

The kid walked right into the window. He just smashed into it. I was right next to him (going through the actual door) when it happened. He was both shocked that it was not in fact a door and that he had run into it and utterly embarrassed. He turned a bright shade of red. His eyes met mine right after the "accident" and he looked like a sad, injured little puppy. In that exact moment I felt like I had to say something, like if I didn't it would make the whole thing more embarrassing to the guy, like I was afraid to even mention it. I said, with a friendly smile disguising my mental guffaws, "Hey don't worry about it. If it makes you feel better you just made my night." I think this just made it all worse for the poor guy. He turned around and headed back to the parking lot.

It's really kinda sad actually. He is going to have a questionable red mark on his forehead and no groceries to console him and his destroyed dignity. I continued on my way grabbing a cart, when the laughter came rolling out. I kept replaying it again and again in my head. I couldn't stop laughing until I got all the way through the produce section.

Moment #2: New Spanish verb: holar--to say hello

My missionaries are absolutely insane! So insane that I love them so much that it is really going to hurt to say goodbye in two weeks. One of them, Elder W. likes to invent words in Spanish. Today, when my missionaries came in I was writing something on the board. This elder said, "Hermana, holamos!" I turned around to find him and his companions waving hello to me. It was hilarious as I said, "Sorry elders, holar is not a real verb." Elder W. then said, "Oh sure it is if we want it to be!" He then said, "Look!" and began to wave at himself. "holo" which "means" I say hello. They are such goofs but I love them so!

While we're on the topic...thinking about being done at the MTC makes me sick to my stomach. I'm way excited for what I'm doing in El Salvador this summer but...there is ABSOLUTELY nothing like the MTC. It is definitely time to move on but... I have worked there for almost two years now and it has become such a part of who I am. It is almost like my last transfer wearing the black name tag all over again. Almost...

I was doing the math the other day (while in Sunday School) I have taught about 110 missionaries in 10 different districts (I didn't teach all of those districts their whole 9 weeks, obviously) who have gone to 35-40 different missions all over the world. I love love love my job! Pretty dulce huh?

Just for the sake of being nostalgic, here's some of my last couple of districts:

Zone 51

Zone 50

Zone 38

HELP International and El Salvador!!

2010-04-07T19:30:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

So lots of you already know about what I'm going to do this summer with the Non-Government Organization (NGO) HELP International in El Salvador, BUT for those who don't know here is a letter that I wrote. It explains more or less what I'll be doing as a Country Director there. Also, if you want to help out it lets you know what you can do! If you have any questions call or email me!!!

It wouldn't let me download the beautiful letter that I made in its original format so this looks a little choppy because I just cut and pasted it but just know that it looked really great.

Dear Friends and Family,

I wanted to let you know about an awesome experience that I’m preparing for this summer. I will be working and volunteering with a Non-Profit Organization in El Salvador. HELP International is an NGO that started in 1999 as a humanitarian response to Hurricane Mitch in Honduras but has since expanded and now works across the globe. A main goal of HELP is to empower local community members by teaching self-sustainable skills that can be passed on to others. Currently HELP is working to aid impoverished communities in six locations around the world, including El Salvador. HELP stands for Help ELiminate Poverty, which it strives to do through sustainable projects led by motivated and enthusiastic volunteers. Projects in El Salvador include: adobe stove building, square-foot gardens, micro-credit loaning organizations,English classes, public health education, women empowerment groups, and volunteering in hospitals, orphanages, and group homes. All of these projects are done collaboratively with locally run NGOs currently working in El Salvador. Also, all projects taken on by HELP International require commitment from the community, thereby not only securing more sustainable projects, but also increasing the effectiveness of what work is able to be accomplished while volunteers are in the country.

As you may or may not know, I am graduating from Brigham Young University at the end of April and am so excited to explore the field of international development further. Last year, I had an incredible opportunity to live in Trujillo, Peru and work at an employment center, facilitating workshops that helped people with job-searching and interviewing skills. While there, I gained a greater understanding of just how much good one person or group of people can do. One of the greatest gifts that Peru gave me was being able to look at myself and my role in this world with new eyes.

HELP has offered me the position of El Salvador Country Director, whichinvolves several responsibilities, including collaboration with all partner organizations in country and helping all volunteers in El Salvador develop and carry out successful and sustainable projects that benefit the communities and individuals we work with. I feel confident that my group of volunteers, my fellow Country Director, and I will be a powerful force to do much good in El Salvador.

The unique quality of HELP’s program is that volunteers participating in these projects have the opportunity to assess needs in country and develop their own new and innovative projects to address those needs, so the opportunities for growth and development are endless. Non-profit organizations like HELP International rely heavily on volunteer program fees and fundraising. As Country Director for El Salvador, I have the opportunity to raise funds that will go directly to these great projects, changing the lives of potentially thousands of people for the better. The other Country Director and I are working to raise a minimum of $3,600.00 by April 10^th, 2010. 100% of your donation will go towards the aforementioned projects in El Salvador. My personal expenses are covered by the organization.

While money is tight for everyone, the amount of good that can be done for the people of El Salvador increases significantly with every dollar donated. I am inviting you to join me and HELP International in serving the people of El Salvador by donating $25, $35, $50, $100, $250 or whatever you can*. Checks should be made payable to HELP International with “Juliann Keller, El Salvador” in the memo line. Donations can be mailed directly to HELP International with the provided pre-stamped return envelope or through PayPal online at: http://help-international.org/donors.html, including “Juliann Keller, El Salvador” in the comments section.

I thank you in advance for your support of me and the people of El Salvador, and feel honored to have you in my life. As you are now invested partners in this grand endeavor to alleviate the suffering of our fellowmen, I would like to keep you informed on the progress of the various projects. Here is a link to the blog our group will keep this summer: http://help-elsalvador.blogspot.com as well as my own personal blog that I will keep updated:http://jrellek.blogspot.com. I look forward to sharing my adventures with you!

Thanks again and lots of love,

Juliann Keller

*Funds raised herewith are donations to HELP International, to be used at HELP International’s discretion. Donations are non refundable. HELP International is a 501(c)(3) tax

exempt nonprofit charitable organization. Your contributions may be tax deductible. Consult your tax advisor.

363 N University Ave #110, Provo, UT 84604 | 801.374.0556 | www.help-international.org

This is a group of children that we will be working with at the Hogar del Nino orphanage in San Salvador! They are so cute!

This is me with a group of students that I taught in interviewing and job searching skills to in Peru! What a great group!