Well in truth being the only one left standing blogging with Nicole and Luca gone has made blogging less fun.  But I don’t want to miss out on continuing to benefit from the intention of the blog.  The blog forces me to pause and reflect on the stuff that’s been happening… both in the fast pace moments of our day and in the very routine and mundane moments that happen from just living somewhere. We have 3 days left here and I can’t seem to wrap my brain around the fact that it is ending so soon.  Week 3 tends to be when you goet your stride in a new place and really start to just settle into the new norm.  School continues to be incredibly hard for me and I despise having homework at 41 years old, even when it’s something I truly want to learn.  My teacher continues to tell wild stories that force me to listen to an exhausting end. We finished it last week at school with learning to make tortillas and pairing them with delicious guacamole and beans.   MJ and I wandered around the city a little the end of last week. We walked into churches and Ruins and absorbed some of the history in our own back yard. We ended the day with pizza with a view from a rooftop restaurant. This weekend we ventured out on Saturday for a day trip to Iximche. The Mayan Ruins that are closest to us. Remembering back 4 years ago when MJ suggested we go to Tikal and I was like um how could that ever been entertaining. Only to be blown away once I arrived. So this time I was way more excited about going.  There’s just something so powerful and mind boggling about seeing Ruins from a time long before that were literally eaten up by the earth only to be found by radars and if left untouched they would once again disappear into the earth.  Iximche was interesting in that the local Myans still hold fire ceremonies here.  Our guide was a young Mayan who basically was like “hey let me tell you about my people.” This is how I love to learn.  Driving back into town we noticed a huge crowd and people in jerseys….I had literally a couple days before said that I wanted to go to a football (soccer) game.  Little did I know we had a stadium in our backyard.  So we rerouted and we’re able to watch Antigua vs Xela (The town where MJ did language school before living in Honduras). So much fun Soccer in Central America has a whole different vibe. Sunday I spent at one of my favorite cafes doing boat loads of homework and eating some of the tastiest food ever (the food made the homework part not so bad) Monday began our final week in language school.  Not long into the day MJ text saying hey it’s a gorgeous day let’s go climb Pacaya. Maggie and I ditched school early,  grabbed lunch at my favorite Cafe and headed out to roast marshmallows on an active volcano. Maggie and I decided that we wanted to do the trip in the most enjoyable way possible so we opted to get a horse for the climb and MJ braved the 15000ft incline on his own. I have never been more thankful for a horse in my entire life.  “Carmelo” was my horse, and me hero…..I once had a horse named Bob but I digress. I can’t speak for MJ but the ascend up was so much fun.  I got to chat with the other girls in on our group who were also on horseback and really just enjoy the simply beauty of the Volcano around us, instead of struggling to breathe which came soon after. The horses were only allowed up to a certain point and then we were forced to foot it the rest of the way like all the others in our group.  The initial incline up before we leveled off to cross the volcano sent my post covid x4 (1x covid pneumonia) lungs into a tizzy. I am talking full on lungs that felt like they were gonna burst. So while my legs didn’t mind the climb my lungs were definitely thankful for Carmelo carrying me up most of the acsent. Once we started across the volcano horizontally life got better and literally the view become overwhelming. We roasted marshmallows that were actually delicious on the heat from below our feet.  We stood on volcanic rock from the big eruption that just happened in March. We looked out over Volcan Fuego and Volcan Agua. We watched as Fuego sent clouds of smoke up into the air with each eruption. And said to ourselves….. not many people can say they climbed an active volcano today. We literally were above the clouds.  Moments…. Taking in moments.  Maggie mentioned earlier in this trip the two types of fun that her and MJ talk about all the time. The first type of fun are things that are fun in the moment, simple and just fun.  The second type are things that are not actually fun in the moment but are fun to think about after.  Thanks to my lungs I can truly say that this was both. We ended up with a really great group of people and it was a beautiful reminder that when you do things that are cool, exciting, difficult, and different; you will find others that are open and interesting.  That couldn’t be more different than you, yet the commonalities that are found simply because you’re both there trying something new connects you.  Also people who do things outside the box tend to be more interesting, accepting, and friendlier people in general.  We ended our trip having dinner with a couple of the girls we met in our group that included delicious tacos at Fridas and Zacapa in frozen lemonade.  While my lungs still haven’t recovered and I still sound like I have croup, these are the moments that make life worth living.  The pictures do this trip no justice but I hope you can feel the beauty in them.