The Day It Wasn't Only Rain in Guatemala

Every day is a new beginning. Every day is full of activities we execute. The weather is an important factor in our everyday life. The weather either limits us to do some things or helps us to do what we planned. Sometimes even the weather can change our mood. The weather has an important role in my mood and in my every day activities. Here in Guatemala is hard to predict if it is going to rain or if it is going to be hot or cold. Guatemala´s weather is changing all the time, so we don´t exactly experience the four seasons. We experience mostly winter and summer seasons.

The weather is something unexpected. Here in Guatemala there is a lot of sugar cane harvest. When the ones in charge of the harvest start burning the cane, the whole wind and sky is contaminated with small pieces of burned cane. You can see the little burned pieces flying in the sky. I have a house in Amatitlan and when there are burned pieces flying in the sky, my mom doesn´t let anyone go inside the pool. That affects my plans and my mood because a get cranky with my mom. Plus, it ruins my afternoon.

I remember one day when I was amazed with the weather. It was a Thursday if I remember correctly. I went to school, then I came back to my house, after that I went to my ballet class and came home. I believe it was around seven o’clock when I heard the rain. I got up from the chair in the study room and went to close every opened window. Then I came back and continued with my homework. My dad was doing some work in his computer besides me in the study room.

 The rain didn’t sound the same as it always sounds, but my dad and I ignored it completely. After a while, my dad went out to drive his car inside the garage and started screaming my name. I went running to see what was going on. When I got outside I saw the rain, but it wasn’t rain. It was raining earth. I couldn’t believe it. My dad grabbed a recipient and put it under the earth rain and in a matter of minutes the recipient was completely dark.

My dad and I were both confused, because we couldn’t find a reason why it was raining earth. My dad went inside the house and turn on the television to watch the news. The news said that the Pacaya volcano had erupted and that the ash was the earth it was raining. What was amazing is that the ashes flew in big quantities from Amatitlan to the city. It was very dangerous because it wasn’t just a little rain but it formed thick layers of earth on the streets.

My mom was in the traffic when it started raining earth. She said it was horrible because the earth didn’t come off the windshield. The streets were hard to drive through because the layer of earth on the streets made it hard. Plus, there was a lot of traffic. She said it was the worst experience she has ever had.

I was in my garage watching the earth rain. The news said school was cancelled the next day. In the morning you could see big trucks picking up the earth layers on the street, people cleaning their houses, ceilings, cars, and there were big sacks with earth inside. Everyone took that day to clean their house. My garden was no longer green and many plants were dead.

You could see that the whole city was black. In the afternoon, I went to a party and there weren’t too much people because their parents didn’t let them go out. The earth in every house, ceiling, building, street, sidewalk, and garden remained there for months. It was impossible to remove completely the earth. The garbage people took so long to pick up the earth sacks which were on the streets waiting to be picked up, that the whole city looked dirty, and sad.

I remember that the people that day was sad, angry, tired, surprised, astonished, and worried. It was awful to see how many houses were destroyed. One event changed the life of many people. One change in the weather brought disaster to Guatemala. I will never forget those days because it was not only about the time it rain earth but also all the consequences it brought along. 

Australia

We all have dreams and sometimes those dreams can’t come true. I am an adventurous person, so my dreams are kind of hard to accomplish. I love animals and even more those species that are rare. So one of the places I have always wanted to visit is Australia. I want to see a kangaroo.

Italy, France, Germany, and Spain are the common places that everyone aspires to visit. I believe Australia is richer in wildlife than Europe. Australia is more interesting and there are more probabilities to be amazed with its nature than in anywhere else. I want to be a veterinarian, so my passion is observing, discovering, and taking care of animals; so I started thinking, what better place could I go than Australia.

Australia is a country and a continent. I have always read about Australian wildlife. I have imagined it in my head as a big desert and a blue sky above you. You can see all kinds of animals as kangaroos, koalas, emus, etc… It would be a total change from the city to a desert. I imagine certain parts of Australia with villages and all of the natives being nice to you. I imagine myself in those jeeps and with my binoculars watching all the animals with my own travel guide.

Australia is surrounded by water, so I can imagine how beautiful the coasts must be. A big blue horizon, with clean coasts, not crowded as in Puerto San Jose, just me and nature. I could go diving and seeing corals, fishes, whales, dolphins and so much more. I would never get tired of exploring new territories every day. Breathing that clean, pure air must be delightful.

I imagine myself under the hot sun, away from all the stress that I experience in the city. It would be incredible to see kangaroo’s babies on their mother’s bag. See Lions yawning and resting under a big tree shadow. Watch a koala hang from a tree. Hear all the birds singing and making noise.

Imagine waking up in the morning with the beautiful sounds of birds flying, animals waking up, not hearing any car or bus. I don’t have any school, boy or parent problem. Sometimes is hard to appreciate the nature that is surrounding us. Australia has a perfect combination of forests, desert, rivers, and beautiful coasts with a great weather. I think Australian coasts are one of the perfect views in the whole country, because just seeing crystal water and the animal underneath swimming, must be amazing. Watch a sunset on the top of a mountain, surrounded by an orange sky.

I think sometimes people travel to faraway places to get away from everything and everyone. Australia is a continent and a country faraway enough to get away from everything. Australia is not just any country where you can go and buy new cloths;try to go to museum to know a little more about that country’s history. It is a place where you learn the country’s history by exploring the nature in it and the stories the natives tell you. You don’t buy new cloths but instead you spend your money exploring the continent.


I would't spend most of my time in the city, even though people say it's beautiful. Some say that australians are kind and humble. Australia is a very peaceful country. It has a great economy. It's a city worth visiting.

If I ever travel to Australia I would go at least for one month. All the beauty found there is so extensive that you need a lot of time to really appreciate it. I would climb almost every mountain, dive in various places to see different types of corals and fishes, and explore all the species of animals I can. What I would most take advantage of, would be taking time for myself and appreciate everything I have. I believe God created this beautiful planet with impressive flora and fauna, not only for us to take advantage of it and use it for our own convenience, but also for us to be thankful for it, appreciate and cherish it. For me, Australia is not just any country or continent, but it is a paradise where I can make my dreams come true. I hope someday I get to go to Australia and see it for myself that it is exactly what I imagined it would be.

For me, Australia is not just any country or continent, but is a paradise where I can make my dreams come true. I hope someday I get to go to Australia and see it for myself that it is exactly what I imagined it would be. It is sad that I haven’t got the chance to go to Australia yet. I know I am young and have a whole life ahead of me, so I don’t need to worry, for now. I could start saving money so that later on, my obstacle that keeps me from going to Australia won’t be money problems.

"poignancy"

Beatriz Arenales del Aguila

My first day in seventh grade was a big step for me. It was the beginning of my teenage years. That day was all about getting to know my classmates, my surrounding, my classes, and my teachers. My homeroom teacher was Beatriz Arenales del Aguila. She taught me literature. She was tall, a little over weight, and her eyes were lined with a thick black line. She didn’t have too much hair but what little hair she had was dyed red. She was 55 years old. She always wore vests, rings in both hands and pearl necklaces. Beatriz always carried around a little box with all her things and a picture of her, when she was young.

That day, she entered the classroom and shouted to everyone, so that they would be quiet and sit down. She didn’t smile, and had no sense of humor or patience. She introduced herself to the class quickly and with no smile. She seemed angry. In that moment I knew she was going to be a strict and not easy to crack teacher. I am an outgoing person and I like to talk to my teachers and make jokes with them, but with Beatriz it was different. She wanted to be left alone and wanted silence in her class all of the time, when in a class full of thirteen year old kids is impossible to be quiet most of the time. 

So because everyone was always talking, she was yelling most the time. I really hated her, because she was always yelling at me. I even felt she had something against me.The first months passed and she kept on yelling at me and I still hated her. One day I went to talk to her and she was in a better mood than usually. We started talking and for the first time, I saw her smile at me. She was funny and kind, which was weird because I never thought she was like that. We kept on talking for a while about lots of things. 

After that day I began calling her: Miss Bea and she stopped yellin at me. She wasn’t my teacher anymore, she was my friend too. She started telling me about her life. She told me she had been married 3 times and she has 4 children. I understood then that she was always angry because she was stressed ‘cause of all the financial problems she had. I always listened to her and she always listened to me. I would go on and tell her about my weekend, problems in my house, boy’s issues or friendship problems and she would too. She told me that her three daughters didn’t hug her or kiss her much and I am a loving person, so it became a habit to strongly hug her every day. 

She is an amazing person, but not so good a teacher. Everyone hated her class but we all loved her. She was like my second mother. She is very wise and always helped me with everything. Paola  Sanchez, my best friend, and I used to sing to her a song, that we made up for her, everyday and she would always laugh and tell us that she loved us.

I realize I misjudged her so much. I regret hating her because she didn’t deserve it. She turned out to be completely different of what my first impression of her was. She continued teaching me ‘til ninth grade, various classes, but always in English. Beatriz and I became so tight through the years, that it was hard for me when she left the school that year.

I always get along so well with my teachers, but with Beatriz it was different. We didn’t just get along; we had so much fun together. She was the only adult who understood me at that time. She really meant a lot to me. I remember I loved hugging her, seeing her smile and always teasing her, just to make her day a little bit better. 

Now, I haven’t seen her for a year. Her daughters still study in my school, but I haven’t been so lucky to see Beatriz again. Students always say they have a lot of favorite teachers and each year they change their mind. For me, Beatriz Arenales del Aguila will always be my favorite teacher. I miss her.                      

by. Ana Maria Guerra: "First Impressions"