Opal House

Opal House

About Me

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Hi, my name is Maren Talcott. I am 22 years old, and I just graduated Washington State University with a degree in Elementary Education and minor in Spanish. My passion is teaching... I love children! I was born in Minnesota, but spent all of my life growing up in Washington. My dream is to become a kindergarten teacher, and inspire children to love learning! I have done little to no traveling in my lifetime outside of the United States. My goal for this blog is to keep my family, friends, and loved ones up to date on my experiences. I will be living in Guatemala for three months, Jan.-March 2014. I will be volunteering at the Opal House School near Lake Atitlan. The reason for traveling to Guatemala is to have the experience of a lifetime, and improve my Spanish! This journey will push me out of my comfort zone, and open my eyes to a whole new world. I know that I will show my love and compassion to the guatemalan people every single day, and hope that I can impact their lives as much as I know they will impact my own. You can email me at marentalcott@yahoo.com

Saturday, January 11, 2014

A Sad Goodbye and....The Parrots!

Every morning I wake up to the most beautiful view....and the LOUDEST PARROTS! :)

This video shows the "beautiful" sound I wake up to every morning...before 8am! Haha Really makes me realize each and every day that I am not in Washington anymore! One of the many pets they have on the farm, are two parrots, and they love to talk!


Over the past week... I have shared many laughs, tears, and exciting adventures with my dad. I can't believe it has already been one week! Today my dad left Guatemala. Even though I am slowly getting adjusted and settled here, this was a very difficult goodbye...for both of us! Last night we were sitting at the dinner table and my dad said the prayer. As he was praying, we both began to cry. It was a beautiful moment we shared. The tears were tears of joy because we were both so grateful for the past week together, and tears of fear for the next three months I have ahead of me. Then today, as we said our goodbyes...there were more tears. My dad and I share the same emotional side. But this really was special. We have had our differences, but this trip was the first time we have both ever done something like this together. I couldn't and wouldn't have done this without him. It is really scary to say goodbye because he was my security, he was the constant reminder that everything was going to be okay. AND it was really nice because he does not speak Spanish, so he made me look really good :) But in the end, his week is up and I am on my own! Today Jackelyn (teacher) moves into her apartment which is part of our property, and our relationship is going to be forced to grow. She is specifically moving here to help me improve my Spanish. Jackelyn only speaks Spanish, and this is going to be a hard friendship that I am really going to need to work for. She wants help learning English, so we are in this together. I know she is going to push me out of my comfort zone every day, and that is exactly what I need to actually learn the language. 


Last thing, my dad is bringing back Opal House Coffee with him. Grown and harvested on the farm here in Guatemala. He is also bringing back beautiful Guatemalan bracelets made with colorful beads. If you are interested in buying either of these things please contact him. They are both about $10 each. He is willing to get them to you whichever way is easiest! All the money will be going towards the Opal House Mission which is solely funded by donations. His name is Jerry and cell is 425-444-6063



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