mr jackson's adventures

check this instead...

2008-06-29T08:03:00.000-07:00

hello there!

i'm here in Soshanguve safe and sound. we're actually posting on a team blog so check this out instead

http://icsoshanguve.blogspot.com

blessings,

Andrew.

a new adventure...

2008-06-04T10:45:00.000-07:00

so i'm off travellng again! this time its a 6 week trip to South Africa via San Francisco to get involved with an organisation called innerCHANGE, a christian order among the poor.
I am going on an internship for the summer to find out more about the organisation and to spend some time living and breathing in a township near Pretoria called Soshanguve.
Most people reading this blog will probably know all about the trip so I won't bore you with any more details... keep watching this space and i'll try and keep you updated with what's going on.
laters.

did you feel the montains tremble?

2007-06-14T15:56:00.000-07:00

...well i did. yesterday whilst sitting in this very same internet café from where i am writing this blog i was priviledged to experience a mighty moving of the earth... an earthquake to be exact! and it was a whopping 6.8 on the richter scale. Sweet!! the whole building was shaking and the floor was moving up and down. it must have been strong because all the guatemalans were talking about it and the experience them all the time.
so, what else?
i tried to upload some photos of what i´ve been doing in last few weeks but this computer isn´t the best so i´ll try again another day. i can´t complain really. an hour in an internet café is 30p so i can afford to check my emails (and update this blog) whenever i want.
i´d rather wait and explain what i´ve been doing when i upload the photos so you´ll just have to be patient. i hope that is ok?

Come on you Super Rams!!!!!

2007-05-30T14:20:00.000-07:00

Don´t be mistaken, although i am pleased that Derby County have reached the premiership, i´m actually referring to the super chivos (rams) that are Xelaju MC, the winners of the guatemalan league.
so, here we are again. time for some more information and some more photos. in fact, lots more photos. i was feeling generous so i decided to spend 2 hours at an internet café uploading them for your viewing pleasure. i hope you are happy...
the first lot of photos are from the football game i went to see here in Xela. Xelaju MC played local rivals San Marcos in the cup final of the guatemalan league. in the game that i went to (i had to queue for over 2 hours to get tickets) Xelaju lost 0-1. but went on to win the away leg 1-4. sweet. celebrations lasted a long, long time here in Xela, as they haven´t won the league for a long, long time.
the next lot are from a village called Las Nubes (the clouds) where i have been helping build a church. the building will also act as a community space for the villagers, where weekly film nights and typing classes will be held.
the final shots are of another village called xocalja (show-cal-ha) which is over 2 hours from Xela. a missionary group who set up the church i´ve been going to in Xela helped build the school and still have regular contact with the kids. i went along and played some games with them.

This is Shazad and Fred, my housemates, out shopping at La Democracia, the local market.

this is Jacob, Mary-Ann and Ruth (who is a teacher from the spanish school i went to) enjoying the prematch celebrations. we arrived at 6pm for an 8pm kick-off and the stadium was already full. some people arrived at 6am just to get a good spot!

Me and the girls!

things went crazy when the teams entered on the stadium. fireworks were shooting just over our heads onto the pitch. it was a very cool atmosphere. not quite as good as sitting in a half empty stadium watching Darlington FC lose though.

firecrackers were constantly attached to the fence or thrown on the pitch.

more craziness...

This is me explaining the complicated game of ´cat and mouse´ in english, which was then translated into spanish and then translated into the mayan language of quiche.

everyone having lots of fun!

... more fun

one of the school teachers being a mouse, much to her dismay.

me and some friends. very few of them spoke english or spanish, so there was little verbal communication to be had

These are some kids who live in the village of Las Nubes where i was helping build the church (you can just see it in the background). i can´t remember their names unfortunately. i can tell you they very much enjoyed bing photographed and seeing the pictures on my camera!

this is a picture taken by one the above kids.

me and me mates!

I´m back!

2007-05-18T11:06:00.000-07:00

my friend has just pointed out that it has been almost a month since i lasted posted anything on here. so what have i been doing with myself since i last spoke to you. well, not a lot. i got very ill with either a parasite, bacteria or some other kind of unpleasantness for quite a few days. it was on a weekend so i couldn´t go to a doctor or get a test so i just went to the chemist and picked up some anti biotics (you can buy them over the counter here) and hoped they might do the trick... and they did, praise the lord! supposedly everybody gets sick with something here so i got off relatively lightly, although i still have over a month left to get something else.
so what other news; i spent two days in guatemala city sorting out an extension for my visa. i caught a bus at 5.15 in the morn in order to get to the immigration office in good time. however a bus journey that is meant to take3/4 hours took 6 and a half due to crazy roadworks, meaning i was late by 30 mins and had to stay over night and pick up my passport the following day. i went with my friend leonor from san fransisco and so we spent the day wandering round the city. we were fine but as guatemala city experiences between 30-50 murders a day we didn´t stay out too late (don´t worry mum i´m fine, no need to worry!) the journey back to Xela was even worse- 7 and a quarter hours!
currently i´m doing some language exchange with a guy from the church i´m going to who wants to improve his english, and on whom i can practice my spanish, i´m doing a lot of reading as well as sorting out some voluntary work, which finally seems to be happening. i was also invited to a piñata party of the grandkids of the family i was living with when i was studying last weekend. that was quite fun and very different.
i will post some photos soon. promise.
bye bye.

I´ve got TENDONITIS...

2007-04-20T07:21:00.000-07:00

So, it´s not a great excuse as to why I haven´t updated my blog recently, but it rather uncomfortable and I can´t really walk very far without getting quite a bit of pain in my leg. it´s right in my achilles. i´m off to see a doctor today so hopefully he´ll give me some medicine. i´ve been spending quite a bit of time at home in my room reading and studying, which is a good thing. anybody read Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky? it´s great. you should. i urge you to.
so, some photos. just a selection to wet your appetite. you can all come over for scones and a slideshow of all my snaps when i return to Inglaterra.

The highlight of my day... futeo (fussball/tablefootball). this is me and and my friend Jacob from the US taking on 2 teachers, Miguel and Estuardo. I have earned my self the nickname Señor Gato (Mr Cat) i´m not exactly sure why...
This is my Guatemalan family celebrating the birthday of Antonio, the father of the family
This is my friend Shazad, also from England, and the grandaughter of the host familyhe is living with. She´s called Milly, she´s 5 and she is great!
Me and my mum... well, my Guatemalan mum. this is Rosa, and we are standing outside the main cathedral in Xela. not that you can tell.
These are some shots from a procession during Semana Santa (Holy Week). it was quite impressive to see... although i´m not sure exactly what it has got to do with the christian message or the teachings of Jesus!

This is me with some of my teachers at the school. From the top it is Rosario, Paty and Rufina.

me and a rather large volcano

2007-04-03T16:46:00.000-07:00

So, this is our campsite that we set up an hour from the top of Volcan Tujumulco. We slept here one night. I use the word slept very loosely. It was cold. very cold. One girl in our group works in Antartica and she said she was colder here than when she is at work...!
a slightly blurry shot of our group singing boy scout and girl guide songs around the fire.
The top! this was taken at sunrise (5.30ish). I have to admit that none of these photos were actually taken by me as my torch batteries had run down so I had to use the ones from my camera. by the time it was light enough to not need a torch i could not use my hands anymore due to the cold. so thank you anna for the use of the pics.
me... on top of a volcano
this is anna... also on top of a volcano
this is us on the way down, descending in to the crater.

it´s all work, work, work.

2007-03-30T12:49:00.000-07:00

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

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

and finally... some photos

2007-03-21T10:17:00.000-07:00

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

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

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

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

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

Happy Baron Bliss Day!

2007-03-15T16:30:00.000-07:00

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

Why God created smiling

2007-03-08T14:47:00.000-08:00

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

Welcome to Mexico

2007-03-05T19:12:00.000-08:00

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

3 top tips

2007-03-01T04:02:00.000-08:00

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

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

2007-03-01T03:52:00.000-08:00

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

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

2007-03-01T03:34:00.000-08:00

Mr Yousef with a small Congolese friend!

the art of uploading!

2007-02-24T14:36:00.000-08:00

So, I've managed to upload a photo. I decided just to show you one for now. This is a very sad picture. It is of my office desk taken on my last day. It had been emptied of all my things and therefore this is why the desk looks downbeat and forlorn. Share a tear with me... just one tear please.

Home sweet home?

2007-02-22T15:59:00.000-08:00

here I am back in the town of my birth and formative years. It feels nice to be home with my folks before I head out to pastures new. I had a lovely family game of scrabble tonight... which I won convincingly (169 points!). I plan to make sure I get a good dose of the greatest game invented before I head off just in case I don't to play it until I come back. three cheers for scrabble. Has anybody heard 'indiscrimate act of kindness' by Foy Vance? it is infiltrating my brain. please check out the link to your right and get of load this legend... joni mitchell with a bald head anyone?!
In my last post I promised photos of my leaving party organised by my lovely friends from church. however technology is not my forte therefore I am somewhat struggling to upload pictures. I will spend this week in training in order to learn the acient art of photo uploading and will amaze you with the results as soon as I am able...peace and God's blessings be upon you.

Dear friend, guard clear thinking and common sense with your life; don't for a minute lose sight of them. they'll keep your soul alive and well, they'll keep you fit and attractive. You'll travel safely, you'll neither tire nor trip. You'll take afternoon naps without a worry, you'll enjoy a good night's sleep. No need to panic over alarms or suprises, or predictions that doomsday is just around the corner, because God will be right there with you: he'll keep you safe and sound - Proverbs 3 21-26 (the message)

the times they are a'changing

2007-02-13T05:14:00.000-08:00

well, here I am and it's my last week of work. I've been working for the same charity for the last two and a half years (granted I've done 3 different jobs during my time) and it feels a little weird to be counting down the days until I leave.
it's been a 'bossa nova' few years with 'Da Action' and I am thoroughly sad to be leaving... although the thought of cruising round central america for a few months also sounds appealing.
It's also gonna be weird bidding my farewell to the city of Derby, the place I have slightly reluctantly called home for the past six and a half years. Please don't get me wrong, I have enjoyed my time here and I have some wonderful friends but I find it a little bit of a dreary place -Normanton not included in this sweeping statement!
I am having a small leaving party organised by some friends from church on the 16th (photos to follow) and hopefully catching up with everyone else over the next few days.
I have yet to decide whether I would prefer to slip away quietly or to make a grand exit- i will return to this subject at a later date once I have decided.
So, my planned date of departure is 22nd feb, after which I will decamp to Darlington (the jewel of the north east) for a few days to hang out with my folks, get fed and prepare myself for the journey.

as mr charles once said...

2007-01-23T05:39:00.000-08:00

(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more.)
What you say?
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more.)

Woah Woman, oh woman, don't treat me so mean,
You're the meanest old woman that I've ever seen.
I guess if you said so
I'd have to pack my things and go. (That's right)

(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more.)
What you say?
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more.)

Now baby, listen baby, don't ya treat me this-a way
Cause I'll be back on my feet some day.
(Don't care if you do 'cause it's understood)
(you ain't got no money you just ain't no good.)
Well, I guess if you say so
I'd have to pack my things and go. (That's right)

(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more.)
What you say?
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more.)

Well
(don't you come back no more.)
Uh, what you say?
(don't you come back no more.)
I didn't understand you
(don't you come back no more.)
You can't mean that
(don't you come back no more.)
Oh, now baby, please
(don't you come back no more.)
What you tryin' to do to me?
(don't you come back no more.)
Oh, don't treat me like that
(don't you come back no more.)

(c) percy mayfield 1961