Life in AZ pics

Another Month has Flown By!

Wow, I'm loving life here in Flagstaff my time is flying by soooo fast.

This month has been a traveling all over the state month! I'm been in Phoenix, Tucson, Prescott, Sedona and Flagstaff in the last month!!

I had our yearly VISTA training this year in Prescott and got to see some friends from regional training come together for the first time since we started our projects. It was fantastic getting to see them and we had a blast at training.

I also got to spend a few days in Sedona with Leveta where she lives and got to meet our new colleague who starts now this first week of November. So I have some fantastic pics from a short hike we took while I visited her.

I also got to see Elon students this month as they came to Tucson and Mexico to do a trip with BorderLinks, an organization that does educational trips down to different Mexican border towns so that students and organizations can learn about the specific issues that affect border towns. It was a blast to be back with Elon students and I even got to see an old professor and another 2009 graduate who also now lives in AZ like me. It was a complete blast and I got to learn more specific issues about my regional focus so that was fantastic.

This month just went by sooo fast. It's been fantastic and I got to see my first day of snow here in Flagstaff, but it definitely wasn't too bad. I'm sure I'll have pictures when we start getting FEET of snow!!

Hope everyone is having a great fall and getting ready for the holiday season!

Enjoy the pics!

Give 1 to Get 1 Please Support my Citizen Philanthropist Project this Holiday Season!

This holiday season Give 1 to Get 1. By helping us raise $1200 this holiday season your purchase of these prints, greeting cards, and canvas prints is helping bring education to 300 children in Ica, Peru. An area devastated by the earthquake in 2007. Your purchase will help to build a new multipurpose classroom where children will learn and community workshops will be held.

For every greeting card purchase $5 will be donated to Citizen Effect and you will receive a tax-deduction.

For every 8 x 10 matted print you purchase $7.50 will be donated in your honor to Citizen Effect and you will receive a tax-deduction.

For every 12 x 16 stretched canvas print purchased a $25 donation will be given in your name to Citizen Effect.

Thank you for giving this holiday season and I hope that the incentive of receiving a tropical print and a tax-deductible donation will encourage you to help provide a badly needed education space for these 300 students and their families in Peru.

Thank you for your support!

Coral Zayas
Citizen Philanthropist- Citizen Effect
Journey 2 Paradise Photography

To view all prints see http://picasaweb.google.com/LuvLatinDance/Photos4Sale1Well

To purchase prints visit http://journey2paradise.yolasite.com/photos-4-charity.php

Update on my Citizen Philanthropist project through 1 Well

So as most of you know I really enjoy photography and have it as a hobby. Well this year I was finally able to get hooked up with an NGO that was building classrooms in Latin America. This was my Clinton Global Initiative commitment from two years ago that I have been trying to set up. Well through 1 Well's incredible citizen philanthropist program I have been able to sponsor a new multipurpose school wing in Ica, Peru. What I have chosen to do in order to raise money for this classroom is sell my photography. 100% of proceeds go to 1 Well to finance the new school wing. Please support this project and spread the news if you believe in providing access to education in rural areas of Latin America. If everyone donated $5 I would only need 200 individuals and we would finish building the school wing! 

Thank you everyone for your support!! To find out more information check out the following two links.

http://1well.org/subtanjalla_caeclassroom/

http://shop.ebay.com/journey2paradisephotography/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=25

My VISTA project in the news!

The new college resource center I have been working has been getting a lot of attention lately, here are the latest articles about the project I've been working on!

http://jackcentral.com/news/2009/09/flagstaff-ymca-makes-plans-to-offer-resources-to-students/
This is the Lumberjack the NAU student newspaper

http://www4.nau.edu/insidenau/bumps/2009/8_19_09/ymca.htm
This is from InsideNAU, NAU's version of E-Net at Elon

We are also featured in the September YMCA newsletter but I don't have a link for that.

Hope you enjoy seeing what I'm been working on lately!

Wow in the News! This is so exciting! Citizen Philanthopist Spotlight of the Week!

So I don't think I've ever been in the news before and this is so exciting! The two projects that I'm working on have been in the news several times in the last two weeks and I wanted to share the articles in case you guys were interested in seeing what I have been up to. Check it out I hope you enjoy!

http://www.1well.org/blog/entry/http_www1wellorg_blog_entry_featured_citizen_philanthropist_coral_zayas
This is my new Citizen Philanthropist project through a DC based NGO called 1 Well. They allow regular people to give back to a cause they believe in in a creative way. I'm chosen to auction off my Latin American photographs to raise funds to build a new youth outreach center in Ica, Peru an area that has vastly devastated in the August 2007 earthquake. The website is still being added to and next week will have links to the auction site on eBay through Mission Fish as well as the prints I'll be selling. I'm hugely excited about this project because I've tried for two years now to partner with an existing NGO to do work in education in rural Latin America, well I finally got my chance and I am sooo excited!

I hope you guys will pass the word along and the website will continue to be updated with progress on the fundraising and the site project in Peru.

Check out my project's website! http://1well.org/subtanjalla_caeclassroom/

Wow Sept just went through the window!

Wow well my time in Flagstaff is flying by! Sept has gone by so fast I haven't even had time to go dance. I'm been kept incredibly busy with my work, but I absolutely love it.

Last weekend I went and explored Petrified Forest and the Painted desert, I'll have pictures of this and the two national monuments I went to a few weeks back later this week when I have my camera next to me.

I got to play professor for the day today and that was great, like Elon NAU has a freshman common reading, and since I felt that all of Elon's chooses were always fantastic books I volunteered to lead one of the student discussions and I got to do that today. If was great getting to do something outside my job description for the last week as I've been preparing for the class so it's been fun.

I love Flagstaff I barely even drive anymore because there is such a great public transport system here I've used it to get pretty much everywhere.

Some of the exciting events coming up for me are attending a college fair to advertise our new center, golf tournaments for fundraisers at the Y (don't worry I will not be golfing haha), I'm heading down to Tucson and Mexico about mid month to join my university as they come down for a trip with Border Links. I actually get to learn more about that tomorrow as NAU is also planning on sending students in the future.

So hopefully back onto the dancing calendar this month.

Hope everyone is doing well, keep me posted with you lives! I miss living so far away from all my close friends.

Until next time :)

Yes Vanessa I do work! :)

This post is specially dedicated to Vanessa because when I was in Costa Rica I posted about all the amazing things I was getting to do in and out of the country and she jokingly thought I was even going to class! haha

Well my work here is really exciting, I'm the coordinator for the brand new College Resource Center. The center opens in January so I'm doing all the set up now. I'm basically the liaison between Northern Arizona University and the Flagstaff Family YMCA as they are jointing in charge of this new project. So that means I split my time between the two places, and in the community where I make partnerships with organizations in the area. I'm currently working on setting up the advisory board that we will have up and running in the next 2-3 weeks, which is exciting. I also do a lot of marketing and PE before the center opens and then the website closer to openings. Once we open my role will change.

The center is basically a place where anyone in the community can come to get help with all aspects of the college application process. It's tailered at increasing first-generation, low-income and minority student access, acceptance and enrollment in higher education. I'm really excited about the project as this is definately an area that I'm really passionate about since it's an area I know first hand.

Hope you enjoy the blog and I'll try to update every week or so. Feel free to comment or shoot me an email I'd love to hear from you all!!

Coral :)

Life in Flagstaff!

So those of you that have seen my facebook status in the last few weeks have some idea of the fun I'm already having in Flagstaff but for everyone else here's a short recap of my first month!

First week I was here I just moved in and got settled, but right away I found out what kind of dance scene Flagstaff had so I could keep myself entertained. Flagstaff has this incredible thing every summer that's called dancing on the square, it's in downtown and they teach a different style of dance for an hour and then its an open dance floor for 2 hours with different styles of music. I'm taken salsa and cha cha so far this month on Wednesdays.

My second week I went to Albuquerque for VISTA training. I meet some of the most interesting and incredible people and that really got be exciting and ready to start this adventure.

My third week I was back in Flagstaff and have been here since. I took Argentine Tango classes for the last two week and now attend the practicas with the other tango dancers in Flagstaff. The dance community here is absolutely amazing! I love them they are the nicest people and I see them at everything which is so cool. I even went to the World Dance Festival show two weeks ago. Last Friday night one of my roommates, Sarah was moving down to Phoenix for grad school so I took her out to salsa rueda, which is salsa done in a circle where you are constantly changing partners, it was the most hilarious and fun style of salsa I've ever done! :)

That's the rap up of my dance life in Flag, I love it and I'm having a blast!

Pictures to come, I'll take some in the next two weeks and post them.

Why I Choose to Serve as an Americorps VISTA

I have decided to serve for a year in an Americorps VISTA position for several reasons. While I love direct service, my skill set allows me to be better prepared for indirect service by using my skills to organize a new program and get it off the ground. I have a major passion for education and its role in empowering those who do not get everything easily. Empowerment is something that is very important to me. I was raised in a family where nothing else mattered as much as getting an education, as the same type of opportunities were not provided for my parents. This love for education has allowed me to want to become involved in community development. This program allows me to bring my skills to the table and also learn new skills to prepare me for my future career and graduate school. I also think that my activist sense will grow during this year of service. I think it will help me really tune in to what areas I feel the most passionate around, and show me how to continue to be involved in this area. I also know that I feel the most empowered when I am helping others and I then in turn get to see them learn how to empower themselves and move out of bad conditions. I also find a greater appreciation for what I have the more I work with others who do not receive the same opportunities. These and other reasons are the main reasons why I have chosen to serve as a VISTA for a year.

I first started getting involved with service when I was 12 and entering junior high. My mom suggested I volunteer at the community library since I enjoyed going. I did enjoy it and continued for several summers. In junior high and high school I continued a major involvement in service especially student government, and some other student organizations. I loved helping my school, even though I never enjoyed where I grew up. I figured that I could change some of the things that bothered me about the schools then I'd feel more comfortable there and enjoy my time, and hopefully allow others to do the same. I've also learned that I meet my closest friends with those that I serve with and am at a point in life where I'm looking to make these kinds of connections again. In college even though I did not serve much due to having to work instead to pay for school, I did learn more about activism and how I play a role in it. It helped me realize how much I love doing this kind of work.

My new life as an Americorps VISTA

This year I've decided to devote to the Americorp VISTA program. This program is under the branch of Americorps, the federal service organization. VISTA is different from what most people think of service, we do not do direct service like Americorps state and nationals but rather we build from the ground up and create sustainable programs around the country. I'm in charge of a brand new College Resource Center for the city of Flagstaff,AZ. I've lived in Flagstaff now a month and I absolutely love it, it's definately my kind of town, but more on the fun later!

My blog this year is going to take through my rollercoaster ride of serving to work towards the eradication of poverty, and as you guys can see I'm working in the education side of things. It's also going to be the trials of living at the poverty line, because as part of this program we live at the poverty line so we get a better understanding of the position the people we serve typically live in.

I hope you enjoy this year and see how I take my desire for change to another level. Enjoy!

Family and Friends!

These are just some of my favorite pics from the Holiday 2008 and Spring Break 09 when I came home to spend a week at home in March. Enjoy!!

Graduation Pictures!!

Elon Graduation!!!

Well some of these posts are written way later then this actually happened but I'm trying to catch up!!

I came back from Costa Rica, December 2008 from the most incredible four months of my life!!! I took an internship teaching ESL-English as a Second Language in Arizona. As part of my degree I did an independent study and got my license to teach English that's how I ended up with this job. It's really an international license so it's designed for those that want to teach English in another country. I choose to stay in the US and teach international students. It was definitely an experience let's just say I learned that I'm not meant to be teaching high schoolers!! :)

In May I returned to Elon to walk and receive my diploma!!! Since Elon's a small school I had to come back for graduation since we don't have one mid-year but it was incredibly worth it. Although I didn't get to see many friends since everyone was busy with there families at least we all got to walk at the same time. Above this post you'll see pictures from graduation!

Enjoy!!

Counting down to Finals

These last few weeks after my fall break away have been interesting. Lots of work has been done and of course with it being the end of the semester the work is basically coming out of my ears! haha. I've done a few things these last few weekends but nothing extremely interesting. I have some pics that I'll put up later. This weekend we went to Arenal which I had already gone to when my family was here but I really like that area so I had a good time going back. This weekend after about 10 changes we are going to the beach, and getting a lot of work done while sunbathing :).

I only have 3 weeks it's nuts that time has flown by sooooo fast!!!

I applied for Teach for America which is something I have been looking at for a long time and have advanced to the next round, so here in a few weeks I find out if I move on to the final round. Wish me luck and keep your fingers crossed!!

Hope everyone is doing well!

Coral

Guatemala and Honduras Photos

Guatemala and Honduras

Where to begin! Guatemala was in my opinion the best vacation of my life. I took a tour with Mundo Guatemala, which for anyone who has contemplated a trip you should all check into this company I was extremely well taken care of and everything was absolutely wonderful. But on with the details, I arrived on Saturday and immediately transferred to Antigua, the original colonial capital of Guatemala and the headquarters when Central America was its own unit during Spanish rule. I arrived late afternoon so I just went to my beautiful hotel and prepared to leave bright and early for Chichicastenango.

Chichicastenango is the world famous Indigenous market in Guatemala. It is the largest market in all of Central America, and while it was spectacular I had suspected many bargains and a huge variety but I found that later in the week was when I actually found more authentic items and better deals, but that does not take away from the fact that it was still extremely interesting to see this market and explore and buy a few souvenirs. After spending the day at the market I took a shuttle to Panahachel, the largest town that surrounds the world famous Lake Atitlan, which is currently being voting on as one of the finalists for the top 7 natural wonders of the world that gives you some idea as to how impressive this place was. I stayed there over night and the next day took a lake tour and visited the surrounding villages, each with their own flair and characteristics. The lake is surrounded by three volcanoes and tons of high mountain tops it is just absolutely breathtaking. I visited San Pedro, San Antonio Palpao and Santiago Atitlan around the lake. Santiago is known for its artist and their paintings, and since going to Paris and studying art I kind of have a fascination for local painting so of course I definitely bought myself one here. San Antonio is like looking at a Latin American version of the Italy or Greece Cliffside with all the houses with a stunning cathedral right in the middle of the town. San Pedro is a very hippie new age oriented place, really different as you tend to not see new age/hippie go hand in hand with traditional Latin culture. I absolutely loved the boat tour it was great.
The next day I was back in Antigua and had the day off from my tour so I actually went with Elizabeth Bell, the owner of Antigua Tours, on one of her tours of the city and in the afternoon a tour of the architectural and art history of the surrounding small indigenous villages. Both of the tours were fantastic and worth every penny I got to learn so much about the city, its history, its people past and present and just really see the city through the eyes of a local expert which was incredible. At the end of the second tour I got to visit a very cool fair trade style co-op run by 12 indigenous families with all their textiles, these were some of the best artist in the country and I got to learn the different techniques and how the styles give you insight into the class structure and community dynamics within these communities just based on this workmanship, really interesting and I bought a beautiful door hanger with the national bird the Quetzal really pretty.
Over night I took the bus to Flores to go see Tikal, the largest Mayan ruins, the following day. It was one of the most mysterious and fascinating places I’ve ever seen. I think after visiting Stonehenge in England I have a connection with ruins and I definitely had the same feeling here. It was like I could close my eyes and just see the Mayans running around or holding rituals, really bizarre but absolutely incredible; I even got to climb some of the ruins. I came back on the overnight bus again to Antigua. The next day was another free day in Antigua so I relaxed and did my work so I wouldn’t have to do it the rest of the time when I was enjoying myself. Antigua is an incredible city; I honestly think I could stay there for much more than a few days. It is similar to Grenada in Nicaragua but nowhere near the same level of poverty, it has definitely prospered the only problem now is its becoming too touristy, that’s the opinion I kept hearing from the locals but despite all that I loved the city and would have really liked to explore more.
Bright and early the next day I was off to Honduras to visit Copan. Copan are the most well preserved ruins in the entire Mesoamerica region, you can still see some of the colors on the hieroglyphics. Copan is nowhere near as large as Tikal but its known for its incredible preservation, and that is no joke it’s incredible how well preserved all the designs still are, and like I said you can even still make out some of the colors on the statues. I stayed in Copan over night and the location in Honduras in extremely rustic but very peaceful. The hotel was incredible so when I wasn’t at the ruins I got to enjoy the beautiful scenery from the hotel into the country and the mountains. Let’s just say me and the hammock had a good time that evening relaxing.
Well that’s the short and sweet version of my stories from Guatemala I hope you enjoy the photographs of this incredible country, I know I sure enjoyed visited this incredibly beautiful country with its extremely friendly colorful people.


Enjoy!

Spanish Accents

Ok so I'm not quiet sure why but everyone here seems to think I'm from a completely different place when they hear me speak Spanish. I've had people tell me my Puerto Rican accent is so obvious, which I think is hillarious since I haven't even lived there. I'm also had people think I'm Cuban, or South American, and the most hilarious one was today in a cab when the guy thought I was from Russia or Ukraine can someone please explain that to me!!! I don't really get it, but it's been interesting to see how complete strangers take you just by the way you speak. Well that's my rant of the week. I leave for Guatemala on Saturday and I can't wait, there will tons of photos when I get back.

Hope you are all enjoying them and that everyone is doing well.

Coral