UW Guatemala Project

in 2005 my brother, tim, and his girlfriend, carrie, visited guatemala to study human rights with a group of students from the university of washington. while there they saw first-hand the effects of genocide and war upon a country and its people. they also met with some of the country’s most prominent human rights leaders, including survivors, attorneys, and many others fighting to improve living conditions for the country's impoverished majority.

as you can imagine this experience greatly affected the lives of the students. together they made a commitment to provide scholarships for their peers on coffee plantations in guatemala. these scholarships would support the primary and secondary education of youth who plan to invest their communities' future. to find out more about the uw guatamala project, please visit http://students.washington.edu/uwgp/index.html.

the group is currently planning an auction, hoping to raise over $50,000. this money would establish the scholarships for at least 10 years. as a supporter of my brother, education, and human rights i invite you to join me at the auction on saturday, march 31 at the knights of columbus hall in seattle, wa. your $65 ticket will not only support the aims of the project, you'll also receive a catered dinner, participation in a live and silent auction, and the company of me, frank, and my family. to reserve your ticket you may contact me or email maya.sparks@gmail.com.

if you are unable to attend the auction or would like to help in another way, i invite you to:

• donate merchanise, services, or gift certificates to be auctioned on the night of march 31.


• make a tax-deductible donation. checks should be made out to "uw foundation" with "guatemala project" written on the memo line. please mail your check to the group's supervisor, professor angelina godoy, box 353650, university of washington, seattle, wa 98195-3650.

thank you!

i'm engaged!

my perfectionism seems to kick in at the most random times, like when i'm trying to blog about my engagement for instance. you see, i've been wanting to share this exciting news with all of you for the past few days, but have been contemplating over the perfect format and words. after the prompting of my friend and fellow blogger, bree, i decided to push past my writer's block to fill you in all on the details of the past week. i apologize for the delay!

wednesday was frank's birthday which he spent shopping for rings and meeting with my dad. that day he discovered that my coveted pearl ring would not be suitable for an engagement ring for it would begin to peel (and thus look icky) over time. wanting to recycle and not contribute to the corrupt diamond industry, we decided to shop for an antique ring instead. i hear that the meeting with my dad went well for good conversation and beer was had by all.

on thursday and friday evenings frank and i visited antique jewelry shops in the portland area. our favorite was maloy's for their knowledge and helpfulness. while there i feel in love with a 1930's art deco ring after hearing its story and seeing how it sparkled in the sunlight. thank you, frank (and eve)!

while scrapbooking on saturday frank called to sadly inform me that the appraisal was not ready and thus he wouldn't be able to pick up the ring that afternoon. i was a little bummed since i had been hoping that he would propose while we were at cannon beach that weekend for his birthday. monday was only a few days away though, so i knew i could wait.

on sunday frank and my first stop at the beach was at ecola state park for a hike to crescent beach. the hike was steep, but worth the sweat for it led to an (almost) secluded stretch of sand. after our picnic lunch i lay down on the blanket while frank went for a walk. after a few minutes he returned saying, "look at this cool crab leg i found!" when i sat up he was down on one knee, holding out the ring. needless to say, he asked me to marry him and i said yes! (it was silly and sweet just like him -- how could i not?)

soon after i called home to share the good news with my family. my mom teased me for being so gullible and believing frank's ploy of the delayed ring pick up.

after hiking back up the steep hill, frank and i checked in at the tolovana inn. we had to share the good news with the fronk desk too (of course!) and they congratulated us with a room upgrade, champagne and chocolates! frank and i thoroughly enjoyed the fireplace and beach view from our new room and were able to toast to "a life full of fun and adventure." i started my "look hot for my wedding" diet immediately following the chocolates - yum!

monday we returned from the beach and have been sharing the news with family and friends while starting to plan the wedding. we're planning for an august wedding so we must move quickly. good thing i bought a wedding planner today and have been subscribing to martha stewart weddings all of these years!

(frank jumps with joy.)

film review: pan's labyrinth

since viewing the science of sleep i've been entranced by this idea of the space between dreams and reality. pan's labyrinth beautifully and flawlessly dealt with this concept; i watched it yesterday with frank and his brother, jeremy. the hopeful story of a girl destined for royalty in an underground kingdom unfolds amongst the cruelty and misery of war-torn spain. i highly recommend it.

in addition to fueling to aforementioned thoughts, the science of sleep and pan's labyrinth reminded me of my love of foreign films. life is beautiful is one of my favorites. does anyone have any recommendations?