Friday P.M.

I used the internet café that is across the street from the school today after lunch for a couple of hours. i was trying to log on to my work computer to help with a work project, but it didn't work out. this cafe charges Q7 for one hour, which is basically a dollar per hour, actually a little less than a dollar. So I spent about two dollars to use the internet and chat to people. :-) then when I paid, the guy gave me a stamp card for multiuse benefits. So if I use the café for five more hours I get a free hamburger or a free hour of usage. Pretty cool.

After that my butt hurt so bad from sitting so long that I decided to walk. I wanted to just walk around casually and see the city. I also wanted to try to find the movie theater advertised at my school. I hope to go see Lake House on Sunday afternoon, just for the fun of it. Hopefully it’ll be in English, but it’s ok otherwise. It’ll be a learning opportunity … just like everything else!

On my walk I passed a couple of internet cafes and inquired about prices and using my own computer. I found the café the school recommends. Looks like a fun little place, very trendy. It costs Q8 per hour. I can use my own computer there, but it’s not WiFi, so I guess I have to use their network cable to plug in. then there’s a place down central that advertises WiFi, but I don’t know how much it was. I tried to ask, but I didn’t understand the lady. She talked to fast and there was nothing written anywhere.

Next to the movie theater is the Mono Loco. That’s the place Kyle and Nell took me to on Sunday. I was surprised to find it there. I had no idea where we were that day. *L* As I was walking up the street I passed by the little ice cream/coffee shop that we went to later that evening as well. So I went in and bought an ice cream cone. The ice cream looked pretty good, so I thought “why not?” I got a single cone of chocolate and vanilla mixed for Q5. not bad since in America we’d pay a couple of dollars for one scoop of ice cream.

I passed a lot of restaurants as well. Almost all the actual restaurants look so pretty inside. There’s usually a garden area of some sort … that whole “half a roof” thing. I found one place with Italian food I think I’d like to try. The prices are comparable to American restaurants … Q70, which amounts to about $10 for a plate of spaghetti or something.

I pass by this little “tienda” every day and outside their door is a sign advertising “alo” cell phone cards. So I decided to stop in and ask if they have “tigo” cards. And they do! This means if I need minutes and don’t want to walk all the way to central, I can just go that far and get one. Yay!

All in all today I walked about 40 blocks. I sure hope this pays off in the long run, otherwise I am going to be mighty upset.

When I got home from my ventures there was talking in the dining room. So as I’m walking towards my room I say “Hola!” and when I got to the window and looked in there were a bunch of people sitting around the table and one woman was praying. Oh my! I was a little embarrassed. One woman looked up at me and I motioned that I was sorry. it would be nice to know when people are coming over.

after i ate my dinner Adolfo and Anna left to take another woman home so i took the opportunity to watch some TV in the living room. i found CSI playing in English with Spanish subtitles, so i watched while eating some chocolate (THANKS LINDSAY/MARCIE/TAMMY!). a little bit later their daughter comes home. and a little bit after that they return with their other daughter, son-in-law, and grandson. they all come in, sit down in the living room, and proceed to talk, loudly. hello? privacy? i guess not. i mean, i wouldn't expect them to not have people over. i wouldn't expect them to not use the living room. but there i was watching TV and now i can't hear anything. after about 10 minutes they went to the dining room. and after about 10 more minutes, i turned the TV off and went to my room. the company stayed pretty late, so i fell asleep listening to my music to try to drown out the noise. when i got up this morning the grandson was still there. i guess he spent the night. and apparently Annie, the youngest daughter, is now living in the room across from mine. when i asked her if she lived here she acted like she's always lived here, but that room was being occupied by the female student who left the day after i got here. so i'm confused, but i guess it doesn't matter.

anyways, it's interesting trying to figure out the lives of people you don't know and can barely communicate with. and even more interesting that i never get formally introduced to anyone. oh well.

is that a potato?

lunch today was a bit questionable. thankfully i was alone so i could investigate it without stares. at first i thought it was frozen fish that hadn't been cooked all the way. but i finally figured it out it was a potato patty. there were three of them, all round, with breading on the outside and tomato sauce spread on top. green beans accompanied these strange patties, as did something in a side dish that was orange, round, small, and sweet, but had a horrible texture in my mouth and i didn't like it. i think it might have been candied something .. ??? oh, and cherry koolaid. overall, it was good. and filling.

right now i'm in an internet cafe across the street from my school. today is some kind of holiday that not everyone recognizes, apparently, but studying at shcool was optional because of it. some of us studied this morning, but then they locked the door at lunchtime. so i'm across the street using a special keyboard with characters in weird places. like where the single quotation mark should be is a { symbol. and the question mark is at the top of the keyboard, as is the double & single quotation marks. it makes typing interesting.

i have a correction to make for the money situation. i think i wrote about it... they have more coins than i thought originally. they have 1.00, .50, .25, .10, .05, and .01 coins. the bills are 5, 10, 25, 50, 100. they also have bills for 1 and .50, but apparently those are older and not as common. so whereas the other day i thought i had it figured out, i did not. such is life.

childsplay

remember the game "memory"? you have matching cards turned upside down, flip over one at a time and try to make matches. we played that today. i learned elephant, clown, peanuts, mouse, fire, cloud, etc. my teacher laughed at me when i couldn't remember the name of it. at which point i told her not to laugh at me. my feelings were starting to get hurt. but overall playing the game was fun. i had to name the things on the card before we could flip them back over. so i guess i learned some stuff. though i can't remember some of them right now...

anyways...

Around 5 p.m. yesterday I walked from school down to the central park area and bought a phone card for 100 minutes (Q100 = approx $14 = 14 cents/minute). I sat in the park for a few minutes. It’s really busy all around there. It’s the main place to be. There is a big fountain in the middle of the park. It’s very pretty. And there is some really big building on the east side of the park. Don’t know what it is, but it’s very pretty and looks very important. After a few minutes I walked home. By the time I got home it was nearly dark. It was only about 6:15 p.m.

During the walk I looked for really cool doors to take pictures of. This weekend I plan to walk a lot throughout the city to check out what I haven’t seen yet and try to figure out my way around and maybe find a good restaurant to eat at on Sunday. On Sundays the family does not serve any food. I guess it’s considered a day of rest. :-) makes sense to me, but it means I have to venture out and try to scrounge up something for myself. there are a lot of places to eat, so I shouldn’t have too much trouble. I hope.

Dinner last night was black bean soup, white rice, lima beans, and rolls (semi-soft). we mixed the write rice with the soup and therefore made it taste better. :-) Patrick and Adolfo talked a lot to each other. Anna ate with us for the first time (for dinner, that is) and chimed in periodically. But I sat there listening the whole time. just listening. Trying to pick up what few words I know. I got a few every now and then, but not enough to completely understand and certainly not enough to participate in commenting or laughing. I was only able to determine three things during that 45 minutes – the subject of money in different countries, Patrick found out what to do with the house key in the morning when he leaves, and there are two reservations for students coming in November. Other than that, I have no idea. Oh, there was mention of Alaska, but I don’t know why.

today's breakfast was fruit ... pineapple and canteloupe. it was frozen, so Adolfo nuked it all in the microwave. the canteloupe was still a little frozen in the center, but on the outside it was rather soggy. the pineapple was warm and extremely sour. i ate most of it and then snuck a roll from dinner from the breadbox.

well, it's nearly time to walk home for lunch. hope i like it. i posted a few more pictures to the same album, so if you want you can sift through them. hasta luego! :-)

safe?

it's interesting that banks and soda trucks are accompanied by guards with machine guns and yet Antigua is the safest city in Guatemala ... ??? when you go to the bank a guard lets you in and another one lets you out. and one of them holds a machine gun. and why would a guard accompany a soda truck?

canon

marcie warned me ... there are canons going off, but i don't know why. i've been sitting here at school for the last hour and it's gone off about 10 times. it's quite loud.

yum!

yesterday's lunch was white rice and stir-fry meat, onions, and peppers. i actually ate the onions. :-) daddy: i didn't die from them! *L* the meal, overall, was good. there were two pieces of wheat bread as well. and lemonade.

then dinner last night was the pizza.

breakfast today were those weird sandwhiches and chocolate cake.

lunch today was .... SPAGHETTI!!! :-) cherry koolaid, chocolate cake, no bread. but it was all very good and filling.

dinner will probably be some kind of soup. seems like breakfast is pretty simple and made of the previous night's leftovers (i.e. tomato sauce from pizza), lunch is heavier, and dinner is usually lite made of previous lunch's leftovers (i.e. chicken broth from earlier cooked chicken). but yes, Mom, lunch is the biggest meal of the day. which is fine by me, as long as i can eat it.

there were also kids at lunch today. we don't get formally introduced to people, so i don't really know who they were. but two kids. and even the youngest one i couldn't understand! ugh ... i don't know how i'm going to ever get this.

the girls here at school who are unfriendly are actually American. but young. Marlene talked to a girl today who lives in Crested Butte. she's just quiet, not clickish/snobby. but she leaves soon. and i think the snobby girls leave soon.

i got really frustrated with my teacher today. and yesterday. the stuff i learned before coming here is kind of coming back to haunt me. it turns out it's not exactly right and so it gets me confused, even more than i already am! ugh! some woman in charge came around today (as she does every Thursday apparently) and asked how i liked my teacher, family, and lessons. i basically just answered positively because i don't want to jump the gun on being negative about things it only being my fourth day. but, if next week i still feel the same way about Lesbia and her style, i'll ask to change teachers.

well, i found a power strip just now under the desk of the public computers, so i think i'll plug my laptop in and tackle more pictures for ya. stay tuned!

life in Antigua

i don't remember exactly what i've said thus far, so i'll do short sentences to sum up what i've learned about life in Antigua.

noise is prevalent. there are no yards, so everyone hangs out in the street. there is no insulation in the houses, so closing a window does not help. music is important. meals are small. birthdays and holidays are major important. hot water is only in the shower. talking is very difficult. houses are right next to each other like apartments or townhouses, but much smaller, older, dirtier, and with flat & tin roofs.

streets are narrow, very narrow, and all of them are cobblestone. walking is tricky. riding in a car is very bumpy and loud and jarring. it's very humid here for being 5,000 feet. when the sun is shining brightly it's hot. but when the clouds are around it's pleasant and/or cool. when it rains, the streets get muddy and water flows like a stream down them. many puddles.

there are bars on all the windows. all of them. the doors are beautiful! i love doors, so these doors are way cool and some are very tall. made of very strong wood or metal. there is no carpet, only tile inside. a lot of houses, restaurants, etc. look horrible on the outside, but when you open the door there is a beautiful garden or fountain on the inside. it's like a whole other world in there!

money here is paper and coins. they have coins for one queztal and for 1/2 a queztal. the bills are in fives, tens, twenties, fifties, and hundreds. the bills are colorful and the coins are gold.

garages are inside the house. like a room. Adolfo's garage has parque flooring, plants, what should be a fountain, and the staircase to go upstairs. there is also a doorway going to the living room from the garage. it fits one car. one small car. there is also only a partial roof in that area, so yesterday when it rained the floor got really wet. very strange.

there are lots and lots of trees. everything is green.

when you finish the meal and everyone is done, you say "muchas gracias" and they say "buen provecho." that's like saying "bon appetite" but it's at the end of the meal.

patrick is leaving tomorrow. i haven't lost any weight yet. my muscles are very sore from all the walking. and just for the record, i didn't walk 35 blocks that one day, i walked more like 50. yesterday, however, i walked about 30. whew!

oh, roosters crow at 5:30 and wake me up every day. there are lots of different kinds of birds that chirp in the morning as well, and after the rooster wakes me up, he walks away and wakes other people up too, so between 5:30 and 6:30 i can still here him. ugh!

dogs walk the streets. lots of dogs.

ok. i have to go. it's lunchtime.

pictures, finally...

ok, click here to view the Antigua photo album... PICTURES

thank God for chocolate cake!

today for breakfast was two sandwiches made with ham, mustard, tomato sauce, and mayo (maybe). well, i don't like mustard, and too much tomato sauce makes my mouth freak out from the taste. SO ... i only ate almost one of them. it's amazing what you actually eat when you don't have a choice. thankfully, we had leftover chocolate cake from the birthday party last night, so we had a piece of cake for breakfast as well. take that, moms across the world! :-)

the family's daughter's 21st birthday was yesterday, so the family had a little party with pizza, soda, and cake. the pizza was homemade with cheese, tomatoes, and jalapenos on top. no meat. very saucy. but the cake is delicious! very moist with a caramel-like icing and sprinkles. yum!

class today is frustrating!

i journaled a lot yesterday, so i'll post more later. with pictures. yesterday it rained for several hours. and the power was out after class for a couple of hours. so i didn't get to use the computer/Internet all afternoon like i had originally planned. but tdoay, hopefully.

to all: my dad is doing WELL! :-) the surgery went well and he's alert, eating, walking, etc. all seems to be good. thank you to all who prayed. me and my family are VERY thankful of your care.

oy vey!

well, day three is progressing semi-well. but man, i get really overwhelmed with the words and not understanding the purpose of certain words in sentences. i just don't get why there needs to be a "que" in the middle of a sentence!

dinner last night was something like tomato soup, but tasted better since i don't like tomatoes. it had the red peppers in it again. i picked around most of them. and hard bread. that was it. earlier i bought a 20 oz bottle of coke and a vanilla wafer thing for 6 queztales. that's less than 1 u.s. dollar. pretty cool how cheap stuff is.

dinner with the chicos was more talkative. i decided to try not to feel guilty about speaking in english and just ask questions anyway. so we talked. it was nice. the brit, Mike, is gone now. Adolfo spoke to the chicos outside my window and asked them to move so i could sleep. made it a lot easier.

breakfast today was cereal with milk that i had to mix up myself from powder. and an apple. mansana. Patrick (swiss) and i walked together to school and he dropped off his laundry and explained it all to me. Marcie, it's just like you said! his 5.5 pounds will cost him about 27 queztales. that's about 4 dollars. and they wash, dry, and fold it all for you and it's done by lunchtime. wow!

today Lesbia and i went over the question words we defined yesterday via conversation. we were actually talking to each other, but a lot was in english. i learned about Christmas here. and that she doesn't cook, but doesn't eat in restaurants either. weird! :-)

yesterday's walking caused a blister on my ankle. i walked about 35 blocks yesterday. if 8 blocks is nearly 1 mile, i walked about 4 miles!!! wow. yes, that was me processing "outloud". i'm glad you got to join me. :-)

break is nearly over, so i better go. i will post more this afternoon with pictures! hasta luego! :-)

day two

i won't be able to be online this afternoon because i'm going on an actividad at 2 en punto. right after class is over, i have to walk to the bank and convert my money to queztales. then i have to walk home for lunch. and then come back to the school for the tour. hopefully i'll make it.

dinner last night was chicken broth, black beans, tortillas, and bread. i ate with Adolfo only. i think he's a Christian. he said he would pray for my dad today. that was nice of him. before we started eating he pulled out a "pan de la palabra" which was a coaster with a Bible verse and prayer on it in Spanish. he read the prayer and then we ate. :-)

breakfast was scrambled eggs with red peppers. i ate around the peppers. the girl is gone, so it was just me and the two guys. we sorta talked. but after breakfast was over, i grabbed my stuff and left for school. i didn't know how long they would be and didn't want to be late.

class thus far today is confusing. i'm learning more about the question words, like Que, Cuanto, Cual, etc. learning the definitions and examples of each. i had to write it all down. the Quien word is for Who, but there's like 4 versions of it. A Quien, De Quien, Para Quien, Quien, Con Quien, oh, i guess that's 5. nonetheless, it's confusing.

anyways, the activity today is a bus tour of cultural stuff. and it costs 35 queztales. and apparently the school doesn't convert money. i thought they did.

so on our break today we had a little birthday party for the students and teachers whose birthdays are in october. we had little piece of cake and some chips in a bag. it's cute how they are portioned out. :-)

thank you, to EVERYONE, for your support yesterday (and today, and tomorrow). i needed comfort and found it. i cried and feel better, but still lonely. trying to lean on my Savior for strength though.

life

class ended, i stood around, someone official introduced me to Adolfo Villamar, the man of the house. we put my stuff in his little Kia and went to the house. he took me to my room, introduced me to Anna, his wife, and told me when lunch was. there was music playing in the living room and things looked clean and comfy.

when you go in through the garage, it's sort of like a breezeway. there are plants and what should be a fountain. there's also a double staircase that goes up to other students' rooms and i guess the family's room.

my room has a bed, closet, table, chair, and window. amazingly enough, i have my own bathroom! and at the house you can flush the paper. so i organized my stuff and waiting for lunch. Anna dished up my plate and left. Adolfo eventually came in and we talked a little. the other students don't come to lunch until 1:30. so tomorrow i'll wait for them. i just couldn't wait today since Adolfo had to pick me up and take me home. lunch was a piece of chicken with some kind of yellow sauce over top, cubed potatoes, corn, tortillas, and some kind of lemonade.

the three students are European. the two guys came in and introduced themselves (Mark from England and Patrick from Swizterland), but the girl (from New Zealand) could have cared less and was quite unfriendly. she was the first to sit down at the table with me, but she got a newspaper out and started reading while Anna dished up her plate. anyways, we all ate, i waited for everyone to finish since i didn't know what to do, and then followed suit. and then they left the house together.

i went to my room, repacked my backpack, and then walked back up here to the school where i am now, in the back, sitting outside in where i am cool and listening to life. many teachers have walked by and say hello to me each time. a couple of white girls have walked by, but ignore me. they're young and smoke and i guess only like eachother. i don't know.

anyways, we have some kind of activity schedule at 4 today, so i still have 40 minutes to wait and see what happens. hopefully it'll be something kind of fun. i'll let you know. :-)

i have arrived

well, the first day was weird and crazy. the Stiffs picked me up, took me to Antigua. met another American couple friend of theirs, had dinner with them, went to the house where i'll be living and no one was there. walked around and went back later, no one was there. went back to the Stiffs house and spent the night. Kyle brought me to the school this morning. i just finished the first half of my first lesson. we're on a break now. i just tried to talk to a guy, but didn't really catch his name. he's from germany. i talked to him in spanish. it was hard. i'm sitting here wanting to cry. tears are coming and i don't know why. i appreciate your prayers. just overwhelmed i guess.

the city is pretty, but old. and there are people everywhere. and dogs. and it's busy. the streets are all cobblestone, so VERY bumpy. and narrow. and the driivng is crazy crazy. push and shove is the only way to get anywhere.

my teacher's name is Lesbia. she's 24 and from here. seems ok.

at noon my host family is going to come pick me and my luggage up and take me home. don't know what i'll do then. maybe have some lunch. i don't know. this is all so weird and scary and different.

the toilet paper in the trash can is really the way. speaking of which, i should try to find the "bano".

keep praying for me. i need it.

the final days

things seem to be in order. all the loose ends are being tied. but i'm totally freaked out. i'm scared and am happy today is still only monday. i want to give a few shout-outs now, cuz in a few days i'll be overwhelmed with too much to focus...

ABBE & NATALIE: thank you SO much for taking care of the house, physically and financially. i really hope you both will enjoy the space.

KRIS: thanks for dinners, peeps, and truth. i look forward to Spanish tough love.

JANET: i seriously hope you get to see London. and i look forward to hearing all about South Africa. thanks for all your support and being excited with me.

CAM: thanks, dude, for your excitement. be happy ... seriously. thanks for the e-mail chats.

DAVID & HAROLD: thank you both for your support of my adventure. i really appreciate your flexibility and willingness.

SUZANNE: even though long distance you stay close to my heart. thanks, chicklett.

GAE: thanks for the support of squeezable peanut butter, packing, lugging a backpack at 30, and helping me with all the little things that have gotten me all crazed. and so much more.

BERYL: i know you and Ozzy and Tinkerbell are going to have a great time together. thank you for volunteering. that really means more to me than you'll ever know. i can't wait to see their pictures! thank you, also, for understanding my fears and validating them while encouraging me at the same time.

CHRISTINE: you're an awesome chick. i believe in you. thank you for taking over a lot of my job ... please don't hesitate to ask me for help if you get stuck, feel overwhelmed, just want to say hi, whatever. i hope you won't close the door just yet.

MARCIE, TAMMY, JEFF, & DEANNE: thank you for keeping me excited through your OWN excitement. and for the overwhelming tips, in Spanish no less!

the FAM: all of you have been wonderfully supportive. thank you for being positive, helping me look at all the angles, and being afraid with me. i look forward to Christmas.

there's always more to say, but i'll end here for now. it's been amazing to get so much support. thank you, EVERYONE, for believing in me, praying for me, and looking forward to my return.

dip vs west

tonight i experienced my first Spanish blunder. went out to to eat with a friend to our favorite mexican restaurant. well, me learning Spanish, i decided to communicate solely in Spanish. so before leaving work to pick her up, i translated, "we would like a small cheese dip" to Spanish.

after studying, picking her up, and ordering our drinks, i said (with the blunder, mind you), "nos gustaria una pequena poniente de queso." blank stare from the waitress. i say it again. blank stare. finally i said, "ok, how do you say it, cheese dip?" and she says, "appetizer?" no. so, i resorted, "well, ok, we'd like a small queso, please" and off she goes.

at the end of the evening i consulted my cheat sheet and found the words for "cheese dip" were "pendiente de queso". instead of pendiente, i said poniente. what i had actually said was, "we would like a small WEST of cheese."

lesson: poniente = west; pendiente = dip

you can laugh now if you want. :-)