What if your child was also your half-sibling???

As I told you a few days ago, I read from the newspaper every day out loud to my teacher.  I get to choose which article, and on the front page I noticed Miss Universe was in Guatemala working on an AIDS project.  I am considering working for UN-AIDS here in Guatemala after I finish my studies, so I was interested to read about the problem here.  Miss Universe, by the way, was from Mexico.

It's customary for my teacher to ask me my opinion of each article I read.  I am reading each article aloud, and in Spanish almost every single letter is pronounced except for the H, so it does take some practice.  Sometimes I find I need to re-read the article silently to myself to fully understand what the article is saying.  I actually love this exercise because it's so easy to measure my progress.  I read this morning's article out loud and I didn't need to skim back over it to understand what I read.  To make a long story short, Miss Universe was here promoting a new online web page where people living with HIV/AIDS can go to share stories, successes, and generally feel like they are not living with this disease alone.  There is still quite a stigma attached to it all over the world, and I feel probably more here in Latin America.

I think my teacher likes to talk about the articles after I read them to first of all make sure I understand them, but also because she really is interested in learning about life in other countries.  She has never been out of Guatemala except to just over the border in Mexico once.  I explained to her that in the States it's very common for both women and men to buy and use condoms.  We are taught at a young age that the risk of getting pregnant is really the least of the worries of a sexually active young person these days.  I explained that even the parents are becoming more involved in their children's lives and are being more realistic than idealistic when it comes to their children's health and safety.

I think I may have mentioned in a previous post that her neighbor runs a brothel out of her house.  To be honest, I'm not sure if this is the same neighbor that was a witch and cast spells on her mother, but this really wasn't a discussion about religion.  She said that 90% of the men here refuse to wear a condom, and I quickly pointed out that it's the woman's choice as well.  She said it's "machismo" here for the men to not wear condoms, and the majority of men who frequent these brothels are married men.  She said she heard some of the prostitutes talking outside her neighbor's house the other day and one of them was bragging to the others that she had worked 15 men the night before and made more money because she allowed most of them to skip the protection.  This is how HIV/AIDS is spreading in Guatemala.  When these men go home to their wives, of course they're not using protection with them.  But...it gets worse.  WAY worse.

Somehow our discussion became more about the role women play in the campos (in the poor communities, not within the community in which I will be living).  There is a 13-year old girl in her subdivision, called colonias, who needed to quit school and start to work in order to help support her family.  Her mother has a job, and her manager also owned a shop where they sell dulces tipicos (typical Guatemalan desserts and candies).  The young girl started working for her mother's manager making dulces tipicos, and he raped her.  The girl just had his baby about 3 months ago, and the neighbors are all trying to help this poor girl with food, money, clothes and things for the baby, and they are also trying to help her in another way.  The neighbors have been trying to figure out who this guy is who got her pregnant, but apparently the mother is protecting him.  She has told lie after lie to the people who ask because I guess there are a group of people who want to kill this guy (and probably the mother too).  Then it gets even worse.  My teacher reminded me about a lady that we saw while we were walking in the street a few days ago.  I had no idea who this lady was, but my teacher said that she had a lot of respect for her at the time.  Anyway, she told me that this woman had left to go to the market but had a bad feeling and instead returned to her house.  She found her husband (the father of her children) raping her daughter...HIS DAUGHTER.  She immediately grabbed a machete and chopped him to pieces.  She went to jail for a while, but luckily a very intelligent and gracious lawyer (female) fought for her in court free of charge, and she was found innocent because she was protecting her child.  Then I began to hear story after story of these young girls, 12, 13, 14 becoming pregnant with their father's child!  I've heard three separate stories now where a father has violated his own daughter.  In one of these cases, the mother was so embarrassed and angry with her daughter that she kicked her out to live on the streets.  My teacher used to work for a project here in Antigua that gave food, education, shelter, and every other basic need to kids living in the streets so they didn't fall into a life of violence and drugs.  She told me about this poor 13-year old girl who had her own child who was technically her half-brother.  I can't even seem to process this information.  I've been told that among the savages, literally savages, there is this sick and twisted idea that the father needs to be the girl's "first" when she begins to menstruate, and it is not that infrequent that the poor girl gets pregnant.  As if that weren't sick enough, many mother's get jealous and blame the daughter for this behavior.  I don't even have any children of my own, and I want to hurt these people.  I want the guy from "El Secreto de Sus Ojos" to come and deliver his type of justice.  By the way, that's a fabulous movie.  I don't know what the answer is, but I feel like if the government isn't going to protect these young girls, somebody needs to get the job done. 

This type of behavior isn't the norm here, but in some of the extremely poor communities it is happening.  The only answer I keep coming up with is education.  The girls need to be taught to demand respect, and the boys need to be taught to respect them.  They need to be taught that they don't have to live this way.  Honestly though, I'm afraid that one of the problems is these people have been relying on other people to give them things for generations.  I know this might sound terrible, but I'm serious.  These people do not need handouts.  They need the education to help themselves better their own lives.  That's all for now folks...I can't seem to get these images out of my mind and I need to stop thinking about them for a while.

Invierno y Religion

Although Guatemala is north of the equator and technically shares the same seasons as the United States, the people here call this time of year “invierno” (winter) because it is the rainy season.  The rainy season normally begins in June and lasts for three months.  Because Chicago’s winter lasts until May, I left one winter and entered another.  The really great news is that the temperature here in Guatemala does not vary much at all.  In fact if you look at the average highs and lows of Guatemala City in weather.com for the entire year, you will see almost a straight line.  Winter for Guatemalans signifies rain.  The days are typically bright and warm with temperatures staying right around 75°F, and the nights drop down to 60°F.  Right now the late afternoons and nights are rainy, but there are days that it doesn’t rain at all. 

The coasts are of course much warmer all year round, and my teacher believes that a hotter climate makes people more aggressive.  Every day we read an article in the newspaper so I can understand what is happening in my new country, and it does help with pronunciation, apprehension of new vocabulary, and comprehension of what I am reading.  Each time I read about a criminal of some sort, she quips that the person must have grown up in a hot region.  She may be right.  I’m not sure, but I have noticed that the people here have a different way of thinking.   

San Francisco Church

 

Inside San Francisco Church

Last week she took me to one of the churches here called San Francisco.  This particular church is one of the “ruins” and is also the resting place of a real-life saint.  San Hermano Pedro’s remains rest in this church, as they have for over a hundred years.  Next to the church is a museum dedicated to Hermano Pedro, which I will talk about in more detail later.  However in this museum is a sort of living commemoration from people who have reportedly received miracles from San Hermano Pedro.  There are wheel chairs, crutches, letters, pictures, and all sorts of different things that people have given in order to thank him for their miracles.  My teacher was explaining to me that one of her brothers was a recipient of one of these miracles.  She told me that her mother was a very devout Catholic who prayed and prayed when her brother became sick with some sort of stomach infection.  She grew up very poor, and her mother did not have any money to take him to a doctor.  I was confused because I thought she told me her mother is a very strict Mormon.  She then explained what happened.  Apparently her mother prayed to San Hermano Pedro, her brother’s stomach infection miraculously was healed, and for many years she was Catholic.  Then something terrible happened.  A witch moved next door to my teacher when she was young, and this witch cast spells on her mother.  Her mother became schizophrenic and began beating her and her siblings.  She lived this way for many years, until one day her mother was crying because of the demons in her mind, and a couple of Mormons in their typical uniforms arrived at her door.  They had been coming around for many months, and this particular day she finally allowed them into her home.  Ever since that day, her schizophrenia was cured, and to show her appreciation, her mother converted to Mormonism.  My teacher firmly believes all of these events occurred.  

Mayan ceremony being performed literally on the steps of a Catholic Church

If nothing else, Guatemala is definitely a country of faith.  The people here are predominantly Catholic, but I’ve noticed that it really is more a mixture of all of them.  There are even Mayan ceremonies performed within the “Catholic Church” here.  Having grown up in a Roman Catholic family, I’m well aware that this isn’t allowed.  Then there’s the example of my teacher’s family who firmly believe their son was the recipient of a miracle from a Catholic Saint, was cursed by a witch from a different religion, and then cured by another.  It seems the people here have the capacity to believe in all of them!  By the way, my teacher does not consider herself a Mormon.  Apparently the Mormons here are not allowed to drink coffee.  Guatemala is one of the best areas of the world for growing coffee, and it is a way of life here.  My teacher loves her coffee, and it is for this reason and this reason alone she is not a Mormon.  In any case, I definitely am learning a lot of Spanish in addition to the culture here!  Mas luego, lo prometo.

La Antigua

Most of you know that I am living in an old quaint city about 40 minutes outside of Guatemala city called La Antigua, Guatemala.  This was the country's third capital.  The previous capital of Guatemala is located just a few miles away in a very small town named Ciudad Vieja (Old City).  One of the reasons that this area is so beautiful is that it is surrounded by majestic mountains and volcanoes.  Ciudad Vieja was destroyed in the 1500's by an eruption from Volcan de Agua (don't worry folks, it is no longer active), and so the capital was moved here.  Antigua served as the capital of Guatemala for just over 175 years when it was almost destroyed in a massive earthquake in 1717.  In fact, over 3,000 buildings were destroyed and the capital was again moved, but this time to what is today known as Guatemala City.

One of the more simpler garage doors, this one also has a door within a door

Life in Antigua is very tranquil and relaxing.  The people will smile and say good morning, good afternoon, or good night to you as you walk along.  The streets are comprised strictly of stones, and when repairs are needed they are repaired with stones.  Many of the sidewalks are made of stones as well, which does make it difficult to walk sometimes.  The sidewalks are very narrow and barely fit 2 people.  It is very much like a city in terms of the buildings are attached to the sidewalks.  You will not see front yards in homes.  In fact, it is very difficult to distinguish homes from commercial buildings because all you really see is a large wall, windows, and the most beautiful doors you can imagine.  I was shocked to learn that these doors that I have admired for some time now are actually garage doors!  Most are made of wood and have ornate decorations, small peep windows, and many times even a regular size door built into the garage door for people to unlock and enter without their cars.  This is in fact how my garage door works. Many windows are beautifully decorated with flowers of every color.  The windows do have iron gates around them, which I have to admit adds to the charm.  Many times you will find a dog laying in the windows watching the people passing by on the streets.  Because of these iron gates, the already narrow sidewalks will only fit one person if any at all when there is a window.  You have to be careful and watch where you're going because you may run into one (no...not yet...I know what you're thinking!) if you're not paying attention. 

View of Volcan de Agua Beneath the Arc

None of the buildings are higher than two stories, and it is a requirement to keep any new construction to match the Spanish baroque architecture brought here by the conquistadors.  Antigua is a very catholic city, and you can find ruins of old colonial catholic churches on almost every block.  They are literally everywhere you go.  Antigua is a very walkable city, and many days I try to find a new street I haven't discovered yet and stare in awe at the architecture around me.  There is something so regal about a 300-year old building sitting in ruins, many of which still house present-day church services or other community activities, towering proudly above the modern world around them.  I frequently ask myself what makes a building in ruins so beautiful?  I imagine the finished piece was much more exquisite in its prime.  I remember one of the first times I came to Antigua, I was sitting in a French cafe, using my laptop to email my friends and family, staring across the street at a church in ruins.  It was a culmination of so many worlds, past and present, and it's one of the reasons I love this place so much. 

Una Tarde En La Casa

These school kids were so excited to see us

View of Volcan de Agua from Santa Maria de Jesus

View from the top of the cemetery

Estoy resfriada...in other words I have a cold.  For my first two weeks here I have been suffering from "allergies," and finally they got the best of me late last week.  I put allergies in "" because I'm not exactly sure to what I am allergic, but it's for sure there is something new here bothering me.  All last week my teacher was sick with a cold and cough, but today when I arrived sick she thought it was because it rained on Saturday.  I didn't want to make her feel bad that I probably got sick from her because I completely understand that if she doesn't work, she doesn't get paid.  This morning I could hardly focus, but I did notice it has become much easier for me to speak Spanish and to speak Spanish correctly!  I am remembering to correct mistakes that I frequently made in the past, which does make me happy.  Because I felt so terrible and it was difficult for me to focus, I quickly accepted the invitation to take a small field trip to Santa Maria de Jesus, which is a town very close to Antigua.  For Q3.50 each way, I along with 2 other students and their teachers took a bus to Santa Maria de Jesus.  It's a small village at the base of Volcan de Agua (Water Volcano), which I hope to climb this weekend with some of my fellow students.  This village is somewhat dirty, and is made up of 95% indigenous people.  There is trash everywhere, and they put their water holding tank (not sure of the exact word in Spanish nor in English) in the cemetery.  The cemetery is located on a large hill, and the water tank is located at the top of the hill, so it has to flow all the way down the hill through the bodies to get to the people.  My teachers were explaining to us why this is such a bad idea, and even for the new students, not much translation was needed.  Santa Maria de Jesus does have one more thing to note!  Very close to this town is Central America's only winery!  It's called Chateau Defay, and you can bet that it won't be too long before I pay them visit.  It was started by an American couple a few years ago, and you can read more about them here: http://www.fincadefay.com/

Inside a church at Santa Maria de Jesus

Prepared Food For Sale at Santa Maria de Jesus

It's tough to notice, but this is a picture of their water tank from the top of the cemetery

Zapote

There was also a small market, where I did find some zapotes!  I bought 2 zapotes, some raddishes, a pineapple, and some black cherries for a total price of Q18 ($2.25).  I wrote about zapotes before, which remind me of a sweet pumpkin flavor.  I had one for lunch just so I could cut it up and show you all what it looks like! Que rico!!!  After enjoying my zapote, I took the advice of many teachers and made some hot tea with lots of lime juice and honey. Everyone seemed to have their own "cure" for me, many of which contained different types of liquors. These sounded too much like the ideas we had in college where if you have a cold, you're supposed to drink enough so nothing else could live in your body except your own soul.  I don't remember this working all that well, so the lime juice and honey won!

As I write this, many more subjects come to mind.  In the next couple of chapters I will write about Antigua, more on the school system here, the upcoming presidential election, my first Guatemalan birthday party, some of my classmates, "flashing" my iPhone, and much much more.  Hasta luego!

Mirna

I have to say that I think I won the jackpot with the teacher that I received.  Her name is Mirna, and not only is she very sweet and nice, she is incredibly funny.  I take classes from 8:00 am until noon, and then I break for an hour and a half lunch.  I return from 1:30 until 4:00 in the afternoon.  Besides learning new tenses in which to conjugate verbs and new vocabulary, we practice talking almost all day.  That is over 6 hours of one-on-one talking, and so she knows everything about me and my life.  We've talked about my past jobs, family, friends, places I've visited, things I bought, things I wear, what I ate, where I went...todo!  It's necessary, and in the same regard, I know a lot about her life and family.  For instance, I know that she is in her early 40's, has 2 kids (18 and 10...2 different fathers), has never been married or owned a car, and she lives with her parents, a sister and her daughter, granddaughter, and one on the way, her brother, his wife, and their 2 kids.  They live in a house smaller than the size of my apartment.  In addition to being a Spanish teacher full-time (if there are enough students, that is to say), she is a real estate agent.  She doesn't own a computer, and she makes about Q2,000 per month ($250).  Her 18-year old son is trying to get into a university, but it is difficult because the public universities have extremely high admission standards because they are very inexpensive, and even possibly free.  She does not receive any child support from either father because there seemed to have been a law here where if the father doesn't accept the last name of the baby, then technically it is lawfully not his responsibility.  I'm only in my second week, so I will admit that pieces of this may have been lost in translation.  It just seems incomprehensible that these men can get away with it, but asi es la vida aqui.

As I sit here and reflect on my teacher and her situation, it is easy for me to say that she made her own choices, and therefore, she should lie in the bed that she made.  Did I mention that she used to own her own school, but after 9/11 happened, and Americans and Europeans stopped traveling, her business dried up.  There were no tourists wanting to learn Spanish.  There were no tourists period.  Then shortly after, a Guatemalan bank failed, and there is no such thing as FDIC insurance.  She lost her life's savings, which at the time was about $2,000.  That was a fortune to her.  There really isn't much of a public school system, and therefore most families, even the poor ones, must pay for private schools.  I'm beginning to realize that the real solution to her problems and the problems of millions of other people here in Guatemala is access to education.  From pre-school on, we learn the importance of personal hygiene (dental hygiene is especially lacking here), why it's necessary to recycle, the importance of saving money and how to do it, how to prevent unplanned pregnancies, and thousands of other things that we take for granted.  Common sense is not all that common when you visit a country that doesn't have an established education system. 

It's kind of fitting that the first time I visited Guatemala and fell in love with the people and the country was when I came here on a Rotary trip to help support a school founded in the jungle of the east coast of Guatemala called Ak' Tenamit.  I continued to support this school because its mission was congruent with who I am as a person and what I believe.  They have been receiving recognition from all over the world for the work that they have accomplished, but Guatemala is in need of 30 more Ak' Tenamits at least.  To learn more about this school and its needs, feel free to visit them at www.aktenamit.org.  This isn't an organization that gives away anything.  They teach children to help themselves, and it is only this kind of education that will ever help a people raise their standard of living.

Anyway, if any of you have an old laptop that you don't need anymore, or feel compelled to help in a different way, check out Ak' Tenamit.  Anyway, thanks to those who are still reading.  Talk to you all mas tarde.

Por fin...el fin de semana!!!

For my non-Spanish speaking friends, the title of this post is Finally...the weekend!!!

View of my home from the street

This was a great week.  I tried many new things, made some new friends at my school, and I have settled in nicely in Antigua.  I have lots to share, so let's first start with my apartment.  I am so lucky to have found this place.  The landlord, Margarita, is so nice and helpful.  This is almost like a very big house or small building divided long-wise into thirds.  She lives in the first townhouse, un hombre lives in between us, and I live in the third townhouse.  All you really see from the street, Callejon (little street) del Burrito (donkey) is a long wall with a few windows and a big wooden door big enough to be a garage door.  In fact, it is a garage door that opens out into the street instead of lifts up like a normal garage door in the States, and in one of those doors is a smaller door with a lock that I normally enter like any other door.  There is a small driveway that leads to the back of the place where there is a grand garden, a pergola, and a couple of parking spaces.  Each townhouse has a nice small porch with a couple of chairs and a sofa underneath the balcony from the main bedroom.  I have a small eating area and a large kitchen overlooking a small living room.  The tv, cable, and internet are included in the rent as is all the furniture, dishes, etc.  There is also a full bathroom on the first floor.  I have a very charming spiral staircase that leads to the second floor where I have a rather large master bedroom with sliding doors out to the balcony, a second bedroom with 2 beds, and another full bathroom.  The place is decorated very well and has combined modern technology with quaint features.  I have to say my most favorite part (and the thing I feared most that I wouldn't have) is the hot water.  I can take long hot showers if I want to, and I have, but I do try to be conscientious and not wasteful.  I even have one of those "rainshower" shower heads.

My townhouse

The entrance of the garden (door is behind me) with the pergola in front

View when you first enter

My kitchen (concina)

This is obvious

View of my townhouse from the pegola

Mountains in the background

My bed

Sliding door onto my balcony

Second Bedroom

I'm really enjoying my school and my teacher.  We talk all day in Spanish, and so far it has been mostly review.  The most fun and interesting part of this week was when she took me to the market.  There are a couple of supermarkets here in Antigua, but they are still very tiny in comparison to the supermarkets in the states.  It is on "market days" on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday when you can find so many different kinds of fruits, vegetables, grains, breads, and even pirated music and movies.  They have textiles, clothes, shoes, dishes, and just about anything you can think of.  I bought a phone charger there Monday for my temporary Nokia telephone for only Q25, which is about $3.50.  I told my teacher I wanted to find some chicos and zapotes, which are my new favorite fruits, but I also said I wanted to try lots of new things.  So yesterday we went to the market.  I bought lichas, pitayas, chicos, nances, and a couple of really great avocados that are a tiny bit different than the ones you find in the states.  They tasted the same, but were more round and the seed fell out easily.  We couldn't find any zapotes, but I will keep looking because it's almost like eating pumpkin pie!  The lichas almost look like animals to me with the spines coming out of them.  Either that, or they look like they could be a character in a cartoon or video game.  I didn't know how to eat them at first, but my teacher showed that you just pierce the flesh with your thumb nail and peel back the skin.  It's actually very easy, and there's a white fruit in the middle with a small seed inside.  The pitaya has such a beautiful dark pink color inside.  They taste almost like a kiwi!  The nances are ok.  They look like tiny apples with a decent size seed in the middle.  They are not very sweet, and remind me of a green apple because they have that crisp taste to them.  They're not my favorite, but I am glad I tried them.  One of the teachers at my school said that nances make a very good wine.  Maybe I'll try the wine next time.  Chicos are incredible.  They are very sweet, and I would have to say the flavor is almost like that of a date.  It is very sticky, and in fact, it is from these fruits that the Mayans first invented chewing gum (Chiclets...from chicos).

Lichas

 

Pitayas

 

Chicos

 

Lances

 

 













































I have been on a mission all week to find chuchitos.  Mission accomplished.  I brought some of my school friends with me to a panaderia for lunch, and we each bought a couple of chuchitos.  They are very similar to a tamal.  It's made up of mostly ground-up corn baked in a plantain leaf with some carne inside.  On the outside is usually a sort of salsa or some other type of tomato sauce.  Que deliciosos!  We bought a couple of chuchitos each, a Gallo (local beer), and walked to the Central Park where we ate and drank for lunch.  You don't need to worry about having a beer in public, which I have to admit is pretty cool.  Since I'm pretty familiar with Antigua and the surrounding area, I am going to take them up Cerro de la Cruz tomorrow.

I have learned a lot and practiced for hours every day speaking Spanish, and it still surprises me when I realize I spoke Spanish all day long.  I look forward to learning more verb tenses, but I seem to be getting along nicely.  I have more to tell you all, but I think I'll save some of it for another day.  In the meantime, yo creo que yo tengo mucha buena suerte.  Adios por ahora.

More Local Foods

Today was another great day at school, and I decided to try a couple of new local delicacies.  Almost all the Spanish schools in Antigua take a break at 10:00 am for 30 minutes.  At this time, there will most likely be a woman or a couple of women either walking around with a traditional Guatemalan basket selling food she prepared herself or driving around selling her home made goods out of the trunk of her car.  I'm not sure if there is an unspoken territory code each lady must follow similar to the one we all learned about from Pretty Woman, but in any case, you will always be able to have a snack at 10:00 am around Antigua.  The lady who sells to the students at my school in particular wears semi-modern clothes and sells the food out of the trunk of her car. 

On today's menu was tacos, tostadas, and tamalitos.  Tamalitos are just small versions of tamales, and they are almost all maiz (corn) combined with either a type of meat, cheese, or herb.  Today's tamalitos were made with chipilin.  Chipilin is an herb, and it is very difficult to describe the taste.  I bought 2 tamalitos de chipilin for only 6 quetzales ($0.75), and I had her put some salsa picante on them.  Every time I ask for salsa picante, the person looks at me like...ummmm...you're a gringa...are you SURE???  They are always surprised when I ask for more.  You can see a picture of chipilin and read more about it (en espanol, sorry) here: http://www.buenavida.com.mx/2009/06/chepil-o-chipilin/

I really liked the tamalitos, and when I began my class again, I talked about it with my teacher.  I told her that I keep hearing about a different kind of local dish called chuchitos, and so we left class and walked to a panaderia where sometimes they sell chuchitos.  I like the fact that we can just get up and walk around town because it gives us a chance to talk about real life situations while still learning and practicing Spanish.  When we got to the panaderia we found out that they only sell chuchitos on Wednesdays, so I might return tomorrow.  Instead though, I bought about 2 or 3 cups of frijoles negros volteados (prepared black beans) and an empanada con pollo (chicken) for Q20 ($2.50).  I kept the empanada for lunch and I'm saving the black beans for another day.  The black beans here are fabulous, and there is no comparison to the ones you can buy in a can.

I'm still in search of new fruits and vegetables to try, and tomorrow is a market day.  Hopefully my teacher and I can walk to the market and do some bargaining!  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can find more zapotes!!!

Adios por ahora.  Hasta luego.

First Day of School

Today was my first day of school, which gave me some much needed confidence in my Spanish speaking abilities.  I arrived in Guatemala last Wednesday, and I felt like I needed an entire 2 days of sleep to catch up on what I missed my final days in the States.  I feel so lucky to have spent my final days with some of my best friends.  Thanks to everyone who made time, sent a note, traveled from various places, and simply made me feel so loved.  I appreciated every moment, and it's sad that I had to end that chapter in order to begin the next.

Speaking of the next chapter, my first days in Guatemala were spent resting and getting ready for my new apartment.  Even though it is furnished, there were quite a lot of things I needed to purchase in order to make my stay comfortable for the next 3 months.  I learned about Cemaco, which is kind of like an Ace Hardware store combined with a Target, minus the food and myriad of options of each thing.  It was unbelievable to realize how many various trinkets and gadgets of all sizes and colors we have in the States when those options are no longer available.  However, I found everything I needed, and I'm living very very well.  My first trip to the grocery store was a little overwhelming though.  I'm used to shopping at Trader Joe's and a small produce grocery store in Chicago called Stanley's where you can find organic fruits and vegetables at a fraction of the price compared to regular grocery stores.  I've spent years analyzing which cereal or pasta provides the best nutrition and taste for the price, and it is not made by one of the big brands you might recognize.  I guess I've become quite suspicious of the big brands, and all I have here are those big brands or brands from Mexico or various other places that I don't recognize.  Then when you add on the fact that I normally look for diet-versions of a lot of things, the number of options gets smaller and smaller.  I was super excited to see my favorite Almond Breeze, soy and lactose free "milk" made from almonds.  It un poco mas expensivo (that's not real Spanish, and I know that) here, but at least my milk allergy won't have to be tested.  I am very excited to try lots of new things though.  I have already had some chicos, which are very sweet and sticky.  Gum is made from this fruit, and it definitely makes sense.  I also had my first zapote, which is somewhat related to the chico.  At first taste, I swore I was eating pumpkin that had been sweetened.  Since then I've been on a search for more zapotes and have been thinking of lots of new recipes to try.  When I went to the market by myself while in Antigua, I saw lots of other vegetables and fruits that I don't recognize, and luckily, my teacher is going to take me to the market on Thursday if it isn't raining.  She is excited to show me how to bargain down the price of a pineapple, which only costs about $1 here!

My first day of school was fabulous.  Mi profesora, Mirna, is very sweet, teaches well, and is also very funny.  I attend class from 8:00 until noon, and then again from 1:30 until 4:00.  I hope after 12 weeks of that much one-on-one time with a teacher I will become fluent.  It's amazing how much easier it is to speak and learn a new language when you are totally immersed.  My boyfriend and I speak almost entirely in English, which I hope will change soon.  When I walked back to my apartment for lunch, I bought 3 tortillas still hot from the fire for one quetzal.  Quetzal is the name of the currency here and is also the name of the national bird, which is very beautiful.  I had the pleasure of seeing one last February when I was here last.  The exchange ratio is about 8 quetzales to one dollar, so my 3 tortillas cost about $0.12!  They were so delicious, and went very well with my frijoles negros volteados.

These are pictures of my school.  It is a surprisingly large piece of property filled with some of the most beautiful gardens I've seen.  I really enjoy it, and have made a few friends today too.  Hasta luego mis amigos!