What a week it has been

Another week has gone by, marking my halfway point here. :( Since last week, I have gotten considerably closer with my family, which is wonderful, but I know will make it all the harder to leave them. Having 3 brothers here in Xela is quite similar to at home in the United States. I absolutely love it, of course. :) I´ve begun to appreciate their different personalities. I love how Lucas (the one who is my age) is curious about me and wants to help me practice my Spanish. Alex, the 16 year old, is absolutely hilarious. He loves to dance and make me laugh, which isn´t too hard to do anyway. Cusco has been the most shy, but is a sweetheart. He didn´t start talking to me until last weekend, but since then I´ve gotten to know him better. He´s 15 and dating a girl (also 15) who lives in his home town. My mom, Sandra, told me that they are probably getting married this winter. For here, that isn´t a surprise... definitely cultural.

Last week on Thursday Zach left in the afternoon. Friday was actually pretty difficult, and I missed home a bit. Going from having him there, to not, made the house empty. However, the weekend had a good turn around for me, as I spent a lot of time with my brothers. I went with Lucas to an internet cafe, and to the Parque Central (central park only 5 minutes away), and also to church with him on Sunday. He´s Catholic, and so this was my 3rd mass service ever, and also not in English. Quite interesting. I also helped Alex with a biology project of making a mitochondria out of clay and a soda bottle. We play Uno a lot, and to make it more interesting we bet about 1 Quetzal (the equivalent of about 20 cents).

This week I switched teachers, and my teacher this week is awesome. Her name is Carmen. She´s 45, married, a Christian, with 4 kids (from ages 19 to 26) who are all married. We hit it off right away, and have had some really interesting conversations about religion, American and Guatemalan cultures, marriage, traveling, etc. She´s very sweet. I also requested to have her for next week.


Warning: the next paragraph holds some disgusting information.

Yesterday I took a trip to this village Zunil which is 8 km outside of Xela, in the mountains. There are natural hot springs called Aguas Amargas, heated from the volcano, so after a cold day I was really looking forward to them. I was the only person from school to go, so it was just the guide and me. Unfortunately we took the chicken bus there (aka, a school bus packed with people). The only seat was in the very back left. I was a bit disappointed to be the only one to go from school, as well as dreading the bus ride. I would say by now I am a professional at vomiting in moving vehicles, so after the first uncomfortable bump, I knew what the future would hold. I told my guide that I couldn´t talk anymore and that I wasn´t feeling well. I sat next to the window, and after the second bump, out came orange and white colored chunks: my pasta lunch from no more than an hour before. After about 8 or 9 times of hanging my head only halfway out the window because of my large head, I felt considerably better. In retrospect, this is a hilarious story that I will always remember, as I´m sure will my tourguide and the man who I paid for the bus ride, and a few other teenagers who gawked at me. I am now thankful that the only seat was in the back, as many other windows in the bus were opened and I´m sure the Guatemalan people would not be happy with me if they got a spray. I now have two bruises, one on my forehead and one on my chin, to remember that it is not possible to fully hang your head out of a window of a chicken bus with this large of a head. So, back to the less disgusting and much more enjoyable part of my journey: my guide and I arrived at the hot springs shortly thereafter after getting off the chicken bus and hitchhiking in a pickup truck. It was in the mountains, and absolutely beautiful. The clouds here are just fog, so it was quite nice and misty. I first went into this concrete pool, and met some other college students also studying in Xela. We went home a couple hours later. A much more successful trip home, after my guide gave me a lime, which apparently helps with the stomach. :)

Well, so yesterday and today it has rained considerably more. Usually it rains in the afternoon or evening, but it´s gotten to be at all hours. It´s awfully cold at the school, since we sit outside, but still manageable. I´ve realized if I can be this happy and content when it´s raining, I would love to come back here when it´s not the rainy season (December to May). I´ve already begun to think of all the things I will miss. I will definitely miss playing Uno with my family. I will miss little Abi and Jose Miguel coming over all the time. I will miss Sandra singing along to the radio. I will miss the view of the gorgeous mountains outside my window. I will miss the turkeys and rooster in my backyard. I will miss the cobblestone streets and the walks around town. I still have two more weeks here, but it will be hard to leave. Life here is very different from home. At home, people work to attain more ´stuff´where here, people work to survive. It´s difficult in a different way, but I am so thankful to be content and happy here. God has been so good to me, and I´ve realized that every country I´ve visited, I have enjoyed thoroughly. Yes, it takes some adjusting and I miss certain things at times, but it´s a wonderful experience being here.

This weekend I was thinking of climbing the inactive volcano, Santa Maria (which I can see out my window at home), but after the difficulty in altitude from the springs, I decided against it. Also besides, my family invited me to go to a water park on Sunday, which I am reallllllllllly looking forward to! :)

Enjoy your weekend. I will post next week! :)