So…I have been here for a little over a week and things have been going great. I’ve had a lot of firsts, not in any particular order. My first pan dulce, my first cup of te negro (that’s for you michelle!), my first trip to the market with my host mom, my first pollo campero ice cream with chocolate and peanuts of course, my first Spanish class, my first bout with a sick stomach, my first bus ride alone (not as scary as I thought it would be), my first dinner with my host family (whom I totally adore), first trip to Antigua (baila, baila, baila!), first trip to the lake Atitlan, first meal with the other two SALTers Luke and Paige that we cooked together (see picture). I’m sure the list could go on and on but that’s how I’ll end it. I’m just trying to soak it all in as much as possible!
Some things that I still can’t believe: that I’m actually here, it feels so familiar yet still so new; a pound of bright red strawberries costs only 5 Quetzales, which is less than 50 cents in US currency; a dozen roses as beautiful as they get costs only 10Q, just over a dollar; that I have a cell phone and that incoming calls are free for me! (my number is 011-502-5775-9025, take the hint); and that my Spanish will get better (this whole language learning thing is harder than I remember).
Just a few more details about my host family. I have a host mom and dad. My mom runs a restaurant out of our house; it’s definitely a family affair and her food is SO delicious. She is a total hoot. I have two host brothers and a host sister. My younger brother is 22, working nearly full time and going to school to be a lawyer, the other is going-on 35, speaks 6 languages and gives private English classes when he isn’t helping out around the house, and my sister is 12 and a total diva. We often dance and sing together. There are always people coming and going and the house is full of music and laughter. I find my host family very similar to my own. This makes me feel right at home and I am super grateful for that.
In true form, I am writing this while procrastinating doing my Spanish homework so I should be going. But…thanks to you all for your time and attention. Oh…one last thing. If you want to send snail mail (another hint) my mailing address is as follows:
Comite Central Menonita
c/o Erin Murray
Apartido 1779
Ciudad de Guatemala
Guatemala, C.A.
Take care peeps. Lots of love.
Some things that I still can’t believe: that I’m actually here, it feels so familiar yet still so new; a pound of bright red strawberries costs only 5 Quetzales, which is less than 50 cents in US currency; a dozen roses as beautiful as they get costs only 10Q, just over a dollar; that I have a cell phone and that incoming calls are free for me! (my number is 011-502-5775-9025, take the hint); and that my Spanish will get better (this whole language learning thing is harder than I remember).
Just a few more details about my host family. I have a host mom and dad. My mom runs a restaurant out of our house; it’s definitely a family affair and her food is SO delicious. She is a total hoot. I have two host brothers and a host sister. My younger brother is 22, working nearly full time and going to school to be a lawyer, the other is going-on 35, speaks 6 languages and gives private English classes when he isn’t helping out around the house, and my sister is 12 and a total diva. We often dance and sing together. There are always people coming and going and the house is full of music and laughter. I find my host family very similar to my own. This makes me feel right at home and I am super grateful for that.
In true form, I am writing this while procrastinating doing my Spanish homework so I should be going. But…thanks to you all for your time and attention. Oh…one last thing. If you want to send snail mail (another hint) my mailing address is as follows:
Comite Central Menonita
c/o Erin Murray
Apartido 1779
Ciudad de Guatemala
Guatemala, C.A.
Take care peeps. Lots of love.
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