Beans and Rice

So this week has been good. I have gotten a bit closer to the woman I am staying with and she is teaching me to make a Guatemalan shirt. I think it will be quite pretty. She is also teaching me to make tortillas from scratch as in from corn. Wow.

Last night was really wonderful. I skipped libraby volunteering along with all the other volunteers to go hang out at the park. We wound up hanging out with an awesome duck whom I have named Mohawk and listening to a local man play really pretty music on his guitar. We ate hot dogs and had a couple of beers. There were really big fireflies everywhere and also a toad. Very nice night.

This week we finished the bridge we started last week and also built a room for a school. School here is not mandatory and really is not like school at home. The teachers seem to take breaks whenever they like and likewise the children go to their classrooms whenever they like. But anyway we built another room. And I must say it looks nice.

Worry dolls for the week
1) That the strange bitetype thing in my bellybutton is actually some eggs of some bug waiting to hatch
2) That Mohawk will reject all offers I make for him to accompany me home
3) The turantula that lives in the park

Things are going well for me for the most part. It is exceedingly hot down here and the mosquitoes are starting to bite, but other than that it is good. I have made friends with some of the locals in San Andres. One is my Spanish teacher, who´s name is Rember. On Wednesday I didn´t take a class so he took me to a nearby town to meet a friend of his. This friend had to flee El Salvador during the civil war for political reasons so he went to the US and now speaks very good English. We hung out and he taught me how to make yogurt and cheese. He also has dreams of getting a farm and having bungaloes there so that people can work the farm for their stay. I think this is an excellent idea.

My other friend is a 4 year old boy named Albertito (little Albert). He is quite wonderful and speaks to me in spanish even though I don´t understand. I take him to the library at night when I can and he holds my hand. That is usually a highlight of my day.

Yesterday I left San Andres for the weekend to go to Tikal. I spent last night camped out in a hammock and this morning (at 5 am) watching the sunrise from the top of a mayan temple. I saw spider monkeys and weird catlike raccoon things. I also saw turkeys (wild) which are actually beautiful animals that make crazy noises. I also saw toucans and parrots. I faced my fear of heights and climbed giant ruins. One of the crazy things about Tikal is the way the buildings were all built so that on certain days (equinox and solstice) the sun rises and sets in particular patterns with the buildings. It´s difficult to explain but really cool. Oh I also saw a crocodile!

Tonight I am staying in a town called El Remate which is on the same lake as San Andres but about halfway between there and Tikal. It is really tranquil and I have a bathroom actually in my room. Yay!

In San Andres there are animals everywhere. Dogs, cats, chickens, pigs, cows and horses roam the streets. You can think you are walking all alone and all of a sudden a pig will run out of the bushes at you!

Today while I was swimming in the lake, three horses ran down the road toward me and into the lake. They stood 3 metres from me and drank agua. One was looking at me the whole time. And Im pretty sure one was pregnant as she had a HUGE belly (animals here are very skinny) that kept spasming.

Worry dolls
1) My relationship with Jonno
2) Loosing my mind
3) Menstruation (it really sucks when the bathroom is an outhouse)

I am tired. Hot. And sweaty. Mateo (the volunteer coordinator) says tonight is cooler than last night but I dont believe him.

Food today was great with the exception of breakfast, which seemed to amount to some granola tossed into a big bowl of hot chocolate. I cant figure out if Martina (homestay mom) is making us food they eat in Guatemala or is attempting to cook Canada food. I got sick from breakfast. But tonight was tasty fried chicken and yesterday french fries. The family never eats with us.

I think my Spanish is getting better (could it have gotten worse?). I can now loosly string together sentences about my family, my country and myself. I can also ask for things.

Worry dolls
1) Ill get sick
2) Jonno wont adjust
3) Ill never be cold again

Overwhelmed but welcomed! I have arrived in San Andres, seen my room and met some of the people I will spend this next month with. It is beautiful here and the people are very kind. It is so different from home!

The people here made us tasty spaghetti with fresh, warm tortillas. They have been incredibly nice and accomodating of our awkwardness and inability to speak Spanish.

Th room here is cement with a screen window (which I am thankful for as giant bugs seem to keep flying into it and making loud bangs) and a fan. It is so incredibly hot and humid. Like 30 degrees at night! It is like being in a sauna all the time.

The bathroom is outside, past the barking dogs so Im scared to go when everyone is sleeping. Jonno also said there is a giant bug in there right now that looks like a spider and a cockroach had babies.

There is electricity and some running water sometimes.

Worry dolls for the night
1) Afraid I wont adjust
2) Afraid I will get homesick
3) Afraid of the animals and bugs