The plan was to write every weekend but that did not really happen this last weekend. So will start were I left off which I think was right after I climbed the volcano Santa María.
SCHOOL
Last week we did a lot of really fun things in class. On Monday we went to the store and bought ingredients to make the tortillas and cake that I mentioned last time. The cake was delicious and the tortillas were very fun and difficult to make. The dough likes to stick to your hand when try to form them making it both very funny and frustrating. That was all around a really fun day and it produced one of my favorite quotes of trip so far. When I asked Emily how they made the "Masa," she responded "you put half el bag de this en el bowl." She did not even know what she had said and I cried I was laughing so hard.
The next day we went to the cemetery. That does not sound like it would be interesting but it was. People here have a different perspective on death and their responsibility to their dead family and friends. These differences are apparent as you walk through this very large and beautiful cemetery. Our professors had lots of stories and little facts of history that they shared as we walked around. The next day we went to a shop where people make chocolate. Once again I was shocked at the hospitality and warmth of this culture. Our professors told the couple working that we were students from the U.S and that we wanted to learn about how chocolate was made and they welcomed us in to their shop and country. They got us chairs and began explaining what they were doing and when they had make the final product they gave us all a sample for nothing in return. We ended up buying a bar to make hot chocolate the next day in class. Thursday we "played" Apples to Apples in English but first we read through ALL the green cards in the box and then explained they to our professors in spanish. It was a bit long but also good practice of explaining a concept in Spanish as well as entertaining at times to hear our professors be confused or mispronounce "sheets" as "shits" then have to explain to them why "suck it" was inappropriate among other amusing conversations. By the time we got done reading through all the cards, we had about twenty minutes to actually play the game. I honestly can't remember what we did Friday. I will have to ask Emily.
ACTIVITIES
Monday we went to the house of a local woman who makes chocolate. We got to see the whole process, from breaking open a cocoa bean, to cooking and pealing the seeds then crushing them, and adding sugar, before heating it so that it can be formed into bars. Tuesday we had a lecture from one of the teachers at the school about the new president, who was inaugurated Friday. Parts of it were really interesting but other parts were hard to follow, and I felt I was missing some background knowledge that helped his ideas to make more sense. Wednesday we went to an after school program for grade school aged kids called La Pedrera, that is run by the language school I am attending. The building is at the top of a giant hill which was shocking to climb during the hottest time of the day. The kids were super excited to see us. We played Duck Duck Goose, and Red light Green light. My favorite little girl was probably only four years old and she just wanted to cuddle with me. At one point she got up and started walking back to the school. I followed her to a circle of older kids playing Simon Says and watched her give her a big sister before walking back to me and saying she was ready to return to the game and would I carry her back because she was tired. I think my heart melted a little it was so dang cute. Thursday night we went to a local café that showed movie interpretations of the story of a young woman named Vanushka. Her story is smiler to Romeo and Julie. The legend goes that she fell in love with the mayors son and when his father disapproved and sent him off to marry someone else and she died of a broken heart. The plays were honestly just plain strange. I really can not put it any other way. There were several moments that more uncomfortable.
THE WEEKENDS ACTIVITIES
This weekend the two groups split up again and we went to a town on Lake Atitlan called Panajachel. On the way there we stopped at a small farm/garden that grows plants to make all natural medicines. I was a little skeptical at first but it turned out to be quite fascinating and made me think more about practical solutions to lack of access to medical care in developing countries. Panajachel is quite a bit warmer than Quetzaltenango because it is at a lower altitude and while we were in the field learning about the remedies of all the plants they grow, we had not one, but two students faint from the heat! When the first girl dropped the man that works there yelling "AJO" and went sprinting across the field to get garlic, which he then broke in front of the her nose to wake her up. After the second girl fell down our guide suggested that we head back inside and keep looking at us like we were all going to drop dead at any second. Panajachel is more touristy that Quetzaltenango but it was till fun to visit. We went to dinner and then had a talk with a Whitworth graduate that now lives in Guatemala and is married to an indigenous women. We had this talk in English and I think it was the most thought provoking talk for me so far. He brought up a lot of good questions about religion as well as explained the source of recent disturbances in the area. The next day the group went across the lake to another town where Steven (the Whitworth grad.) teaches to talk to some of his students. I ended up getting really sick that night, I don't know if it was something I ate or if it was simply my turn to be sick, but I sayed behind and slept which I was really bumbed about, but I know it was necessary. We retuned to Quetzaltenango Sunday night and had pizza for dinner in as a group.
So at the beginning of the week my roommate and I talked to our professor about some concerns we had about our host family. We hardly ever saw our host mom, our host father was only home on weekends, when we were normally gone, our host brother was scared of us, and the house keeper did not really talk to us but really only served us. They were really nice to us when they were around but that was not that often. The family coordinator at the school called our host mom on Tuesday and explained our concerns to her, and told us to give it two more days to see if things changes. The first night our host mother ate dinner with the first time in a week but the next day she went to Guatemala City and we did not she her for over twenty four hours again. On Thursday we told Patty we wanted to change families and we did Sunday night. We did to see our host mom again. I think Thursday was the last we saw her and she was not home when we left. The house keeper María would hardly look at us and I felt really bad. That is made even more awkward by the fact we now pass her ever morning when we walk to school and she is walking our host brother to school. :/ Watcha gunna do?
NEW FAMILY
Our new family is AMAZING. Words to not describe how grateful I am to be living with this family. Our mother's name is Elvia, she wears traditional cloths, works part time at a shoe store and worries about us constantly. She frets about where we are at and how much we are eating. We have six host siblings, one sister and five brothers. Our host brothers are Alex, Roberto, Cesar, Randy and Josué, in order from oldest to youngest. Both Alex and our host sister, Pamala, are married and don't live at home, but the rest do. They have all been so incredibly kind to us. We have only been here four days now and already we have, played cards, spoons, speed and solitaire, danced until midnight to country music, gone to eat street food, meet their extended family, and talked for I don't know how many hours. We are the first students they have hosted and so they think it hilarious when we make mistakes and are unbelievably patient when we ask questions or don't know a word. The four boys that live at the house are almost always at home for lunch and dinner. Sometimes they are there in the morning for breakfast if they are not still sleeping. They love to tease us about everything and we spend most of the time laughing about one thing or another. I have been having so much fun getting to know them all and I wish I had more than just a week left here to get to know them all better. This weekend we are going to a Quinceañera birthday party for on of their friends and I am so excited. It is going to be a very cool experience.
Well I think that is all of last weeks news with a bit from this week thrown in. I will try to write again this weekend.
God Bless,
love Karli
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