Monday, July 12, 2010

I got up at 7:30 since we didn’t have class this morning and could eat breakfast at 8. I was the only one there. I had a Xeca con frijol which is a rather ordinary-looking large roll. However, the surprise is that inside, there is a layer of black beans. I didn’t know this before I ate it. This is a delicacy of Xela; they don’t eat this in any other part of Guatemala! There was also a basket of tostadas on the table. They were really sweet and tasted like crunchy sugar cookies to me. I liked them a lot. It is funny because I ate tostadas every day in Argentina, but they were more like triscuits. There was also strawberry jam and butter on the table. I put a little jam on the Xeca, but I later found out that Sandy likes to put jam on her tostadas, so I think I did it backward. I saw Sandy briefly when she walked through the house. I went back to my room before 8:30 and caught up on my blog. We don’t have internet in the house, so I saved my blog entries and some pictures to my flash drive to take to the internet café later.

I left my room at 10 and walked to Central Park, where I asked some policemen where the post office is. They gave me directions and I found it without needing to ask anyone else for directions! After the post office, I decided to wander around Central Park and look for a free map of Xela. I went to one tour office that was closed, but I was able to get a copy of Xela Who, which is a free monthly brochure that advertises activities for tourists. I found the INGUAT, which is the tourist information service of Guatemala. I had to wait for 15 minutes to ask for a free map because the woman was helping a man with some complicated-looking paperwork. I started to get impatient, and then it began to pour outside, so I didn’t mind as much. When she finally finished, the woman asked me what I wanted. I requested a map of Xela, and she offered one of Guatemala also, which I gladly accepted. I had to fill out my name and information in two notebooks, and then I left. It had stopped raining by this time, so I was happy. I walked back toward Parque Bolivar and found the internet café. To my disappointment, no one was online for me to Skype, but I replied to my emails and posted several blog entries and pictures online. It took almost exactly one hour for which I paid Q4. I left at 12:10 to walk home.

It was too cold this morning to shower, and it is always too cold at night, so the best time to shower is during the warmest part of the day. A shower still did not sound appealing, but I took one anyway. If I had to use one word to describe my shower, it would have to be “goosebumps”! Anyway, I put on some clean(er) clothes and went to the house for lunch. I was a little early, so I talked to Sandy and set the table. We had soup. It had huge vegetables in it: I had one potato, two carrots, one güisquil (which is the same vegetable as chayote from Costa Rica), mixed in with cabbage strands and rice in a clear broth. It was very warm! We also had tortillas made with black corn. Sandy and the Turkish man and I talked during lunch. I can’t pronounce or spell his name, but part of his name is Hussein. I am not sure if that is his last name or not. It is difficult to communicate with him because his Spanish is very basic. We all speak slowly with small vocabulary to help him. He is very polite and dresses nicely. His most common phrase is “No entiendo.” Hussein left early for class. I stayed and talked to Sandy for ten more minutes and then I got ready for class.

I am adjusting to Latin American time because I left for school with seven minutes until class started. I arrived right on time. I have a new teacher this week. His name is Leonel. He arrived soon after I did and we got to work right away. He likes worksheets… a lot! We chatted for a bit for him to get a feel for my level of Spanish, but then we began the worksheets in earnest. I was working on the difference because the preterite tense and the imperfect. I thought I was doing really well, missing just one or two on a page, but after I finished one worksheet, he would hand me another. Most of them were short stories that had the verbs missing and I had to supply the correct conjugation. When I finished, I would read it to Leonel and he would make corrections, if needed. Oscar came and said that Leonel should take me to the daycare as soon as I filled out a form. We stopped at a shop on the way to make a copy of the copy of my passport that I had in my backpack. Then we walked about 7 minutes to the daycare. I hope I can find it tomorrow because it is kind of hard to find. I met Elisa, the woman who works there. She gave me a quick tour and I saw some children. One little boy started hanging on my leg. I think it will be fun. I am going to work there from 8-12 in the morning. This is good because I will have one hour free before lunch to use the internet or take a shower.

When we returned to the school, I finished the worksheet I was on, and then we had a break. I ate a tostada left over from breakfast. Several of the teachers and Hussein were smoking in the courtyard and so I went back to our room and started working on the next worksheet that Leonel had given me before we stopped. We continued the worksheet parade for a long time. After about ten worksheets that were all pretty easy for me, Leonel gave me a packet of more difficult ones. I could do them, but my head hurt from the effort. It was part of a book. I had three chapters that I had to fill in the missing verbs with the correct tense and conjugation. I could understand it and got almost all the answers right, but the words were difficult. I needed help, but Leonel was in the office talking to Oscar about something, so I kept working. I was really sick of worksheets, and although I feel like I accomplished a lot, it was not enjoyable. On Friday, I was surprised when the five hours were up, and I didn’t want to leave. Today, I kept looking at my watch. I thought I might not make it when we still had more than an hour left. Finally, after finishing all three chapters, we were done with worksheets. I retold the story to Leonel and we spent the rest of the time talking. He gave me a homework assignment to write about why I decided to come to Xela and what I thought about it. As I was leaving, I saw Helen, who was working with another student. I don’t know why I didn’t get to keep Helen and the other girl could have had Leonel. Oh, well. We rotate teachers each week. I walked back to my house a few minutes before seven. It was already dark. I will much prefer having classes in the morning and volunteer in the afternoon because I will be done at 5. I don’t like walking home in the dark, although there were still people around. Someone was setting off fireworks on the hill near my house.

I stopped by my room to dump my stuff and wash my hands, and then I headed to the kitchen. We had lentils, carrots, and potatoes with curry on rice and little tiny rolls to dip in the curry. It was good. Erica was back from her trip. Erica, Hussein, Sandy, and Roberto and I ate together and talked. After dinner, Sandy invited me to bring my homework to the house to work on it in the living room. I started writing and she came in and sat next to me and started crocheting. We talked about crocheting and I learned several new words. I told her about making catnip mice for the humane society. She wants to learn how, although she didn’t know about catnip. I really like Sandy. I finished up my homework and returned to my room at 8:45. I wrote about my day. My nose is freezing sitting here on my bed. Now I am going to write a bit in my other journal, maybe read, and then go to bed. Tomorrow morning will be my first time in the daycare… that is, if I can find it!!!