Happy Fourth of July!

el 4 de julio 2011

We got up at 6:15. I took a shower, talked to Lara, and worked on my blog from yesterday before breakfast! We ate at 7:15, as usual. I gave each person a mint in an American flag wrapper in honor of July 4^th. We had omelets for breakfast with lots of tomatoes and onions. We also had papaya and bread and tea/coffee. We left late for school, as always. Lauren came with us to register for classes and was able to start the same day. I talked with my teacher about the weekend and other things. I also asked her a few questions about grammar. I am confused because both my teacher in Xela and my teacher here told me the same thing about the phrase “a menos que,” but what they give me as examples is different from what the dictionary says and what I have learned earlier. I asked Elvira at lunch today and she agreed with me. It worries me that both my Spanish teachers were confused about this! During the break, we found Lauren and walked to the hospital Hermano Pedro where Amber and Jenny volunteered four years ago. I really wanted to go visit while we are here, although we won’t really have enough time to volunteer. We went to the volunteer office and talked with a woman. She said that we can come tomorrow and visit. I am excited! We went back to the school, used the bathroom, and talked for a while before returning to class a few minutes late. I don’t think we have been on time once, which is so not my usual style of doing things! There is a sign with facts about Guatemala outside the bathroom, and one of the facts on it is hard for me to believe. It says that the Happy Meal was invented in Guatemala and then spread to the rest of the world. I need to investigate this more. During the second part of my class, we talked some more about grammar and then I read a Mayan legend about the sun and the moon. When I finished reading it, I retold the whole story to Sara and then class was over.

We went to the internet café near the school because we get a free hour of internet there. We spent a half hour there (using one coupon each). I responded to emails and facebook messages and then I posted my blog. The time went quickly and soon it was time to leave. We walked to Elvira’s, just stopping at our house for a minute. For lunch, we had Pepian (a traditional food that is eaten for Corpus Christi) which is a kind of thick soup with meat and potatoes in it. Elvira told us it is a lot of work to make which is why most people only eat it on certain holidays and weddings, but she makes it more often. For dessert, we had cambray, which is similar to tamales only they are sweet with raisins and almonds and spices inside. It was very good. We talked for a long time after lunch. We were going to climb Cerro de la Cruz (a hill overlooking Antigua with a big cross up there), but when we went up to our room to get ready, we started talking to Lara and it was too late for us to go afterward. Lara showed us what she had bought in Chichicastenango and since Spanish is hard for her, she was talking to us in English. Elvira always says that she has ears in her house with which she can hear into the other house (where we live) so she will know if we are speaking English. Well, it might be true because this was really the only time that we have spoken English over here, and lo and behold, Elvira came walking in, scolding us! After she left, we continued our conversation in Spanish.

We decided to do a bit of sightseeing before salsa class. We went to La Merced (the big yellow church near our house) and went inside and looked around at the ruins. The church was originally built in the 1500s but was later damaged by the earthquake. Lauren and I took some pictures. It was sprinkling a bit but not too much. We were going to go to a free salsa class at one studio at 4 and then another class at 5. However, when we arrived at the 4pm free salsa place, the owner told us that they had moved the class to 5. Of course! All the dance studios have the same prices, packages, and times for free classes. We decided to go to Pollo Campero (which is kind of similar to KFC) for ice cream. The ice cream is vanilla, but you can choose a flavor to add and they swirl it in the vanilla. I had caramel, Lauren had chocolate, and Amber had plain vanilla. As we left Pollo Campero, some children who were selling gum followed us out the door and were begging us to buy them ice cream. They followed us down the road. We talked to them a little bit. We really need to break our large bills. I literally am down to only big bills. Amber didn’t have enough coins to buy gum from them, but she gave them a few small coins. We walked to the market and Amber and Lauren bought some scarves. Then it was time to head back for the 5pm salsa class. We had decided to split up and go to different dance studios to try out different instructors. Lauren and I headed to the one near our school. I couldn’t remember exactly where it was, but we went to the school and there was a group walking there.

The class was good, basic, but good. There were about 12 chicas and one chico taking the class. Fortunately, the dance studio supplied about 8 chicos to dance with us. The first half hour we learned merengue and the second half hour we learned salsa. We rotated partners every minute or so, which was nice because it was fair. After the class, we headed back toward the school and met the sole guy who attended the class. He goes to our school. His name is Sean. It was sprinkling again. Lauren and I headed back. However, I have not been paying close attention to how to get around Antigua because Amber knows where she is going and I am always with her. I didn’t turn where we were supposed to and we went way too far in one direction and not far enough in the other direction. We got really lost and I felt bad because she thought I knew where I was going. Whoops! We had a nice conversation, though, and we eventually made it back to the house an hour later, just in time for dinner.

We had an omelet-ish thing for dinner with egg, ham, cheese, and green leaves (not spinach) along with a corn and cheese and egg creation and rice. It was good, even if my description does not do it justice. After dinner, we talked for a long time with Dorothy and Larry, the couple from Canada about socialized medicine. Then we came back to our house. Lauren had forgotten shampoo and conditioner, so I gave her some of mine because I have plenty. Then she headed to her house. I washed my feet and got ready for bed. I wrote my blog. Amber is already in bed and it is 9:40. She has been sleeping an impressive amount here, for her. I am going to read my Bible and go to bed, too.