July 11, 2013

I woke up today at 6. I had to go to the bathroom and it was so cold outside that I was wide awake afterward. I lay in my bed and tried to finish my blog entry from the night before. I was able to get quite a bit done but not all before the alarm went off and I started getting ready in earnest. My stomach was not feeling so great, but it felt better after breakfast. Christiana decided to sleep in a little more instead of going to breakfast. There was a new girl at the table who actually turned out to be someone who had stayed with Elvira and Enrique about a month ago. Her name is Mary Beth and she is from Tennessee. She is in college studying to be a nurse. She did some clinicals near Chichicastenango this past month. She got to do ultrasounds on pregnant women and treat parasites. For breakfast we had an elaborate display of fruit including strawberries, bananas, papaya, and pineapple. We also had apple tea and bread. 

We got to Hermano Pedro at the usual time (time for dishes). We did the dishes, swept the floor, and wiped the tables, and then we painted a few ladies' fingernails that we did not do the day before. Next we folded clothes for about 45 minutes. After all of this it was still less than 10am. We sat around and talked to the ladies for a while. It is strange because they are less women in the ward now than at the beginning of the week. However we do not know who is missing, yet when they are lined up for lunch against the wall. It is pretty obvious that there are not as many. Because today was Thursday, they had mass instead of school. There was nothing for us to do, so we asked if we could leave and go for a walk for a while and return before lunch to help. Ana gladly agreed and we decided to head home and grab our umbrellas because it looked like rain. We have not had rain in Antigua since Saturday and we were not even here then! We got the umbrellas, went to the bathroom, and headed back out. Christiana bought a Popsicle at the little shop down the road (Delicias Guatemaltecas), and the owner who makes the Popsicles was very cute. She spoke to us in English and she said the word "Popsicles" about ten times during the conversation. She told us that it is a new word for her. We headed back toward Central Park and we stopped in the shop that has a dressing room where you can try on clothes (a rarity here). I wanted to try on a woven cotton dress. I tried on two different ones and ended up getting a red dress. It is very fun and I will wear it to school. We walked to Pollo Campero and I got a vanilla cone with a caramel swirl and Christiana got a vanilla cone with a strawberry swirl. We sat on a bench on Central Park and ate them before heading back to HP. We sat around some more and talked and then we helped serve lunch. I was assigned Eudelia to feed and they brought me a tray so I started feeding her very small bites but she refused to eat any food. After a few minutes the same nurse who had given me the tray brought me a bowl of the thick soup and told me that she cannot eat solid food because she cannot chew (as if I should have known better). I do not understand why the nurses do not seem to know who eats what. Se ate all the soup and some jello. We helped clear and rinse the dishes and then it was time to go.

We walked home and got ready for lunch. We had frijoles blancos which was a soup made of pinto beans, chicken, rice, and a tomato-based broth. We also had a dish of strawberries with crema, we talked more with Mary Beth and then we got ready for school and left. On the way out the door, Christiana knocked a pot with a small bonsai tree off a stand. the tree was okay but the qpot broke. i felt really bad for Christiana. School was a bit disappointing today. I did lots of mindless verb conjugations that I already knew. I read three stories, only one of which I enjoyed. It was a true story of three men who were executed in Guatemala City for a crime they did not commit. It was very sad but a good story. After class, I Skyped my mom and Natalie for about a half hour before I had to head home. Christiana had already left with the keys so I had to ring the doorbell. They got a new doorbell with an intercom and a video camera. We tried it out and then I took a shower before dinner. Elvira and Enrique went to the market during the afternoon to look for a new pot for the bonsai tree, but as it has to be a special pot, they could not find what they needed. they will have to go to Guatemala City to get one. Christiana gave them money to buy a new pot. We had tostadas with chicken and cabbage and sauce on top and bread. We talked a long time. Mary Beth told us about her work in Chichi. It sounded really interesting. We came back to our room and I did my homework, wrote a thank you card for my teacher, and wrote my blog entry for today. Then we got ready for bed and read for awhile in bed.