July 16, 2013

Today was my first full day in Guatemala City. I did not sleep much last night because of all the city noises. We are living on the roof of the school, which is four stories tall. We would technically be the fifth floor. However we live in rooms that open out onto the roof. Each room is separate. There is a bathroom, a kitchen, and a laundry area. They also have created a garden that is quite impressive given that it only has dirt as deep as a cinder block. They have many herbs, some flowers, and a few trees growing, including a mango tree! Too bad mangos are not in season! I will definitely take pictures to post later. Right now there are ten people living on the roof in four rooms, sharing one bathroom. 

I awoke about five and my legs were really cold. I huddled in my blanket until people started getting up at 6:20 when the Rafinos arrived. They are a family with six children, four of which come upstairs to shower and eat breakfast everyday befo school. They do not go to the school where Amber works (UPAVIM) but a Guatemalan school nearby. I have heard that the children all have lice. All the people who live here have had lice except Amber. Hopefully, since I am here such a short time, I will likewise escape. I threw on a jacket and met the boys. I met Hilda when she came to say hi before I was even out of bed. After ey left, Amber and I decided to go down to the bakery and buy fresh bread for breakfast. I put on my skirt and away we went down four flights of stairs. We bought a variety of bread and soy milk flavored cinnamon and returned upstairs. We shared the bread with people and ate that and coffee for breakfast. We sat around and talked to people and made plans for the day. We watched a video about the school that they are making. It looks really good so far! We got ready and went downstairs to the English office to plan for the day/week. We are going to start with the story Goldilocks and the 3 Bears. After we planned, we went to make a copy of a note for the parents about a modified "Bear Day" that we are doing tomorrow. Then we went down to the Montessori English lesson. Aber sees two groups of preschoolers for 15 minutes each. The first group is younger 4ish and it is clear that their attention spans are much shorter and they do not know as much English even though they have had the same lessons as the group of students who are 5ish. We worked on positional words, numbers, and saying "My name is ..." Amber read them part of Goldilocks and worked on the word "perfect" for describing Baby Bear's oatmeal, chair, and bed. We also talked about the words rough, smooth, and soft, as well as singing five short songs. They are trying to keep the class really quiet so we had to speak and sing in whispers. The Montessori preschool takes place between 11:15 and 12:15. 

Next we stopped by the kitchen which is also on the ground floor and picked up lunch for the teachers and volunteers. I carried a pot that had orange sauce dripped on the side. I did not realize this until after I had already held it against my light blue shirt to open a door. Oh, well! This is why I did not pack my Sunday best! We got the cart that Amber uses in her kindergarten class and then dished up our own lunches. We eat in the classroom while supervising the kids' lunch. I met Jazmin, Amber's Guatemalan English-speaking aide. I had heard so many wonderful things about her that it was nice to finally meet. We had a cauliflower egg creation in a triangle shape with the infamous orange sauce over it, salad with tomato, onion, radishes, and lemon juice squeezed on it, rice, and some sort of fruit refresco drink. 

Amber's kids are high-maintenance. Many of them come from really difficult situations. There is a cycle of poverty and gang violence around La Esperanza (Amber's neighborhood). One of the other teachers showed us an elaborate architectural drawing that a fifth grader has made of a "druglord's house." UPAVIM also employs women to make crafts to sell in the states as well as here. There is also the bakery and a health clinic in addition to tutoring that is done in Spanish or kids who do not attend this school. It is a really neat organization. There is daycare for kids from newborn to preschool. UPAVIM employs 100 women from the community.

The afternoon was a little crazier than I had anticipated. It would be hard to share your class half day with another teacher who teaches very differently from you. We did circle time, conversation, songs, Goldilocks, and recess on a small concrete patio that is connected to the classroom. I played I Spy with a girl and then danced and galloped with Karla. The boys were tying people up with jump ropes. It was chaotic with not enough room to get their energy out. At the end of the day, Amber had them play a game using what they know about fur, scales, and feathers. Then it was time to line up and go home. 

After they all had left, we went back upstairs and leaned up the classroom with Jazmin. Then she left and Amber and I talked about the rest of the day. Tomorrow is our turn to cook so we went down the road to buy vegetables from some ladies. The produce looked good and was very cheap. We bought tomatoes, red peppers, cilantro, parsley, four huge carrots, and five limes for $1.25! We then walked back and put the produce in the kitchen before heading to the English office to talk about Amber's independent study. She is going to work on mapping out the English portion of the curriculum to better help the teacher next year. We talked through the entire proposal in detail before heading up for dinner.

We had a delicious meal of rice mixed with lentils with stir-fried veggies and a curry sauce over it. It made my mouth burn, but it was really good. The cleanliness of the kitchen leaves much to be desired, but the food I have eaten has been good. After dinner a Spanish-speaking friend came by and we all helped him practice his English by giving examples of things we can do, could do, will do, etc. I left on "have to" by saying, " I have to wash my cup." I then got ready to get in the shower. The shower was good again. I started my laundry soaking in a bowl to hopefully get out he stain. I then checked my email. Amber shared a peppermint patty with Katie and I. Next, Amber and I attempted to watch a TED talk while giving each other massages. I got ready for bed and typed my blog entry. I went to bed (with earplugs) at 11.

July 15, 2013

We got up at 7 for breakfast at 7:15. We had pancakes and lemongrass tea for breakfast. We talked for a long time with Elvira and Enrique. We gave them our gifts. I had brought a framed picture of Elvira and Enrique with Amber, Lauren, and me from two years ago. Christiana gave them Chicago sports-themed gifts. They knew more about the teams than I do (not that I know a lot). I paid them. When they found out that Amber was coming to get me and would be in Antigua for lunch, they told me to invite her. After we got done talking, I packed up my toiletries, pajamas, and a few other things. Then we headed to the Internet cafe so I could call Amber to make sure our plan was still on. The Internet cafe was closed still, so we walked to our Spanish school so Christiana could pay for her transportation to the airport tomorrow. I asked Katy, the director, if she knew where I could us the telephone because I wanted to catch Amber before she left since I did not know if it was a cell or school number. She said I could use her phone as long as it was a local call (not international). I called and left a message for Amber. Then I asked to use the computer. I tried to transfer Christiana's pictures to my flash drive, but the school computers were old and did not have an SD card slot. I checked my email and uploaded my blog entries to the Evernote cloud. I tried to then post them to my actual blog, but the school computer would not let me find my blog site. I next tried to download more digital library books, but I could not remember my library card number. I ran home to get it (luckily the school is only three blocks from our house) and then came back. It took me a while, but I finally returned the books I was done with and downloaded six new books. Christiana went to feed dogs while I did this. We then met up at the school and went to the Internet cafe to try doing the pictures there. We did not find any computers with working SD card slots which was weird because that is how I always post my pictures in Antigua. I was able to upload my blog posts and write a note on my blog saying that I might be MIA for a while if Amber's Internet was not fixed. A gang cut the Internet line the end of May and it was supposed to be fixed this past Friday, but I did not know if it actually was. We then ran back to the house to go to the bathroom and drop off my iPad. We then walked to the bank. However, the line was super long and we had to meet Amber at 11:45 at Fernando's near our house. We decided to try the fancy Internet cafe near Central Park. We stopped and asked about using an SD card and they said that they did not have a cable to connect it. I asked if they knew another place I could do it and she suggested across the street at another Internet cafe. We went there and asked and the lady did have a special cable to put the SD card in a USB port. I transferred the pictures in just a few minutes and then we headed out to meet Amber. She was already there, drinking tea in the back. She was ready to go and we headed out. We went directly back to the bank and waited a long time for two people upstairs and then forever in the downstairs line. It seemed to be moving extra slowly. It took so long, in fact, that it was time for lunch. We sent Amber back to the house to let them know that we would be late and to catch up with Elvira and Enrique. Christiana offered to stay with me, which was very nice. I really do not know how much money I will need when I am with Amber, but I would rather have too much than not enough. I decided that since I am planning on returning to Guatemala in the next few years that it would be okay to have some quetzals left over. 

Christiana and I rushed home. We were a little more than 15 minutes late. We had fish for lunch. It was shredded and mixed with lots of vegetables. We also had potatoes and cucumbers and guanabana juice. We sat around and talked a long time. Jemletta, our housemate from Colorado, had changed her schedule so that her afternoons are free. It was nice to have her talk more instead of rushing off to class. I packed a few souvenirs that did not fit in my bag in a bag Amber had brought with her. Then Aber took her load and headed off to Central Park to meet a friend. Jemletta, Christiana, and I walked with her. They stopped at the homemade Popsicle place and each got one. I was tempted to get the strawberry, but I decided to hold out for my McDonalds ice cream cone. Amber went on her way and we continued to McDonalds. I decided to splurge and got the large waffle cone for less than a dollar. It was twice the price of the small size, but it was not twice as big. We walked around a pretty courtyard and then to La Merced. We then went home. I sat around and talked with Christiana. I got ready to leave right as it started to rain. I put the rain cover on my backpack and headed to Pollo Campero to meet Amber. 

I left the house at 4:10 and got to Pollo Campero a little early. My backpack was heavy and I was carrying another bag. I sat in Pollo Campero for ten minutes. All of a sudden, I realized that Amber probably meant the other Pollo Campero close to the bus terminal. I quickly walked over there, but I did not see her. I looked inside and waited outside for 5-10 minutes and then wondered if she was at the other Pollo Campero. I walked over there, keeping a close eye out for her. However, when I got back to the first Pollo Campero, she was not there. By this time, I was really tired, sweaty, and worried that I would never find her. The hostess invited me to sit inside and wait for my friend. I waited for another 5-10 minutes and then decided that I probably should go check the other Pollo Campero. I asked the hostess to do me a favor and if Amber showed up to that she could tell her I was at the other Pollo Campero. I described Amber and headed out the door only to spot Amber and her friend heading toward me. She had meant the Pol Campero by the bus station, but she was running late and when she arrived there, she did not see me, so she went to the other one. She walked on the next street over which was how we missed each other. We started our trek to Guatemala City about a half hour later than she had wanted to leave. She said goodbye to her friend, went to the bathroom in Cafe Condesa, and then we went to catch the bus. The sky looked ominous and I hoped it would not rain. As we approached the corner to catch the bus to Guatemala City, we saw the bus pass us by. Amber hoped we could catch it, but with my backpack on my back, it was not possible. We waited for the next bus to come and only had to wait a few minutes. The bus helper took my backpack and tied it to the top of the bus. We got on a crowded bus. Within minutes it started to rain. I hoped that the man had put my backpack with the rain cover on top. It rained for about ten minutes and then it stopped. There were so many people on the bus that there were about eight in each row (2 seats) of the former school bus! I finally got a seat and the woman next to me had a huge bouquet of roses. i made small talk with her ans said that I thought her flowers were beautiful . she gave me one of her roses. her name was Hermalinda. As we drove into Guatemala City, people started getting off at a faster rate than they got on. Finally, Amber told me we were at our stop. We got off and the bus helper gave me my backpack. I struggled to get it on and Amber had to help me. We then had to climb up a steep dirt hill. I was worried I was going to fall over backward. I gave Amber my other bag and had to use my hands to keep my balance as I scrambled up the hill. When I got close to the top, a man came and grabbed my hand and helped me up the rest of the way. I said thanks and we crossed through a park, crossed two busy streets, and went up and over the road on one of the pedestrian overpasses. We paid a one quetzal coin at a bus station and entered what reminded me of a subway station. We stood in line for a bus. The first bus came and we did not make it on. The second bus to come was completely empty and we made it on. A double seat became available and Amber went in first closest to the window. I tried to sit down, but I could not bend my knees enough to fit in the seat with my giant backpack. I half stood in the seat, supporting my backpack against the seat. We soon reached our stop and got off to look for the next bus which was free! The line for the bus was unlike any line I have ever seen. It extended forever, probably close to a quarter mile. We stood in the line for 15 minutes or so and it barely moved forward. A woman came up to us and told us she would take us to a car because the line would probably take 2 hours. We started following this lady and I did not know if Amber even knew her. Finally she introduced me to the woman. It was one of her students' mothers. I immediately felt better. I thought she was trying to take us to a taxi or something. We walked with her to a street corner and waited for her husband to come with the car. I listened while she and Amber chatted. The man arrived with the car. They opened the empty, clean trunk and I tossed my backpack in. We drove for a short distance to get to Amber's school. She lives right down the road from the second most notorious slum in Guatemala City. Apparently lots of bad things happen there. We thanked them for dropping us off and I gave the woman my rose. We walked up a hill to the school. Amber let us in and we walked through the quiet, dark building. It smelled delicious, like fresh bread because the front part of the building holds a bakery. I dropped my stuff in her room and headed for the kitchen. Everyone was eating dinner. They take turns cooking here. We had some egg dishes with mushrooms and cheese and pineapple and pancakes. Then I took a shower and unpacked/repacked my backpack so I could find things. I am sharing a very small room with Amber and Katie. They have a bunk bed and I have an air mattress on the floor. My backpack full of clothes is under the desk in the room. My other things are under the hanging clothes. The shower was good, pretty hot with decent water pressure. I then brushed my teeth and wrote my very long blog post. Amber came in and went to bed. They have Christmas lights in their room and it reminds me of the dorm. Katie was not in bed yet, so we had just the Christmas lights on. I finished my blog post and went to bed at 10:30.

July 14, 2013

We got up at 7:45 to get ready for church. I ate a granola bar and dried fruit in our room. We headed to Iglesia del Camino (The Way Church) for the service at 9. They were passing out adhesive nametags as we walked in. I noticed that the package had a boxtop on it, so I quickly asked if I could peel it off. Unfortunately it was the kind that does not really come off. The lady saw this and said I could take the whole package! Woohoo! Even in Guatemala, I am collecting boxtops! Well, only one so far, but you never know. This is the super cool bilingual church that I went to when I was here a few years ago. There were lots of people, as before, with a mix of gringos and Guatemalans. We sang songs in English and Spanish. The sermon was about the scripture that says Take my yoke. We had the bright idea of adding all of our coins to our offering to lighten the load in our wallets. We got our offering ready early and put it in the provided envelopes. We were supposed to put the offering in a box with a slot as we went out the door. However, we had put so many coins in the envelopes that they could not fit through the slot and we had to take them out and put them in a few at a time, holding up the whole line. Oops! The church is in the process of building a large building for a new feeding program. That would be really fun to help with in the future.

After church we headed to Personajes, a restaurant with an amazing breakfast brunch. They had real fruit juice that was delicious. I had two glasses of watermelon juice, one of cantelope, and one of orange. I also had coffee with cream and sugar. For food, I had an omelette with mushrooms, cheese, onions, and tomato. I also ate black beans, refried black beans, plantains, watermelon, cantelope, and pineapple. The refried beans were extremely salty. Everything else was fantastic! We were very full. The bathroom was nice with automatic soap and paper towels.

Next, we headed to the bank. I tried to take out money with my debit card, but that bank was not open. We went to the other bank and Christiana exchanged more money. Then we went back to the house and I got my dress. We saw Elvira and took pictures with her because she was all dressed up from church. We went back to the dress shop and the owner was very nice. She told me that the fabric was preshrunk, but she asked if I would like a different size anyway. I tried on a pink dress that was a medium and decided to trade.

We went back to the Carmen market so Christiana could buy another necklace for her aunt. We walked around by Central Park looking for dogs to feed. we found two mother dogs and Christiana gave them most of the bread she had. Then we went to a bakery so Christiana could buy more bread for the dogs. Next we went to the Internet cafe so I could check for a message from Amber so I could see what the plans were for going back with her. On the way there, it started to sprinkle and the sky looked dark. When we got to the Internet cafe, it was not quite 2:30 so we stood outside and talked for a few minutes. I did have a message from Amber saying that she would come tomorrow at 11:45 and we would leave around 4:30 for Guatemala City. We walked to the massage place down the street to see if we could get massages sometime today.

The lady told us to sit down and she would check. She then told us to come upstairs, so we ended up getting our massages right then. I wanted a deep tissue massage and Christiana got the Swedish massage. The spa is beautiful. Our room had a fountain and music playing (rather loudly to try to drown out the sounds of the street below). The massage table had rose petals scattered around on it. My massage was interesting. It certainly was not as good as what I get in the States, but it was a whole lot cheaper. I had to tell the lady to massage harder two different times. Even when she did it a little harder, it still did not feel like she was massaging me very hard. I actually preferred the shoulder massage Christiana gave me one day when my shoulder was hurting. The most unusual part of my massage was when she massaged my stomach. That was the only part of the massage that I felt like she was doing hard. It was kind of like the Heimlich maneuver. What the experience was lacking in the enjoyment level of the massage was made up by the shower. There was a bathroom attached to the massage room and they had a shower with shampoo and conditioner and, most importantly, HOT water! Plus fantastic water pressure. It was the best shower I have ever taken in Guatemala. Usually the shower is lukewarm and the water pressure is pretty low. This was amazing! I never wanted to come out, but I did. 

We went back to the house to dry our hair and drop off a few things. We saw Elvira's grandson. He has gotten really big! We grabbed our sweaters and headed out to go to the candy shop so we could try huevos chimbos which are a traditional Guatemalan candy. When we were at Dona Maria's candy shop,  we were standing in line outside and I heard someone talking about Austin, Texas. I turned around and it was Steffi and her husband, Ben! They showed us the candy they had bought and gave us a huevos chimbos to split. It tasted like the filling in a pecan pie, sort of. Christiana decided she wanted to buy candy at another candy store instead. We walked across the street and looked at the Choco Museum where you can make your own chocolate. It smelled heavenly, but it was very expensive. We went to Sombreron, which is another candy store west of Central Park. Christiana bought candy as a souvenir and a few pieces to eat tonight. We headed home to drop off the candy, stopping at a bakery to buy more bread for the dogs because she had already fed two more. We tried Christiana's candy: coconut ball, crisp cookie made with eggs and flour, and a coffee milk candy. We then headed out to look for food. I had bought a croissant with cheese and black beans inside at the second place Christiana bought dog bread. I wanted to stop by Burger King and McDonalds to make sure I was not missing out on any unusual food options. I showed Christiana how fancy McDonalds is on the inside, complete with a courtyard with a fountain and many trees. Nothing unusual to try, so we headed to Pollo Campero where Christiana got fried chicken. Then we went on a search for a tienda so she could buy a pop. We had to walk several blocks to find one and when we did, it was filled with cigarette smoke from another customer. I waited outside with the chicken. We walked back to Central Park where a group was playing music with the flute and panpipes. It was pleasant to listen to and the temperature was also. The sun was setting as we ate our picnic in the park. I had packed several items from the house, as well as my croissant. After dinner, we took a lap around the park looking for dogs to feed (we did not find any) and then we went to get ice cream. I decided to get ice cream at Sarita because they were having the extra scoop for one quetzal more special again. I got a waffle cone with green apple/watermelon on the bottom and mango/vanilla on the top. The guy tried to charge me too much and I had to argue politely with him so he would give me the correct price, which he finally did. Christiana got two scoops of piña colada in a dish. We walked up fifth avenue eating our ice cream. There was a man acting out scenes with a marionette. We looked for dogs near La Merced before turning up our street. I stopped at the Internet cafe to ask when they open tomorrow (9am) so I can call Amber tomorrow morning to make sure our plan is on. Christiana wanted to catch up on the news via Internet so I started writing my blog from today because it is much easier to type on a computer. We then went home and I packed my stuff while Christiana read and then her dad called. We talked for a while and split our last piece of chocolate-covered pineapple. Then we got ready for bed and turned out the light. I finished this blog post and was in bed at 11.

July 13, 2013

We got up at 7 to get ready for breakfast at 7:30, we had a concoction of eggs, tortillas, and ham and also papaya. We went back to our room and did a few things before heading out to Hotel Santo Domingo. When we got to the hotel, we asked where we had to go to get the free ride to El Tenedor, the restaurant associated with the hotel that is on a hill overlooking Antigua. We walked with Carl's to the entrance of the hotel where a vehicle waited to take us up. It is hard o explain, but the best I can do is say that it looked like an over-sized, heavy-duty golf cart. We rode up with a worker who was headed up to work. The hill was just outside of Antigua and was quite steep. There were some good views on the way up. When we got to the top, we walked over to the overlooks. We could see all three volcanoes and Antigua. I spotted the arch, La Merced, Central Park, and the market. We bought some chocolate-covered dried pineapple which was quite delicious. It was in long pieces with one end IDE in white chocolate and the other end in dark chocolate. Then we walked around more. There were many works of art everywhere and an aviary with many birds. We found a deserted overlook and took pictures. When we had finished seeing everything, we waited for the transportation back to the hotel. As we drove down the giant steep hill, we saw a helicopter that was horizontal to where we were on the hill. Then the helicopter landed in a grassy place on the hill. We saw that some people were going to get in and go for a ride. That would be incredibly cool to fly between mountains and over volcanoes!

When we got back to the hotel, we went inside and walked around. We saw some of the ruins of e former convent that stood on the site before the earthquake. We also saw the guacamayos (parrots). We walked back toward the house and I wanted to stop at the little market by the ruins of Carmen. I bought a traditional percussion instrument that plays three notes for my class. I forget its name, but I need to ask before I leave here. Christiana saw some necklaces she liked and wanted to come back later. We headed back home and got there around noon. Christiana needed to exchange a few more dollars for quetzals so we decided to go to the bank before lunch. Tere was a long line, however, and I has not brought my debit card so we decided o come back later and do it all at once because there were so many people in line that we probably would have been late for lunch. 

We had chicken in a white sauce with celery and locoro which is a kind of flower. We also had curry rice and a little salad of lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Steffi and her husband Ben had come for lunch and the new woman, Ruth, was there, too. We talked in English the whole meal because Ruth and Ben do not know much Spanish. Ben was very friendly. He runs a small publishing company. I had already suggested that Elvira write a cookbook and Ben really liked the idea. We talked for a long time. 

Then we headed out with Ruth to go to the bank and then to the Carmen market. However, when we orto the bank (Banco Industrial) it was already closed. I asked the armed guards in front of the ATM if there were any other banks still open. They told us another branch of the same bank is open until five. We walked into that branch just a block and a half away. There was a line and so Ruth decided to go off on her own for a while. I waited with Christiana for a while and then we decided that it made more sense for me to head to the Internet cafe so I cold see when Amber is coming. Ruth was going to come back to the bank in 15 minutes. I stopped by the cafe church and found out that services are at 9:00 and10:45. I did hear from Amber that she will either be coming Sunday afternoon or Monday afternoon. I went back to the house and read my book for a while. Christiana showed up without Ruth who had never returned. She seemed pretty independent and had decided that she wanted to shop in the textile market I pointed out off of the Park. As we walked to the Carmen market, Christiana told me her story about the bank. She waited in line and when she finally got to the front, she was told that she had to have her actual passport to change dollars and not just a copy like the other bank had accepted. She had been chatting with some other travelers as she waited and she asked a girl if she would exchange her money for her. The girl gladly agreed and Christiana was able to get her money that way. We want to the Carmen market. I bought some jewelry made out of seeds and beans and Christiana bought some beautiful necklaces. It started to rain as we headed back. We stopped at the Sarita ice cream shop across from La Merced. They were having a special where you could get an extra scoop of ice cream for only one quetzal more! I had watermelon/green apple for my first scoop and cheesecake for my extra scoop. Christiana had pistachio and piña colada. We ate them in the shop at a tiny table. Another group of tourists came in and I translated the flavors for them. One of the girls was really loud and kind of rude so we decided to go ahead and leave and walk as we ate. I finished mine just as we got to our door. It was5:30. I took a shower and dried my hair with Christiana's hair dryer. Then we read in bed until dinner.

We had paches (I think) for dinner. They were similar to tamales. Mine had a hot pepper inside. We also had lemongrass tea and bread. After dinner, we had a souvenir show. We spread our purchases out on the table and on the backs of the chairs. When Elvira saw the dress I had purchased the other day, she warned me that that kind of fabric will shrink a lot. I am going to try to exchange it for a larger size, maybe tomorrow. We packed up our souvenirs and came back to our room and read some more. It is raining again and sounds super peaceful. The problem is that I wear earplugs to bed so I do not wake p with the birds at 5:20, so I will not be able to fall asleep to the rhythmic sound of the rain. I finished my book, wrote my blog post, and went to bed before 11:30.

July 12, 2013

I got up this morning at 6:45 and got ready. It was cold and rainy. I wore a long skirt which was slightly warmer than a short one. We had pancakes with strawberries and bananas for breakfast. When we go to Hermano Pedro, I do not wear my jacket because HP is kind of dirty between doing the dishes, feeding people, and getting coughed and sneezed on. We helped fold laundry when we got there and then did our usual dish duty when we got kicked out of the bedroom so they could change people. When that was finished there was not much to do so we took pictures with some of the ladies. It quickly became a popular thing to do. We gave the nail polish to Matilde and Gladis and told them to share with the other ladies and ask volunteers to paint their nails. Gladis was not feeling well which was sad for our last day. Christiana had bought marshmallows to roast at the volcano but since she decided that she did not want to go, we asked Juliana if the ladies can eat marshmallows. We said yes so we left to walk home and get the marshmallows and use the bathroom. On the way back, we stopped and got ice cream at Pollo Campero. We switched flavored and today I got strawberry and Christiana got caramel. We found a dry bench in Central Park (it had stopped raining during breakfast) and ate our ice cream. Then we returned to HP and helped wipe the mattresses with cleaner and put new sheets on them. Then we helped in the escuelita. Christiana talked with Oscar the whole time. I got spit on by my friend that I play a bead game with. We brought them back and helped with lunch. I got angry because I was feeding a woman with no teeth and a worker came up and started adding food off the tray into her soup. Rosalie had told me that she did not want tortilla in her soup so I did not put any in. The worker however tried to force her to eat the meat patty from the tray and laughed when the woman clamped her mouth shut. She has trouble swallowing soup let alone a meat patty! The worker threatened to put a tube in her nose if she did not eat. She then added all the rice off the tray, two tortillas ripped into pieces, and the meat patties to her soup. It became very thick mush which she had trouble eating. The worker then walked away. I felt really sorry for Rosalia. We gave the ladies marshmallows and said goodbye. I returned our lanyards and got two of the HP magazines for us to take home. We walked quickly back home.

For lunch we ate a soup with vegetables and beef with a side of rice. We had crepes for dessert. They had meringue and pears inside and a fruit that is similar to tiny grapes and looks like blackberries. Elvira said it grows in Guatemala, but it is hard to find and very expensive. After lunch we got ready and headed out. We went to the Popsicle store and we each bought two, one for us and one for our teacher as a thank you/goodbye treat. I bought coconut and avocado. My teacher chose avocado, so I ate the coconut. School was kind of frustrating. I felt like my teacher had kind of checked out and did not want to be teaching on Friday afternoon. We talked about nothing for an hour even though I kept obviously touching my homework. When we finally started working, she had me translate a paragraph from a book into Spanish. When I read my translation aloud to her, she checked it in the back of the book and laughed at me when I phrased things differently from the book. I got frustrated because there was too much for me to correct. She laughed at me and said that I did not use the correct words. I said that I did not think she would use the exact words from the book if she translated it. She took a 10-15 minute bathroom break, leaving me with nothing to do. It was freezing in the garden, even though I was wearing jeans, socks, tennis shoes, and the heaviest jacket I brought. It started raining and we moved to a different table under the roof. A the school they have an after-school program for poor children. It is cool that they do that. There are about ten children who come every day after school. They are there when we arrive at 2 and stay until 5ish. After school, I checked my email and we walked to the bakery where Christiana went yesterday. Christiana bought a blackberry little pie and two tiny sugar cookies. I got a large cinnamon roll with icing. We took them back to the house and had a little snack as it was still an hour before dinner and we were hungry. We lay on our beds and talked until dinner.

At dinner, it was just us, Dan, Elvira, and Enrique. I enjoyed having a smaller group. We had a good conversation about lots of different things. We ate boiled plantains, hot tea made from the water that the plantains were boiled in, refried black beans, and eggplant and bread, of course. We came back to our room and talked. I ate the rest of my cinnamon roll and wrote my blog post for the day. We got ready for bed and I read for a while.

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.

July 10, 2013

We got up at 6:45 and had cinnamon tea, papaya, and a tortilla with an egg and slice of ham cooked on it for breakfast. We went to Hermano Pedro and helped with the dishes. Then we painted some of the ladies's nails. Some of their hands are folded up into a fist so it made it difficult to paint the nails. We helped give a few of the oldest, most toothless ones bottles of special formula. The first lady I fed was really easy. The second was harder because Clara can't raise her head by herself. After that, it was time to take them to school. We wheeled them there and then did the usual activities with them. I met Juventino who is 80 years old. He told me his wife had died but his next wife is going to look like me. The he asked how old I am, and when I told him, he said that his next wife is going to be 28 but she is going to look 17 like me. Then he asked what my name was, and when I told him, he said that his next wife will be named Carolina. Then he said that there is a song with my name in it. I asked him to sing it for me and he told me he would sing it to me every night when we are married! I met a man named Oskar who is 55 years old. He lost his vision and one of his legs to diabetes. He lived on Fort Worth, TX for 29 years but had to return to Guatemsla because of his health. Before he left for the United States, he was put in jail by the police "for no reason" and then tortured. All of his family is dead so he lives T HP. His English is really good. I told Christiana that she needs o talk to him the next time they go to school. We took them back after activity time and folded clothes. Then we helped feed people lunch. I was confused because the nurse brought me a regular tray for Clar? I had only veen feeding her for one day, but all I had seen them give her was thick broth and formula. All the ladies around Clara started protesting that she could not eat that. The nurse said she could Nd ripped up tortilla to put in her soup. I was really.sure that the other ladies were right so I started feeding Clara just the broth o he soup. Before long, the nurse came over with Clara's special soup and told me to feed it to her. Christiana was told to feed Agustina and when she did not want to eat, several ladies including Gladis started shouting instructions. They said to put the tray out of her reach because whatever she doesn't want to eat, she'll throw on the floor. We finished feeding people and headed home. We had a few minutes before lunch to freshen up and talk with the other students. 

Elvira had made breaded eggplant, tomatoes and cucumbers, mashed potatoes, and bananas with chocolate sauce on top for lunch. After lunch, I had to go to the post office because it is usually closed by the time I actually have time to go. I walked there quickly and took care of business. It was already late, so I had to run back to the house to grab my backpack and Christiana. We walked quickly to school. It was a good day at school. The time went quickly and I felt like it was worthwhile practice. After class, I quickly checked my email and then we headed home. I did my homework before dinner and put on more clothes. It has been colder here than I remember, at least lately. I have been freezing at dinner in a jacket and also at school because we have classes in a beautiful yet shady garden. I learned an important word in class today: friolenta. It means a person like me (or Tammy) who is cold all the time. 

For dinner we had chilaquiles which are hard to explain and time-consuming to make. The ingredients of the ones we ate we're green beans, a green leaf that is a relative of spinach, tortilla and cheese, egg, and flour. This was covered in a special chicken broth. We also had bread. 

After dinner we ate snacks, got ready for bed, and talked for many hours. We finally went to bed around 11:30.