Through extended pillow time, friend time, and interesting field trips, I found my sunny place again.

Improvements:

-We had class at my house and a special event on Monday (meetings with all the host moms) This means delicious refas (snacks), real coffee served all day (woohoo!), and learning more Spanish with a new professor.

-We went on a few unexpected adventures: to Antigua for the Museo de Cafe and we had a meeting at my host mom’s house with all the host parents. It was a nice way to break up the routine.

On Sunday afternoon/night, Amanda, Tanya and I went to her sister’s confirmation. Amanda and I stood for about 25 minutes in a crowded entry to a church and jumped ship in search of choco-fruit. This was the right move. Two choco-bananos, choco-coco and choco-papaya later and we arrived back at the church in time to play a Spanglish game of animal. Whatever animal you come up with “Ostrich” the next person has to think of one with the last letter of your animal: h. Hormiga. And the next would be A. And on and on.

We went to the confirmation dinner and one of the jovenes told me I danced like Mr. Bean. I thought he said Mr. V but eventually Amanda heard him and said: “Mr. Bean” and died laughing. I was a little embarrassed, a little amused, and not surprised at all. Own it: Mr. Bean can be sexy NOWHERE RIGHT.

Also, Mr. Bean is all too appropriate. I am slowly becoming Mrs. Bean, meal by meal. 

NEVERTHELESS, I keep it moving.

On Monday, we had Spanish class at my house with our new professor, Gladyz. She is much more “to task” than our Profe Eduardo, but I am getting a much needed review of grammar so it’s good. I had an interview with my professor for 20 minutes and I heard a whole sentence come out of my mouth without undue effort. It was the first time that has happened. She was asking me about my travels and my work to see how far my language could take me.

A lady named Aisha from Peace Corps Jamaica was visiting. She knew some words in Spanish, but she didn’t know enough to have a conversation. She was here to learn about our language training process. During lunch, my host mom sat with our language director, Patty, myself, and Aisha from Jamaica. Patty speaks English better than she thinks, but I found myself translating conversations between Patty, Aisha and my host mom, from English to Spanish. THAT WAS A FIRST. It was a really interesting conversation, too!

I visited with Ms. Doris on Tuesday, my favorite lady in all of the land, and our group had to do a presentation in the morning. We got through it and moved on.

The next day, we went to a Museum and Cafe. I chomped on coffee beans (I’d never done that before!) That afternoon, we reviewed the experience in the park and went home. It was wonderful to catch up with Teawan.

Profe Eduardo dared Amanda to bite into a Chiltepe and it was SASHA FIERCE. I barely nibbled on the thing and my tongue was oh-so-aware of the power. It was pretty hilarious and pretty beautiful (the farm) all at once. I told Amanda I want to work on a coffee farm after service. It’s in the works 😉

Thursday was long. Thursday was slow. But we got through it. Technical Sessions in Santa Catarina. Technical sessions are not always comfortable or easy for me because the style is both different from what I’m used to and from how I like to do things! But I am trying to absorb the approach that Cuerpo de Paz uses because I see it’s value, too.

By Friday, we were back in the classroom in my family’s house. We played two rounds of hang-man, Ahorcado, and we finished our sessions. Friday I went running with Amanda and I think we got in a solid 45 minutes.

On Saturday, I napped most of the day but woke up by 11:30 to help with lunch. My family gave me a hard time for how much I sleep but I don’t feel so bad about it. I do feel like I am being tugged and pulled to constantly be present with the family. At home, I just do my own thing, so the expectation that I show up for three meals a day is more dependence than I’m used to.

At the Boda Civil, a lawyer came and gave words of wisdom to the bride and groom. I should have known that she would have an address because everyone in Guatemala has an address. It’s a thing.

And the weekend ended with Amanda and I gazing at Volcán Fuego erupting on a Saturday night.

On Sunday, I didn’t do much. I woke up with a headache that lasted all day, but I cut Amanda’s host sister’s hair for her. It was fun! And I think it turned out well, too. She took off A LOT of hair! I hope I am getting good at it. I’d like to do it more and more. The rest of the day I laid low, and I felt fine with it.

By Monday, I felt rested and ready to take on another long day in the office. And it was a very long day, draining in more ways than one, so I am grateful for the rest.