Hola from Antigua, Guatemala!
I can hardly believe I’ve been here almost 2
weeks. Time has certainly been flying by,
and with so much to do and see and experience, this is the first time I am
sitting down to actually write a blog post!
So in case any of you are thinking “Guatemala? I thought she was going
to Honduras?!”, I’ll remind you that I’m here for two months of Spanish
language school in preparation for my mission at the Farm of the Child. I’m studying at La Union Language school,
where I have one-on-one classes for 6 hours every day. The school, like many other buildings in
Antigua, in made up of an outdoor courtyard, surrounded by a few offices and
rooms, so that means that we have classes outside! Mi maestra, Brenda, is a
great teacher and also full of life and fun, and I feel like I am learning more
quickly than I had thought I would, thanks to her. In the beginning I always joked that the only
things I knew how to talk about were parts of the body (thanks to a few basic
medical Spanish classes) and food (thanks to, um, Mexican restaurants?!), but I
am happy to report that my vocabulary has lately been increasing. Of course we devote a large portion of time
everyday to grammar, and this week I am tackling the past tense…those irregular
verbs can definitely be challenging! My favorite part of class is the
conversations that my teacher and I share about our lives, families, and the culture
in Guatemala. It’s actually quite
amazing how many things we have in common as well! (For example, she comes from
a Catholic family with 6 siblings, she loved to swim in high school, and she enjoys
adventures too:)
I’m living with a host family in Antigua, about a 10
minute walk from the school. My host mother
takes good care of me and seems to be always cooking up a storm. Chiqui has 3 grown daughters who all live
with their families in the houses right next door to our house, so that means
that her 6 grandchildren, ages 4 to 15, are constantly in and out. The three little boys (4, 5, and 6 years old)
are hilarious, but I think I have bonded most with the youngest, Diego, who is
always pretending to be a tiger or some sort of wild animal. He was shy towards me at first, but while he
was running through the house growling the other day I told him that I was a
bear, and then we got along just fine! All of Chiqui’s family have dinner
together at least once a week and are such a part of each other’s lives…the closeness
of the Guatemalan families is really very beautiful.
When I’m not in class, I am loving getting to know
my fellow missionaries who are taking classes at the same school and living
with different families. It’s been
interesting to hear everyone’s different stories about how they came to know
about and ultimately commit to the Farm of the Child. We’ve already had some amazing weekend
adventures, and although this is getting long, I’ll share a few with you. On our first weekend here we traveled to
Montericco beach, about 2 hours away from Antigua. “La playa” (somehow calling it “the beach”
now just doesn’t seem right) is famous for its tortugas—sea turtles—which can
be sighted on the beach late at night.
We weren’t lucky enough to see any turtles, but the beach was absolutely
breathtaking, with black sand and huge waves.
We stayed at a hotel right on the beach and only paid $8 per night. Some of the highlights of the weekend
included running on the beach with some local kids while the sun set ahead of
us, taking an early morning boat ride on a nearby river through mangroves
surrounded by gorgeous views of the mountains , and eating and drinking my
first whole coconut. Everyone at the
beach hotel (and everyone I’ve met in Guatemala for that matter!) was so
friendly and welcoming. When I told one
of the waiters at the little restaurant there that it was my brother Stephen’s
birthday that day and I had really wanted to call him, he insisted I use his cell
phone to call all the way to the US. We
also became friends with a few med students who were preparing for volunteer
work in El Salvador, and it was great to talk to them about what the upcoming
months in rural clinics might hold for us.
This past weekend we stayed in Antigua and
experienced one of the local adventures- climbing the Volcan de Pacaya. This volcano erupted last in May of 2010 and
has been one of the most active volcanoes in Central America over the past 500
years. Climbing a volcano was definitely
on my bucket list, and this experience was certainly no disappointment! The surrounding areas and mountains were
green and beautiful, but once we got to the crater, suddenly all the vegetation
and even normal dirt were replaced by dark ash and old lava. (If you remember the elephant graveyard scene
in the Lion King, it looked like that!) The
morning of our climb happened to be very overcast, so at the top we found
ourselves surrounded by clouds and mist, a very cool experience. Occasionally our guide pointed out small vents
through which we could feel the heat coming from deep inside the earth. I got a picture crouching inside one of them,
nicknamed “the sauna”, and sure enough it was very warm and moist in
there! We roasted marshmallows over
another hot spot!
All in all it has been an action-packed and
learning-filled 2 weeks for me in Guatemala.
I keep thinking of more things to share, but they will just have to wait
for next time. I feel so blessed to be
here—to have this chance to learn Spanish and prepare for the two years ahead—and
am so incredibly grateful for the support and prayers and encouragement of you
all, my family and friends! I miss you
all—don’t forget to keep me updated on what’s new in your lives!
Praise God!
- Laura :)