Hola mi amigos! We have been here in Guatemala for about a week now, although it seems as though it's been much much longer. (In a good way.)

Volcano be smoking

We arrived in Guatemala City last Friday (September 5) and drove the 17 miles up and down mountains to the city of Antigua. People from the Spanish school greeted us with all sorts of love and have been incredibly welcoming and hospitable. The first weekend was spent settling into our host family's home here, attending an Episcopalian service with our professor, Paul Nemecek, and trying out a few local restaurants.

It was then that we also discovered the joy down here known as the local market, where there are literally hundreds of vendors for about 4 square blocks selling everything from pirated DVDs, imitation Beats by Dr. Dre., fresh produce, clothing, animals, and just about anything else you can possibly imagine. Although bartering is the norm in the market, I'm probably going to hold off until my Spanish abilities increase.

Speaking of which, Spanish lessons here have been going great. I go each day from 8-12 to La Union, one of the many language schools in the city. My instructor, Veronica, is a wonderful lady with much more patience than I. I'm loving the 1-on-1 learning environment and cannot imagine trying to learn a new language in a conventional classroom. 'Tis the way to do it. It has also been  really interesting to meet other students at the school, as people come from all over the world to study here. So, I'm looking forward to the 5 more weeks I have at La Union.

This past Sunday (September 14) we went to a bilingual church in town called Inglesia Del Camino. It was a really cool experience and we met a few really cool people there, so I'm looking forward to getting to know the people there better. 

I could probably write several more paragraphs, but I'll spare ya'll for now. It still doesn't quite feel like we'll be here for another 3 months, but I'm excited that's the case.

Below are a few pictures over the last several days. Thanks for reading!

La Union, Spanish school

View inside the courtyard of our house

Inside our house

Ditto

  A view of Volcán de Agua from outside of our house.

Inglesia Del Camino

Me and Veronica at school. She's wasn't all about getting her picture taken.

Inside La Union Spanish school

Me and Manuel, one of the most jolly Guatemalan men there is.

This is Anderson. We live with him and his mom, Cindy. This guy's quite a baller.

Today (September 15) is Guatemala's day of independence, so we enjoyed a sort of neighborhood cookout with the community. On the menu was cornbread, corn, and a corn-based beverage called Atole (I think).