First Weekend

We made it through our first week in Antigua! This week has been a whole whirlwind of surprises, new experiences, delicious food and A LOT of Spanish!

We finished class on Friday and, after my teacher told me that she doesn't assign homework on the weekend (hooray!) the girls and I went to Dunkin' Donuts! I got a Crema Bavaria donut and it was delicious! We returned home for lunch and then a bit of rest and relaxation and then met our friends Mads and Alex to walk up to Cerro de la Cruz! Basically, it's this huge cross on a hill that overlooks Antigua. We had to walk up about 300 stairs through the woods to get there, but it wasn't a bad walk and the view that waited for us was spectacular. Volcan de Aqua is like the background of Antigua as you look out of over the town. If you stand higher up on the hill, you can see the volcano, the town, and the cross all lined up. It is a magnificent view and we were so happy to have visited. We stayed up there for a few hours, just talking and getting to know each other better, and it was a great time. Friday night we came back and just relaxed!

Saturday morning was magnificent because we got to sleep in. Sleeping in for me meant about 8am, but it was really nice not to have to wake up to an alarm. The girls and I ate breakfast and then headed into town to register for our absentee ballots with this program that helps people living abroad vote. There were Americans there who were really helpful with the process and it was fun to do! After this we headed back home to do a bit of homework or studying. After lunch, we decided to go back into town to actually shop at the market. The market in Antigua is enormous. It seems like it stretches endlessly, and is a maze at the same time. People sat in their individual shops, calling out to us and offering us 't-shirts for 5$'. We would tell the vendors 'solo buscando' (only looking) when we didn't know what they were saying, and at one point one of the vendors said 'solo mirando.' It was really nice of her to correct and help us! I found a pair of shorts that I liked and the vendor selling them told me they were 65 Q. I said "okay" and he said, "okay, 55," and I said, "alright," and he said "okay 50." It was the easiest bartering I had ever done! I bought the pair of shorts (50Q is about 7$) and left happy. We found this big warehouse that sold a ton of other things, including pottery, hair accessories, books and furniture, and purchased some items in there as well. It was fun to walk around and see what was being offered for the future when we go shopping again! We also visited the Spanish Embassy, which was super beautiful, and when we left we found a ballet performance happening right outside! It was a super random find, but so fun and beautiful to watch!

Today (Sunday) was really awesome. We woke up around 8am, showered, and then went to the Bagel Barn to get a quick breakfast. We met Mads in the park and then all of us walked to the futbol stadium to watch Antigua play! We were all really excited. We got to the stadium and tons of people were outside, selling soccer shirts, headbands, vuvuzelas and tickets. A few of the girls and I bought some soccer shirts and were really happy with them! We found our seats on concrete benches and were soon surrounded by Guatemalan's waiting to cheer on their teams. A huge band came out and got the crowd excited with a bunch of different songs and dances. The band played their national anthem and we stood up with everyone else. I thought it was awesome to be standing with everyone as they sang the anthem, until someone yelled "Americans! Take off your hats and show some respect!" We had been so focused on the excitement that we never really thought about taking our hats off. We were a little shocked, only because people have been really gracious to us and it was kind of jarring to be yelled at like that, but we shrugged it off. And now we know for next time to definitely take off our hats during the anthem! The game began at 11:30 and we stayed until halftime because it was really hot and we had not come prepared with sunscreen and water!  We got to watch Antigua make the first goal though, and it was really fun to sing the chants along with the rest of the crowd. We stopped at McDonalds on the way home to get smoothies, and then headed home to nap. At 5pm, we met up at Paul's house and all walked to Sobremesa, this super nice restaurant owned by  a published author! The owner was there, helping to take orders and serve. This was something I noticed was common in Antigua...a lot of the restaurants we had been to, the owners were there, talking to people and helping out. It was a nice change from the chain restaurants in America. It gives the restaurants a sort of class and character that is hard to find other places. The owner was a super interesting guy, talking about his books and how he writes fiction but with real life problems, because he realized that no one reads informational non-fiction, so he writes stories with a ton of research put into them to still put out real world events and news. Dinner was delicious. We had appetizers with tomato, mozzarella and garlic bread. For my meal, I chose the Wendy Pizza, which was this huge pizza with white sauce, mozzarella, ham, roasted grapes, mushroom and pesto. It was SO good! For dessert, we got very delicious cheesecake. The whole evening was a lot of fun and I love how much adventuring we do when it comes to the different foods here!

Tomorrow begins my second week of Spanish class! I am excited to go back and continue to learn more!

-Kara

Cerro de la Cruz

Ballet

Spanish Embassy

 Futbol!

Independence Day

Today is Guatemala's Independence Day! All classes were cancelled, so we got to celebrate along with everyone else!

We woke up early this morning, had a quick breakfast and then set off for Parque Central, where the Independence Day parade was being held. When we first arrived, we were surprised that there seemed to be hardly any people in the normally crowded park. However, we soon found them lining the streets on the opposite side, watching the parade. We met our friend from Denmark, Mads (pronounced Mess) and joined the crowd. The parade was incredible! Dozens of bands, school kids, dancers and other musicians marched proudly for their country. We stood watching the parade and got lot's of pictures for about an hour and a half. When we left, it was far from being over!

We then stopped by a coffee shop to get something to drink and went up to their roof, where they had more seating and a great view of the parade. We sat up there and talked and enjoyed the nice weather.

We heard from one of our tutors that there were some events going on at the soccer field, so we decided to check it out. However, we didn't really know where we were going, so we ended up just walking in random directions. We ended up in a crowded, kind of sketchy part of town. Luckily, the people were still very friendly. And then it started to pour. We were prepared with rain coats, because we are in the rainy season in Guatemala and it rains a couple times a day, but it rained hard and we got soaked! We ran through the packed streets, trying to find something familiar. We ended up finding the supermarket near our home, and stopped to shop. After making our first grocery store purchases in Guatemala (laundry detergent and shampoo) we headed home, happy we got to see the excitement of Independence Day and also ready to take naps!

While the rest of the group went to their afternoon classes, Jessica and I stayed at our home and worked on homework. Spanish homework is mostly memorization, but it takes a long time! We got a lot done and it was nice to stay home and relax in dry clothes!

That night before dinner, Cindy asked Corrie, Kymber, Jessica and I if we wanted to join her at the grocery store to shop for dinner, and of course we said yes! We went back to the store we shopped at earlier, but this time it felt different because we were deciding on what food to buy for that night and it felt like we really live here! It was also fun because Leslie, our go-to translator who knows a lot of Spanish and can communicate with Cindy, who only knows a little English, wasn't with us, and we were able to figure out what Cindy was asking us and what she needed us to find on our own! It's the little things when it comes to understanding something in a different language by yourself!

For dinner we had pasta with broccoli and squash, fried chicken and tortillas. It was very delicious. Tomorrow we have our Friday class and then a whole weekend to explore Antigua! We are planning to hang out with our friend Mads again and really get to know this beautiful city!

-Kara

Getting Into a Schedule (9/14/2016)

I can't believe I've only been in Guatemala for six days! It seems like it's been so much longer! I feel very at home here. I look forward to my Spanish classes-they are incredible and I am learning so so much! My tutor is very patient and very gracious. Returning 'home' is also something we look forward to-we love our host family and we look forward to coming home after class to sit and relax, work on homework, and eat delicious food. I am also getting very accustomed to the different aspects of Guatemalan life that I was not used to upon first arriving. For example, the time. We were told ahead of time that Guatemalans are very casual with their time, and if they say something begins at a certain time, it is likely to actually begin a lot later. This came as a surprise for meal times. 7pm was the time we were given for dinner, but we usually didnt sit down to eat until almost 8pm! This was difficult to adjust to at first, but now it is almost normal!

Walking through the streets has gotten a lot more comfortable too. My first few days here, I was very paranoid that someone would try to take my stuff (like I was warned) but as I've gotten used to walking 25 minutes back and forth for class, I have felt much more comfortable. We still recieve stares and the occasional whistle, but we also receive kind smiles and 'hola's' from almost every person we pass.

Last night was a great bonding time with our host mom, Cindy. She taught us how to make tortillas con queso, guacamole, and two different kinds of sauces. We were of course very bad at this food-making process and shared a lot of laughs, but Cindy was gracious and helped us along the way. Dinner was delicious and it was fun to see how a common dish in Guatemala is made!

Tomorrow is Guatemala's Independence Day, and the people of Antigua have been celebrating all week! Today the excitement doubled, and the streets were packed with multiple bands marching, children running and blowing whistles, and teenagers holding torches, marching proudly for their country. It was a sight to see and it was wonderful to see the pride they held for their home! Tomorrow, we don't have class and will be able to celebrate the day with everyone else.

I look forward to more surprises and more adventure as my days in Guatemala continue!

-Kara

Right outside my house

Parque Central the day before Independence Day!

My school! It is beautiful and the perfect place to learn!

Dinner preparations!

It rains a lot here! (We're in the rainy season!)

Interesting Facts About Guatemala

1. Most public bathrooms do not provide toilet paper
2. You can't drink their water (showers are spent with my mouth clamped shut tightly to avoid water getting in my mouth)
3. You can't flush your toilet paper-it goes in the trash!
4. The age for driving a car is about 12-13 years old
5. The age for driving a motorcycle is 8-10 years old
6. Pedestrians do not have the right of way. In Antigua it is a little easier to cross the street between oncoming cars, but in Guatemala City if you tried to do so, you can expect to be hit.
7. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day
8. Meals are seen as a social event and not just a time to consume food, so meals can last a long time
9. There are surprisingly very few mosquitoes! At least in Antigua. I am very happy about this. I have not needed to wear bug spray once, and have only seen a few bugs.
10. Dish soap comes in a bucket that you scoop instead of squirting it out to use
11. Everyone is VERY friendly. There is rarely a person we pass that doesn't say "hola" or "buenas dias" to us in the morning
12. The coffee is real good
13. There is a donut shop here that will deliver a bag of donuts to your home if you order them online
14. Guatemala City has some 'red zone' areas that are so taken over by gangs that they are not safe for us to enter. However, one weekend we are going to visit one red zone with a guide.
15. There are a lot of stray dogs wandering around

-Kara

Me on a bench

Breakfast venue this morning

St. Alban Episcopal Mission

Our FANTASTIC group! Loving every minute I get to spend with these people!

First Full Day

Today was a great day! We went to bed last night around 9:30pm because we were pretty exhausted. I am on the top bunk in our room, and it is actually pretty comfortable! The temperature was not too hot or cold. (Side note: The temperature in Antigua is actually perfect. It’s cool in the morning, and then gets warm in the afternoon. Right when it starts to feel a little hot, it gets cloudy and cools off again. There are also no mosquitos. Praise the Lord.) We woke up around 6:30am because our windows do not block out the noise of the streets, and cars start driving by loudly at that time. It also gets light around then too, which I am happy about because when I am waking up to go to class at 8am, it won’t be dark!

We met Paul and walked together to Parque de Central. The park is beautiful. We saw some girls getting their picture in front of a fountain, dressed in prom-like dresses, celebrating their quinceañeras. There were many people walking around selling headbands and necklaces, or offering to shine shoes. The park is surrounded by trees, providing refreshing shade, and restaurants and café’s border it.

We took a quick walking tour of part of Antigua on our way to El Tenedor, the biggest and most expensive hotel in Antigua. An shuttle arrived and we piled inside. The sides were open so we were able to dangle our feet out as we drove. The driver took us up into the mountains, driving fast and driving around more and more turns as we continued to ascend. The view was spectacular. As we got higher, we got a beautiful view of Antigua below, surrounded by mountains and volcanoes. The driver slowed so we could take pictures. After a short drive we made it up to the restaurant, owned by the family that also owns Pepsi, where we would be eating breakfast.

We ate a delicious breakfast buffet. Plantanos fritas (plantains), tortillas con queso, fresh fruit, bacon, and omelets were just a few of the options. We also had our first taste of coffee in Guatemala—it was definitely something I will be drinking a lot more of!

After breakfast we rode the shuttle took us back down to the hotel, and we continued our walking tour. We visited the market, and said ‘Hola’ or ‘buenas dias’ to everyone we passed. Everyone is so friendly! Just using tiny bits of Spanish is exciting. There is so much opportunity to speak it here! Even though I don’t know much, just being surrounded by Spanish speakers makes me want to try to speak as much as I can. When I was preparing for this trip, I thought I might be tempted to speak English, but since coming here I have only wanted to say as much as I am able to in Spanish. On our tour we also stopped at the McDonalds in Antigua…holy cow is it different than American McDonalds! It had a beautiful courtyard and a perfect view of the volcano. Libby, Paul’s assistant, bought us all coffee. I got a frappe dulce de leche. It was so good!

We had another delicious meal with Cindy. She made ensalada, torillas, y pasta con pollo (pasta with chicken) for lunch. So far, my stomach has been handling the food well! I have a pretty sensitive stomach, so I am hoping it stays that way and I am able to be careful with what I eat! After lunch we walked back to Paul’s and talked for a few hours about the history of Guatemala and what to expect from the culture today. It was super interesting. One thing that stuck out to me was the education in Guatemala. Not many people have the opportunity to receive an education (mostly women) because they simply cannot afford it-they have to pay for school supplies and a uniform, even though school is free, and most people choose to use that money to send boys to school rather than girls. I think it’d be really cool to raise money to buy school supplies to send girls and boys to school in Guatemala. There is a lot of the world that needs help, and although it is easy to think that there are simply too many problems in the world for us to solve, giving kids an education is one easy way to increase the amount of people with the ability to start solving those problems. Maybe we cannot physically fix everything, but we can surely equip others with the knowledge and skills to help.

We left Paul’s around 4pm and headed back to our home. Paul gave us each 100 Quetzals (about 13 U.S. dollars) for breakfast tomorrow! This will be our first opportunity to buy something for ourselves in Antigua!

A few of the other girls and I decided to go find the market, just to look around. It’s about a 10 minute walk from our home. The market was very interesting. 3-liter coke bottles were sold with a glass cup taped to the top that apparently came with it. The store had a lot of the stuff that we will probably need throughout the trip, all at reasonable prices, so that is reassuring to know! A lot of stuff that was sold was packaged very interestingly.  I like noticing all of the differences between Guatemala and the U.S. because it gives me the opportunity to practice not thinking that Guatemalan’s are doing everything ‘wrong’. It is easy I think for Americans to believe that everything we do is ‘right’, when in reality it’s all just different, and it offers really good learning experiences.  

One thing we learned right away is that something to expect from Guatemalan men is different forms of sexual harassment. Thankfully, it is mostly innocent catcalling or whistling. Today, we experienced our first instance of that. Two men rode by on a motorcycle and one turned around and whistled loudly. And then he rode away looking back at us, giggling! It was such a funny thing to me that all I could do was burst out laughing. We were told to just ignore it and not acknowledge the men if this ever happens, but the whole scene was just so silly to me. In the U.S., whenever someone has whistled at me it has been while driving by quickly in a car, and it was always so fast that I never saw who it was. I guess it was so funny to me here because they were so upfront with it, knowing that I was staring at them as they rode away, seeing exactly who had just whistled. And then the whole thing with him laughing hysterically at himself really made me laugh. It’s another interesting difference between the U.S. and Guatemala!

It is now 7pm and we are about to eat dinner with Cindy. Meals in Antigua are usually 7am-1pm-7pm. Although it feels like we’ve already eaten a lot, it has been pretty healthy foods and I am looking forward to trying new foods and still being pretty healthy these next few months!

The last thing that has really struck me as interesting on this trip is how normal it is for the girls and I to sit around and discuss Spanish. We spend a lot of our time sitting in the courtyard at home, talking to each other and then randomly asking how to say certain things in Spanish. We talk to the dog in Spanish, and Paul has a four year old grandson who visits and speaks to us in Spanish too. It is just so interesting that just by being here, and only for two days, we are already doing our best to learn little bits and pieces of Spanish, and it feels so normal to talk about what different words mean, or to say something in English and then discuss how it was supposed to be said in Spanish. The girls I am with are so encouraging with each other and we are all so eager to do well with learning this beautiful language.

This post is really long and most likely future posts will not come this often or be this long. I hope you enjoy keeping up with my days here in Antigua! I know I am enjoying living them!

-Kara

Parque de Central

Our view from breakfast

The Antigua McDonalds!

¡Hola Guatemala!

We did it! We are here! We flew into Guatemala City around noon yesterday. Getting through immigration was quick and easy and we all found our bags! We walked outside of the airport to a huge crowd of Guatemalans. They stood waiting for family, selling food, and offering to help with luggage. I loved the excitement! Right away we had a little boy come up to us, pushing his brother in a wheelchair. He tapped one of our girls on the shoulder and then just stood and stared at us. It was frustrating to not be able to communicate with him!

Our instructor Paul had a shuttle driver that he knew well come pick us up. Our bags fit tightly into the back of the van and then we were off! Driving through Guatemala City was eye opening. We drove very fast. The cars, buses and motorcycles did not seem to have personal boundaries-it was not uncommon to be driving right next to a bus and then have a motorcycle somehow fit right in between you! Mountains and a volcano were the background as we sped through the city. We passed trucks with kids lying in the back, sitting on piles of construction material. We passed Chicken Buses that transported many Guatemalans, quickly picking up and dropping off people in some sort of system that seemed to work for them. We also saw a lot of tiny homes, tucked away in the trees or lining the roads, with tin roofs and crumbling walls. It really makes you think about how this huge space filled with poverty is only one city, and there is still so much of the world that is exactly like this as well. It's super frustrating that despite the rest of the world being like this, the majority of Americans (myself included) sit at home and do nothing.

We stopped at Pollo Camparo for lunch. I ordered my first meal in Spanish! I was told that Quisiera is the most polite way to say "I would like..." I really enjoyed learning just that little bit. We also learned that public bathrooms didn't provide toilet paper. Luckily, most of the bathrooms we will be using will have toilet paper. Still, that is yet another aspect of life in Guatemala City that is really saddening.

After lunch we drove 45 minutes to Antigua. It was incredible. We were flying by all of these tiny homes and stores, and suddenly we were turning onto a cobblestone street and it was like a different world! Antigua is beautiful. It is really old and completely mesmerizing. We passed many shops and restaurants--apparently the town has about 350 restaurants serving all different styles of food. We drove by a crowd of people walking with a torch, beginning their celebration of their independence day that we will all celebrate next week. We arrived at the girls home stay first, and boy is it incredible. The only way I can describe it is it's an inside outside house--you open the door and suddenly you are in a gorgeous courtyard, that is outside, but still enclosed in the home. The rooms are all accessed outside. It is amazing. Our host mom Cindy is super nice and very hospitable. She has a son named Anderson who is 12 years old but very mature for his age, and a dog named Leo that won't stop trying to hump us. It's okay though, we're happy we have a dog.

We had a quick orientation where we went over Safety tips, class schedules and the calendar of events at our instructor Paul's house. Right now I am feeling nervous about maybe being robbed, but I think once I adjust here I will feel a lot more comfortable, and understand how cautious I need to be.

At 7pm we had dinner with Cindy. It was a simple meal of rice and black beans, but so much more delicious than what we eat in the U.S.! One of the girls in our group is really good at speaking Spanish, so she did the most communicating with Cindy. It was fun though, because we would work together to figure out different things to say to Cindy, even if it was just 'Esta cena es muy bien' (This dinner is very good). Every little bit of speaking Spanish we do is helping us to become more used to using it!

As always, thank you all for your encouragement and excitement over this adventure! I will do my best to continue with updates :)

Our host-dog, Leo! We're convinced that he only understands us when we talk to him in Spanish, so we might speak English to each other but we use a lot of our Spanish on the dog.

The outside of our homestay! So beautiful!

The inside courtyard of our home! I love all of the plants.

On the streets of Antigua!

A picture I took right when we landed in Guatemala!

-Kara

Finally!

After months and months of filling out applications, getting shots, making appointments and shopping shopping shopping, it is FINALLY time to begin my trip to Guatemala! I am super excited-nerves have not hit me yet, and I am thankful! I think because of all the waiting I have been doing, now that the trip is here I am just ready to go!

For those who have not heard, I am traveling to Antigua, Guatemala to study Spanish for my fall semester of college. I will be gone for three months, being tutored one-on-one by a native Spanish speaker, as well as volunteering, and getting to know the Guatemalan culture! On weekends we will be doing a lot of different excursions to get out and explore the beauty that God has created for us!

I am very excited for this trip. I am a Spanish minor and although I have taken years of Spanish, I am still far from feeling comfortable speaking it. I have only heard wonderful things about this program, and a lot of people I know that have gone on this trip have come back almost fluent in Spanish! I am looking forward to what God has in store for me this year. He has already blessed me with an amazing summer, and now I look forward to new adventures with new friends!

Prayers for me and this trip would be very much appreciated. I want to be challenged on this trip-I want to feel comfortable, but I also want God to make me feel uncomfortable, so that I am stretched and forced to step out of my comfort zone to experience new things and better myself while I am away. Prayers that I don't get homesick are also welcome!

Thank you all for your support! I am going to do my best to keep up with updates on this blog so you all can know what I am doing throughout this trip! Thank you for your prayers!

-Kara