Baby You're a Firework

It’s been quite an eventful few days. Yesterday morning, which feels like years ago, I got picked up by the director of the school and brought to my host family and then had to rush to Spanish School, which is the main reason I am here.

My teacher’s name is Olga. She lives in a Pueblo near Antigua called Aguas Calientes where all the women are weavers. I visited there on my last trip and plan to go again. We spent most of yesterday and a lot of today having discussions in Spanish. It’s amazing what kind of random conversations you can have with a complete stranger who doesn’t speak your language after two days. We started off the conversation talking about why I am in Antigua and somehow it led to a discussion of how Moses crossed the Red Sea and didn’t have time to wait for the bread to rise so Jews don’t eat bread on Passover but we do drink lots of wine. I don’t think our talks could be more random if they tried, but I’m impressed I was able to explain this to her in Spanish.

After Spanish class many of the students went on a walking tour of the city…all given in Spanish. I probably only understood about a quarter of it, but I got some great pictures!

This is where the women in the town used to wash all the clothes. They still use these in the Pueblos near Antigua.

The Cathedral de Santiago is behind me.

Here I am in front of the famous church La Merced.

In the afternoon I wandered around with a new friend and sat in a café with her for some coffee. I could roam around this place forever. I also went to say hello to Dom and Doreen, the directors of the schools I volunteered with the last time I was here.

Today I had class in the morning then went on a little walking excursion with some other new friends, Jendy and Joyce. We went to see this center that was beautiful. I’m not totally sure of its purpose, but I think they have guest rooms, hold events and sports games, and have a tienda with all sorts of goods to buy. Then we went to the Candelaria ruins and the Candelaria hotel. The artifacts left here after countless earthquakes and disasters are incredible. There is something ancient to see around every corner.

This is the fountain at the Candelaria Hotel, such a beautiful hotel.

Last night was a very noisy one. There were fireworks going off constantly. They set off fireworks here all the time, so I didn’t think too much of it, except that it was keeping me up. I found out it was actually Gringos, who live in apartments behind us, not Guatemalans, setting them off. I had almost forgotten it was the 4th of July!

I am really enjoying Spanish class and my time here. It is actually much calmer and more relaxed than last time. However, I do miss being around and teaching the kids in Guatemala. There is something special about how they smile at you here that I can't quite describe in words.



Love,

Julie

"Firework" -Katy Perry