Mmmmm... yummy food and random thoughts

Last night during our walk home, we stopped at Xela Pan, a panaderia (a bread shop and bakery). Some of you might remember me talking about it last year. Don't get it mixed up with El Bake Shop; I'll tell you about that in a bit. Here is a photo of what we got. Mine was the smaller one and it was similar to an apple turnover. Dave's was caramel flavored. Both were delicious.
We need an afternoon snack every day because of the time change and the schedule here. We eat lunch at 1 or 2pm, which feels like 3 or 4pm because of the time difference. Then we don't eat dinner until 8 or 9pm, which feels like 10 or 11pm! Needless to say, we go to bed right after dinner!

Today is Tuesday and everybody knows what that means... El Bake Shop! The Mennonite Bake Shop is open on Tuesdays and Fridays. If you didn't read my blog last year, check out the post from my first visit to the Bake Shop. We went with our new friend, Ann, the girl we met on the bus. (Cynthia and Suzanne - Ann will still be here when you come, and she's pretty cool, so be sure to look for her!) We each bought una dona (a doughnut) and una galleta (a cookie). They were, of course, delicious. There's nothing like a pineapple doughnut!


During class today mi maestro, Edwin, and I went to a small cafe. I think it was because he hadn't eaten breakfast yet, but I didn't mind getting out of the school for awhile! I had a licuado de fresa y piña (strawberry and pineapple smoothie). It was delicious! Edwin had a traditional breakfast, which included fried platanos (plantains). He shared them with me, and I liked them a lot. Dave and I had boiled platanos with dinner last night. They were okay, but I preferred the fried ones.
It's also an internet cafe, and we got online for a little bit to show each other pictures of our friends and family on facebook. When we were just about to leave, we noticed that the cafe has a rooftop terrace. We went up for a few minutes, and it was lovely! We're going to return there for class tomorrow.
Yesterday in class I told Edwin that I'm an artist and that painting is like terapia (therapy) for me. Edwin is also the pastor for young children at a local church, and he told me that he uses art with the kids fairly often. Today he brought in a book for me to look at that is all about doing art for therapy. It was cool to look through it.

Dave surprised me today and bought me two mangoes from the back of some guy's truck. (Fruit in the back of a truck is not out of the ordinary here.) Que rico! I don't think I can ever eat a mango in the U.S. again. It was so sweet and flavorful. We asked doña Mayra, our GuateMomma, to cut them up and then shared them with everyone at lunch today. Last year my host mom told me that they never have fruit because it's so expensive, but everyone this year disagrees. Anyway, we've had plenty of fruit - fresh lemonade, pineapple-ade, pineapple, bananas, plantains, and now mango!
We've been walking like crazy since we've been here. I've already walked for an hour and a half today! The altitude affects me much more than Dave. It's around 7,000 to 8,000 feet here, and I get out of breath easily.

We gave our teachers some gifts today, including some of our favorite sweet treats from the U.S. When we gave Alejandra, Dave's teacher, some Nutella, she was thrilled. She recognized it right away and said that her children love it. She also said that it's really expensive here, and she can only afford to buy it about once per year. Dave and I could afford to buy it every week (or every day!). That was a dose of reality for us both.

I forgot to tell you all about my reunion with Lencho yesterday! Lencho is the first Guatemalan man that I ever kissed. :) (For details on this far-from-scandalous kiss, see my post from last year.) Anyway, I saw him yesterday when Dave and I got to the school, but he didn't recognize me. I had printed a copy of the photo of the two of us from last year and I gave it to him. You should've seen the smile on his face! I got a hug and a kiss right away! It was cool to be able to introduce him to Dave.

Tomorrow we're going to go on our first excursion. We'll be visiting a pueblo (small town) with a famous church. I'm looking forward to it.

Here's a bit from Dave:
Ok day two of class was so much better. I told my teacher i wasnt really here to learn how to speak spanish. I told her that was what Megan was here to do. I think she got it but she is a teacher and i am her student so she is determined to push some spanish in me anyways. I did not receive homework because when she asked me if i did it the night before i told her no i didnt like homework. Today we took a walk (My teacher and I) to the cemetery. Sounds funny to say, but it was very beautiful. They have huge tombs and some very little ones also. She showed me a tomb of a young woman who was a nurse that was brutally murdered. It made me sad. I did enjoy leaving the class room and not having to sit and learn pronouns and prepositions. I told her i didnt enjoy learning those things in English and now you're trying to teach me in spanish. she didnt know what to say so she kept teaching me. I think she likes me but she has never had a student like me before Im sure. I think it is assumed most people who come hear want to learn spanish. There is always an exception to the rule. this time it is me.
Today we also went to the bake shop. A piece of mennonite bakery from home. delicious. I am disappointed it is only open twice a week.
I also have learned a little about the culture from my host family. Sure sure Megan can tell me what she learns and why she acts the way she does when she is here, but until you experience it and feel it you simply dont understand why you would do such things and why things become normal to you. If anyone can remember my reactions to certain things from last year you will know what i am talking about. We were eating lunch on Mothers day when my host familys kids came to visit with their kids. The 3 girls greeted everyone including Megan and I with a kiss on the cheek and so did their Mother. Very awkward for me, but after awhile when i thought about it i really appreciated the gesture. it made me feel very welcome.
My experience up until now If i was to give it a rating between 1 to 10 I think that i am sitting at a 7.5. Unlike Megan I am not ready to move here at all. it is a nice place to visit.

And a bit more from me:
Tina - you asked about the weather... the rainy season started two weeks ago, so it's sunny and rather warm by mid-morning and then starts raining around 2pm every day. We've been lucky so far; today is the first day we got poured on. Really early in the mornings and at night it's cool enough to see your breath... and there's no heat in any buildings!

And no blog post could be complete without a photo of mi amor, volcan Santa Maria (my love, volcano Santa Maria).
P.S. No cell phone yet, Mom, but we're getting one tomorrow and should be able to give you a call. Love you!