Spanish class and chocolate cafes

Hello everyone!

My Spanish classes started yesterday and everything is going well. I'm studying with Edwin. He was my teacher last year and is a good buddy. We tend to get into deep conversations during class, which I enjoy. For example, we've already discussed the role of women in Guatemala and in development, racism in the US and Guatemala, the results of the recent tropical storm and the ways to best help those who need assistance, as well as numerous topics surrounding religion and Christianity. And we've only had two days of class so far!

Edwin spent three weeks in the US last month, and we also chatted about his trip. He talked about how difficult a process it is to obtain a visa to even be allowed to visit the US: fees, interviews, paperwork, etc. It was interesting to compare that to what I did in order to enter Guatemala: show up and let them scan my passport.

I also found it interesting when Edwin commented about how flat the land was in the city he visited in the US. He thought it was pretty cool. Meanwhile, I look at the mountains in Guatemala and long to have them in northern Indiana! It's a good example of how things that you're accustomed to seem normal and non-exciting, but things that are different seem intriguing and exciting. It reminds me of Amish tourism in northern Indiana. It seems silly to me because I see a horse and buggy frequently, but for people who aren't used to seeing the Amish, it seems worth visiting.

The family has another student living with them now. His name is Kelvin, and he's a med student from Washington DC. He's pretty cool. He only knows a limited amount of Spanish, so I've been doing a fair amount of translating during meals. I've been able to show him around a bit, which he found helpful and made me feel like an experienced traveler. :)

Over the weekend I taught Kelvin and Pedro how to play Dutch Blitz. They both learned quickly! We've had a lot of fun playing in the evenings after dinner. For those of you who don't know, I'm pretty much the Queen of Dutch Blitz (not to brag or anything!) :) Well, last night Pedro beat me for the first time and he thinks he's pretty darn awesome now.

As I mentioned before, the World Cup is taking place now, and Guatemalans love futbol. I find it amusing the way they celebrate when a gol (goal) is scored. It doesn't matter where they are either. It happens here at home and it hear it when I'm walking in the street. After a gol is scored, they yell, "Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooollllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll!" That wasn't an exaggeration.

Today is Tuesday and if you've followed this blog in the past, you know what that means: El Bake Shop! I visited the Mennonite bakery today and bought a galleta (cookie) and a pineapple donut. I also had the pleasure of introducing a few other students to the bakery. (You can read about my first trip to El Bake Shop here.)

I've also visited two chocolaterias (hot chocolate/coffee cafes) in the past two days, once with Pedro and once with Edwin. The hot chocolate here is rich and tastes amazing. The cafe I went to with Edwin today was also a museum of various things related to Guatemalan culture and history. And the menus were made out of old record albums! It had a really cool, calm ambiance.
Yesterday I enjoyed a visit to the rooftop of the school. Here are a few photos of Xela and the countryside from the rooftop.

The "hill" in the middle-left of the photo below is called El Baul. Personally, I would call it a small mountain, but to the Guatemalans, it's just a hill. Anyway, I'm going to climb it on Thursday. Oh yeah, and I'm going to climb to a lookout point this Sunday. Did I mention that my legs still hurt from the volcano climb last Sunday? I'm not quite sure what's gotten in to me...
Well, I'm off to listen to a lecture about the Guatemalan civil war!