Beth and I arrived to San Padro on Lake Atitlan on Sunday in the early afternoon. We checked in at our school and then spent the day roaming around San Pedro-- mostly eating and drinking at the many fine establishments around town, nearly all offering amazing views and a serene setting. At 5:00 pm we went back to school to meet our homestay family for the week.
Let me introduce you to my Guatemalan family: Maria, Manuel, Juan, Lufi and Adimarie. Maria and Manuel are the parents and the kids range from 11 - 19 years old-- all living at home. Our home is nice, the family incredibly kind and the location is super close to school and the docks where all the action is. Beth and I have separate rooms and both are pretty decent, although Beth got lucky with her own bathroom-- I get the honor of sharing with the entire family. Our homestay inlcudes 3 meals a day and everything so far has been delicious! Maria buys all ingredients fresh each day (not even sure if they have a refridgerator) and makes each meal from scratch. Due to the fabulous reputation that Americans have, our meal portions are HUGE and finishing a meal is an incredible challenge. Knowing the economic status of many Guatemalans and especially as guests in someone´s home, you do not leave food on your plate-- so we eat and we eat well!
Our first night at Maria and Manuel´s they asked us if we would like to go to church with them and of course we said 'yes'! Before we knew it, we were at a GIANT (and surprisingly modern) Evangelical church, sitting amongst the congregants and singing along (or at least trying to). I cannot even put into words the experience, but I will try... Every member of our host family was involved in the church choir. Each portion of the choir wore a certain color and put on a well practiced performance. Many families brought tamborines with them and kept up with the beat the entire service. The service was joyful, the congregants enthusiasticly enagaged and the church was beautiful. It was one of those moments where you wonder how the hell you got yourself in the situation-- but are glad you did. Nothing says welcome to San Pedro like an evening at an Evangelical church!
Classes so far have been great! My teacher´s name is Lucy and she is a good teacher. I am not going to lie though, it is incredibly challenging (and at times frustrating) trying to learn a new language-- but I will try my best and keep an open attitude. It is also challenging to focus during class as our school (all outdoors) resembles paradise... I meet with Lucy in a cabana that overlooks the lake and the mountains and we are surrounded by tropical flowers and plants. The school grounds are unbelievably gorgeous and it feels like vacation just being on site. That said, I MUST focus and learn Spanish, as I am getting tired of playing charades everytime I need to communicate with someone. I have given more thumbs up in the past week than one should in a lifetime.
In other exciting news our host dad Manuel is a radio personality in San Pedro. Today we ran into him on his way to work and he invited us to come with him. Not only did we get to see Manuel in action, but he also gave us a shoutout on live air! It was pretty cool! Not every day you get your name mentioned on a Guatemalan radio station... Let alone an Evangelical one!
Tomorrow is a big day... Class in the moring, followed by horseback riding along the lake out to the playa, then a salsa dance class at school, and if that wasn´t enough next comes 'bacon and beer' night at a local pub and a pool tournament at another.
Anyways, off I go... Time for another one of Mama Maria´s fabulously large dinners!
Adios!
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