Jesus sure can throw a fiesta.

Yesterday evening I agreed to wake up at 3:30 in the morning today. I wasn’t sure of the exact reason… I just heard the magic words….. “las bombas’ and ‘chocolate”. “Si? A las tres y media… en la manana??? Okay.” Yep, explosives and chocolate is pretty much a guaranteed way to get me to agree to just about anything.
So still in a zombie sleep state, we wandered out to the main street where a group of people had already gathered and were beginning to set of firecrackers and various sorts of fireworks. There was a small marching band there, and girls handing out sandwiches and a cold drink that seemed to be some sort of coffee/chocolate/orange/spice mixture. I didn’t like it very much, but I could tell it was a source of caffeine, so I drank it anyway. Later that day we had lunch at a restaurant that was owned by someone I think was a member of the family. Fried chicken. Score. Anyway, it was here that I learned that the days celebration was for the Primera comunion (first communion) of the kids that were around that age here in town. I’m not Catholic, so honestly, I really don’t know much about it…. But there was a parade, and more fireworks all day long.
In the evening, while there was a final procession going down the street (of which me & the family were a part of), it started pouring down rain. Living my life in Arizona, I don’t exactly have a very good idea of what rain actually is. It doesn’t start out with a little sprinkle… it starts with a crack of thunder, and suddenly someone is pouring the ocean on your head. Alba says that the lightening was Jesus (Hey-sooos) setting off his own las bombas for the fiesta. (Because of course that didn’t stop the Guatemalans from their party). They were still lighting and setting off whatever explosives they could throughout the storm.

Flushing is Scary in Guatemala

Okay, so lets be adults here…. Everybody poops. Aside from the general Central American toilet paper etiquette, let’s talk potty.
When you flush, there’s about an 80% chance that your poo’s not gonna go down. I cringe to see what awaits me, and I’m horrified to think of the possibilities that I could leave (and have left) for others. I say a little prayer every time I hit that lever.

[No fotos will accompany this post.]

So sunburnt it hurts to grow leg hair….

I woke up at 4:30am—only this time to bombas (firecrackers). Mas Fiestas today. Great… these people never stop.
I’m so sunburnt, it hurts to grow leg hair. I put on sunscreen and all, but forgot the tops of my feet, and didn’t realize that when I washed my face with soap earlier in the day, I probably also washed what sunscreen I had on, off. But at least I had a cute scarf on, so the top portion of my forehead has a nice even stripe of white to separate the red. My lips are what hurts the most. They are sooooo burnt. You’d think a girl as white as I am would learn…..

¿Que?

Did this weekend actually happen? I’ve been checking the calendar on my phone over and over again…. Yep, Sunday evening… two weeks into my Guatemala stay. Over the course of the last two days I’ve worked alongside a small group of Guatemalan construction workers to build a small house, ridden in the back of a truck with who-knows how many other people, took a chicken bus to Taxisco that had the ‘woman silloughette’ figure etched everywhere, went 80mph down a pothole filled road, and laid on the horn every 20 seconds, danced salsa and meringue all night, lost one sandal to the ocean, made friends with a reggae band from Germany living in Antigua, found my sandal ¼ of a mile down the beach, freed a baby sea turtle into the ocean, rode on a motorcycle with two other people (yeah, 3 people is Guatemala style- 4 if one’s a baby), ate a soup that had crab, shrimp and fish in it, and was taken over by a mini tidal wave while reading at the beach and consequently covered in black sand.
There’s a ton more… I know I’m forgetting a ton. My life here is so different. I woke up the other day to a chicken outside of my little window hole! That stuff just doesn’t happen in the city, or in the suburbs, or really anywhere else that I’ve been to. In Arizona, if a guy walks up to you with a machete, you dial 9-1-1 while you run as fast as possible. In Guatemala, if a guy walks up to you with a machete, you shake his hand and thank him for the corn. It’s a different mentality, a completely different lifestyle. People aren’t grouchy, or in big hurries here. If you walk around the town, chances are you find about half the people lounging around in hammocks if there’s not a soccer game on.
My Spanish is coming along pretty well… I’m getting fairly decent at irregular verbs in the past tense. But I’m getting to a point where I’m really starting to miss home. I really miss my friends and family, and dogs of course. There are dogs everywhere in Guatemala, but ‘pets’ in Central America are incredibly different from what we know them as. I want to hug and train and play with my host family’s dog, Ponkey, soooo bad… but it’s just not something you do here. She’s such a smart, good girl though. I sneak her secret pets behind the ears when the family’s not around (and promptly wash my hands afterward- haha).
Apart from having an insane weekend, not much happens here in Monterrico. I have a pretty normal routine of breakfast, class, lunch, nap, internet café, nap, homework, nap, dinner and bed. And no, I’m not being a homebody… napping is just a way of life here, so I’m going along with it!
Buenas!

IIIEEEEEYYYYAAAAA!!!!

Oy, this place is nuts. I can´t even begin to describe some of the experiences I´ve had, and I´ve only been here for what.. two full days?
Yesterday after class I rode in the back of my families truck, holding onto the cage of a dove so we could go into another part of town and trade it for a chicken. Oh yes, you read that right. I traded a dove for a chicken. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal, huh? So once we get there, you can´t just walk up to the chicken and say ¨Hey Chicken... I´m gonna need to to get into this bag so I can eat you for dinner tomorrow night.¨ Nope... definitely not that simple. You have to first chase the damn thing around the yard, then shove it into the tiny cloth bag that Alba brought. Then tie up all of the holes in the top where the screaming chicken head pops out as if from some sort of horror movie.
Yep, I´m not sure that I like chicken that much anymore. Too much scary stuff going on there.
A cool thing I learned yesterday-- there´s this really really weird plant that grows from a grape-looking vine here in Monterrico. After much confused Spanglish questioning I found out that it´s the plant they use to make those light tan shower loofas.... not sure of their actual name.... but it´s a really interesting process and interesting plant nonetheless.
Alright... I heard mention of cerveza, so yo no escribo mucho mas. Adios!

Mas Frijoles y Toyota Corollas in Guatemala

Day one in Monterrico-
The aeropuerto was incredibly nice and clean.... waaaaay nicer than Phx, which was a big surprise when I stepepd off of the plane. So far every single person that I have come into contact with has been incredibly nice and very willing to give me directions or offer assistace! I was supposed to stay one night in Antigua before continuing onto Monterrico, however my plane came in a little early and I was able to catch the shuttle directly to Monterrico as soon as I stepped outside of the airport. There was a slight delay however when the shuttle driver realized he locked his keys in the car. Haha! But it didn´t take long to get them out. Holy geeze, it must be a law that your first car in Guatemala is a Toyota Corolla... they are everywhere!
I don´t have too much time at the internet cafe today because it looks like it´s about to pour down rain and I don´t think I´ll ever get my clothes dry if I end up getting poured on because the humidity here is like 300%.
I already miss all my friends and family like crazy.... but I´m positive this is going to be the coolest thing I´ve ever done in my life!!!!
I´ll start uploading pictures if I ever first figure out the keyboard en Español.
Love you all!
<3 Abril

The Waiting Game...

Well, here I am.... Phoenix Sky Harbor... awaiting my flight to LA before I'm off to Guatemala City! I'm so nervous I'm about to throw up. I just unplugged the