Guatemala: Days 3 and 4

I have a correction to my previous post. Good news: my estimates for the ages of Daniela and Pablo WERE correct. Pablo just turned five and Daniela just turned eleven. Bad news: My ability to understand Spanish is suckier than I thought.

Today began at seven. Chris and I, who are sharing a room for the first time in twenty years by the way, lay in bed for a little while longer. Yesterday we had orientation at 8, but today there is no rush because our instruction is from 2 to 7. At orientation we learned about the program, the school, our families, and the history. In case you need another reason to despise corporate America, feel free to look into the history of the United Fruit Company and how badly it exploited Guatemala.

Chris took a shower first thing. Unfortunately that meant Danilo hadn't turned on the hot water yet. He explained to me the situation and encouraged me to "decirle ahora!" But I said for today esta bien and she would know for next time.

Pablo and Daniela slept in, Chris got herself ready, and Glendi and I walked to the restaurant. Their restaurant is very close, but we have to cross a very busy street to get there and I don't think there are crosswalks. So we cross as quickly and as cautiously as we can. People make a habit of honking their horns, often for no reason apparent to me. Danilo will do this when he passes us on his motorcycle. That's for fun or to scare us. If it were anyone else it would probably drive me nuts, but it's amusing to me here.

As Glendi and I walked to the restaurant, we talked a little. She asked if I would like to run and I think I agreed to run with her on the nearby mountain at six am one day this week. We arrived at the restaurant, which opens at 8, at 8:08.  I helped open the entrance,  set up things in the restaurant and clean las mesas. Chrissy arrived soon after and we enjoyed a breakfast of eggs, beans, rice, and tortillas. Yesterday we had this for dinner, but we shared because we weren't very hungry. Today tengo mucho hambre.

After breakfast I returned to the house to shower. The kids were on the couch watching TV. Pablo invited me to join but I explained I was about to shower. After I got myself ready, Pablo called "mira"!" I went to look and saw that he and the kitten were cuddled together on the couch and Cheetos was falling asleep on his arms with a blanket over him. Danilo then came by to take the kids to the restaurant. He returned not too long after that. We chatted a little about our past jobs. Before owning a restaurant, Danilo was a manager for Pepsi and Glendi worked at a shoe store ( I think). Danilo complimented our Espanol saying it was mucho mejor today. "Domingo, nada."

We walked to the school from home. The walk is less then 10 minutes and we pass lots of small shops on the way. Most shops are related to automotive, but there is also a big pool of water where women wash clothes and some shops with sewing machines. I am not sure if they sell the machines, rent out use of the machines, or sew stuff to sell.

Now I am sitting on top of the school, on the verrazo. There is a gorgeous view of las montagnas.

A Mayan Ceremony will begin in fifteen minutes that will be held by a Mayan priest. After that, we will have some time for lunch before our instruction time. I still have homework to do.

Mayan Ceremony

After class, we will head back to the restaurant for dinner, which closes at 8. Last night I convinced Daniela to let me work with her on her math, because she says it is her least favorite subject. I worked with her on making ten, which was a new concept for her. I explained that if she learned this skill, someday she could solve problems in her head. I showed her a more difficult problem, which Danilo was excited to solve. He also shared his knowledge of the tricks when multiplying by nine.

After practicing math, I taught Daniela some English, which she loves to learn. Last night was a late night. We all stayed up until close to eleven watching some TV. This appears to be typical. Danilo and Glendi stayed up after we went to bed and were still awake when I needed to get back up for the bathroom. I went to take out an earplug in case I needed to converse with them, and this is when I realized I had pushed one so deep in my ear canal that I couldn't reach it with my fingers. So began the unnerving experience of extracting an earplug with tweezers. It was a successful endeavor and after a bathroom break I fell asleep for the night.


Two notes: I noticed that they do not have much green space in the city streets, which means the dog must use the garage as her bathroom. Also, the kids go back to school next week. I am not sure of the school calendar here.

Adios!