Last week was INSANE. A professor from Bethel, Dr. Zalanga, flew down to Guatemala to teach economics in the afternoons. This essentially means we had class from about 8:00 AM - 5:30 PM. It didn't help much that I started out last week waking up without a voice...I've had a cough for about two months, and it just got worse! Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I woke up without a voice, and Wednesday I stayed home from school, hoping that some rest would help me out. Unfortunately I had an 8-page paper due on Thursday, so I had to stay up late working on that (me, being the procrastinator I am, hadn't quite started it yet...). I survived Thursday and Friday, and was excited to finally relax a little Friday night. Another girl from the trip, Emily, and I ended up watching A Very Potter Musical (the perfect remedy for sickness). Unfortunately, the next morning we had to wake up early because we had class with Dr. Zalanga all day. What a long day it was! I was so happy to finally be done! Saturday night I finally got to talk with my roommates (besides Michelle) on Skype! It was so great to finally see all their beautiful faces! I also started getting caught up on Glee! On Sunday I went to church at a very small Presbyterian church with Becky, the coordinator of our group, and two other girls from Bethel. When we walked in we were greeted by everyone with a hug and a kiss on the cheek! What a greeting! We sang some songs in Spanish, read some passages from the Bible, and heard a man speak about them. We then all went to a place called El Macarone for pizza. We took it to go so that we could have a little picnic in Central Park! After our picnic, I grabbed my homework and headed to the office to work on some things before I talked to my parents and Emily on Skype. Later that night I also finally got to Skype with Katie! I got to see so many people I love from home this weekend! Today, we had school in the morning, and then most of us walked up to the Cross, which is on a big hill in Antigua. We got a GORGEOUS view from there, and took some great pictures! Hopefully those will be up on Facebook soon! I am still loving it here! Hope you are all doing well!
Con mucho amor,
Rosita
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Halfway Through!
We are officially half-way done with our first session of classes!
Time is just whizzing by!
This week of class was pretty hard because I was so worn out and sick, and it's hard to sit back and relax in class when I'm the only one in the class. I still had to try to concentrate for 4 hours on everything my professor was trying to teach me. I also got my professor sick, so I'm sure we were a sight to be seen! Things are going to really pick up homework-wise this week because I have a big paper due, my first test, and one of our professors from Bethel is coming down to teach lectures in the afternoon. I will need some prayers to get through it all!
Anyway, this past week, after school I went to the market a couple times just to look around. I also got to Skype with Nikki for the first time! It was so good to see her face! Then, on Friday, a couple girls from the group and I went to a restaurant called Dona Luisa, where we were told has really scrumptious inexpensive ice cream...and it definitely was! After that, we all had dinner at our respective houses and met at the Students International Office to figure out what we wanted to do. We wandered toward Central Park and ended up talking to a 9-year-old boy who wanted to sell us scarves. None of us bought any from him when we said goodbye, but some of the girls went to get him a little treat. After wandering around some more, we finally decided to go to a restaurant called Mono Loco to hang out. We had a really good time getting to know each other and being loud Americans. When we were done eating our big plate of nachos, we headed out to see what we could do for a half hour before curfew. We ended up just sitting in Central Park, talking some more, and playing 20 questions. I would say that it was a successful night!
Yesterday was filled with Skyping for me. We had thought about going to a pool, but it didn't work out, so we'll probably end up doing that some other weekend. I headed to the office around 1:30, and saw that my parents were on Skype! I talked to them and Emily for a while, until my parents decided I should probably do my homework. However, after I got done talking with them, I saw that Jesamine was online!! We got to talk for about a half hour before I had to go to dinner at my house. I then went back to the office, hoping to get some homework done, but some folks were going to go to a cafe with live music! I couldn't pass it up! I did get a little done at the cafe, but I mostly listened to the dude singing and playing guitar...he played a bunch of American classics! He was so good! After he was done, we thought he said there would be a circus show coming up...there was no way we could miss that! We saw the performers getting ready and moved up to where they were setting up, just in time because it got really crowded after that! The show started and it was AMAZING! There were four performers, and they juggled, did fancy things with firey torches and hoops, and even some contortion! The most amazing thing about it was that this incredible show was absolutely free! Of course, they asked for donations at the end, but you could give any amount, and they definitely deserved it! Once again, a successful outing!
Today, I woke up around 9:30 and tried to read my economics textbook until around 11:30 when I headed to the office, hoping someone would be there with whom I could eat lunch. Thankfully there were, so we all headed to Dona Luisa where I had a club sandwich and lemonade for a really good price! Now I think I will try to get some work done before heading to dinner!
Love you all!
Rosita
Time is just whizzing by!
This week of class was pretty hard because I was so worn out and sick, and it's hard to sit back and relax in class when I'm the only one in the class. I still had to try to concentrate for 4 hours on everything my professor was trying to teach me. I also got my professor sick, so I'm sure we were a sight to be seen! Things are going to really pick up homework-wise this week because I have a big paper due, my first test, and one of our professors from Bethel is coming down to teach lectures in the afternoon. I will need some prayers to get through it all!
Anyway, this past week, after school I went to the market a couple times just to look around. I also got to Skype with Nikki for the first time! It was so good to see her face! Then, on Friday, a couple girls from the group and I went to a restaurant called Dona Luisa, where we were told has really scrumptious inexpensive ice cream...and it definitely was! After that, we all had dinner at our respective houses and met at the Students International Office to figure out what we wanted to do. We wandered toward Central Park and ended up talking to a 9-year-old boy who wanted to sell us scarves. None of us bought any from him when we said goodbye, but some of the girls went to get him a little treat. After wandering around some more, we finally decided to go to a restaurant called Mono Loco to hang out. We had a really good time getting to know each other and being loud Americans. When we were done eating our big plate of nachos, we headed out to see what we could do for a half hour before curfew. We ended up just sitting in Central Park, talking some more, and playing 20 questions. I would say that it was a successful night!
Yesterday was filled with Skyping for me. We had thought about going to a pool, but it didn't work out, so we'll probably end up doing that some other weekend. I headed to the office around 1:30, and saw that my parents were on Skype! I talked to them and Emily for a while, until my parents decided I should probably do my homework. However, after I got done talking with them, I saw that Jesamine was online!! We got to talk for about a half hour before I had to go to dinner at my house. I then went back to the office, hoping to get some homework done, but some folks were going to go to a cafe with live music! I couldn't pass it up! I did get a little done at the cafe, but I mostly listened to the dude singing and playing guitar...he played a bunch of American classics! He was so good! After he was done, we thought he said there would be a circus show coming up...there was no way we could miss that! We saw the performers getting ready and moved up to where they were setting up, just in time because it got really crowded after that! The show started and it was AMAZING! There were four performers, and they juggled, did fancy things with firey torches and hoops, and even some contortion! The most amazing thing about it was that this incredible show was absolutely free! Of course, they asked for donations at the end, but you could give any amount, and they definitely deserved it! Once again, a successful outing!
Today, I woke up around 9:30 and tried to read my economics textbook until around 11:30 when I headed to the office, hoping someone would be there with whom I could eat lunch. Thankfully there were, so we all headed to Dona Luisa where I had a club sandwich and lemonade for a really good price! Now I think I will try to get some work done before heading to dinner!
Love you all!
Rosita
Sunday, February 13, 2011
First Week of School
Hola a todos from Antigua!
This week we moved from Magdalena to Antigua, where we'll be staying until the last three weeks of the trip, when we return to Magdalena. My host family here consists of Daniela, my host mom, her husband, Rodrigo, who we don't see much because of work, and their son, Jose Rodrigo, who is 1 1/2 years old! He is ADORABLE, and I have a good time playing with him. School officially started on Monday...I was NERVOOUUSS. Four hours of Spanish class one-on-one with a professor?? Talk about nerve-wracking! However, I met my professor, Harvey, and I wasn't as nervous anymore. Everyone tells me that he is the best of the best, and I can see why! He loves to chat about life in general, and doesn't worry too much about following the syllabus exactly as long as I'm learning SOMETHING. We also get to watch movies during class-time sometimes, so that makes the time go by pretty fast. I'm taking a Hispanic Literature class, so I also get the chance to brush up on my Spanish reading skills. Nothing too exciting happened during the week, except lots of doing homework, so going on an excursion to Guatemala City on Saturday definitely sounded like a nice change of pace.
We left pretty early on Saturday morning, at about 7:45 first to SEMILLA, which is a seminary near Guatemala City. There we met the director and assistant director of the program, who would be our tour guides for the day. We arrived in the Central Park in Guatemala City, which is surrounded by a cathedral and the National Palace, and we got an assignment. We split into four groups, armed with different questions to ask Guatemalans about the city. Our group went to the post office and asked how much a stamp to send a letter to El Salvador would cost (12 Q). We also went to Pollo Campero, a popular fast food restaurant in Guatemala, and asked how many there are in Guatemala (145!) and who the owners of Pollo Campero are (the Gutierrez family). We then walked to the cathedral and saw the posts outside of the cathedral inscribed with the names of people who were killed in the Civil War. We also looked around for interesting graffiti. We found one that said "barrio roto", or "broken neighborhood" and a lot of political statements sprayed on the walls of Guatemala City. We reconvened with our big group and headed to lunch, where we were first told the history of Guatemala by a professor named Hector. I think he was a little shocked that we all speak Spanish...he was going to give his talk in English, but we told him that we would be able to understand him just fine if he spoke in Spanish! It took some major reassuring on our part to get him to understand that we would get the message no matter what language he spoke. After Hector was done talking, we had a delicious meal of soup, beef, and rice, and left for the cemetery. Now I know this sounds depressing, but it was SO INTERESTING. All of the graves were above ground in buildings that looked like small houses or churches...it was like a neighborhood of dead people! We could tell how rich families were by the fanciness of their mausoleums (the richest family in Central America is buried there in an Egyptian mausoleum!). After wandering around for a while, we walked to the landfill, which is a GINORMOUS hole....it's more like a ravine...right by the cemetery. The stench was awful, and we saw a bunch of trucks of people come to the landfill to rifle through the garbage in hopes that they'll find something of value, or at least some food. Vicki, one of our tour guides, told us that children are no longer allowed to go to the landfill because last year there was a "garbage avalanche" and ten kids were trapped and eventually died. It was a solemn experience, and made me think about how much poverty these people must be experiencing to be willing to go through a mountain of other people's garbage. After we saw the landfill, we had a total turn-around and took a trip to the mall. The mall is really nice, and has a sweet fountain, but it was somewhat tainted after seeing the landfill...the majority of the Guatemalan population can't even afford to go to the mall. We looked around for about a half hour, and then, pooped after a full day, left for Antigua. After getting back, I pretty much ate dinner then headed to bed.
Today, I went to Mass at a church by my house with two other girls from our group. I didn't know the responses in Spanish, so it was confusing at times, but it was interesting to see how Guatemalans do Mass. After Mass we went to the classiest McDonald's in the whole world for lunch (they have a gorgeous courtyard facing the volcanoes!), and here I am in the Students International Office attempting to get some things done!
I'll try to keep y'all updated at least weekly...maybe Sunday's my day for blogging??
Keep praying for me and my new adventure here!
I love you all!
Rosita
This week we moved from Magdalena to Antigua, where we'll be staying until the last three weeks of the trip, when we return to Magdalena. My host family here consists of Daniela, my host mom, her husband, Rodrigo, who we don't see much because of work, and their son, Jose Rodrigo, who is 1 1/2 years old! He is ADORABLE, and I have a good time playing with him. School officially started on Monday...I was NERVOOUUSS. Four hours of Spanish class one-on-one with a professor?? Talk about nerve-wracking! However, I met my professor, Harvey, and I wasn't as nervous anymore. Everyone tells me that he is the best of the best, and I can see why! He loves to chat about life in general, and doesn't worry too much about following the syllabus exactly as long as I'm learning SOMETHING. We also get to watch movies during class-time sometimes, so that makes the time go by pretty fast. I'm taking a Hispanic Literature class, so I also get the chance to brush up on my Spanish reading skills. Nothing too exciting happened during the week, except lots of doing homework, so going on an excursion to Guatemala City on Saturday definitely sounded like a nice change of pace.
We left pretty early on Saturday morning, at about 7:45 first to SEMILLA, which is a seminary near Guatemala City. There we met the director and assistant director of the program, who would be our tour guides for the day. We arrived in the Central Park in Guatemala City, which is surrounded by a cathedral and the National Palace, and we got an assignment. We split into four groups, armed with different questions to ask Guatemalans about the city. Our group went to the post office and asked how much a stamp to send a letter to El Salvador would cost (12 Q). We also went to Pollo Campero, a popular fast food restaurant in Guatemala, and asked how many there are in Guatemala (145!) and who the owners of Pollo Campero are (the Gutierrez family). We then walked to the cathedral and saw the posts outside of the cathedral inscribed with the names of people who were killed in the Civil War. We also looked around for interesting graffiti. We found one that said "barrio roto", or "broken neighborhood" and a lot of political statements sprayed on the walls of Guatemala City. We reconvened with our big group and headed to lunch, where we were first told the history of Guatemala by a professor named Hector. I think he was a little shocked that we all speak Spanish...he was going to give his talk in English, but we told him that we would be able to understand him just fine if he spoke in Spanish! It took some major reassuring on our part to get him to understand that we would get the message no matter what language he spoke. After Hector was done talking, we had a delicious meal of soup, beef, and rice, and left for the cemetery. Now I know this sounds depressing, but it was SO INTERESTING. All of the graves were above ground in buildings that looked like small houses or churches...it was like a neighborhood of dead people! We could tell how rich families were by the fanciness of their mausoleums (the richest family in Central America is buried there in an Egyptian mausoleum!). After wandering around for a while, we walked to the landfill, which is a GINORMOUS hole....it's more like a ravine...right by the cemetery. The stench was awful, and we saw a bunch of trucks of people come to the landfill to rifle through the garbage in hopes that they'll find something of value, or at least some food. Vicki, one of our tour guides, told us that children are no longer allowed to go to the landfill because last year there was a "garbage avalanche" and ten kids were trapped and eventually died. It was a solemn experience, and made me think about how much poverty these people must be experiencing to be willing to go through a mountain of other people's garbage. After we saw the landfill, we had a total turn-around and took a trip to the mall. The mall is really nice, and has a sweet fountain, but it was somewhat tainted after seeing the landfill...the majority of the Guatemalan population can't even afford to go to the mall. We looked around for about a half hour, and then, pooped after a full day, left for Antigua. After getting back, I pretty much ate dinner then headed to bed.
Today, I went to Mass at a church by my house with two other girls from our group. I didn't know the responses in Spanish, so it was confusing at times, but it was interesting to see how Guatemalans do Mass. After Mass we went to the classiest McDonald's in the whole world for lunch (they have a gorgeous courtyard facing the volcanoes!), and here I am in the Students International Office attempting to get some things done!
I'll try to keep y'all updated at least weekly...maybe Sunday's my day for blogging??
Keep praying for me and my new adventure here!
I love you all!
Rosita
Friday, February 4, 2011
Chicken Bus
Amigos y familia!
We are leaving Magdalena already on Sunday! Que triste!
This week has been wonderful, being able to relax for the most part, without Spanish class! What a wake up call it will be next week in Antigua! Surprisingly, I didn't spend much time at Hermano Pedro at all this week. Instead, Brita, Laura, Nineth, and I made posters to put on the walls in the girls' rooms! We printed out coloring pages of Disney princesses, and enlarged them. We then went through a long process of tracing and putting colored paper over the copies. Even though it was tiring, and took us three whole days to finish all of them, they turned out great!
This week also brought my first experience in the "chicken bus"! No, there aren't actually chickens on the bus...it's called the chicken bus because everyone squeezes so close together that they look like chickens! On our first ride to Antigua, one man was nice enough to give up his spot so Brita and I could sit together...I love the people here! It certainly was an experience! The bus rarely stops completely for people, and there are "helpers" on the bus who stand at the door and yell out where the bus is going ("Guate! Guate!"). One of the helpers collects money from passengers en route to their destination, squeezing between the multitudes of people in the aisles...it definitely must take some courage to be an "ayudante"!
And now...some vocabulario I've learned in the past week:
Brillantina: Glitter
Tuk-tuk: Guatemalan Taxis
Chuchos: Stray dogs in the street
Barrcones: Grates on the windows
There are definitely more, but those are the ones that I can think of right now!
Vayan con Dios!
Con mucho amor,
Rosita
We are leaving Magdalena already on Sunday! Que triste!
This week has been wonderful, being able to relax for the most part, without Spanish class! What a wake up call it will be next week in Antigua! Surprisingly, I didn't spend much time at Hermano Pedro at all this week. Instead, Brita, Laura, Nineth, and I made posters to put on the walls in the girls' rooms! We printed out coloring pages of Disney princesses, and enlarged them. We then went through a long process of tracing and putting colored paper over the copies. Even though it was tiring, and took us three whole days to finish all of them, they turned out great!
This week also brought my first experience in the "chicken bus"! No, there aren't actually chickens on the bus...it's called the chicken bus because everyone squeezes so close together that they look like chickens! On our first ride to Antigua, one man was nice enough to give up his spot so Brita and I could sit together...I love the people here! It certainly was an experience! The bus rarely stops completely for people, and there are "helpers" on the bus who stand at the door and yell out where the bus is going ("Guate! Guate!"). One of the helpers collects money from passengers en route to their destination, squeezing between the multitudes of people in the aisles...it definitely must take some courage to be an "ayudante"!
And now...some vocabulario I've learned in the past week:
Brillantina: Glitter
Tuk-tuk: Guatemalan Taxis
Chuchos: Stray dogs in the street
Barrcones: Grates on the windows
There are definitely more, but those are the ones that I can think of right now!
Vayan con Dios!
Con mucho amor,
Rosita
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