Salud, Dinero, Amor

Sorry it has been so long, life in Guatemala has been quite time consuming.
To start, I am very happy and content. To be honest I didn't know what I was getting myself into when I started this adventure. I didn't know if I could hack it, I didn't even know if I wanted to hack it. Here I am though, surprising myself. Time has flown, I can't believe it has already been three weeks since I last saw the states. My days are filled with everything from spanish lessons, to technical training, to learning how to tortiar (make tortillas:)

A lot has happened in the last two weeks. My spanish has improved incredibly. I learned how to wash my clothes by hand. I made a very successful and delicious meal for my family with Maggie's help (she is all kinds of awesome). I have experienced a comedor/cantina (bar) in Sumpango and don't plan on returning. I get harassed everywhere I go. The men here love me, the blonde hair and blue eyes drives em wild apparently. The head of safety says I am exotic here, definitely a first. Not something I am really excited about either, it gets old real fast. I traveled to Guate which was exciting and overwhelming. It is crazy how different our communities are in comparison to Guatemala City. It is like any big city you might find in the States but with some seriously depressed looking buildings peppered in there. We went to their "Walmart" literally it is owned by Walmart but I can't remember the name. I am not a big Walmart fan back home but here it was like heaven. Everything I have dreamed about for the last three weeks was in there. The group is headed to Antigua this weekend, so ready for a beer. I think the malaria pills have me dreaming wierd dreams about alcohol consumption.

I start working in the schools tomorrow with my partner, Kyle. We have 24 students in a little village outside of Sumpango. I am super excited since this is the introduction to our actual job. I feel pretty confident in my spanish although I have a looong way to go.

Salud, Dinero, Amor...things to say after people sneeze. One word per sneeze. Three sneezes and you get blessed with all three:) Enjoy that little tid bit, I am bringing it back to the states.

I have more bites than I could begin to count, my body feels achy all the time, I get aweful headaches, and I get new shots every week but I am exactly where I need/want to be. This has already proved to be a challenging and rewarding experience, I can't wait to see what's next. Stay tuned...