adios antigua

I’m currently in the Dominican Republic with internet! The luxury! My last post had been written for over two weeks, but I had not had time to bring my computer to school to post it. Since then, so much has happened! I want to write a bit more about my last week in Guatemala before I forget. Life in the DR is entirely different and warrants its own post!


My final week in Guatemala was filled with many special events. Second to leaving Wheaton, it was one of the most bittersweet times in my life! I spent over 300 hours studying with my teacher and my Spanish developed a lot over that time. One of the best days of class was at her house in a nearby town. She gave me a cooking lesson (notice a theme of cooking lessons for Anna?). I learned for a second time how to make Pepian, a traditional Guatemalan soup. I’m hoping to be able to cook this on my own here in the DR, but we’ll see! It was great to have class indoors in such a lovely home – normally we sit in school with our sweaters, hats and scarves. When lunch was ready, my teacher’s entire family came home from work, including her husband, daughters and grandsons. That would be considered a party in the United States!

Pepian!

The next day at lunch, my host family discovered that I had never ridden a motorcycle. They were shocked and my host dad mentioned that he would take me sometime. While I was excited, I had no idea what was in store. When he got home from work that same night, my house dad placed his helmet and orange vest on me and we took off. What I believed would be a trip around the block turned into an evening long Antiguan adventure! We rode around the outskirts of the city and up to a park on a small hill. We were able to see a breathtaking view of the entire city. We then stopped at his favorite hole-in-the-wall taco place. He ordered us each a plate of tacos and when we finished, my house dad looked at me and said, “Let’s do it again.” And before I knew it, I had another plate of tacos and was working hard to keep up with him! We rode home and landed in just in time for dinner. As I was served even more food, my host dad and I exchanged smiles, neither of us wanting to confess our pre-dinner “snack” to my host mom!

That weekend, almost my last, I knew I needed to visit Lake Atitlan. There was no way I could leave Guatemala without going! Unfortunately, everyone I knew was unable to go, so being adventurous, I signed up with a tour company solo! It was another large step for this extrovert, but I figured it would be worth it. I packed some Spanish books to read and planned for a quiet day of reading by the water. As I was waiting for the van to pick me up in the morning, I was completely surprised when a new friend from school happened to be walking by. Her plans had just changed and she was able to go! We had a great day taking a water taxi, practicing our Spanish and exploring the towns around the lake! 

We rode around town in this Tuk-Tuk!

Town of San Antonio.

My last week of school happened so fast! That week I had finished almost all of the lessons in the school’s curriculum and was anxious about the upcoming transition. Therefore, my teacher and I decided to go on daily field trips, visiting a nearby cathedral, a plant nursery, the market, coffee farm, and music museum, among other places. We had a great time outside of the school and I was able to focus on my conversational Spanish. My last day of school there was a small graduation. It was sad to say goodbye. I learned so much Spanish and got to know many of the teachers there. One of them even lent me her uniform as a joke! Thank you CSA and Orquidea for a great three months!

Town of Jocotenango

The town of San Francisco.

Guatemalan Music Museum!

Just when I thought that my week of excitement had ended, Saturday came and the active volcano, Fuego, erupted! It had been blowing some smoke ever since I arrived, but never did I expect an eruption. Around 3 pm, ash started to fall from the sky. It continued for hours covering everything with a grey dust. It reminded me slightly of snow. The airport shut down and many of the schools and businesses in the area. Everyone had hoses out to clean up the mess. By Monday, the skies had cleared and I thought I’d be okay to fly to the DR. I was wrong. I bid goodbye to my wonderful host family and showed up at the airport at 4:45 am, only to find out my plane was canceled and I would not be able to leave the country until Wednesday! I have grown up in the land of ice and snow, but my longest flight delay ever has been due to volcanic ash? Little about life in Central America ceases to amaze me. I was able to spend two nights at a good friend’s house and more time at Kids Alive’s site in Guatemala, a blessing in disguise! Saying goodbye to these friends was hard. We trained together in September and have been together in Guatemala since!

This was after only 15 min of ash!

Washing ash off the roof.

Saying goodbye to my host family!

Saying goodbye to fellow KAI missionaries!

On Wednesday I arrived safely in the Dominican Republic! Praise God for smooth travels. More on my first week soon :) As always, thanks for your support and most importantly your prayers. They have been much appreciated during these last few weeks especially!

unpunctual update :)

So much has happened since my last post in December! I’m thankful for the short break I had from language school to go home for Christmas. All eight of my cousins (+2 spouses) were home for the first time in four years! I was able to help pack up my childhood home and say one last goodbye. I also had the opportunity to repack for the Dominican and reevaluate what I really want to bring with me. I am glad to have had one more week to spend with friends and family. Goodbyes are no fun, but I’m blessed to have so much to say goodbye to.

Christmas Eve 2014

Moving day!

That being said, I am so happy to be back in Antigua! This time I’m familiar with my surroundings and have a routine. Unfortunately, this time my friends from before have begun their school year teaching in towns outside of Antigua. This means that there is one extreme extrovert learning to have solo adventures! Lucky for me I spend about 7 hours a day with people between class and meals. I’ve learned to pass time playing violin, doing Spanish homework, exploring neighboring towns, reading, taking classes at the gym, and going to the market. Not a bad way to live, I’d say.

My host family and teacher are beyond wonderful. My host family eats every meal with me and diligently corrects my Spanish. They've accompanied me to a ballet, a play and have incorporated me into their family. My host mom has even given cooking lessons on the weekends here (Don’t worry, we started with eggs…hard to mess up ;) This is not typical of many of the homestays here. Tonight at dinner they were telling me about dobladas, a typical Guatemalan food that they love. When they heard I had never had one, my host dad announced, “let’s go!” Thinking he was joking, I started cleaning up from dinner, but quickly realized that he and my host mom were putting on hats and scarfs to leave. Before I knew it, we were walking down the street at 8:30 pm to get some dobladas! They were sold on the street corner at a five-way intersection. There we sat on the sidewalk, eating meat filled tortillas only minutes after finishing dinner. We walked back with my host dad’s arm around each of us, as is custom here. It’s moments like this that I am cherishing.

Hot Coconut Punch

Huevos Rancheros!

The garden in my house!

Beautiful orchids in the garden

This past week my teacher and I took a field trip to a nearby town, San Antonio, to learn about Mayan culture and participate in a mock Mayan wedding. I was quickly selected to be the bride, and before I knew it I was dressed in traditional clothing and saying “I do” to a one of the teachers at my Spanish school! They taught us how the guy would propose by bringing over a delicacy bread for every member of the girl’s family and how there would be a year in between the proposal and wedding so that she could weave blankets and shawls for the future family. During the wedding we were sprinkled with flowers, purified with incense, and had to perform a dance, which we were told would last for 10-12 hours! After dancing for so long, the bride would have to cook for her husband’s family. This would be a test she must pass before she saw her husband that night! We were then walked through typical life of a family where I was taught how to wear a baby on my back and carry a jug for water at the same time. This experience was topped with a traditional soup called “pepian” and homemade coffee. It was quite the morning!

I posted some pictures of a macadamia farm below. I learned the process of harvesting macadamia nuts and was giving tastings and a macadamia facial (I didn’t know that existed either) during the tour! There’s a lot more you can do with these nuts than I had imagined!

Lastly, I’m preparing to leave Antigua in just under one week. Time is flying! That being said, many people have been asking me, “Sooo….how’s your Spanish?” My answer is that Spanish learning is a process and fluency will come gradually. Some days I have full conversations with ease while others are more of a struggle. Little by little, I’m steadily improving. I’m excited to be finishing the program here at the school in the next week, which gives me time to simply work on my conversation and perfecting my grammar. I’m sure Spanish in the DR will bring its own challenges, but that’s all part of the process!

All of my grammar books!

Once again, I cannot express enough thanks to all of my supporters who have helped me get to this point. None of the work in Guatemala and the Dominican Republic would be possible without people like you. It’s a lot harder to believe in the work of an organization without physically seeing the results and for the faith of many of you who do that, I am so grateful. Your prayers and donations reach much farther, helping to provide for the basic needs of children in the Dominican Republic and at Kids Alive sites around the world. Thank you!