One month away from home

Well I have now been in Guatemala for a month and I love it! The last week has been kind of crazy though. Remember the volcano that we hiked? Well it erupted! lava was spewing out of it so that makes the adventure of climbing the volcano just that more exciting. haha. There was no damage here, but even just in Antigua there was tons of ash and falling rocks.

Today was the first sunny day that we have had in a long time! There was basically a hurricane that came through here. I have never seen so much rain in my whole life. The streets had rivers running down them. There was not very much damage here in Patzicia, however, crazy things happened all over Guatemala. We just got back from a nearby town, where a house had fallen into the raging river and stuff. It was so sad and I had no idea that there was that much damage from the insane amounts of rain. I wish that I was able to do something to help those people.

Yesterday we did not go to church because it was cancelled due to damaged roads and stuff. School has also been cancelled for this entire week! We are probably going to travel somewhere so that we are not just sitting here in the house everyday.

I am still discovering new things everyday. We just got back from the cemetary and it was so different from anything that I had ever seen! We went there to see the grave of the first missionary that left from Patzicia.

My spanish is continuing to get better everyday. 4 years of spanish in school really did not teach me much at all. The only way to learn a new language is to be submerged in it. I could be learning faster however the family speaks english and so that is what we use to communicate. I am determined to say the next family prayer in Spanish so I hope that goes well!

Well that is about all that I have time for now, but I will try to write more often!!

no need to worry because we are all doing well :)

Pictures are not working...

I have been trying to upload some pictures but the connection is so darn slow that it does not seem to be possible. I am sorry because I know that pictures are the best.

The school

hola from Patzicia!!

This place is amazing and the family that I am staying with is pretty much the coolest ever. The four of us are all sharing a room with two sets of bunk beds. It is very different than what I am used to but I love it all the same. We have had a lot of fun with the family and we live in a place called Zarahemla.

The Children at the school are just amazing. I am working with the older kids with Liz. The teacher in charge is named Ife and he is from Nigeria. Some of the children are very eager to learn English while others make it obvious they would rather be somewhere else. We have taught them many songs and I like talking to the ones that are better at English.

Every single child here is so darn cute! I want to take one home with me so badly. They will run up to me and gives me hugs or kiss me on the cheek and they always refer to me as miss. And it is even cuter when thye learn my name so that they call out miss Rebecca with thier accents. know that I am going to miss them so much after getting attached to them over the next month and a half.

Liz and I have come up with many games because the only way that we can keep their attention is through games, competitions and interactions.

Over the weekend we had the chance to go to lake Atlitan (I don't know if I spelled that right) but it is also what is guessed to be the Waters of Mormon. So cool! It was a very large lake with a couple of volcanoes on an Island in the middle of it. We Went with two of the kids in the family and we had our own private boat to take out to the island. When we were there we had lunch and did a litttle bit of shopping. It was very hot outside that day... The vendors there were very persistant in trying to get us to buy something. It was basically on the point of being annoying. We cooled off a little by sticking our feet in the water before we got back on the boat and headed to where we came from. The ride home took forever because our little microbus had a hard time making it up and down the extremely steep mountains that we had to cross. It was a very fun day trip though.

The church is only about 3 houses down from us and I would have to say that it is the prettiest place in town. And they have the best flushing toilets that we have found everywhere! Definitely an added bonus. We were welcomed on sunday at church as thier guests from America. Everyone was very nice and it was interesting even though I did not understand much.

All in all I love this place!

The end of Antigua

Well my time in Antigua is coming to a close. We take off tomorrow for Patzicia. I am excited to go and start teaching the children, however, I am also nervous about what the living situations are going to be like. I has been amazing here! yes, the not putting toilet paper inside of the toilet is annoying, however the rest has been realyl great. I love the cobble stone streets, the millions of little shops, and the cute little children around. I have actually become pretty good at haggling down the prices here, I guess I have the gift. I can get things cheap :) My spanish is getting much better and my teacher says that I am the most improved student in a week and a half that she has ever taught! thats right. haha. Anyways the four of us have had a lot of fun and we are all going to be able to stay together in the other town as well, in the same room with bunkbeds.
We did end up going to the volcano the other day! The ride there was interesting and the drivers go so fast and the roads were super bumpy. it was then like a two hour hike to the top. It was raining but it was still so hot. I could not even wear my poncho because it was not an easy hike and I was dying of heat. It was getting dark as we reached the top and we could see the glowing rocks! We roasted marshmallows which was an experience that I don't think that many people get. pretty cool.
That is about all that I can think of write now, and I will write again whenever I get my next chance!!

We are here!!

Well we have reached Guatemala safely. We are now in the beatiful town of Antigua! The plane ride was very long, the red eye flight. it was very nice getting here in the morning though and not late at night. I love the place that we are staying at! there are parts of it that our outside. There is a hammock on the roof that I was able to lay on yesterday and read a book. In the mornings it is so hot and humid and there there is thunderstorms in the afternoon. for those of you who don't know, I absolutly love thunderstorms!
These first two weeks we are going to spanish school in the city. We are staying with a family and the food that we have eaten is very good! I don't know what it is a lot of the time but I still cleat my plate haha My teachers name at the school is named Sara and she reminds me so much of Amanda. She knows very little english which is good because it makes me learn spanish so much faster! she also gives me homework every night that I work on. It is crazy how fast I am picking it up. I knew little bit before I came, but last night I was able to write my entire journal entry in spanish. I was so proud of myself!! haha
Liz and I have spent a lot of time wandering around the city and there are always new sights to see. Everyone is so friendly and say hola whenever we past. yesterday at mc donalds (A very fancy restaurant here with a beatiful garden in the center) several girls walked apst us over and over again just giggling and then they finally said "you are beatiful!" then we said gracias and they were so shocked to find out that we spoke spanish it was so funny! Two other girls named Lindsay and Paige arrived yesterday and they will be with us the rest of the time in Patzicia teaching the kids and stuff. We are all going to have a blast. Well we are going to the travel agency now to see if we can hike up the volcano. Hopefully the clouds clear away so we can see the beautiful valley!!