Life in Antigua

We left Magdalena Sunday afternoon for Antigua.  We had about 20 minutes to get settled in at our new house before we navigated the streets to find the SI office to go to Fernando’s house to watch the superbowl. (Fernando is the director of SI.)  Fernando’s wife Marionela made homemade pizzas, which were amazing, and we also had ice cream.  She told us, “If you get homesick, come here.  I make cookies.”   She’s wonderful!

                After the game when Fernando drove us back to our house, he told us that he didn’t realize how far away our house was and that he was going to talk to Becky about switching houses.   On Monday after class Leah and I moved houses.  I was glad that we did because it took us almost 20 minutes to walk to school, and our house was at the end of the road and there wasn’t much traffic, so it probably wasn’t the safest. 

Our new room is really nice!  There are a lot of little things I have in this room that we didn’t have in Magdalena such as a nightstand with a lamp.  However, Leah and I were most excited about the hooks to hang up our towels, and the amount of water pressure in the shower.  This house is 3 blocks from the school and takes about five minutes to get there, which is super great!  The only catch is that we might only be able to stay here for three weeks.  Becky is hoping that now that we’re here, we’ll be able to stay the whole time. 

                The host families here definitely host people more as a business.  There are seven other people staying in the house, and we definitely see them more often than we the owner of the house.  It feels a lot like a bed and breakfast, but it’s been fun getting to know the other people staying there. 

                I’ve had two days of language school so far, and it’s been going ok.  Classes are one on one and are four hours a day from 8:00-12:00 with a half hour break.  This is great for me because I can’t hide in the back of the class because I am the class.  My teacher, Veronica, is really nice.  Bethel writes the curriculum and then the teachers teach it, so it’s different having a teacher that isn’t familiar with the curriculum.  So far the homework hasn’t been too bad either.

                Today I walked to school, home, and to the SI office without getting lost, or feeling like I was lost.  All the streets here look the same and street signs are few and far between.  There’s a lot more traffic here, and pedestrians definitely DO NOT have the right of walk, which makes walking an adventure in itself!

A Day in Antigua

We spent the day today in Antigua touring different places and visiting the market there.  To be honest, it was all a bit overwhelming; I was just starting to get used to Magdalena.  However, I'm excited to move there.  It's beautiful!

The view from the school in El Gorrion.

We took the public bus to Antigua, and when we got there we toured an old convent.  The architecture was pretty amazing and very interesting.  After that we toured a coffee plantation which was also interesting.  At the end we sampled the coffee.  I tried it black first.  Gross.  Then I added tons of cream and sugar.  Better, but still not great.  Both of the tours were in English, so I felt very much like the tourists we are.  After the second tour, we ate at Pollo Campero, a fast food chain here.  It was very American, and I really liked the food.  Then we went to the SI office in Antigua and then to the market.  I was pretty much overwhelmed at the market and was really glad we were with Becky.  (Becky is the Bethel staff that stays with us here, and she's awesome!)  However, I'm excited to be able to go back and buy some things.

It was a really fun day, and I was glad that I was able to experience Antigua before moving there tomorrow.  It's a beautiful town with a lot of tourists.  Right now, all the streets look the same, and I was really overwhelmed.  I'm hoping it won't take me long to feel more comfortable there.

I can't believe that it's been a week since I've come here!  In a way the first week went fast, but it also seemed to go on forever.  Here are a few highlights from the week:

1.  The hike to the ecological park.   Although it was a challenge, it was well  worth it.

Me with some kids at the school in El Gorrion.

2.  My host family here.  We ate dinner with them on Thursday night, and we all ended up laughing uncontrolably for a good 10 minutes!  My stomach hurt so bad, and I can't remember the last time I've laughed that hard.

3.  Working at the school in El Gorrion, and getting to play with the kids.  The kids had SO much energy all the time, and it was so fun to love on them for a week.

Tomorrow we are moving to Antigua, and we start language school on Monday.  I'm not sure if I'm ready to go back to school full time, but I guess I don't really have much of a choice!

La Escuela en El Gorrion

Ok, so I feel like I just updated this, but there’s so much stuff I can tell you about.  (I know this got sort of long, so if you don’t feel like reading all of it, just read the last paragraph- it’s a super cute story!)

I now understand what my grandparents meant when they say they had to “walk uphill both ways to school.”  We live sort of in the mountains, and there are hills everywhere!  I also haven’t completely adjusted to the altitude yet which makes it harder.   The hike on Sunday we great; it was probably one of the hardest walks I’ve ever been on, but it was fun.   At the top was an ecological park that the Peace Corps built a few years ago.  At the top of the mountain was a park built out of tree trunks and wood.  It was pretty cool.

We started our ministry sites this week.  I’m going to a school in El Gorrión, a town that is about a twenty minute walk from Magdalena.  The school is a lot different than schools in the US.  There are four different classrooms there; one for kindergarten, and then the rest is like a multi-age classroom in the US.  School here starts at 7:30 and is done at 12:30.  They have recess at 10:30 and there is a concession stand out front where the kids can buy snacks during recess for super cheap.  One little bag of chips costs about 6 cents compared to the 75 cents you would pay in the US.

The kids there are SO great!  I love them SO much!  They are constantly climbing on me.  When I put one down, there is at least one more right there ready to jump on me!  The kids are constantly saying “Vuelta! Vuelta!” (Spin me! Spin me!)!   Yesterday we played “Pato, Pato, Ganso” (duck, duck, goose)

                The site leader at la escuela is Marcos, and he teaches art, music, English, and phy ed.  Today Tara and I taught the kids parts of the body and we played Simon Says and sang “Head and Shoulders.” We also do other random things at the school and in El Gorrión after school.  So far, I have helped clean out a cistern by carrying five gallon pails of water, moved cement bricks into classrooms, went to houses within the community to talk with them and pray, and currently we are working on painting a woman’s house in the community. 

I know this is getting long, but I have the cutest host brother ever.  On Tuesday night he wanted to go to bed because he was tired, but Leah and I weren’t home yet (our curfew is 8:30).  Because he is our big brother, he wouldn’t go to bed until he knew we were safe and at home.  Then on Wednesday night Leah and I were at home, but we weren’t in bed yet, so Wilmar wouldn’t go to bed yet because he wanted to make sure that we were safe and in bed.  By the way, Wilmer is probably about 13!  SO CUTE!!

PS.  I'll try to put pictures up soon, but I haven't taken a ton yet.