More School and Full Spanish Immersion on the Mayan Calendar

All is well in our neck of the woods in Guatemala. Our friend the rooster (el gaillo) again decided to serenade us multiple times in the evening. We are told that after a few days we won’t even notice it. Michelle isn’t so sure. We may need to use the dictionaries soon to find out the Spanish word for ear plugs. :)

Tim and Michelle rose in the morning for a look out over the lake. Our room has a very nice lake view as we are higher up the hill and on the top floor of our building. If the day is clear you can even catch a peek of the smoke still rising from the Vulcan de Fuego off in the distance. It is such a peaceful scene in the morning. If we didn’t have class at 8am we would be tempted to bring a cup of coffee to the roof and sit back for a while.

We had a hearty breakfast of mush and what resembled French toast. Mush, and yes this is what they call it, is a little like oatmeal thinned out with milk with added spices. It actually is really delicious and we all ate our whole bowls. The french toast was also good and we hope they make an appearance again in a future breakfast.

We made it to class on time this time. Did we mention we were late to our first class yesterday? (Yikes!). Did you know that the Spanish word for late is tarde? Yeah, we won’t forget that one now. We quickly met with our teachers and were off to our lessons. Tim spent the day talking with his teacher about our past travels. Michelle spent the day reviewing numbers, dates, seasons and months of the year. It was a good review of some quick concepts she has had before, but now had time to fully absorb. Alex made a book with his teacher to record new words and contain his drawings. Tim and Michelle both commented today that there was a small worry about having four hours of class each day. We were not sure if that would be too much. We are finding that the time goes by quickly.

After class was a hearty lunch of fish caught fresh from the lake, homemade French fries and a cucumber salad. It was so delicious our stomachs were hurting at the end of the meal. We spent a few hours after lunch walking around town and exploring the sights. We stopped to try a sugar covered doughnuts and a coconut flavored cookie as we walked around. We also stopped by a store with hand made crafts by local artisans where Rosas nephew works. The store is one of the most beautiful stores, full of life and color and stories of the artisans. The crafts are beautifully woven textiles made into all sorts of clothing and gifts. These are the things that make Michelle happy, when a souvenir is not just a trinket at home but is a way to be a part of a bigger story. These are also the things that make Tim nervous, as it means Michelle will want to buy everything in the store. ;)

We left to go to a small lecture in the school on the Mayan calendars. It was all in Spanish, so we tried to keep up as best as we could. We did get some of it, but certainly not well enough to ask any questions. In the end, it is always good to experience more moments of total immersion Spanish, but we may need to Wikipedia the Mayan calendars if we really want to learn more on this subject.

It was back to the house for the final meal of the day. Tonight was cooked fresh vegetables, guacamole and black beans rolled in a tortilla and cooked on all sides. We all ate our fill to bursting again. We feel like this will be a theme for this trip. Good food in plentiful amounts mixed with amazing hospitality. And we still have 2.5 more weeks of this. We are truly blessed and grateful for this time away as a family.