Hi There, Well, I´ve been here about 2 months & have learned lots of Spanish but make TONS of mistakes everytime I open my mouth and have a very hard time understanding locals, kids, well basically a lot of people that don´t speak as clearly as my teachers and as slowly as other students. To help solve this problem I have been listening to talk radio in Spanish and trying to watch Spanish movies when I get the chance. Willie will be here in just a few days. He will spend 15 glorious days with me. We will begin our adventure [View Full Entry]

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Hi everybody. Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I think I got a bit burnt out on Xela and needed a change of scenery. Not much occurred in the past 2 weeks, lots of studying and well, that's about it. I did attend 2 lectures in school. The first was about the 36 year civil war in Guatemala. This civil war just ended in 1996. It's estimated that over 300,000 people were killed and 200,000 are still missing. The history of the beginnings of the war were discussed and it's a shame because it appears that a fear of communism [View Full Entry]

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Hi everyone. Love your comments, please keep them up & let me know how you are doing. I really want to stay connected to you. My new family is great. There are 2 other students in the house right now and it is working out well. The other 2 students are both studying for the bilingual exam in 2 weeks and they speak Spanish all of the time and we have very interesting conversations at the dinner table. The parents of the family always help us with our Spanish and have patience with me. The food is much better than my [View Full Entry]

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Xela is an interesting place. There are many beautiful buildings surrounded by such poverty. Xela definately has a city feel but is surrounded by lush beautiful dormant volcanoes. The sidewalks are extremely narrow and it´s very difficult for 2 people to pass each other, you are definately forced to acknowledge each others presence. It is very common to see traditionally dressed Mayan women walking next to people in western dress. One thing I didn´t expect was the size of the typical person here. I am at least a head taller than most people here. Today my maistra referred to me as [View Full Entry]

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Unfortunately, I don´t have any original pics to share this week. I just don´t trust myself walking around with a camera yet. So far I have locked my keys in my room, misplaced my sweatshirt (found now), & lost my map (replaced). Also, I have not seen 1 person with a camera around here taking pics. I think I will ask my teacher about this and suggest she come with me so I can take some local pics....there are so many beautiful things I want to share. These first few days have been all about adjusting to my new environment. While [View Full Entry]

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