Sonja's response Ah, but the rest of the year, in fact EVERY DAY - including this morning around 6am- the locals set forth any number of firecrackers that have long ago been banned from our state! It is absolutely their favorite way to make noise (followed closely by car-horn tooting)
Better than firecrackers! I am sure I, and positive our dog, would prefer people blowing whistles to people setting off fireworks to celebrate anything. It sounds like a very egalitarian means of celebrating - no cost more than a whistle and no severed fingers and hands.
Google I would buy 10,000 shares of Google stock at whatever price it is going for these days if they would just produce a Search feature that allowed you to put in a photo to find out what in the world you have taken a photo of....like nasty spiders, unknown mountains taken from an airplane, etc.
Seattle spiders look pretty good now.... Very funny story! I turned the hose on the gigantic black spider who threw a shadow onto my Japanese bathwater (with me in it) and blasted it--somewhere...I'm with you, Sonja! Have you met any cockroaches yet??! I am enjoying your adventures--except maybe this one!
other uses A great story from you and Lucas, but I would now suggest you give him an opportunity to weave a web, and you would have a great little silk thread to bring home. Or if you capture enough of the big buggers, you can send them for Christmas. What a unique gift. Mom
who's afraid Lucas, it's quite clear from Sonja's story who is truly afraid of spiders! I'd say that story is HILARIOUS, except I'm afraid of giant spiders, too. But I'd like to see a you-tube video of Sonja's spider dance!
Sounds like you guys are living the Latin American life!!
I miss the sounds of your voices next door.
Comment from Lucas: For the record I am not as big of a wimp as the entry makes me look like. After I saw the spider on the curtan rod about 6 or 7 inches from my face, I calmly finished shampooing and condtioning my hair. Then, I sorta dried off and I went into the family room and let my parents know that there was a giant spider in my bathroom and they should check it out.
Just to let y'all know, just before I took the shower there was a 1.5 inch grasshopper on my towel rack with wings longer than its body.
Lucas.
Response Not here. We have read about some violence in various areas, but not anything in Antigua. This place is quite a bit more international than some others and as such they appear to take more precautions/pride in keeping order.
About that election The paper today reported mobs burning down a pooling place in one town. I hope Antiqua is not experiencing that kind of "activism."
Where are the graham crackers? And the Hershey bar? Lucas could have been the first person to ever make a smore on a volcano. A campfire at the cabin is going to hold no thrill for these kids anymore. Mary
Deep Thoughts You know what Earl (and Jack Handy) would tell you..."If you ever drop your keys into a river of molten lava, let'em go, because, man, they're gone."
Awesome Place Wow! Looks really beautiful. The garden is in the house? Sounds neat. Can't wait til I get to see it. Great pictures Gracie. You may have a career in photography. Love you all lots!
Great blog!!! We are so enjoying the blog...you're doing a great job of describing your circumstances and surroundings. So proud of you for doing this...the kids will never forget it. What a great experience! We knew a lady (sister of a good friend) who lived there for years and loved it. She's passed away now unfortunately. Have a great time and keep blogging! Love, Rog and Pat
Thinking and dreaming in foreign languages Thinking in a foreign language is VERY tiring! When my cousins from Mexico came to stay in San Antonio and Seattle, they both talked about how tired they were at the end of the day even if they weren't really doing things one might consider tiring. Just having to be on so much listening and translating, then forming the answer using words you know inthe foreign language--very tiring. They were glad to come home at the end of the day and have my parents and aunt with whom they could speak Spanish and relax!
I never had that tired experience in Mexico, probably because I had grown up hearing Spanish around me all the time. Unfortunately I ended up ignoring most of what was said around me. I did have it when engaged in business in Asia, but not so much when wandering the locales there and in Europe. Guess the ability to tune out the language part I did not understand helped. The downside was my wandering was more directive and less exploratory. Guess I need to aim for total mental exhaustion on my next trip!
The true test of approaching bilingualism will be when you start having dreams in Spanish--and you understand them. When I lived in Mexico, I used to have dreams where other people were speaking Spanish, but I couldn't understand what they were saying. I did not stay long enough to make the understanding transition, but I had a friend in college who did during his year abroad.
This look like fun!!! Sonja,
Thanks for creating a blog, so we can all stay up to day on what you're up to. Antigua looks beautiful and the kids look so cute. There must be so many little things to deal with that you didn't expect. The cell phone story is great. We look forward to a lot more entries and pictures. Keep them coming!
Glad to see you on travelblog! Your house looks wonderful...we know that part of town, and re envious to think you all living there..although LaConner Wa is pretty wonderful today...
It took us awhile to get used to the big grocery store too....the market is great fun too...have you been there yet?
Another thing I forgot to tell you in previous advice: it is very expensive to mail packages to the States...wish we had known before buying a bunch of textiles, that I then carried with us for the next two months!
Looking forward to more blogs,
Lynn
Being an account of the Trautman's year in Antigua, Guatemala
Early in our marriage, my husband Steve and I made a decision to "one day" take a year off and learn a new language in an interesting country with our kids. Fast forward to August 2007 and here we are living for almost one year in Antigua, Guatemala. (You can also look at Lucas' blog for his thoughts)
Here is what we know so far:
1. Guatemalan people are some of the warmest and kindest people we have ever met.
2. Guatemala is much, much more beautifu... full info
SonjaG
Sonja Gustafson Trautman
Sonja's response
Ah, but the rest of the year, in fact EVERY DAY - including this morning around 6am- the locals set forth any number of firecrackers that have long ago been banned from our state! It is absolutely their favorite way to make noise (followed closely by car-horn tooting)