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Published: July 27th 2007
Hey everybody,
A few requests have come in for pictures of my host family and the house that I am living in so here they are. I live in a really old, but very nice house by Guatemalan standards. The house has been in Maria's (la señora's) family for over 100 years and she has never lived in a different house her whole life. MarÃa is one of the most animated and alive people I have ever met. When she is in the room it is a party! Her husband, Hugo, is a really wonderful man. I think he might be from Cuba. He actually does all of the cooking and shopping for the house since MarÃa works 10 hours a day teaching Spanish. They are a very non-traditional family and I love them for it. Normally most people here eat rice, beans, eggs, and tortillas or tamales but we eat a wide variety of foods at my house including lots of vegetables, soups, and the best tasting fruit I have ever had. I really lucked out to have them as a host family. They have several sons and daughters but only one of them lives in the house and
his name is Luis. He is also a spanish teacher and lived in Boston for awhile in the past. Really nice guy but he´s hardly ever home.
The house itself is quite unique. There are two open courtyards in the house (one when you first enter and a larger one down by the bathroom). The larger courtyard has a patio table and chairs and a peach tree as well as a garden. The house is very long and off to the sides are all of the rooms. There are 5 bedrooms, one sitting room (that nobody ever goes in), one room for Hugo's work (he fixes computers), a bathroom, kitchen, and dining room. As you walk down towards the kitchen and dining room the house just opens up into the back yard where there are apple trees and all sorts of plants. Hugo actually picks herbs and flowers from the back yard and makes tea for us every night. They have a huge dog that runs up and down the hallway of the house all the time. He can go right out into the backyard any time he wants. The downside is that he never gets taken for a
walk and there are so many street dogs here that he is dying to get outside. He will just sit and sniff at the door and cry all day long. He actually has a girlfriend that comes over every now and then. She´s a street dog and runs right to his bowl and eats all of his food every time she visits. They don´t get their pets fixed here so there are always a lot of dogs in heat and you will see packs of sometimes 10 dogs all after one female. It can actually be dangerous sometimes because you never know when the dogs are going to decide to fight. When we went to Todos Santos this past weekend there was a pack of dogs that followed us all the way up the street but in the end lost interest in us.
Well, I hope you have enjoyed my tour de casa. This weekend I am off to the beach to participate in a projects where we collect turtle eggs and take them to a sanctuary. Even though it is illegal here and the green sea turtle is endangered, people here collect the eggs and make drinks out
of them because it is said to be an afrodesiac. Should be a fun weekend and I will finally be somewhere warm so I can´t wait. I will be writing postcards this week so if you would like to receive one I am going to need your address! Hasta luego!
Laura
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Christie
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You are amazing!
Laura-I love your colorful description of people, places, experiences! You are amazing, and courageous and it is admirable how you are able stretch your limits with such ease and grace. I'm a better person for knowing you and lucky to have you as a friend :) Send me and Mar a postcard if you have time! 492 Holmes Road Pittsfield, MA 01201