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Zoolas
Alon, Adom, me, and Alisa with hummus! I am on my break from lessons with Odillia. I just love her. It is great, though my mind gets very tired after a while because everything is Spanish. If I don´t know a word, she explains it in Spanish. If I don´t understand grammar, she explains it again in Spanish.
This weekend was a GREAT break. On Friday, after Craig made us a delicious bbq lunch, we left for the lake. Once we got to Panajachel, we crossed the lake to San Pedro. It was raining, but it was still SO BEAUTIFUL. I already love mountains anywhere as a result of living in the flattest place on earth, but it is so beautiful there. We went with the boys to a hostel-hotel called Zoola, which is Hebrew for a place of tranquility. One night, a girl invited us to watch a movie with her and a friend in the ¨chill room,¨ and she said oh yeah, you are the only non-Israelis here. It was pretty funny. We met a lot of fun people, but also rested a lot. On Saturday morning, we walked around the non-touristy part of the city higher up in the mountain, and then we went
swimming in the lake. It was so incredible. I just can´t stop thanking God for his creativity in making the beauty of different places and people in the world. We ate lunch at a nicer restaurant where you could eat next to the lake with a view of many mountains- it was our splurge and I spent 33Q which is a little bit more than 4$.
At the hostel, there was a restaurant where you sat on the ground on these low tables with pillows all around and crazy lighting. It was very ¨zen¨ as Maria would say. (Danielle- I thought of you the whole time and how much I wish you were there—you would love it!) That night, we ate there with 6 Israeli travelers, and Alon made us get hummus because it is so much better than the stuff in America. It was fun, and they enjoyed making fun of this shalom song I sang for them that we learned in choir. It is very strange that we learned Hebrew words while staying in Guatemala.
Yesterday, we went to Chichicastenango, which is a town with a HUGE market. It was crazy. As I don´t like shopping
anywhere, it was not the most fun thing for me with little kids asking you to buy handmade magnets or stuffed animals that you don´t really need or want. They would say, please buy so I can buy books for school. It was sad, but one boy selling headbands was really charming. He asked my name, and then followed with, mine is Kevin Costner. It was really funny. Chichi was quite the experience.
So the weekend was wonderful, but then it got even better because Alisa and I went to Parramos last night. There is a church of God there that Casey Jo spent a lot of time at when she studied there. I have talked more or less (because in Spanish) with the pastor on the phone a few times. Last night, we took the chicken busses for the first time to Parramos. I actually really loved the chicken busses. It was completely full, and everyone is just sitting on someone else. In front of me, there were two grown men and two of their children in one bus seat. Anyway, the pastor and Bellarmino from the church met us at the bus stop, and then we went to the pastor´s house where we met the family. His wife had made dinner for us, and we ate with them. It was so good to spend time with some Guatemalans and practice my Spanish. They were very patient and encouraging in my efforts. They also love Casey Jo and have two pictures of her on their fridge. It was great because I love Casey Jo too. Church was wonderful and so full of life like other churches I´ve been to in Latin America. I loved it so much! They welcomed us to come back any time, and a member of the church drove us home afterwards.
When we got home, I was so exhausted, but it was a wonderful weekend!
www.thebestspanishlesson.org
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Lauren
non-member comment
Your trip sounds so exciting so far! I bet you're learning alot of Spanish already with all the practice you're getting. It's funny that splurgings is only about $4! It's also pretty cool that you got to learn a little Hebrew. It sounds like you're having a blast, but I can't wait to hear stories from you when you get back! Miss you!