Guatemala, day 2

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Guatemala, day 2
Current mood: calm
Category: Travel and Places

Well here I am in the amazingly beautiful town of Antigua, Guatemala. My day started with delicious coffee, a 30 minute stroll through the sleepy village at 7am - no other tourists in sight and 4 hours of 1on 1 spanish lessons. The good news, I comprehend the language well and can following the conversation easily. The problem - can't habla espanol worth a damn! Luckily, my uber-smart daughter took the time to teach me a few key phrases and work on my pronunciation (which Skylar deems, "a disaster mama, really, you sound terrible")

Today I'll explore the village - churches, town square and mercado while practicing my Spanish. Kudos to the folks here - so far, everyone has made a true effort to speak to me in Spanish, even though I imagine it to be quite painful. Not only am I butchering their language, I look like the jolly green giant here - thankfully, the coblestone streets require I spend my days in flip flops, so I'm only a whole head taller than everyone. Then it is off to the Market to find a birthday gift for Jackson. When asked what he wanted for his 5th birthday..."hmmm, a hammock would be nice" Another genius child - how did he know I'd be visiting the perfect place to purchase a hammock?? Truth be told, the kid hasn't stopped talking about hammocks since our summer vacation to Belize - but how wonderful that he asked for something you can't find in the toy aisle at Target and is readily available for purchase from a mayan artist in Guatemala.

I sit on the veranda while I type, with views of three active volcanoes and a lovely lush garden complete with fountain. The weather is superb - 78 and sunny with chilly nights requiring raging fires in the huge stone fireplaces scattered throughout the house - what a lovely way to spend Thanksgiving week.

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