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Published: July 16th 2006
it is so nice to be back in san pedro. of all the places i've been so far, i still find san pedro the most beautiful. i arrived wednesday, found a hotel, had dinner and enrolled in spanish school. thursday i moved in with my family. the house is great...my room is large and has a nice, comfy bed with TWO pillows. there is a terrace with a great view of the lake...where i can either sit in a hammock and read or at a desk and study. i have my own clean bathroom with hot water. ahhhhhhhhh.... so nice. for the first time in over a month, i unpacked my backpack and am settling down for a while. again....ahhhhhhh...... so nice.
tim: the weather is different here now....it hasn't rained, except for a few random showers, since i've been here. it seems like a different place without the nightly downpours.
the family i'm staying with consists of madre, padre y dos ninas. one of the children is named ruth...dad & lin...can you believe that? ruth is not a common spanish name! bizarre! they are all really sweet and are patient with me and my brutalization of the spanish language. one of the obstacles of staying with a family is managing your social life while maintaining respect for the house. i stayed out pretty late last night and was experiencing guilt as i tip-toed to my room....like being a teenager again. but i'm sure i'll feel more comfortable and find some balance soon.
i did two days of spanish school this week and will start again on monday. my teacher is structured and professional which makes me feel like i'm going to learn a lot with him. he gave me a lot of homework (mucha tarea) to do over the weekend. he did boost my confidence when he commented that my spanish is very good. he said that i understand a lot but need to work on structure. so hopefully after a month i am good to go.
today we had a kayaking trip from san pedro to san marcos. i felt like i was dreaming as we crossed the lake....waiting for someone to pinch me. it is so beautiful that my mind rejects the idea that it's real. i kept thinking "this is my life! wow!". i am so lucky!!!!!!! once we got to san marcos we explored the town a little and then went swimming. some of the folks were jumping off of high rocks into the water. i'll do almost anything, but rock and bungee jumping scare me a bit (ok...a lot).
minor complaint time: i know for sure that shakira's hips don't lie...do any of you doubt it? i am starting the "we believe you shakira" campaign. please send letters to your local radio station. a day does not go by without hearing that song at least 5 times.
cami and katie are now in nicaragua and are tempting me to leave san pedro a week early. they invited me to meet them in el salvador during the first week of august. i'd love to see them and meet the boy who stole cami's heart. but my "plan" is to stay here for a month. we'll see. cami met a local boy in el salvador and fell in love 😊 ...that is why they are going back to el salvador after travelling costa rica and nicaragua for a bit. too cute!!!
i'm not sure if i mentioned but i made some changes to my itinerary: i cancelled the south american portion of my trip....extended my trip a few weeks....and am now flying out of panama city. as a result of cancelling the south america portion, i get a nice refund in the form of a flight voucher. sweet! i will miss seeing monica 😞 but we agreed to meet up in the near future and do some south american travels.
GOOD LUCK ON MONDAY, MONICA!!!! MUCHOS ABRAZOS!!
i could probably keep writing and writing and writing but i'm going to spare you all. dinner will be ready soon which means i can't go too far from the house....and there is an internet cafe a short walk from my house. this has given me a lot of freedom to torture you with my travel blog 😉
ok...i lied. one last thing...book recommendation.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812973011/sr=8-1/qid=1153009979/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-9114142-1303268?ie=UTF8
sending you all love and well wishes. ~xo~
ps ~ good luck, natalie, with your flute lessons and cheerleading. i miss you hermana! right now i'm giving you a big, squishy hug...did you get it???
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Missi
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MADONNA
Thursday night Jess and I went to see MADONNA!! It was a great show. When she palyed " La Isla Bonita" I instantly thought of you! You are such a lucky duck, and I envy you! I see you're travels are going well. I wish we could speak to you! I miss hearing your voice! Well we're off to John Nicholas' christening and in two weeks Robbie turns 1. I'll keep you updated on the family stuff as best I can and send you pictures. i'm going to make Gram-ma-ma a calendar of all the "grands and great-grands" so send me some pictures of you! XXXOOO MISSI and Gabs!!!