Feliz mes del Carñero

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I am finishing up my first month of the trip and tonight is my last night in Guatemala. It will be so hard to leave! Today as the boat pulled away from San Pedro a fellow tourist and I looked longingly back at the shore of this small pueblo we have called home for what seems like an eternity.

The highlight of the stay in San Pedro was my family stay. Experiencing life with them was so interesting, challenging, and eye opening all at once. The last night I was there, I made them a small gift- a family tree with the names of all the family members I had met during my 10 day stay. The children were so excited to take the photos and find their names on the tree. I was sad to leave them.

The San Pedro Spanish school was also very good, although not quite as professional as the schools and teachers in Antigua. BUT... the setting can´t be beat. Right on the lake in these little huts. Highly recommend to anyone looking for a quiet week of Spanish.

The whole month of February is celebrated with Valentines Day propoganda "Feliz mes del Carñero" everywhere and people buying flowers, gifts, etc. So it´s not just an American Holiday!

Tomorrow, I leave Guatemala and will travel by bus through El Salvador into Nicaragua. Will be a long journey with an overnight stay in San Salvadore, the capital city of El Salvador

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Photos

SMILE GOD LOVES YOU
These signs were all over San Pedro- one of my favorite parts of the town!

Lisa & Domingo Sr.
Sitting outside of the house. This is where Domingo sat all day long, sometimes with his other friends, sometimes alone- but always ready for a chat.

Ezequiel & Gloria
Posing for photo in the open air kitchen where the women spend most of the day cooking tortillas and other food.

Ezequielo (Jr) & Gloria (Jr)
The kids LOVED the camera!

Arbol de la familia
Family Tree- This is the gift I gave to the family when I left- with all of the names of everyone in the family- most of whom I had met. Gloria has 9 brothers and sisters!

Las mujeres
Gloria- the mother of the house, Clara- the women who helped with cooking and children, and Carmen- Ezequiel´s mother

La librería
This is the school/office supply store that the family runs in front of their house.

La librería 3
This is Domingo- the youngest of 4 children and really the cutest! He is learning to speak English now and we would practice together. He works the store in the mornings, then school in afternoons.

Room in house
My room at house. Shared bathroom with 8? people? not really sure.

San Pedro Spanish School
Huts where we had classes

San Pedro karma
One thing you learn quickly in Central America is that you never put toilet paper in the toilet, always in the trash bin NEXT to the toilet. And it is surprisingly hard to train yourself to do this after years of habit.

Pirata!
At school, in the streets, at the pier, walking me home late at night- this dog was my girl!