Tuesday, May 19, 2009

three weeks today!


Hey all!!!

I hope you are all doing super duper in the states! i'm doing really well here! i've had a fun week, with lots of spanish class. we went to the market in antigua for saturday's spanish class, learning how to bargain, which is an essential part of shopping around here, and then also about the fruits and veggies. there is such variety! so much to try!

yesterday was one of the best days here so far.. we had a fun spanish class and then after spanish i found out that tomorrow is triple for phone cards, so every phone card you buy today, you get triple the minutes! so i had icecream to celebrate! then i did my homework, which was all about thinking about american culture in ways i hadn't really thought of before, like our extreme optimism, sense of adventure and risk-taking, and our desire to surpass our inhibitions and mobilize ourselves beyond any percieved limits. it was really inspiring!

then i made tortillas with my homestay mom and sister. picking off the maiz/water mixture, kind of like clay, slapping it between my hands and making it nice and round. this was the second time i made tortillas, the first time, i was reeeally bad at it! but this time i got so much better. my homestay family was so proud of me, every one they were like, "mira! mira!" "look, look" "son iguales" "there is no difference" between ours and hers! they were really happy and i was alegre, tambien!!

then i helped my homestay brother, whose 14, with his english homework. that was really fun, and it got him really excited about his homework, too. then we played Uno, like we do for at least an hour every night with him, my other homestay brother and my homestay sister. this time i taught them how to play in english, like the colors and numbers, and the cards and different phrases for the actions on the cards. i really enjoyed that, and they totally did too!

i never knew how much joy and happiness Uno could bring, after dinner every night, we sit around and play, and my homestay parents and their visitors just laugh and laugh when someone has to pick up cards and when people win, or almost win! it has been such a pleasure and joy every night for them and for me!

then i talked to dylan before i went to sleep, which was wonderful, as well!

as for today, i'm reeeally happy to be here in the peace corps office with my fellow volunteers and to learn more about community development and to connect with everyone else and see how theya re doing, and to drink reeeally good coffee that will probably keep me up all night. and then we're all playing ultimate frisbee after our training today, woot woot!

i hope you are all are spectacular and enjoying yourselves and everything, the american philosophy: if you're not happy, change something so that you can be happy! with so much opportunity in so many ways, there's no reason to be sad for too long!

i love you all

take care of yourselves

and mucho mucho mucho amor

oh yeah, and here are some pictures!


3 comments:

  1. The pictures are so great. We celebrated Guatemala Day at school in honor of your efforts. I leave your blog print-out on the front counter for everyone to read. Thanks for being so informative. You know we all love you and wish the bestest health and spirit around.

    Lots of love,
    Dad

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  2. Another great, newsy post. I love hearing about life down there - it really sounds like you're making the most of it and enjoying yourself. I'm sure, being the person you are, you are enriching the lives of your homestay family with your mere presence and effervescence! Pictures are wonderful as well. Keep 'em comin'. It's nice to be able to visualize the area you're in and the people you're with. I know the family misses you trememdously. Pls stay healthy and safe and continue having fun.

    Love you lots, of course,

    Aunt Judy

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  3. Sarah,

    I'm so glad that things are going well down there. You seem to have adjusted very well, and I'm sure these are going to be some of the most exciting times of your life. Needless to say, I'm a bit jealous of your courage to dive into something such as this. I'll continue to follow your posts. Tell your friend Robyn nice name (that's my middle name and how I spell it!!) Miss you and love you!

    Have fun,

    Jenny

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