Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala, October 31, 2016

There are 4 Spanish students staying here with Odillia, Adolfo, Saira and Hector- 

  We each have our own bedroom-

And share a bathroom which is outside, through the kitchen-

We eat 3 meals/day with our hosts except Sunday is their day off-

There is room for a car and motorcycle in the front part of the casa-

The foyer is the 'garden'-

The backyard is bordered with a high cement wall covered in vine-

There is a nice terrace on the second floor-

which looks at Volcan Agua, unfortunately clouded over-

School starts at 8 am.  My teacher, Sheny Garcia-

is very good and extremely patient!  She's going to need a lot of patience working with me!  I heard a lot; took 8 pages of notes and will have homework every night.  

There are about 80 students at the Antiguena Spanish Academy, each with his/her own private teacher.  It costs $175 US/week for 20 hours of instruction, 7 nights accommodation and 6 days of meals.  

Tables are spread out in a large garden-

I am on a rooftop terrace.  We study from 8-10, then have a 30 minute coffee break when we can eat atol blanco salado- a savoury maize porridge.  I also added frijoles (beans) and chiles.  It cost 54 cents-

There are numerous tortilla stands around town-

recognizable by the 'slap slap' sound you hear before arriving.  

Halloween is celebrated by the children and foreigners. We saw a few people in costumes but today really begins a 3 day celebration culminating with Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead).  Today was tomb cleaning and decoration day-

The San Lazaro Cemetery serves the needs of all from tombs for the wealthy-

wall tombs for the middle class-

And places in the ground for the poor-

Guatemalans are predominantly Roman Catholics who do not believe in cremation so caskets are buried.  Here, you can see the available spots-

The mercado is a hub of activity-

featuring vegetables - 

squash and melons-

chiles-

and fruit including jocote.  Jocote is small and orange and turns red when ripe.  The pulp is a bright yellow with a sweet, tangy, juicy flavor-

The butcher-

Chicken- yellow or white depending on diet-

and fabrics-

Antigua Guatemala's Main Plaza is very touristy and most streets are cobbled-

Reminders of the 1976 earthquake-

found inside a destroyed church.

Easter is the biggest celebration and the floats are ready-

Supper was tortillas de papas, sliced pepino and crema de hongos soup-

It has been an interesting day.  I've got so much to learn but everyone is super patient.  I've met another IB French teacher from Bretagne, France and a young man who has bicycled this far from Mexico City.  The weather is perfect too.  I don't feel brain drained like I thought I might, maybe because I can get buy with English.

Tomorrow I'm off to see the flying kites!  Looking forward to it!  Buenas noches!