Vive Guatemala

It seems I´ve arrived at quite a festive time in Antigua, although I get the impression that they are big festival people here in general. This weekend is La Independecia! and I´ve wasted no time prentending I´m a Guatemalan...I´m running in the parade this afternoon holding torches and chanting Guatemala!, Guatemala! I just hope when they say ´run´they mean meander through the streets at a relaxed pace.

I´ve been here for two day and things are going great. The family I live with is awesome...I was a bit worried that the situation would be more like a hotel, but I think i´m getting quite an authentic experience. The house itself is muy interestante. It´s more like a few rooms connected by a pathway..or like the halls of the house have no ceilings. kindof a commune of sorts. I have my own room and a bathroom which is quite luxurious. I´m positive I´ve kicked someone out of their room, but for the price I´m paying ($80, which is more than a hostel would be) they seem more than willing to give it up.

I´m the only student in a house of 12 guatemalans...2 parents, who have 8 children and a few grandchildren running around. as far as I can tell almost all the kids live there except for one son who is in school somewhere. The father works in real estate, and is a very jolly man, one daughter is a teacher, and another works in a cafe.... of course, i´m getting this information through my limited spanish, so we may have very well been discussing the weather outside and I think we were talking about their careers.

Everyone is super super friendly towards me and are encouraging me to talk a lot. This leads to some interesting conversations...I´m living in a constant state of confusion, but I´m beginning to like it. I had expected to see more tourists here, but apparently this is not tourist season. It´s much more authentic than I thought. I´ve only seen a handle of ´gringos´since I´ve arrived - mostly the city is bustling with young school kids running through the streets.

Thier are 3 daughters in the house who are in their 20´s and they seem really sweet and accomdating. i think tomorrow we´re going to go out...i couldnt´understand what we´re doing but I´m looking forward to it...I don´t go out at night because we are a bit outside of the main square, and they advised me not to go out alone (although they assure me is perfectly safe if I´m with them). So since I´m not sure how to meet people since I sound like a two year old, I´m go out in the mornings to cafes, to school in the afternoons, and studying at night. it´s good for now. I may try to get a place close to the central parque in a couple weeks so that I can go out at night, but we´ll see how it goes. The family situation is definetely the best for learning spanish now.

And that´s too much english for me now! i´ll try to post pictures later this week. Adios!