Day 3 of Spanish classes

My friends from Australia and New Zealand left today and now there is a lady here from Japan. She speaks a little bit of Spanish, but cannot speak English at all. She said it is too difficult to learn. She is very nice but I cannot imagine being here not knowing Spanish or English. Breakfast was eggs with pepperoni, salad, and beans. Beans are served at every meal.

(Beautiful flowers, Flores Bonitas)

(The place where they dry the coffee beans)

After breakfast, I went straight to class so we could visit the Azotea Coffee Museum and the Casa K'ojom. We took the chicken bus to the museum, which took only about 7 minutes from Antigua. Casa K'olom had many instruments from native Mayans and all of the instruments were made from animals like turtles and bulls. They had a lot of colorful dresses displayed and different religious items. I found the candles to be interesting. Each colored candle represented something different: Purple=healing, Blue=fortune, Green=hope, Baby blue=dreams, Pink=love, Yellow=energy, White=calmness, Black=remove negativity, Red=energy. The entire tour was done in Spanish but I understood most of it. The coffee farm was beautiful! There were so many plants and flowers and places to dry the coffee. I got to taste all of the coffee and learn how it is made. After the tour, I walked around with Aracela and conversed in Spanish. It was nice to get out of the classroom and enjoy the city. I saw the huge McDonalds, which is a very big deal in this city. I asked my teacher how long she has been working at the spanish school, Maximo Nivel. She said that she has been working there for 4 years. Antigua has a lot of tourism and she said Guatemalans can get much better jobs if they learn English.

(A butterfly, Mariposa)

(These bottles trap the insects that they don't want on the coffee beans)

I didn't have much time until my next class, so I grabbed a quick lunch and went straight to class. Antonio is one of my favorite instructors. We always talk about interesting topics and he talks very slow, so that I can understand. We talked about laws in my country and his. We talked about religion in the schools, laws regarding leashes on dogs, laws about gay people, and drug laws. Christian religion is taught in Guatemalan schools. There are laws against owning dangerous dogs in Guatemala. Surprisingly, gay people are more accepted in Guatemala than the US, but they are not allowed to marry. He was shocked that Marijuana is legal in Colorado, but thinks it is smart because it can be taxed. He heard about the crocodile that killed that child in DisneyWorld. I guess that made international news! He makes me feel like a good Spanish speaker. Learning a new language can make me feel very stupid sometimes and positive feedback can be encouraging.

(These are Guatemalan money, Quetzalles)

After class, I had to go to the bank to get quetzales. I was nervous about this because I have to speak a lot of Spanish and it has to be correct. When I walked into the bank, the lady said that they only take credit cards for quetzales. So, I had to go to another bank. They had police all over the place and it wasn't too hard to get quetzales, but it took a long time. On the way out, I bought a newspaper with quetzales. The guy took my money and ran into a store. I thought I might need to run after him, but he was just getting me change.

(This is a Guatemalan Newspaper)

After I got the newspaper, I walked to the gym. It is very scary to try to run in the streets here. The streets are made of cobblestone here and it is very easy to trip and fall. There is also no crosswalks or stoplights. I decided not to take that risk. They gym cost me $15 for the whole week. There was only one treadmill available, so I got on it. I started running and it made a crazy sound. The manager came over and told me to get off. I guess I broke it. HaHa! He found another machine for me and I ran for 10 miles. It was so hot in there because there is no air conditioning, but it was nice to have an exercise break. I watched a Spin class and a Zumba class while running, so I still got to listen to Spanish.

After the gym, I started walking home, but it got dark fast. It is Winter in Guatemala and it gets dark before 7pm. A truck full of men starting yelling, "Come home with me! I will show you a good time!" They actually started following me and I turned down another street and lost them. It is a very male dominated society here. I can't believe that some of the international students walk around in skimpy tank tops and short shorts. They are asking for trouble! I dress very conservatively when I am here. I struggled to find my home in the dark and had to ask for directions. I stopped at a store and asked some ladies. They say that I was a gringo and asking other Guatemalans if they could explain to me in English. I said, "No, yo comprendo Espanol" I understand Spanish. I don't want them to speak English! There was a sign in front of the house that said, "Descanter" (to rest) but it got taken down and it confused me. I was so happy when I walked into the home. I apologized for being late for dinner and told Mary that I got lost. She said, "Oh, poor thing! Come sit down and eat." She sat and conversed with me in Spanish and was so sweet. It was a great end to a bit of a stressful day.