Day 4 of Spanish Classes

After breakfast this morning, I decided to walk around the city a little bit. I walked through El Parque Central and bought a newspaper. I love reading Spanish newspapers!

I had the courage to ask a Guatemalan to take my picture, in Spanish. He took a good picture and didn't run off with my phone, which was nice.

I walked around trying to find the best cafe. I have learned that the best cafes are usually the ones that are kind of away from the main attractions and are very small. I walked into a cafe and noticed a guy sitting next to me that spoke English. I asked him what the best coffee was to get. He recommended the cappuccino and told me that he works for, "Cisco" doing computer security. He has been living here for a year and this was the best coffee shop in the city. What luck! He gave me all kinds of recommendations of schools and resources for learning Spanish. I told him that he was so lucky to be able to work internationally. The cappuccino gave me an instant jolt of caffeine and was delicious.

When I arrived at class, we worked on grammar for about an hour. Then, we played Spanish Pictionary and Monopoly. It was so good for me. I learned many new Spanish words.

For lunch, I walked around trying to find an authentic Guatemalan food restaurant. I found a place that serves Pepian de pollo. I have been served this same meal by my host family and it is delicious. There are huge chunks of chicken in a soup with tortillas and rice. I ordered naranja (orange juice). Their orange juice is delicious!

For my afternoon class, I talked with Antonio in Spanish about movies, holidays, marriage, books, and fruit. He is so interesting to talk to. He told me that circus' are banned in Guatemala because of animal accidents. I wish they were banned in the US too. He also told me that there are no homeless shelters in Guatemala and that is why there are so many people living on the street. There was even a time when poisoned meat was thrown onto the streets to kill people and dogs. So sad! He might be the best Spanish instructor I have ever had.

In the afternoon, I went to the gym. But, it was so humid in there that I had to stop. I was drenched in sweat and it was so uncomfortable. Mary (my host Mom) offered to wash my clothes for me for 6 quetzales. That is less than $1. The gym is open limited hours tomorrow for some holiday. Today was a holiday too. They seem to have holidays more frequently than we do.

I had Pepian de pollo for dinner too. But, it was served with so many fresh vegetables. During our dinner conversation, the parrot kept mimicking us. So funny! Their food is so good here! I am getting eaten up by mosquitos right now, but I was told that it is only dangerous when you are near the ocean. I hope I don't get sick. It is also interesting that the pipes cannot handle toilet paper. We are required to throw our toilet paper in the trash, not down the toilet.