A great week

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The Weather et al ….

It has become unseasonably cold at night, and without any form of heating in most houses here everybody is walking around with a cold!  Luckily I have missed out on having a cold, but am feeling the drop in temperature; it may go as low as 9° tonight!(Fri/Sat)  Fortunately it climbs pretty fast  to reach highs in the mid to upper 20s by lunchtime.

I so miss the shipping forecast – must listen to it on BBC i-player, I generally catch the “world at one”  of course at 7 am!

The view from my room, roofs, volcano, star, moon.

Last Wednesday night I was looking out towards Volcan Fuego (the active one) and saw this bright light, so strange was the light that I asked Paolo my mentor at CasaSito to come look. “Has somebody put a big light on the volcano?”  errrrrrr  “It’s a star!”   OK, so I felt a little foolish but I have never seen such a bright star, dazzling later the same night the sky was truly amazing with thousands and thousands of stars that I never even knew existed, the sky was just bristling with them. Amazing.  And I have been told that if I get the chance to get away from the lights of Antigua the sky at night  is even more stunning!  Bearing in Mind that there are no sodium streetlights in Antigua just pretty ordinary bulbs in rather nice reproductions of 18C gas lamps!

Last night I was invited to a celebration  Thanksgiving Dinner by two of the American volunteers, it was a very eclectic occasion in terms of food and ethnicity, 2 American Americans, 1 Indian American, 2 Puerto Rican American, 2 Guatemaltecas and an Englishman!   Food included Fried Plantain tostadas, mashed potatoes, carrots, green vegetables in a piquant tomatillo salsa (supplied by yours truly) and a great hunk of beautifully roasted pork!  Followed by brownies and ice cream with chickie biscuits (biscuits covered in chocolate), a lovely evening putting the world to rights and being entertained by Joe and Jaime’s Chocolate Point Siamese Kitten.

Not the actual cat!

Today as I was making a cup of tea I was  asked my opinion on an the development value of a debating club and was invited to gate crash a meeting between one of CasaSito’s staff Maritza and Jaime a volunteer, net result I am now part of team that will be facilitating an series of 8 weekly sessions for the scholarship students on debating (but strongly linked to using the skills of presentation in improving personal skills).  This kicks off in February and continues every Saturday until Easter, so I have a real deadline now for my Spanish.

 

 The Business Entrepreneurs Club (Club de Empresarios 2011)

Presentations of the Business Club

Had the privilege of attending the Business Entrepreneurs Club final presentations today. Those taking part were requested to present their business ideas to the group and to a “panel” and to take and answer really tough questions! Jaime, who runs a very successful finca for tomatoes, and 3 others including myself were the panel.  I asked the same type of questions I would have asked an SME during a presentation when I was doing the EU project.
They coped well! They students now have the opportunity to develop their ideas into a full business and to present that again to the panel before January 15^th, if there presentations are successful they can ask for a “loan” to start their business! In reality it is unlikely that most of them will take their ideas forward without a huge amount of help, desafortunadamente (unfortunately) they are badly let down by their schooling as creativity or individual thought forms no part of the syllabus!  But, extra tuition and mentoring will be offered them.  I so want to be able to help, so my motivation for Spanish is very high at the moment as this is a real incentive.

Eniel Zamora with the Club Co-ordinator Maritza.

A happy Entrepreneur- he really had the gift of the gab!

However, two brothers, have come up with an excellent plan to make and sell “granitas” as an events business ~ they plan to launch this business in Holy Week when 125,0000 tourists descend on Antigua! (for the whole of the week according to official government figures, seems incomprehensible to me the streets are so narrow etc)  anyways back to the granitas ……

They have such a strong business plan, they may even succeed!  They will be getting some sponsorship via Jaime and Joe, two American volunteers. So it all augers well for them. Had I met them on an EU project I would have pushed for them to have funding as their plan was so strong, had their product ideas been exportable.

 General view over La Antigua

Hot off the press

Although it seems like shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted (stupid thought maybe the saying should be, “you can’t shut the stable door after the horse has bolted it!”) OK, having sidetracked myself, where was I, oh yes, outside the stable, …..   well, I signed the contract for my house yesterday, but in my thoughts my little house has actually been getting smaller and smaller, going from pequeña (small) to pequito (very small) so I decided to ask to see it again today. Well, I arrived with the agent and “Celeste” my landlady and her husband were busy getting it all prepared for me, along with a gardener, and oh “mi casa es muy bonita” so very lovely, of course bigger than I imagined, but still small, but, but, but Celeste has spent a fortune on new things for the house, as she said having meet me, she liked me and wanted me to be happy, so I have:

a new sofa,

a new sideboard,

the bed now has a grand headboard and side cupboards,

she has purchased a very nice patio set, in metal and glass, and

some fantastic new crockery in the brightest yellow imaginable,

she has had a new washbasin put in the bathroom,

provided a strimmer so I can cut the grass easily (the grass here is that very tough grass) and

the garden is transformed. 

She will be adding new security lighting and

is to have the drive relaid! 

I cannot tell you how wide my smile was.   All I have to do (and this is just personal choice) is to paint the internal walls, they are currently yellow, and I see them in terracotta!  She happily gave permission for me to do whatever I want as far as internal decoration is concerned.  I have an orange tree groaning with fruit and an advocado tree also laden!  Plus a Poinsettia tree about 12 foot tall!

I simply cannot wait to move in on Thursday, even if it is actually the worst day for me, as the Arts Festival is next Saturday and I am in charge of the art exhibition, planning layout, judging, prizes, etc ……. So will be working flat out on this all next week (except for Spanish lessons Mon – Weds).

 The path leading to the Cross above Antigua - A lovely walk!

Oh yes, meanwhile, back on the Volcano of Spanish

This week it has been the two past tenses in Spanish, on for events that took place at a fixed time in the past and one for a more general past! The translation is exactly the same but the conjugation of the verbs “completamente diferente” …… and next week, I get to learn how both are used in the same sentence.  Hilarious!

Ok so now it is Saturday at 6:30 pm and I need to go and cook.

So , stay tuned, my next posting will either be early (lamenting the amount of work I have to do) or late, filled with relief that the Festival went well!...

Hasta Proxima Domingo(ish) amigos!

Una Historia ~ Una receta ~ Un concierto y Notas generales

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La Historia de Antigua

 The Church of  La Concepcion after the Santa Marta earthquake of 1773 

( the church is at the end of Calle del Hermano Pedro)

Antigua or Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala ("St. James of the Knights of Guatemala") was the capital of the whole of Central America and was the second site for the capital, the first being destroyed by the eruption of Volcan Agua in 1541. It was founded here in what is now known simply as Antigua or La Antigua (the old city) in 1543. However, on September 29, 1717, an estimated 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit the city, and destroyed over 3,000 buildings. Much of the city's architecture was ruined. The damage the earthquake did to the city made authorities consider moving the capital to another city. However they foolishly stayed put until in 1773, the Santa Marta earthquakes destroyed much of the town, which led to the third change in location for the city to what is now Guatemala City.  One can only imagine what Lady Bracknell would say? [in your best Dame Edith or Dame Maggie voice, suck those cheeks in, after three ......] “To lose one capital, to an earthquake, may be regarded as a misfortune. To lose two looks like carelessness ……”

General view over Antigua from the Cerro de la Cruz

(sorry no comentario!)

Colonial Antigua is eight blocks by eight blocks and the whole city is a UNESCO world heritage site. The streets are cobbled, as are the pavements and the architecture is magnificent. And because of its status no new building is allowed and things remain just as they are, not an inch of tarmac or an illuminated shop sign to be seen! Most of the baroque churches have been left untouched since the 1773 earthquake, so there is hardly a “calle” in Antigua that does not have its own ruined church!

Calles (streets) run east-west and Avenidas run north-south.  The central park occupies the block between the 4th and 5th Calles/Avenidias and you can walk from one side of the old city to the other in 15 minutes.

Antigua is famous for its religious processions every Sunday during lent and for Semana Santa (Holy Week), there are daily processions through the city attracting many, many thousands of onlookers. The area around Antigua is also the region for coffee and macadamia nut plantations.

Santa Semana 2010 - about 200 men carry each "float" 

there are numerous floats depicting the events for the particular day of Holy Week

As the centre for tourism in Guatemala, whilst the city is quiet and timeless during the week, at weekends it gets crowded with tourists – mainly Americans.  Antigua is also a preferred retirement spot for people from all over the USA and Europe.  The colonial houses in the centre whilst very plain in their frontage to the road, hide the most amazing house within, all single storey and built around various courtyards.  However, it is also incredibly expensive so most people live “out of town” in what I will call “greater” Antigua  including such places as Ciuded Vieja, Jocotenango, San Pedro Des Huertas, San Juan del Obispo ……..

With a population of around 35,500 for “greater” Antigua, I feel very lucky to have found a house for rent in the Calle de Hermano Pedro (“the street of Brother Peter”) in the old city, so I have my own cobbled street and a ruined church at the end of it  (see pic at top of this post) and am probably one of only 3000 people who actually live as part of this world heritage site “one old wreck living in another!”  I am absolutely on the edge of the city and my large new garden is surrounded on three sides by open land of trees and grass and yet more ruins!  I say house it is actually the very functional old servants quarters for a much grander house, (more on “mi nueve casa” later after I move in on December 1st). 

Hilachas con Frijoles Rojos, Arroz , Güicoy y Tortillas.

Hilachas is a beef stew with vegetables, it is mildly spicy and uses tomatoes and tomatillos in the sauce, “Comida Tipico”. It uses beef skirt, boiled first then shredded, then re-cooked with vegetables and spiced up to taste with chilli paste and the tomatillos! You can follow my efforts from the photos.  I will be eating it with red beans, rice, güicoy (squash) and the ever present tortillas!  Mmmmmmm!  Rico! (nice).  Recipe at http://www.whats4eats.com/meats/hilachas-recipe  I am going to buy a Guatemalan Recipe book en Español once I move, this from the internet so cannot guarantee how authentic a recipe it is! 

Tomatillos - A slightly spicy green tomato type fruit

Ingredients for the Hilachas

Ingredients for the sauce- ready for the liquadora 

The butcher was so good, I asked for “carne de vaca por Hilachas, un libre y medio, por favor” and he very patiently in clear Spanish explained just how I needed to shred the meat once cooked, a cut it for me in such a way as to make the shredding easy! People have time here, to talk to you and enjoying the fact that an “extranjero” (foreigner) is actually buying meet in the general open/market!

 The boiled beef ready for shredding

Hilachas!

End result, not spicy enough!  It ended up tasting like boiled beef and carrots! Nice but packed no gastronomic punch! I think the recipe I used was american and so reduced the authentic spicyness! That's my excuse ~ anyways am just about to "pep it up" as have a friend coming for lunch, and it is a dish that is better the day after making!

I have started to patronise certain stalls in the market, very much trying to make sure my Quetzales are going directly to the producer/farmer, with such stiff competition nobody can afford to sell you poor quality produce.  Today moras (blackberries) were down to 4Q a pound (30p) and my pound and a half of beef skirt cost just over £2.  This will all be washed down with a very nice Argentinian Malbec at £2 per bottle.

Un concierto

It’s Saturday 17:00 and I am going to the Cooperacion Español (an amazing arts centre sponsored by the Spanish government through the Guatemalan Embassy) as there is a concert by the National Youth Orchestra of San Salvador in celebration of 200 years of independence at 18:00. Will take the camera!

The concert was fun, the youth orchestra were as good as any local youth orchestra in UK once the had warmed to the task.  Attracted a large audience, and the evening was cool but dry. The backdrop of the ruined church made it a perfect setting. The only downside was that every official in town felt the need to make a speech of welcome! So the concert only got underway after 20 minutes of “muchas gracias por este concierto muy spectacular and I want to thank the Ambassador, the Mayor, the Leader of the Council, Cooperacion Español, the parents of the children, the weather, the people who put out the chairs, you for turning up, the little lady who made the tortillas to feed the men who put up the stage ………………. zzzzzzzzz"

Notas generales

Volcano climbing – continued: The construction of a Spanish question goes something like this:

“Did you to he/she/it say your car, red, old and broken it was not functioning to the repairman.”

In reply, the car, the repairman and you and possibly person asking the question are all replaced with pronouns with different conjugations depending on whether they are the subject, direct object, indirect object or a possessive, the verb is about all that remains intact.  There is a “la la” rule meaning that two pronouns starting with “l” cannot follow each other and the first has to be replaced with “se”~ so a singular pronoun might be replaced by one which can be singular or plural, male or female ……. pronouns either come before the first verb or can be attached to the end of the second …….. and it is necessary to do this with the speed of light as you are answering a question!  Simple! I do hope you are following all this as there will be a test later!   

Maybe this will help?

Sin embargo (however), after a whole week of practicing making answer to questions the light is dawning at the end of a very long tunnel.  At the moment providing I am in relative control of a conversation I can nip along with a fare degree of rapidity and fluency, and it is good to receive positive comments from people on the clarity of my diction and speed of delivery.

I hope to be planting some kind of flag at the sumit of a pequito (very small) volcan around Christmas!

My final draft of the poster for the Arts Festival was approved so my handy work will be on display throughout “greater” Antigua by the end of the week.  (Will include it in a future posting).

We had a little rain this week, before the long dry summer sets in. Have made friends with the guys who run SaberRico restaurant in town, they introduced me to a magnificent cheese like an aged Parmesan, from the area of Zacapa, but of course being Latin America it has the advantage of being “perked up” by the addition of some chillis!  An awesome cheese by any standards, it is made in a tiny area of the country between the volcanos where there is a constant crisp and dry air current to age the cheese. (SaberRico www.saberico.com.gt)

Queso de Zacapa

This week:   I need to buy the prizes for the art competition in the Festival, spice up the Hilachas, and start mentally interior designing the new house!

Hasta Proxima Domingo, amigos!

Eleven days in and loving it!

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Volcan Aqua - on my walk to Spanish School 

(click to enlarge)

Starting to feel at home – food and cooking!

So I have been here 11 days, and feel settled into a new routine.  Having never lived in a shared accommodation before I am finding it quite a fun experience, you don’t pick your housemates so a level of adjustment is required.  I think it is all about timing, when the bathroom is free and more importantly the kitchen! Everybody has their own ways and the mix of cultures is just great.  There were five of us living in the house up until today one guy has just left to move to his own flat, and one woman is leaving back to Germany on Monday, so we will be three until some new people arrive. 

I needed to get back to some cooking. It is such a (hectic) pleasure to shop in the covered market where you can buy the freshest fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, flowers and household items, I reckon about 500 stalls in a warren of aisles and passageways.  Love it!  Been told that I need to shop on a Monday, Thursday and Saturday for freshness and other days for cheapness! But with Strawberries (fresas) available all year at 45p per pound, blackberries (moras) the size of golf-balls (also 45p per pound) and a bag full of carefully chosen but mixed vegetables for about £1.50 I am not complaining.  I am going to the market with my Spanish teacher next week as an activity, as I need her to explain some of the interesting but totally unknown fruits and vegetables available.

 Moras - the size of golf-balls and yoghurt a great way to start the day

I was kindly warned by one of my housemates, “you know, blackberries are one of the fruits people are generally warned off eating  …….” My reply “well you only die once!”  We had a discussion about risk taking, and I think that with my Indian experience under my belt a few berries and some street food won’t actually do me too much harm, (and I need to loose the weight!)

So as you can see from the pictures, food is good, healthy, wholesome and cheap! My food bill is about £2.50 per day and I could reduce that by half if needs be, but I am enjoying cooking with good ingredients so I am pushing the boat out!  But Olive oil is about £5 per half litre bottle, so need to find the Guatemalan equivalent!

Today I tried “tortillas negras” black tortillas made from a very dark blue/black/grey maise that is typical in Guatemala and have to say they are far superior to the white ones!  These tortillas are made by  groups of women who make the tortillas in their hands and cook them over a fire on a plancha (metal sheet).  But they ain’t cheap! 3 for 1Quetzale about 3p each!  The normal ones are 5 for 1 Quetzale!

 Preparing tortillas

Had an interesting interaction with the three ladies who run a tiny stall at the bottom of the road making tortillas – I said to them “cuanto questas” Mujer:“cinco por un quetzale”  so I said “cinco por favor”  and then watched as one of the mujeres (women) started to stuff a bag with 25 tortillas – “no, no, solamente mi”  “cinco tortillas todos”  (I think you can do the translation) ~ if looks could kill!  I mean who buys only 5 tortillas or more likely who eats only 5 tortillas at a time!  Surfice it to say that I have spent the rest of the week buttering up the “mujeres de tortillas” though still of course only buying 5 tortillas a day!  But I go out of my way to doff my hat and wish them a good day/afternoon/evening every time I pass and make the “one with the face” smile ~she will come to love me!

I made a kind of Bolognese with carne de vaca (beef), local chorizo, olives, tomatoes, peppers, etc served with tortillas (black tortillas today) ……

 Lunch con tortillas negras

Moral standpoints:

There are a lot of charities working in Guatemala and of course to some extent they are all vying for money, fortunately CasaSito through its professional approach and amazing Director, Alice Lee has managed to obtain some hefty funding via professional group of bankers in Canada (bankers apparently aren’t all bad!) but we volunteers had an interesting discussion about a charity that in some ways seems to have crossed a line in trying to raise funds – they have produced a discount booklet for tourists in Antigua (good idea) but and it is a BIG BUT, for a donation of Q.200  (£17.50)  you can go on a tour … I quote the publicity material  “Experience Guatemala Tour” To see firsthand where your donation is going, join our tour to "X" which we run every Wednesday …… visit the slums where the families of our school live and of course visit our schools …… and get a 50% discount on your donation if you purchase the discounts for education booklet!

or maybe it should read ....

“Roll up roll up, see the amazing squalor these people live in, experience the grime for yourself, gawp at the poor and dispossessed and then come and go oh, ahh as you see the little angels in their school ~ or are they monkeys in a zoo?” 

We couldn’t believe that poverty could be turned into an attraction ~ “infotainment!” is the buzz word I think.  Ok, so the charity needs the money, but is this the way to get it?  (Answers on a postcard to ……..)

This same charity charges its volunteers US $1100 for an 8 week volunteering “package” ~ I must be using the wrong dictionary but I thought volunteering was a cash free transaction.   The volunteer who is with this charity and living at the Volunteers house comes back daily with horror stories of trying to work with a class of 35  5 – 7 year olds who are very active and don’t really appreciate yet another teacher who has only basic Spanish!  She feels so frustrated that she simply can’t communicate with the children in a way that is beneficial to them and the poor things get a new “teacher” every 4 weeks! I can't help feeling that somewhere along the way the objective has got lost in a process.

 

I am so thankful that CasaSito has a level of cultural sensitivity and professionalism, that protects those for whom we strive to improve their situation and that “CasaSito works on the “teach a man to fish” principal rather than “give a man a fish!” 

 Makes a nice change from a black cab! 

(OK they are for tourists but they are such a part of the place)

More on the cobbled streets later!

Work and thoughts of my own place.

I am also starting to get involved in the  “Festival des Artes” due to be held on December 3^rd, I am in charge of buying all the prizes for the art competition, (knew all that painting would come in useful) and in designing the poster for the event (in Spanish – of course!)  Is there no end to this guys talents I hear you cry!

Had a slightly tough couple of days on the Spanish front, “disafortunadamente” (unfortunately ~ just love that word!) it started to feel like I had this mountain (volcano) to climb and only 8 weeks in which to climb it ….. “afortunadamente” (fortunately) my teacher Aura, has reassured me, and has adjusted the way she is teaching me so that I don’t feel so lost at times . . . .   it is just that moment when you think that there is so much to learn, apply, remember, and could go in a 100 different directions or run round like a headless chicken!

I looked at two apartments this week and nearly took one, but “afortunadamente” some new friends ( a couple who run an excellent restaurant here in Antigua) suggested that a) the area was a little “peligroso” (dangerous) at night and b) I could do much better if I took my time and they pointed out two cafes that have large notice boards groaning with apartments that kind of pass from “traveller/volunteer to traveller/volunteer” so I am going to look at some this week, stay tuned!

Going to try and upload some videos for next week!   (Can't wait for next week so here my first video of Antigua - the quality will improve!)

Hasta proxima domingo, amigos!

Person number 2,831,710,223 calling in from Antigua

 (If you are viewing this posting as an email please click the post title to view this posting from within my blog and to get maximum benefit! ~ and click any picture to enlarge)

www.7billionandme.org/

Random fact!

According to the website “7 Billion and me” I am person number two billion, eight hundred and thirty one million, seven hundred and ten thousand, two hundred and twenty three on the planet at this moment and on the day I was born so were 276,396 others!  And I am the 76,292,972,006^th  person to inhabit the planet! (yes that’s 76 billion.)  Kind of puts one’s life in perspective!

OK here goes.....

 Continental Airlines kindly waived my excess baggage fees but thanks to the snow on the eastern seaboard of the USA I was delayed and had to over night in the Houston! Maybe it is just me but there is a deep disconnect between the announcement at Newark Airport [as you wait 2 hours to get through immigration , even in transit and watch your flight take off without you] that says in effect “Welcome to the USA, any comments to immigration staff or inappropriate joking is likely to result in your immediate detention, arrest and refusal of entry ~ Welcome to the USA” on a continuous loop!  Strangley, having been barked at, finger printed and photographed twice I could think of many adjectives but non of them resembled Welcome!

But the new me, the one that does not get hot under the collar just stood and chatted to my fellow passengers as we all lost or connections, the service desk people might have been kinder had they not smiled when they said “you will be delayed and need to stay overnight in Houston and off course as the delay is due to weather Continental will not pay your expenses ~ have a nice flight ~ oh, and as you will be more than 5 hours in Houston you will have to collect all your baggage."  Suffice it to say on arrival in Houston I eventually managed to get a voucher reducing the Marriot hotel rate from $249 to $109 plus tax ~ would have opted for a cheaper hotel but that would have involved taxis etc.  So pushed my trolley the 1000 yards to the Marriot.

As a “special treat”  and, as the budget was already blown, I decided to remind myself of just how unhealthy the cuisine in the USA can be by having a great big burger and fries for supper and hot cakes [inch thick pancakes slavered  in high fructose corn syrup  masquerading as] maple syrup with thick cream for breakfast. I could actually only eat one of the three dinner plate sized pancakes ~ and got very disapproving looks from Tania (“I am Tania your waitress this morning and how may I serve you…blah blah blah)

Anyways, despite my delayed flights I arrived in Antigua and am well settled into the Casa de Voluntarios and even after only five days I feel very much at home here in Antigua.

The Patio of CasaSito Volunteers House

Simplicity is the key-note!  So my day goes like this:

05:30 Wake-up tea (fruit/herbal tea) provided free by CasaSito

06:30 Breakfast (yoghurt/fruit/granola Q.10)

08:30 Spanish Lesson (Monday- Friday

12:30 Lunch (traditional Guatemalan Cuisine) [Soup, Tortillas, Main course, drink, Coffee ~ £1.50 Q.18]

14:00 Study, or help in CasaSito

18:00 Walk (including trip to Panaderia [bakers])

19:00 Supper (fresh bread/soup  Q.2)

22:00 ZZZZZZZZZ

Daily budget Q.100  (£8.50)    £1= Q.12  Daily food bill  Q.30  (£2.50)

Will not be spending anywhere near this once I have settled in and started to do more of my own cooking!

The Currency ~ Quetzales

The Spanish school, is suffering from the downturn like everywhere in Guatemala, tourist/student numbers are down dramatically. At the moment I am one of only two students in the school, this is such a shame! But everybody hopes things will pick up in the new year.

My daily 4 hour Spanish lesson consists of 75% conversation and 25% grammar which is working well for me!  Though it does rather leave your head spinning!  I am just waiting for that tipping point when I am no longer consciously translating or sentence building in my head but just speaking/comprehending.  I think this will happen in about four weeks time!

OK, this may be too much information but it is an insight into life in Guatemala and many places else besides.    

Such a hard habitual action to change ….. 
I will say no more!  Just thought I would share that with you!

I am of course the “uncle” of the volunteers in the house being about 30 years older than most of them, so it is interesting, they are not sure how to deal with me!  But, most of the volunteers in the house will change in the next two weeks so I will rise from around 7^th in the pecking order (out of 7!) to number 2 and an old hand! Which I think will bring a new dynamic and sense of place for me.

The staff at CasaSito are universally lovely! I have been made to feel so welcome, my room is simple but fine and the house has a well appointed kitchen which I will start to use more soon.  Odd keeping your food in a big plastic box and commandeering your shelf in the fridge!

Paolo (my CasaSito workmate) is very keen that I take my time to settle in and we will only really sort out my “role” in January. This works for me and CasaSito, as it is a kind of down time at the moment because the main school holiday here is from mid October to mid January. More time for the Spanish!

However, today I went on a field trip with 16 of the Business Club Scholarship Students to visit a farm (finca) growing tomatoes and a jam making factory!  It was great mixing with the students aged 14 – 22 non of whom spoke more than a word of English. We finished the trip with a communal lunch in a “restaurante comida typical” and I deliberately sat away from the other CasaSito staff and found myself happily joking with the students over lunch in pidgin Spanish. It was interesting to note that a couple of the students had probably never eaten in a restaurant before and were very nervous about their table manners!  It was a good experience for them and me! I was even taught by the boys to do the youthful Guatemalan High Five greeting/parting “with my bros!” Do ya get me?

Volcan Fuego ~ with a welcome burst of smoke this morning!

I cannot start to tell you how lovely it is to get up to sunshine and to be greeted by the site of the three volcanoes, I was definitely programmed for sunshine and a warm climate. As I walk to school in the morning everybody, but everybody, you pass says Buenas Dias and you greet everybody you know with a warm hug and/or kiss on the cheek. So civilised.

Met up with an internet friend of mine, Jaime (pronounced Hi-me) from Guatemala city this afternoon, for coffee and cake, he had very kindly travelled up on the chicken-bus despite the traffic to spend an hour with me before descending back down the mountain! Feels good to start to build a non CasaSito based network.

Tomorrow the second round elections take place for the Presidency, it would seem that most people feel that neither candidate is good, as both have a “history” that does not make the average Guatamalteco proud!  (The history seems to involve drug trafficking on the one hand and civil-war crimes on the other.) Everybody is worried for the future of the country, but  as with CasaSito iI remain detached from religious and political views- which suits me fine!

Because of the elections Alcohol is prohibited from sale from Saturday until Monday (48 hours), is that to stop people drowning their sorrows I wonder?

Well that’s is for now, I am alone in the house enjoying the peace and quiet and happily reflecting on “That was the week that was!”  Time for bed!

My room

Hasta proxima Domingo!