A great week

You know the routine if you get this by email - click on the title of the blog and view from within the blog iyself.

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!