Espantosa

Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday, Rebekah and I eat lunch at Ophelias house. Ophelia lives with her thgree beautiful daughters, Vanessa, Marissa, and Silvia. The first time we ate with them, Rebekah wanted to tell the family how she was feeling about teaching at the school the next day. She wanted to say "Im scared" but didnt know how. So, she turned to me, the all knowing Spanish Master. I told her that "scared" was "espantosa". I forgot that "espantosa" actually means "scary" until Rebekah said "estoy espantosa"... The family and i had a pretty good laugh, and Rebekah was left in the dark, wondering what she said. I felt bad for accidentally giving her wrong information, but it made for a good laugh. FYI, "Im scared" is "tengo miedo."

Peanut Butter

I have come to the conclusion that when you leave the country, you automatically crave peanut butter. I have always thought it was a little strange that the first concern of a missionary leaving the country was wheter or not the place they are serving would have peanut butter or not. Well, Im here to say.... I ALWAYS CRAVE PEANUT BUTTER HERE! It is so strange, because I never remember another time in my life where i have wanted peanut butter. Thankfully there is one store here that sells it. Peanut butter must be like an escape to America. So..... if you plan on leaving the country soon.... BRING PEANUT BUTTER! :)

Guatsup! Pictures...... Pics pics pics

I have taken over 800 pictures in the last 2 weeks of being in Guatemala... here are just a few. Enjoy! More to come!
Rebekah and I next to an "alfombra" during Semana Santa

A cool waterfall on our way back from Panajachel

Rebekah and I with two people during the celebration of Semana Santa in Antigua. Many men wore these purple robes and carried sculptures of Christ.

A picture of Patzicia... gloomy day, but maybe you will get the idea.

My "brothers" Joseph and Edy.

Rebekah and I at the ruins of an old Monastery.

Hiding in a a hole in the wall....

Rebekah and I at the top of the Monastery ruins.

Two girls at the market.

2 of my "little brothers" Joshua (left) and Joseph (right).

This sign was at the ruins of Iximche.... It says not to climb on the structures (ruins) but Omar, who was with us, told us that rules dont apply in Guatemala, and that everybody climbs on them.... haha. so we climbed anyway...

There are guys like this guy everywhere....

A a bunch of the people in the street in Santiango.

A gillion people at the beach.

Rebekah, me, and my "mom", Domitila.

Some random men in Guatemala.

These are some of the women in Guatemala. This might give you an idea of what the women look like.

This is home in my neighborhood. A lot of the houses look like this, but there are a lot of nicer ones too. (not nice in the US standards... but still :)

These are 2 women in the market place selling their fruits and vegetables.

This is the school I work at. Nice, huh?

A mom and her daugters in Santiago.

Gallos

It is a common misconception that roosters (gallos) only crow once... at the break of dawn. This is a very large misconception, actually. In fact, roosters crow at every hour, night or day. Thy crow at midnight, 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, 4:00... etc. All day, every day. I will learn a lot in Guatemala... but this was the first thing I learned! Haha!

Justin Bieber in Guatemala

Your are probably wondering why my first post from being here in Patzicia Guatemala is about Justin Bieber. Some background information first. I live in a very very poor part of Guatemala. I also live with the poorest family in the "Zarahemla Colony". Living with them is a blessing to them, however, because we pay them for rent and laundry and we buy things from their little "tienda" downstairs. That being said, all of the colony is very poor. They live off of basically nothing. On Tuesday, my "mom", Domatila, took us to the market (kinda like a supersized farmers market( all the women were wearing traditional clothing, and were selling their vegetables and fruits and such. (FYI, in guatemala a lot of the people are literally scared of cameras. They believe that taking pictures takes or steals away part of their soul). So as I was walking through this 3rd world market place, I found it kind of humerous that I heard the familiar voice of Justin Bieber being played in the streets. Then, later that night, my "little brother", Joseph, came up to mine and Rebekahs apartment and asked if I had music on my phone (he is probably used to volunteers with cell phones). I said no, but I told him I had music on my ipod. I played Justin Bieber for Joseph, and he knew all the words! He sang "Baby" almost the whole way through. He didnt really know what he was saying, and was mostly mumbling the words, but when it came to the chorus, he clear sang "Baby, baby, baby ohhhh... baby, baby baby oh!.... I thought youd always be mine... mine.." (i cant find the apostrophy on this spanish keyboard....) Anyway. Even in third world countries, where they basically live off of nothing, Jusitin Bieber is still very famous.

Welcome Home Kenton!

2nd friend back from his mission! Welcome home Kenton! He served in the Louisville Kentucky Mission. Also note a new friend added to our group photo... Reed McCashland. He is engaged to Carrie... lucky man!

We love you Kenton!

My Bags Are Packed!

I leave for my new adventure in Guatemala tomorrow!!! Thats right. Six weeks of teaching English in Guatemala. I'm so excited! This is a picture of the family I will be staying with. It is a couple years old, but you get the idea. The American lady in the picture is the principal of the school I will be teaching at. Her name is Denise. The father is Juan, the mother is Domitlia. The man on the far left is their oldest son, and the lady next to him is his wife with their son on her lap (I don't know their names). On Domitila's lap is Joshua (3 years old). The boy in the front is Edy (17 years old). On Denise's lap is Joseph (8 years old) and next to Denise is Carlos (who is actually on his mission in Panama right now).

I will try to keep you updated on the blog of all the excitement in Patzicia, Guatemala!