A little Random

This blog is about a bunch of random topics!

----After a few days of arriving in Antigua I moved into my new residence - guesthouse (casa de huésped), and stayed the night there even though my parents were still in town. One of my favorite thing about Antigua is the beauty all around you...you can look in one direction and see Volcano Agua, in another you see multiple mountains and tiny villages... all of the houses are different colors, the streets are cobblestone, people are walking, riding their bikes or motorcycles, small tiendas (shops) open, and women everywhere are making tortillas. It really is so beautiful to me!
Our house is red with a black door...you walk inside and down a long hallway; the rooms are on the right hand side. If you continue down you will run into the dining room with the kitchen to the right. The dinning room has another entrance to the outside where there is the yard with a bathroom, a pila (what you can wash your clothes in) . There is another bedroom up the stairs directly outside of the dinning room as well. My bedroom is quite large with two beds, and a full bathroom. We also have stairs that will take you to the roof, where there are chairs to sit and relax. The roof is the best place to be after a large storm. If it is light outside you can see the clouds move across the mountains, like the mountains are smoking. If it is dark outside, the villages/homes in the distance look a lot like spaceships. :)

I don't normally get up until 7:15am -7:30am for breakfast, but because I am a light sleeper I am initially woken up around 5am-5:30am. The birds are very active in the morning and I hear them walk across our roof...I swear it sounds like a heard of sheep, or like a couple of dogs playing. It is like they are chasing each other around... I usually can fall back asleep, but it happens every morning!!!

One of the best sights in the morning is when I head to work, I walk out of our house, I turn directly around and see Aqua. She is beautiful!!! Most of the mornings it is totally clear so I can see the little villages on Agua, I can see the trees, and the very top of the volcano. By mid morning, afternoon, she is partly covered with clouds so the view is good, just different.

I walk to school on the sidewalk and cobblestone streets. The cars have the ride -a- way so you have to watch where you are crossing. Antigua is set up in a block system so it is really easy to figure your way around. And like most block systems, some roads are only one way. The streets aren't labeled well, so you must memorize a few major roads so you can learn your way around. My walk to work takes me 20-25 minutes depending on the route I go, and how fast I decide to walk that day!

---If it doesn't rain by the afternoon you can almost guarantee it will rain that evening. You learn to bring your rain coat with you all of the time, or decide to take the rain head on!

---I work with 4 other Americans at La Union and 4 Guatemalans. The Americans consist of 2 guys (Zak and Zach) and 2 girls (Vanessa and Annie)...all of whom I feel fairly close with already. I work with them all most days of the week. There is one guy (Zach) & girl (Annie) that work at La Union - the Spanish school and I don't see them but about a hour a day at the English school. I also live with Zach, and because I don't see him much at work, we usually hang out every night together. I am quickly becoming really close to the girls (Vanessa and Annie), they are close to me in age, and have the same interests as I do - I am soooo thankful to have females around me! Even Vanessa and I have been talking about getting an apartment together in the near future. She has her life here like I do now, so we might as well as live together forever...or at least for the time being!
Our guesthouse has two other people staying in it currently...both male. One is younger and from the states but is here in the meantime learning about the culture. He never comes out of his room but to eat...so I am not sure what he has been experiencing...but hey, I am not here to judge. The other man is from Canada and is here to learn Spanish and work with various volunteer groups. He seems to be an interesting man and really wants to be involved. He comes and goes a lot so I haven't had much time to talk with him.
We are suppose to have someone else stay here in a couple of days. We are not sure where she is from...so I will update you when I know.

---I think I experienced my first earthquake the other day. I am not sure if that is true because it happened around 3-4 in the morning so I could have been dreaming. I woke up to my bed shacking and the house shaking for about 3 seconds. Again, I am sure this happened, but I can't know 100%. I asked Zach whom I live with, but he said he is a hard sleeper and doesn't remember anything. Earthquakes are quite common here, but they tend to be fairly small. They also tend to be side to side earthquakes which usually don't do damage, as opposed to the up and down earthquakes. The houses and buildings here in Antigua as are customer designed to handle modest earthquakes. :)


---We (Zach, Vanessa, Annie and some of V's friends) have been hanging out at local cafes listening to live bands, or dancing. It has been so much fun and I have been staying out way too late. I feel like I am 19 again!! haha But it has been extremely fun getting to know the friends I work with and meeting people from Guate and other countries. Most recently I have meet people from Canada, and Europe.