Guate....

January 16, 2009

Well ya’ll here I am in Guate…. Its really beautiful! The weather is ok…75 is better than 7 I guess, but its really chilly in the morning and at night. The other night I asked my host mom, Sylvia, for another blanket (otro poncho), and she was so reluctant to give it to me! It was weird…she just kept saying she only used one blanket and I already had three! (even though they are a sheet and two skinny blankets…) Anyway, finally she gave me another and I’ve been happy since then. Oh except the showers are cold too…haha. But I’m not complaining, its pretty much what I expected. I will have to post some pictures of my room and the house, but I haven’t downloaded the pictures yet.

To tell the truth, I was very uncomfortable when I first got here, and wanted to come home right away. It was just a spirit of fear, plus a strange, lonely, unknown place, and on top of that I started my period the day I got here so emotions were running high. I couldn’t even eat the first few days. Now, I have prayed over my room and myself, and resisted the fear that’s trying to cripple me, and am doing much better. I still get a little scared when it’s dark, even though I’m safe in the house…its just nerves though.

The third day I was here, I had a chance to explore El Parco Central, which is, as you’ve probably guessed, the Central Park. Lots of shops and cafés and restaurants are here, and I really like this area. People from all over the world are here too! So, I found this particular café called &café, (pronounced ee café) and I actually saw this on baristaexchange.com, so I went in and tried it, and it is sooooooooo good! I am drinking some right now, it is like comfort food to me J. And I just learned from the barista dude that someone from &café is the holder of the Guatemalan barista championship! And, the guy who serves me everyday, Rolando, is going to compete this year. Very interesting and awesome. As I continue to learn more Spanish I’ll be able ask him more about how he trains and stuff like that.

Well, last night I went out with some ladies I met, they are much older than me so they are ladies. Anyway, it was ok, its hard for me to drink at all because I’m not really in a comfortable environment, so I just had iced tea and it was gross. BUT…… at the end of the night, we all payed, but the waiter handed the receipt in the little leather folder to me, and said “para tí,” which means for you… so I opened it, and it was a little napkin rose that one of the waiters had made for me! Haha so flattering J. Ugh, but earlier that night at a BBQ the school put on, there was this guy, one of the friends of some random employee or student or something, and I’m not sure, but I think he was saying something bad to me, and trying to tell me “malas palabras” which is bad words. Anyway I felt really grossed out so I said, No quiero saber malas palabras…or…I don’t want to know bad words and I walked away. I really dusted myself off after that.

Ok so the ladies walked me home, because there hotel was relatively close to my house. They strongly insisted that I get another house because it is so far out of the center of town, and its dimly lit, and there are not really any people around, and they were convinced it wasn’t safe. So I’m going to talk to my parents and see what they think about changing homes… I feel bad leaving the family I’m at, but I kind of agree that it is far away, and I can’t take a cab home every night for 7 weeks. I almost have one week down though! I can’t believe it!

Ok, so BEST NEWS OF THE WHOLE TRIP! My parents knew some people back in Spokane named Fontaine and Paula Greene. (Fontaine, yes, he’s from the south haha.) So somehow they knew that the Greenes were in Guate, as missionaries, but they didn’t know where. So they contacted Angel Curtis, a mutual friend, and she used facebook to get their info, sent it to my mom, and within one hour, Paula Greene called me and I am so relieved now!

All that tension, and unrest and fear is so much more at ease now, because I know there are people here who love me and will do anything to help me if I need it! This weekend I am staying at their house, 20 minutes outside of Antigua, and I can help with their missionary projects and everything! I am soooooo happy! They have been here 3 years, so they know doctors, dentists, grocery stores, everything I might need! I am so pleased and happy and relieved. They have 2 daughters, Ali, 19, and Katy, 17. They live in a huge house that rooms about 23 people because they have guests from the states and Europe sometimes.

As for school, it is a little difficult because there are lots of words and verbs I have to learn…about 30 a day I guess, so its hard. But its what I expected, and my teacher is wonderful. Her name is Helen, and she is only 24 but has been teaching 6 years. She is a Christian too! So we have talked about how we became Christians, and her story is very cool. She says it’s hard, but she knows what she believes. Its funny because I think she goes to a Baptist church or something like that…IDK exactly. She was raised Catholic, but a Jehovah’s Witness first introduced her to the idea of Protestantism. And a Mennonite encouraged her to read the Bible and gave her a Spanish/English Bible, and they talked about the Lord.

Haha two little kids just tried to sell me these cute little bracelets but I didn’t want them. The prices went from 50 to 40 to 30 to 20 really fast haha….

Ok…other details:

My email is nconnolly86@hotmail.com

My number here is 4395-3991 but I don’t know the country code, sorry you’ll have to look it up. But I have limited minutes so if its not emergency, just email me.

Love you all! See you soon.

Noelle

ps i have skype too... just search my name: noelle connolly