Saturday, January 24, 2009

Friday Evening Thoughts

Well, I got my computer out last night and wrote down a few thoughts... here they are!

Blog: January 23rd, 2009

Well, it’s been five days in Antigua, and I still love the town. The noise of the city is very different from small town WA or AB, but it’s still different from a big city in the US or CA. Every day, thousands of Guatemaltecos walk to work in the city, hoping to make enough to support their family for another month. We, on the other hand, walk to Spanish School and learn how to communicate effectively in a different language.

Sometimes the acquisition of Spanish is hard and slow work, and yet at other times it goes quickly, comprehension is high, and we start enjoying talking in a language different from our native one. As for myself, I find learning Spanish to be exciting! Yes, I get tired, and yes, sometimes it is frustrating that I don’t know what the other person is trying to communicate, but when I actually have a decent conversation with someone about something other than how they are doing, I come away incredibly encouraged!

Yesterday, for Impact Group, my team went for ice cream at Seritas (a chain spread throughout Guatemala) and then walked to the Spanish Embassy. At the Embassy, we used los banos (I mentioned that before) and wandered through different pieces of abstract art. These included a string maze, a prison cell that an artist lived in, stars filled with popcorn falling off a wall, a tiny wooden structure, huge beans, movies with ants carrying peace signs and national flags, etc. We wandered through and laughed at it. =)

Yesterday evening, Kaitlyn and I went next door to visit Erika and Vanessa in their house. After visiting briefly in their room, we climbed a ladder onto the roof and visited for awhile while looking at the stars and some of the nearby rooftops. It was beautiful, fairly quiet, and great companionship.

Today was the last day of Spanish School for the week. Nosotros no tenemos tarea para el fin de semana. Solamente practico. (We don’t have any homework for the weekend. Only practice) Tomorrow we will visit a volcano, hiking to the top and then staying until a little after dark so that we can see the lava better. I’ll see what I can do pictures-wise. =)

Let’s see, a bunch of you have wanted to see my schedule for the next while, so here it is:

January 19-29 == Spanish School, living in language homes in Antigua
January 30-February 5 == Spanish School, living at CEMI (Fuego), school in Antigua
February 5-March 10 == Guatemala Bible School, classes: PFIM & CA, also ministry weekends at our team’s church in Chimaltenango.
March 11-18 == Spiritual Retreat at Panajachel (Lake Atitlan), seminars and fun.
March 19-31 == Ministry Practicum in El Salvador (in teams)
April 1-5 == Chimaltengo, Guatemala (GBS), prep for returning/debrief/wrap-up
April 5 == Return to Prairie: Three Hills, Alberta, Canada
April 7-23 == Theology class
April 24 == Baccalaureate
April 25 == Graduation!

I hope this gives you a good idea of what we’re up to. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments section!

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