My First Few Days

Although I´ve written nearly 20 pages in my journal, I´m going to try to describe what I´ve seen and done these past few days a bit more briefly so I can afford to walk out of this Internet cafe. My start here was a bit rocky due to long flight delays (ice and wind) and missed ground connections in Guatemala City. I arrived in La Antigua in the early evening and was warmly greeted by my host family, the Romas---Senor Hector, Senora Sondra, Diego (14 yrs old) and Sphie (11 yrs. old).
The house itself is a stucco building with a large wooden door (large enough for their car to pass through). Here, many people are completed walled off from the street but when you enter their homes they have tiny courtyards filled with beautiful tropical plants. In order to rent out a room, my family all share one room for sleeping---can you imagine? They also have a tiny but lovely kitchen (with separate washing area) and an even smaller living room. The wash area is used for dishes, laundry, and bathing. I chose this particular home because it advertised hot water but as luck would have it, the heater is not working so I´m in training for the world´s fastest showers! The temperature here is so beautiful---hesitate to say just how nice because of what I know must be going on back home. When I wake up at 5 a.m. it is about 40 degrees (which makes the shower even faster!) but as the sun rises and the clouds clear, it may reach anywhere from 65-75 degrees.
There is a tiny, tiny terrace where I can sit and watch the sun rise each morning---once the clouds begin to lift, the most glorious view of the three nearby volcanoes appear. Two are active and have dark jets of smoke spewing from their cones. Several nights ago I was awakened by rumblings from one of them. Last night at 1:00 a.m., there was an earthquake south of us that sent trembles our way---strong enought that I thought someone was jiggling the bed. Everyday something new and exciting!
Before beginning work with ¨Camino Seguro¨as they call it here, I must go through a fairly intensive orientation which includes four hours of one-on-one Spanish lessons each day---have you ever heard the saying about old dogs and new tricks? It´s true! By the time my class is over each day I can literally feel my brain smoking! I won´t get to actually see the school until Monday but I am encouraged to learn the language and the ropes so I can begin tutoring the kids right away.
Yesterday I went on an excursion and climbed 7,000 ft. Volcano Pacaya. This computer does not have a USB port to allow any photo downloading but will post photos soon of this experience that might just be the most incredible of my life. 1)Because I could never imagine myself making such an arduous climb and 2) because it was the most incredibly beautiful and surreal panorama! We hiked part of the way and rode horses at some points---the terrain ranged from lush forested paths to large rocky ones to hardened lava and ash. We were able to make the summit in approx. 3 hours and stood within feet of molten rivers of lava---several of the people in my group melted the bottoms of the shoes and two others burned themselves fairly badly trying to roast marshmallows! The descent was one of the most frightening things I´ve ever done---we remained near the top to see the lava in the dark and to watch the sky fill with stars, whose abundance and brilliance made me want to cry. But, that left us with a long and treacherous journey back down the slope in pitch black. By this point my legs were so exhausted they were just shaking so I rode on horseback for a while----but it was very steep and rocky and I never really trusted that horses´night vision is better than humans so I walked, slowly and awkwardly (waiting all the while for the jaguar they say lives in the area to jump on me!) the rest of the way. Got home late last night only imagining how nice a hot shower would feel because all the smoke and ash was quickly rinsed off in my polar shower.
I tell everyone and anyone that will listen to my broken Spanish about my wonderful family, kids, friends and school. By the way, I send everyone positive thoughts every night at 9:00 by the light of the same big moon that lights all of our evening skies. Abrazos y besos!