Hola Guatamala

Click the following link to view our photos (still trying to figure out how to embed it)
http://picasaweb.google.es/agnestoan/Antigua

(I have updated this entry with some of the different foods and drinks we have tried)

In Wilson´s upcoming blog entry, he will detail how we´ve settled into our new home in Antigua, Guatamala, with our new family and more on our experiences. In short, we´ve enjoyed our first five or so days in Antigua and are getting acquainted with the "lay of the land" and soaking in the culture and experience.

I wanted to share some quick observations, differences I (Agnes) have experienced in the last five days. But first, I wanted to detail some of the different foods / drinks we've tried:

* A ball of tamarind wrapped w sugar. VERY sweet and definitely too sweet to finish. Even one of the locals, my instructor, was unable to finish one.

* Corn flakes. Well I couldn't eat it since I can't drink milk but Wilson had it. Box looks exactly the same as the US, and from what I understand, tastes exactly the same.

* Pan (bread). Guatamala has a great variety of breads to choose from. Most of them are a bit sweet and they come in all shapes and sizes (for the kid in you).

* Gallo - a local beer in Antigua similar to Budweiser in the States. Dorado is the other one. But ironically, one of the brazilan beers was cheaper than the two local beers. Beer can cost from $1.50 to $2 something. The tourist places and ones with more atmosphere definitely charge more.

* Cubre de Libre – this is always the cheapest drink on the menu. It is a local rum and (flat) coke with a lime. You can buy one for about a dollar.

* A typical Guatamalan tamale. The maiz (corn) was definitely softer than the typical maiz in the states. It was soaked with cheese, sauce and two pieces of chicken.

* Tortilla with queso (cheese) and pineapple, topped with a tangy cabbage. Delicious.

* Coffee. I understand Guatamala is known for its coffee and now I know why. Just a little gives a mouthful of flavor. The flavor is strong and bold and just yummy. Not sure how else to describe it.

* Frijoles (beans). We've tried every variation of black beans from refried (it literally looked like a nice brownie; I was a bit disappointed when I found it it wasn't) to whole beans to pinto beans. Great for the digestion!

* Cookie. I had this yellow cookie with jelly in the middle. Although I thought I was trying a typical Guatamalan cookie, it was exactly the same as an almond cookie with jelly, rather than an almond, in the center. At least it tasted familiar.

* Fresh pineapple and orange juice. These juices are totally fresh and then blended just for a smoothie-like texture. It was by-far one of the best fruit juices we've ever had.

Now onto the observations:

* I´m sure many of you have seen this but one of the things we´ve noticed almost immediately is the sense of balance many of the women have in this city. What I mean is that you´ll see many Guatamalan woman with this special talent to balance large baskets of goods on their head (see photo). Wilson wants to learn before we leave. It´ll be interesting to how he does.

* Women work very hard (all day) with household chores especially when it comes to cooking and cleaning: http://www.ifad.org/gender/learning/project/part/gt_5_2.htm. Our house mom, Hilda, cooks all three meals for the nine students in the house, including her extended family, and also helps her workers clean. She is always doing something around the house when I see her.

* The air here is extremely polluted. When a ´chicken´ bus goes by you can see the black cloud of smoke it leaves behind (yuck). I take for granted the good air quality we have in the US. I can safely assume there are no strict regulations for air quality control. And with a lingering cough that I have not quite gotten rid of, I can´t seem to shake off the cough.

* Parents raise their kids much different here than in the US (at least from recent observations). Several days back, we were in a restaurant where a 9-year old was waiting on our large table. In addition to taking our order, she was taking care of her 3-year old sister. She will, obviously, have no problem finding a job when she gets older with her early waiting experience. Parents are also less concerned (or paranoid) with the safety of their kids. Kids can run around and play in front of a restaurant or house during the day and at night. And just yesterday (Monday), I noticed two girls, no older than 8 and 11, running a little store that sold Guatamalan goods. Amazing.

* There are a number of dogs roaming the streets (typically in 2 or 3s) looking for food. According to our house mom, many owners have dogs but since they are too poor to buy food for the perros (dogs), they let the dogs run around on the street to fend for themselves (see photo of scraggly dog; could not get photo of its partner)

* I am having a heck of a time with these espanol keyboards. Many of the symbols are located in different areas of the keyboard. As a make-shift, I am copying various symbols from MSFT and pasting it in.

* Last but not least, and maybe less related to the differences and observations, I´ve realized my spanish is AWFUL. I use to tell people who asked if I spoke spanish that I speak ¨un poco,¨ which means a little. But I´ve noticed since my arrival, I speak nada (none). I have memorized certain phrases and words but when it comes to forming grammatically correct sentences, I can´t do it. Oh well. That´s why we are taking four hours of spanish a day.

That is it for today.

Hasta pronto!