GUACALA!

Guuuuuuuuuuuuuuacala! That is what I have to say about this beautiful picture. Kind of funny when I had just said that I hadn't seen any bugs. LOOK AT THESE HORMIGAS! They were on this banana peel on a lightpole in the street. Yummy. I bet that they probably mash them up together and fry it. Protein AND potassium... what more could you ask for?

Anyway... I digress....

Let's back up to yesterday! I had a very delightful time scouring the marketplaces and haggling with the venders... one of whom which had me transcribe a letter to her friend from Spanish to English... therefore I got a 2 for 1 deal! What a ganga! She said she was going to name one of her kids after me (Raquel). Ok, that's a lie - but she does already have a kid named Raquel - almost the same thing, right?

I LOVE my Spanish classes - my teacher is the bomb. She is so great - she comes prepared every time to give me lessons that I specifically need. She's been busy researching all sorts of medical terms and phrases that I might need and writing personalized tests to see what level my various skills are at. She's wonderful! She also is the one that took us to the awesome church in San Felipe a few days ago and then TODAY she took us somewhere else! Ok, I have a confession to make... I ate coffee today. Ek. Not on purpose!! This is what happened... we all went on a little trip out to the music museum and coffee museum of Guatemala. It was really really neat and so beautiful. But here is where I made a mistake. My dear, sweet, innocent teacher gave me a red berry during our tour and told me I should eat it because it is very tasty. I asked her if she was sure it was safe (she had just pulled it off of a random bush) and she said, 'claro!' (of course). So, I ate it and she was right, it was tasty. Too bad right after I swallowed it the tour guide started explaining about how it was a coffee berry that they later process into coffee beans. Whoops. The whole tour was very interesting - I'll make sure to include some lovely photos.

Other news... well... this morning I was waiting around for my chicken bus and up came the school bus again! Oh boy! I was kind of embarrassed and just staring at the ground a lot and then the driver started yelling out the window, "Ven! Ven! Ven! Puedes venir con nosotros" (Come! Come! Come! You can come with us!). Well, it beats getting stuffed into a van with 20 other people... so I went and I didn't even have to pay again. Buena gente. The kids kind of looked at me weird, but we made friends soon enough.

My project was pretty neat today - I stayed in the pharmacy the whole time and helped fill prescriptions - I'm sure that would not be allowed in the states haha. Yep, I filled up prescriptions (pills and syringes) and helped out the doctor the whole time. When it was time to go I went with my new friend to wait for the bus and we exchanged spanish jokes. All around a good time - I have reality checks every once in a while where I can't believe that I'm actually in Guatemala doing all of these neat things - yay for adventures!

Last night I finally decided to go out with my new friends (they have asked every night and I've always had some reason that I couldn't go). Well we went out and I was the designated "walker" haha... but it was actually a lot of fun! We went to La Sala and had a really good time - they had free drinks and I thoroughly enjoyed my very sugary pineapple juice. Then... we danced! SALSA! Man, these native people can dance!! It was a lot of fun and I got a good workout - I'm SORE today! Good times, good times.

Well, turns out I am moving rooms tonight so I need to go pack! I don't know if I will be able to get on the computer this weekend... but if not I will definitely make an update on Monday! Guatemalan love, Raquel