The second week of language school is over

Well folks I completed yet another full week of Español immersion. I heard you ask if I could habla español. Si, hablo español unpiqueto. Es poco, poco, poco. Remember that I am not as young as I used to be so I am allowing myself the luxury of not stressing (too much) over my progress/lack of. But as we all know it is one day at a time, and especially here in Guatemala. Today I acknowledged to mi maestro that I was hestitante to speak español, but I realized also that I could understand a lot more each day. So I have to practico, practico, practico.

Yesterday I went on a field trip with 14 other students to Zunil. It is a farming community about 30 minutes from Xela. http://www.thresholds.net/zunil/index.html We walked around the pueblo and visit a catholic church, a cooperative run by local indigenous women, and then we went to visit San Simon. (The following is copied) San Simón is housed in a squat, large, one-room dwelling that sits with another building and a wooden shack in a dirt yard surrounded by a four-foot stone wall. This compound is at the edge of the farms across the valley floor from the main part of town. San Simón is a life-sized doll who sits in a hand-carved, wooden throne-like chair against the wall away from the door of this building. He was dressed (they change his clothes like they do the saints in the churches) in black cowboy boots, slacks, red vest, black gloves, white shirt with black tie, rainbow-tinted, reflective, aviator sunglasses and a fedora. His face is a painted wooden mask. There is another mask sitting on a side table. Directly in front of him are many votive candles and candlesticks in white, blue, purple, red, green, yellow, and black without holders. The candlesticks are stuck to the cement floor with melted wax. On either side of this glowing pond are large vases of flowers. Crudely made, low benches line the side walls and the close ceiling is hung with strings of plastic banners of Pepsi signs and tissue paper cut outs. There are no windows in this room and no interior lighting except the candles. The dusty, butterscotch afternoon sun came through the wide, low doorway, a sea of floating particles of earth and incense. You have to see this so please go to the following link. http://www.visitguatemala.com/nuevo/ver_servicio.asp?id=3572

This week has been filled with language classes and afternoon and evening events. The movie we were to see earlier this week was changed because we could not get the English subtitles to work on the film. So instead we watched a Michael Douglas film Traffic which was OK. It is a story about drug smuggling between Mexico and the United States. The funny thing about this movie was that as we listen to it in English it had English subtitles, but when they were speaking Spanish there were no subtitles. But as we all know actions speak louder than words. Afterwards I walked home alone at 10 p.m. In order to get to where I live I have to walk through a barrio where once I used the winos as landmarks. But at night the winos are different men than the daytime drunks. It was kind of scary when they started yelling ¨gringo¨. Later I learned that it was not to threaten me but only to ask me for money. But being an experienced city walker I just walked faster as you all can imagine.

Tonight is graduation night for students who are leaving. Faculty and staff are providing dinner and students bring drinks. So I have to get going so that I can buy something for myself and others to enjoy.