Wednesday, August 16th

Hola,
This has been an exciting week so far. We are learning more and more. It is becoming easier to speak the Spanish language. I learned the past tense of regular verbs this morning and will probably have my first test on Friday or Monday. Chad is coming right along too. With him not having any background in Spanish, other than adding an "o" to the end of English words, he is doing very well also. It really helps for us to speak to our host family at meals and throughout the day. They are such great supporters and are helping us a lot.

The weather here today is really nice. This morning it was freezing. Chad and I both had to wear our jackets to school. I still have mine on. It was about 65 degrees when we got up this morning. Think about how that cold shower felt then!! I shivered for about 10 minutes until I finally had to get my hairdryer to dry my hair so I wouldn't be cold anymore.

Last night we were laying in bed just about asleep and all of a sudden there were all these firecrackers that started going off just across the street from our house. Tristan sat straight up in the bed. It continued for about 10 minutes. There were people laughing and screaming and having a good time. We asked this morning what that was all about and Maria told us it was someone's birthday celebration. That is just what they do here to have fun.

This morning we ate banana pancakes for breakfast. They were really tasty. A lot of our meals here recently have consisted of typical Guatemalan food. It is really something we are having to adjust to. Lastnight we had these things called, rellenitos. They were balls of bananas that had been mashed up with beans in the center. They were coated with cinnamon and sugar and then fried. They were good, but after a few bites I couldn't eat anymore. I guess the more we eat the more we will learn to like.

Tomorrow evening we will attend bible study at the church of Christ. In all the churches we have attended in Central America, they have mid week Bible study on Thursday instead of Wednesday.

Better go for now. Lunch is in 20 minutes and I still have to walk home.
Love to everyone!
Shelly