kids and settling in

We were able to watch the inauguration with the rest of the world via cable TV that we have at our new place. As far as we can tell, the people of Guatemala are just as happy to see Bush go and Obama come in as we are. We celebrated with our friends Chris and Connie, and heaved a great sigh of relief.

We are thrilled with our new home. It is beautiful, bright, safe, comfortable, has really hot water, and is quiet, except for the dogs that fight over trash every night in the park across the street. Miraculously, every morning the trash, and the dogs, are gone. We are very lucky to have found the place, which seems to be one of the best deals in Xela at about $200.00 per month.

Spanish school is over, and we have started working at Education and Hope. Most of you already know that this is a center for needy kids that provides scholarships (tuition) to private schools, and after school tutoring to help the kids succeed. The public schools are notoriously bad, and private schcols (somewhat better) are very cheap: about $20.00 per month.

Having prepared ourselves for typical Central American disorganization and a manana attitude, We are very impressed with the organization and the program in general. There are 13 teachers in the afternoon who provide small classes of kids of all ages with supplement instruction.

In addition to the academic help, there are many other services that Education and Hope provides. Everyone gets a good hot lunch, and snack, a shower, backpacks, and shoes. These are all things that these kids would not otherwise have access to.

Last week we accompanied several groups of students to buy tennis shoes. They all got to choose their own shoes, within a certain price range and style. The shoes that they come to school with are always black, very cheaply constructed, and completely impractical for active kids. What an experience! 20-25 of us crammed into public transport minivans, combined with the excitement of having new shoes. Exhausting!

We have also been helping out in the kitchen quite a bit. 8 or 10 women prepare good healthy food for 86 children and all of the staff, everyday. It is quite fun and entertaining to sit around a (tiny) table chatting with the senoras (most of whom are mothers of some of children in the program) while chopping carrots, potatoes, etc. They are great teasers and since we are so green and our spanish sometimes is probably quite funny, we make good targets. We love it, of course.





Today we helped with some of the marketing at the big open market situated near the bus terminal. It is an amazing scene. A great sea of bodies mixed with huge baskets of every type of fruit and veggie imaginable - and some not imaginable. Shoppers , baskets, crates, large carts pulled by human mules, all efficiently and smoothly swerving around each other. Prices are calmly negotiated and agreed upon with each transaction. The colors and smells are astounding.

We are also taking some time for relaxing and seeing the local sights. Yesterday, with Chris and Connie, we went to a beautiful hot springs for a hot soak.

We hope you are all well and enjoying the winter, where ever you are.

First week in Xela

It is very comfortable for us to be back in this high mountain city, after 15 years. We are having to relearn our way around town, but around every corner we jiggle loose a memory (Ah, yes. We have been here).

Much of this week has been spent looking for a place to live after we finish our language school with homestay on the 17th of Jan. Walking, walking walking around town we enjoy the fresh baked bread smell from the Panaderias and the spicy scent of little tacos, that can be found everywhere

On the surface Xela does not seem to have changed much, but we do know that there has been much developement in the outskirts and there now is a modern shopping mall and a Walmart. We hold to the the theory that if we can´t see it, it doesn´t exist. We prefer the charm of the downtown area, even with it´s sidewalks that are truly obstruction courses; piecemealed together for hundreds of years, some parts two feet high, then a sudden drop off to the street. holes big enough to bury a cat, power posts right in the middle of the sidewalk, so you have to step into the street to pass. We have to maintain constant vigilence, we can´t take our eyes off of the sidewalk, but we are getting a lot of exercise.

There are some welcome changes that we have noted. Good coffee is readily available, more choices in restaurants and types of food, Video theaters, and cheap cell phones.
We are at 7700 feet here and it is COLD in the night time. Everyone wears fleece, hats, gloves, etc., and there is no heat anywhere. Gail´s hostess actually does have a heater in home, but does not use it because she believes that it is bad for her health to go from warm to cold and back again. So, she complains that she is cold all the time. On the other hand, when the sun comes out by 8:30 in the morning(everyday) it is heavenly, and we simply bask in it. In the day it is very warm and we can get down to shirt sleeves. By 5:00 everyone begins to pile on the layers again. It should begin to warm up by March.

The altitude also requires some adaptation. Even a small incline, we can become a bit winded, and there are no flat streets in this town. So up and down we go, over hill and dale, dodging telephone poles and cars, hopping over holes, puff, puff. But we did find a lovely place to move into on the 17th. A large lovely room in a house 130 years old. Very nice shared common areas, and a big sunny patio. There are only two other rooms rented out, and the owners live in the other half of the house, so we think it should be tranquila.

Our language school is excellent (Projecto Linguistico). The teachers very profesional and experienced. The school has lots of projects that benefit the communty and there are many activities for the students. Several of the teachers were part of the resistance army during the civil war that offcially ended here in 1996.

We did go by the center where we will be working -Education and Hope (which is still closed for the holidays), met some of the workers and were warmly greeted with hugs and kisses. We expect to begin going there some next week in the afternoon, after our morning language classes

We are very happy to be back here. Our good friends Chris and Connie are arriving in town on Sunday to attend the same school we are at, and it will be really fun to have them around for awhile. We hope to find an inauguration party here in town somewhere. If not, we´ll make one!

Pat and Gail