Dia numero uno.

Finalmente, with only 5 quetzales in my pocket, I´m sitting at the school computer lab while it pours rain outside, its the rainy season here... I have no money because my atm card is locked in a safe that will not be accessable until monday. oops. anyways. day one, after a 6 hour flight, 9 hours wandering the houstan airport, 3 hours flight, and 5 hour busride...we made it to quetzaltanengo, guatemala. or ¨xela¨ as some call it. For this weekend, becasue the other houses are full, Elizabeth, my travel buddy and I are in the same host family, with one other american student, 3 guatemalan students, 3 children ages 2 to 6, David, Daniel, y NIcolita. but you have to say that with the accents casue its way cuter that way. they are very sweet and its great. muchto the children´s detriment, we have taken over their bedroom and snoopy comforters for the weekend. Tomorrow I´ll get a new host home.

Yesterday morning we went to San Fransisco Mercado, a Friday market in a city outside of Xela. The market was surprisingly similar to those in rural china. Meaning, crazy with toiletries, street food, beautful veggies, fruits, cow heads, stomach, brains, fish, clothes, pretty colorful textiles that the indigenous women wear, electornics, baby chicks, puppies, cows, pigs, etc. it was fun but I was a little too overwelmed to buy anything just yet.

Despues del mercado, we took the ¨chicken¨bus back to Xela and Elizabeth and I explored the city a bit, mostly meaning we got lost and wandered around. We did see the central parque, and I found a chinese restaurant but have yet to try it. Today this guy told us about this Taiwanese Empenanda place taht is apparently delicious. You dip the empanada in a soy sauce mix, i´m excited to try it.

Xela is a smallish city but there are many other language schools and not a lack of foreigners. Later that night there was a dinner at the school to celebrate those graduating and those new arrivals. we had a stew, and tamales. after dinner there were some people doing salsa and i purchased a litre of beer at the corner store to share. the other students are all about in their twenties from all over. the best are 4 silly southerners from duke divinity school. who i have all sorts of stereotypes about but are actualloy really cool and kind of funny. A girl from Iceland and I had a little talk about socialism as we hiked today. Its neat to meet all the interesting travelors, even though we talk way too much in English, Elizabeth and I are trying really hard to keep it to the Espanol though. pictures may follow later, i can´t figure out the usb...