First Full Day in Guat!

Greetings! I am writing to you from the McDonald's in Antigua. Don't hate! We've been trekking all afternoon, and were headed to a bookstore/internet cafe called the Rainbow Cafe, when we ran into Robin, who is enrolled in the same school as Miriam, and she said, "You have to check out the garden at McDonald's." So we did, and we got sucked in. Just now, Miriam said, "This is SO weird. All of a sudden, it just hit me." It is weird, that we're hanging at Evil Empire, but Robin was right, the courtyard is GORGEOUS. Seriously, people get married in places this pretty. I don't think we'll make a habit of it, but our legs were tired so we stayed.

The past two days have been wonderful. When I arrived we went straight to Miriam's grandmother's house to pick up her dad and the rest of the stuff. Henry & Stephen were already in Antigua at their favorite hostel, Jungle Party. They reserved a bed for me, so the three of us are there, Dn. Ed and Mrs. Myrna stayed at this lovely little B&B that used to be a government official's house. The roof terrace is incredible. We took some photos up there last night, with the volcano and cathedrals behind us.

Before we arrived in Antigua, we went to the Hogar to meet Mother Ines. I had never met her before, but the Martins have been coming to the orphanage for the past 15 years. We ate lunch with the children and the other volunteers who were there and then toured the chapel and the grounds and the woodshop. Myrna said that Guatemala has been closed for international adoptions for the past two years, so the children there will remain at the orphanage until they age out of it or leave of their own will. It's so lovely and the children were delightful. The woodworking shop was very impressive, they had all kinds of computer guided saws and make really beautiful puzzles, toys, jewelry boxes, etc. The wood used is mainly driftwood that is collected by Mother Ines's parents.

An aside, Coldplay is really popular here. Or rather, Coldplay is really popular at McDonald's and at Jungle Party.

After visiting with Mother Ines, who I am in love with, we left Guatemala City for Antigua. I was dropped off at Jungle Party to check in with the guys, and Miriam was taken to her homestay. She TOTALLY lucked out with her homestay -- she is living in this beautiful home above a bakery and she has a maid. Plus, her house mother is a doll. We sat and talked with her for about a half hour last night, and I was able to keep up with about 1/8 of what was being said. Success!

Today we all met for brunch at a little place called Fernando's that the guys love. Prior to brunch, I had made it all the way out of bed and to the hammock on the patio. Henry and Stephen were both in hammocks, too, and reading novels, and I was beginning to feel very left out. The downside of getting everything I need into one bag, was that I had no room for a fun book. All I have on my are my school books. I was sulking that I had nothing but "Medical Spanish" to read when I chanced upon a beat up copy of Haruki Murakami's "After Dark." I was so excited! I read his "The Wind Up Bird Chronicle" several years ago, and I hated it, and then once it was over, I decided I had actually loved it and I missed reading it.

So, brunch -- Fernando roasts his own coffee and now chocolate. We got chocolate crepes and coffee, and if you're ever here, you'll have to do that too. After brunch, we walked around a bunch. We found this gorgeous hotel called "The House of a Thousand Flowers" and toured it and decided that if our friends the Baumgartners ever come to Guatemala, we'll make them stay there. We also toured some ruins and a cathedral and ran across a Mayan woman doing her laundry in a public pila in a square near the cathedral. This was exciting to see, because it's how I'll be doing my laundry once I'm in Xela.

Dn. Ed and Myrna left this afternoon. The guys are here for another two weeks, but on Thursday they're leaving us in Antigua and heading east to a resort town called Lanquin. I'll stay at Jungle Party until Friday, and then MRM and I will take a bus to Xela, stay in a hostel there for two nights, before I meet my host family on Sunday.

We're really enjoying ourselves here. I've never vacationed anywhere like this -- I'm totally digging being surrounded by a volcano and such gorgeous architecture. OK, MRM's computer battery is beginning to die. I hope all of you are well.