Primero Martes

Greetings from my new favorite cafe with free internet! I still do not know how to do an apostrophe or the at symbol, so I cannot log onto Facebook. Today we toured the main cemetery in Xela. It was muy interesante because there were tombs there based on Colonial, Greco Roman, Gothic, Egyptian and Druid architecture. It was really overcast and the volcano and mountains in the background were misty which added to the creepiness in a good way.

On the way to the cemetery I saw one of the saddest things ever. First, there are lots of stray dogs here. Lots and lots and lots. Nasty, starving, mangy, dirty, matted-fur strays that wander around and try to find some little thing to eat. And a ton of them are pregnant, or have just given birth. I try not to look at them, because it makes me way too sad to acknowledge their existance. But today, walking down my hill, I noticed a dog that looked like cross between a lab and a hound dog, and she was drinking out of a puddle and looking very thin, except she had huge, swollen, sagging teats. As I passed her, I noticed that in addition she had a prolapsed, strangulated, necrotic uterus that flies were crawling all over, and she had her tail wrapped around it to protect it. I cannot tell you what I felt when I saw her. Clearly she has had so many puppies that the musculature that normally holds that organ intact, have failed her and she expelled it, and then it got swollen, so it could not be pushed back in, which is the strangulated part, and that causes the necrosis, or tissue death. I spent the rest of the walk to the school wondering if the same drugs that can kill humans would also kill dogs. If this is so, I am not above going to the farmacia, buying a bunch of potassium or digitalis or ibuprofen and feeding it to her with some meat. I really, really, really wish Xela exterminated the strays like Guatemala City does. I never thought I would say that. But this is no place not to have a home.

Classes this morning went well. I am still so mentally exhausted. We took a field trip to a Menonite bakery two zones away, and I was expecting the Menonites to be from the States, but they turned out to be Guatemalan. I got a whoopie pie which was not very tasty and some delicious homemade blueberry yogurt. There is a fridge at the school and I can keep stuff there if I ever need it, since there is not one at home. I am excited about that. Another thing I am excited about is the fact that the student who lives above me brought Harry Potter books 1-3. I am going to start reading 1 again tonight. Harry and I have been through some of our darkest days together. I am glad to have him with me here.

Last night I tried to communicate with A., without the help of my dictionary. She had climbed up onto my bed and I said, Do you want to listen to your heart? She nodded and I got out my stethoscope and pen light and we listened to hearts and lungs and stomachs and examined eyes for about an hour. Dinner last night was amazing and so so so simple. It was a giant bowl of fresh sliced cucumber and avocado with herbs and lemon juice on it. So far, I have had 12 vegetarian meals here and no beans! I am so impressed with K., she is doing better than me at feeding me. Even though I love beans and would happily eat them, it is nice to have so much variety.

Two nights ago, A.s father arrived. I really like him. I do not know his name, so he is Senor Gaucho in my head. He wears cowboy boots and pearl snaps and has thick black hair that sticks up everywhere and a tiny Hitler moustache and a limp. He came because he had an infection in his gums and needed treatment from the nurse who lives with us. As payment, he brought one rooster and two hens. The rooster is tethered 2 feet below my bedroom window and does, all day, what I only thought roosters do at sunrise. A. loves them. The family tried to explain to me what the plans are for the new additions, but I could not understand. It seems we are to eat them or just eat the eggs, or maybe both. No se. Today at lunch, I learned the Spanish and my family learned the English for: Love is blind, love at first sight, What is in your backpack? and What are you studying? I have no idea how those phrases are related, but that is what they wanted to learn. All the stools were full at lunch, and A. needed to study, so she filled up her backpack and then halfway unzipped the sides, and sat in it like an armchair. She is a smart one.

This is a quick post because my loving, sweet, wonderful, patient maestra said, Please, please, please study and know everything we have gone over by tomorrow. Eek! I feel like I have no time. The school plans activities every afternoon and weekend, and meals with my family last hours, so I do not have a lot of time to study. But I am still getting my feet under me and will hopefully find a routine soon.

Again, I thank you for your thoughts and kind words and prayers. I feel them all the way over here!

So I will leave you be and try to learn los verbos.