Week two is officially over. I have a stack of 500 notecards with new vocab and verbs not counting the vocab written in my notebook. It is a little frustrating trying to learn over 600 new words in 2 weeks along with new concepts, but I am slowly learning this language. My teacher has continued to push me hard, almost to the point of complete frustration and giving up, but I have made it through. Now I have the weekend to explore a bit of Guatemala with the little time that I have left here.
Last Sunday was my first day exploring. A friend at the school suggested a church to attend and it was great. It was completely in Spanish, but I was able to understand the songs and a bit of the message. After the service, the pastor suggested a local restaurant to try. I had to go to the hotel by the church and they would bus me up the mountain to this restaurant. The restaurant was named El Tenedor del Cerro (The Fork of the Hill). It was an amazing restaurant that overlooked the town of Antigua. Along with the restaurant there was a small art gallery, sculptures, bird cage and some other sights. When I got back to the town, I walked to the hill on the other side of town and hiked up that hill. That hill is called Cerro de la Cruz (Hill of the Cross). There is a huge cross on the side of the hill over looking the city. It was absolutely beautiful.
Now after another week of studying it is time to explore some more. Tomorrow morning I am going to hike up Volcano Pacaya. It is an active volcano about an hour outside of Antigua. It only costs $16 for round trip bus ride, a guide and entrance to the volcano. People say that you can roast marshmallows over the lava and that there is a cave at the top. Volcano Pacaya is a big tourist attraction and I guess is a must see for anyone visiting Antigua. Next weekend me and some friends are going to some lake town that is about 3 hours away and staying the night. All of the students go there at some point and say that is also a must see. However, I don't really know what is there that is so cool, but it should be a great weekend.
This town is wonderful and the people I live with are amazing. It seems like we are all laughing so hard at every meal. They only speak Spanish yet that hasn't been a barrier for conversation. My body finally had enough of the different food and trying to fight off any germs, and I finally got sick this week. Thanks to God it only lasted 2 days. Some people are affected for a week or more from the food. Thank you for you prayers. I ask for continued prayers for safety, health, and the ability to learn this language. I miss you all back home, but I know that God is going to do amazing things here and in the DR.
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