Finally some stability!
I can explain my ridiculous luckiness in having wireless internet in my room later, but for now...Guatemala is wonderful!
I won't say a lot about the journey. It was long and kind of awful, but of course we had to get here! A large group of 50+ isn't easy to transport that far. Anyhow, I saw NYC for the first time out of a bus window while half asleep. That was about it. Moving on...
Arriving in Guate (Guatemala City) was overwhelming. The very nice airport greeted us, while the city throbbed with movement (you could feel it even in the semi climate- controlled airport). We immediately went through customs (sin problema) and boarded very bright chicken buses (If you haven't seen one, google it!) that took us through the vibrantly confusing congestion of Guate to the official site of the Peace Corps office in a much smaller town nearby. Upon arrival at the office (a beautiful space with many rooms, a courtyard full of blue hydrangeas, and friendly staff), we were briefly oriented to basic safety and survival techniques to get us through three days with our very first host family. There were three of us assigned to our family, where Dona Argentina made us very comfortable. The photo with this post is in their house. Our host mother had a salon in the front of the house (streetside) and their living quarters were in the back. There were two connected rooms with three beds for us, very simple but comfortable. Everyone in the family was so welcoming. It is kind of a blur in retrospect, but their smiling faces (and delicious Guatemalan food- with some pancakes thrown in one morning) were a perfect introduction to Guatemala.
There are so many colors here. I have never visited a country with such color, though I know many Latin American countries do. It is a little like the island of Burano near Venice that I visited while on abroad. The mountains and volcanoes are beautiful, gorgeous, overwhelming of course. As you can tell, I am still very much in the honeymoon stage with Guatemala and really just want to write about how "pretty" it is.
Moving on, I have been assigned to a family in a small town near Antigua for training. I will be living with them and doing intensive training in Spanish and Healthy Homes techniques for three months. And their home is my oasis - my Guatemalan Madre is amazing. She takes care of me, watches out for me, allows me to make a fool out of myself in Spanish while guiding me toward the correct phrasing, and suffers long walks because I am so interested to see everything in this town. In other words, she's an angel. Our relationship is obviously developing as I've only been here two days, but I already know that my host family relationship is going to work out well. They have a seven-year-old grand-daughter who definitely needs a playmate, and who is hilarious. I think we're going to be good friends - we are already practicing our English/Spanish together. My host Padre is kindly, always grinning and joking, and is a leatherworker who makes shoes. Also in the house is a host brother, much older, who lives in their house and is my savior since his presence is the reason for the the wireless internet that I get to use. In other words, this family will be the people with whom I am going to laugh at my many mistakes, begin to understand the culture and the problems that Guatemala faces, and feel at home in another country. Their house is lovely and elegant, with two small gardens, a few courtyards, a dove, a parakeet, and lots of pink stucco. My room is an oasis - good-sized, with my own "bathroom" (a shower, toilet, and "pila," all very open-air but still very private) right nearby. I actually have wireless internet because my host brother works on computers for a living and has lots of technical devices. Also, I have cable television- including a good number of channels in English like the BBC, and many others in Spanish. I could even watch American Idol! What a strange reflection of Guatemalan culture to present to all of you. This technical situation is not normal, and therefore not a focal point of my stay. It does mean that it will be easier to keep in touch and post to this blog. Feel free to email, I will get it promptly! However, there is a whole different world outside (and also inside) my casa. There are so many reflections on the less cushy parts of Guatemala that I have already experienced in my head, but a rooster is crowing nearby and it is time for bed, but I will look forward to writing more details later!