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Antigua...the old capital...the old, old city filled with monsterous ruins from it's glory years...and tourist from many countries.  Here the streets are all cobblestones...the size of baseballs...the stores & restaurants are ancient buildings & homes re-purposed without losing the character of the original building.  Two city blocks are crammed with handicraft items:  bags, purses, wood carvings, belts, ceramic figures, cultural clothing & trinkets so numerous it just overwhelms you as you walk by shop after shop as the merchants hound you..."Lady like a pretty scarf?  I have beautiful blouse.  Many color.  You want to buy bag?  I give you good price today.  Only for you. etc. etc."  If you dare let your eyes fall on an item, the sales pitch gets louder & faster...and if you pick up an item to examine it...good luck trying to get away!  Honestly, I would have like to buy more than I did but the suitcase space & weight is a good deterrent.  We followed a walking tour and located all the sites and learned much about the history of this city.  I especially enjoyed visiting an ancient convent that took up a whole city block.  It had a circular room where about 30 small cells had served a bedrooms.  I was surprised to see how many of the other rooms were now used as offices with hardly any change to the original decaying walls.  Of course, churches outnumbered the gov't buildings and one of each had been restored.  Another convent has also been restored including the archway above the street that provided a path for the nuns so they couldn't be seen crossing the street.  That convent is now a hotel.  Domes sit majestically on top of most every building and the wall that surrounds Antigua is covered with flowering vines.  And the backdrop to this beauty are three towering volcanoes...one that almost destroyed the city and one still quite active which Rog saw proof of.  Another active one, Pacaya is about an hour away.  We arranged a tour and around 4 pm we began the ascent...it was hot, steep & unstable.  After about 2 km, I gave into the guy who was walking behind me & leading a horse who every time I sat down to rest, would ask "Taxi?".  It was a blow to my pride...but I did enjoy the views much more...and the views were magnificent.  The winds picked up as we reached the bottom of the clouds...which luckily cleared for us so we could see the mountain top spouting steam!!  We also found a hot spot and roasted marshmallows in a crack in the lava that we were standing on.  Another lady had strawberries which she shared with us so we feasted & enjoyed the sights around us until almost sunset.  Then we hiked down...no horse ride...stopping only to take in the ever changing hues of the sunset over the mountains & valleys that surrounded us.  Covered with lava dust, we arrived back to our hotel ready for a shower and bed.

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We left our hotel a bit after 9 and were on a bus to Antigua by 9:30.  It was the usual "old school bus" and the road was really curvy and we got slammed around on every curve like on a tilt a whirl...but we felt very safe as the front of the bus displayed a prayer, a Blessed Mother with a bouquet of fake flowers & a Tweety Bird!  A family of 7 sat in one seat right behid us part of the way, two of the kids jostling between the seat & the aisle and the baby cried a lot even though they gave her an ice cream cone that dripped all over the very calm mom.  There was also a lady holding a live chicken tenderly wrapped in her sweater...truly this was a chicken bus (which is actually what these buses are called here.)  Many trees and bushes were in bloom with flowers of vibrant to pastel shades of red, pink, fucia, purple, yellow & white.  As we got closer to "Whata" (Guate...short for Guatemala City), we came by mountain sides covered with cement homes with only a couple painted.  Then we saw some gated communities much richer.  Our favorite scene for the ride was a big stake truck with a load of calves that had 7 hammocks strung above the calves, with 7 guys swinging back & forth, and a couple more cowboys with their saddles sat on top just behind the cab. Since the bus stopped often but could go faster than the truck, we passed them several times...each time we'd get another laugh!  We got to the bus station around noon...it was very modern, gorgeous & huge...and we found our first McDonald's, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Subway & Little Caesars that we'd seen since leaving home.  I noticed that most of the people...who were all locals...were eating at Pollo Campero...the Guate fast food chain & very much like our KFC.  I enjoyed my "regular McD meal" which cost $5 here but only $3 at home while Rog found a doblado (deep fried meatpie).  We shared some Little Caesar cinnamon sticks with a carmel dip and both left with full tummies.  We taxied through town to the next bus terminal...buses are not allowed in Guate so 3 bus stations are all on the edge of town.  In 5 minutes we were off again and arrived in Antigua by 3:30... it amazes me how well Rog gets us from point A to point B!

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As we headed out for the bus to Antigua, we met a great Guatemalian family that had been in the States for 6 years.  The father was getting his masters degree in Agriculture.  The 10 -12 year old and I had a nice chat comparing her USA school, her Guatemalian private school & the Guatemalian public schools.  She said USA schools had more freedom & nicer facilities.  Her G private schools was tougher with about 20 in each class and teachers from around the world.  The G public schools had classes of 50 or so, no books and only taught reading, writing & math.  Kids paid about $50 to attend.  I would have enjoyed talking to her longer, but it was time to move on.

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Our last day with the girls was delightful and emotional.  We did a review and hung two poster on which I had printed all the English we had taught.  We had prepared some relay games, but the girls put on a program for us instead.  It included singing, cultural dancing and speeches of gratitude and love.  We had shared much joy with these girls and Sister Ada and I had a huge lump in my throat and fought my tears as we said good bye and closed the door on yet another rewarding experience.  Thanks be to God.

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Things we have seen and noticed here in Jalapa:

Qtips are about 1/3 the size & strength as ours

Colored pencils sold here are the ones impossible to sharpen

man carrying ladder...another a bicycle... while riding motorcycle

horse being shoed on the street

the sound of horses clip clopping down the street as we sat typing at an internet cafe

woman selling homemade food items in front of a nice restaurant

watch dogs behind barb wire fences on top of businesses

the sound of slapping as we pass so many woman making tortillas...about every ten feet

most children snacking while walking down the street

snack bags are tiny with usually only about 8 or 9 chips in them

security guards holding shotguns at every bank, gov´t building and other important buildings

no news on TV...lots of soccer!

children & woman riding on the handle bars of bicycles

women sorting dirty potatoes & other veges wearing fancy, clean aprons

students going home from school for lunch by tuktuk or being picked up by mom only to return 1 1/2 hour later

young girls in skin tight skirts or pants wearing 3 -4" heels buzzing about on motor scooters

though we see many wearing traditional clothing, they are not for sale anywhere...only the material

most kid´s toys..like so many other countries...are cheap plastic & dolls are all white with blonde hair

the rear end of buses cemented into the sidewalk are used for street corner barriers

daily they assemble & disassemble city blocks of small shops that are just angle iron & tarps  packing up the huge pile of                  merchandise in grain bags or crates....but we have no idea where the stuff goes at night...only to appear again the next day

and so much more that reminds us that we are not in the USA!

41

Our English lesson with the girls was a Valentine treat for all of us   The girls were thrilled to count to 100 and actually enjoyed taking a quiz with the new red pencils we gave them.  Then we played a review game and everyone ´won´ twice ...receiving a pencil sharpener & a chocolate heart.  The two nuns enjoyed it as much as the girls did and they sent us off with a frozen, chocolate covered banana.    Our 5 p.m. ride to Casa Hogar arrived on time and by 5:15 we had four groups of about 10 kids busy coloring, painting, working on a puzzles and making a Valentine hearts project.  The next hour and a half, we moved kids to each project and incorporated more kids adding projects as the numbers increased...and constantly we were returning the hugs & smiles we were receiving.  Conditions were rough...only a coarse cement floor & dim lighting...but that did not diminish the fun we were all having. 

When we got back to our hotel, we treated each other to a piece of cheese cake.  What a special Valentine Day! 

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More about the man we met this morning as we waited for our ride:  he left Guatemala when he was about 27 to find a job in L.A., became a US citizen about 5 years later and has gone back & forth for the last 20 years...since a major operation last year he is no longer working.  He gladly shared his take on man´s life:  first 20 years is DOG'S LIFE...on the prowl looking for girls and staying out all hours of the night...followed by DONKEY LIFE...work hard to carry burden of family life....last part of life was MONKEY LIFE....play with grandchildren and  freedom from work...like a monkey swinging free & enjoying life.  

39

Yesterday, we scoured the streets most the day looking for things we might use to enrich the Valentine´s Day  for the children at Casa Hogar (the home for the abused &/or raped girls and their children).  We found crayons, colored pencils, coloring books, paints, red & pink construction paper, clay, puzzles & a frisbee.  We made samples of several projects and looked forward to having a chance to have fun with these kids who have so little.  We were told we would be picked up at 10 am....it is now 11 a.m. and we are sitting on a bench in front of our hotel with all our supplies....waiting.....it is now 11:45 and we just got a message,  translated by the man we met while waiting...and our new pick up time is now 5 p.m.  We have learned to become very flexible and patient....and also reminded that this is Guatemala time...not a bad thing.

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Just when we begin to forget just how low the girls we are working with live, we get a `slap of reality.`  The girls had asked us to label the various things in their home so I spent an evening writing labels of the things in their home.  The next day the excited girls followed us around as we taped words all over their home:  wall, floor, classroom, chair, bedroom, bathroom, but when I looked for a place to hang `toilet paper`, they all laughed and said, ¨No toilet paper!¨ 

37

Our days are almost routine now...breakfast of pancakes with honey, fruit, coffee & rich delicious hot chocolate at the hotel...computer cafe...teaching nuns...lunch...lesson plans....teaching girls.... a little shopping on our way back to the hotel...dinner (often peanut butter & fresh bread from one of the many bakeries on the hotel terrace)...writing, reading, cards, TV (which since only one channel is in English, whatever is on is what we watch).  We have spent time at the humungous market in the center of town where tables overflow with mounds of clothing, shoes, kitchen supplies, and grain bags are filled with corn, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, carrots, oranges, pineapples and lots of unknown others and crates of bananas, eggs, chickens etc, etc, etc.  How in the world do they sell all this before it rots???   One morning the nuns were busy, so we jumped on a mini bus & headed to the Cascadas de Tatasirire...a nature park with swings that hung about 30' from a branch & swung out over a valley.  Wheeeee!  We walked the flower lined trail passing hundreds of giant lovely calilillies, pastel pink impatients plants taller than me and blooming phlox as big as a mixing bowl.  Butterflies fluttered by to add to the beauty.  The trail led us beside a 5 tiered waterfall and then into a pine forest...we saw nobody else the whole time.   What a nice change from being in Jalapa, a town of about 60,000.  

37

Our days are almost routine now...breakfast of pancakes with honey, fruit, coffee & rich delicious hot chocolate at the hotel...computer cafe...teaching nuns...lunch...lesson plans....teaching girls.... a little shopping on our way back to the hotel...dinner (often peanut butter & fresh bread from one of the many bakeries on the hotel terrace)...writing, reading, cards, TV (which since only one channel is in English, whatever is on is what we watch).  We have spent time at the humungous market in the center of town where tables overflow with mounds of clothing, shoes, kitchen supplies, and grain bags are filled with corn, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, carrots, oranges, pineapples and lots of unknown others and crates of bananas, eggs, chickens etc, etc, etc.  How in the world do they sell all this before it rots???   One morning the nuns were busy, so we jumped on a mini bus & headed to the Cascadas de Tatasirire...a nature park with swings that hung about 30' from a branch & swung out over a valley.  Wheeeee!  We walked the flower lined trail passing hundreds of giant lovely calilillies, pastel pink impatients plants taller than me and blooming phlox as big as a mixing bowl.  Butterflies fluttered by to add to the beauty.  The trail led us beside a 5 tiered waterfall and then into a pine forest...we saw nobody else the whole time.   What a nice change from being in Jalapa, a town of about 60,000.