Mi Primera Semana en Antigua

My first week in Antigua
May 31 - June 5

I arrived back in Antigua on a Sunday afternoon, surprised to see that the town was incredibly busy - it had not been like this on my first visit! It seems Antigua is MUCH busier on the weekends. On Sundays there is a market in the centre of town - a little different to the everyday market which is full of generic CDs, DVDs, second hand clothes and souvenirs... The Sunday market is more of a craft market. There was lots of nice jewellery, children's toys and my favourite...chocolate! Guatemalan chocolate tastes very different from any chocolate I've had before - a little bit grainy. Needless to say, I sampled every kind of chocolate on offer, from aniseed to chilli! 

I quickly organised Spanish lessons & a homestay program so that I could get started the very next day. My homestay is out on the north edge of town, staying with a woman called Johanna, who seems to own a string of apartments. 

In mine, it's just me and an American girl called Mackenzie. There are two other Americans and a German girl spread across the other apartments. We have meals together with Johanna, where we try to just speak Spanish - a serious struggle for me at his point! 

Our apartment has a lovely rooftop terrace, an excellent spot for a few drinks with a good view of all the volcanoes.

 

I am doing four hours of Spanish lessons a day, going very slowly through the basics. At this point...I suck. But I will get there... I hope... !!

On Monday night (my first night at he homestay) I went along to a trivia night with a few girls. It was largely music based and we came dead last! The winning team had the option of taking a 300Q bar tab (so about $50) or just taking half and giving everyone who participated a shot. They chose the shots! 

Tuesday night was salsa night! The Spanish school runs a free salsa class twice a week, so a few of us decided to go along and have a try. Hilarious instructor, good fun!

I met Chris (American) who works at a school just outside of Antigua and promptly asked him about getting involved. On Wednesday morning I went along with him and his girlfriend Carolin (German) to the school. After getting a tour of the school and finding out a bit of background information, I was taken to a prep class to help out. They are super cute and of course barely speak any English, so it is good practice for my Spanish! 

The school is called Escuela Proyecto la Esperanza (School of Hope) and it is run by the organisation Education for the Children. It is a school for very poor children who can't afford the uniform, supplies and transportation required for the public schools. The school provides everything the children need to be happy, healthy and able to learn. This includes all school supplies, plus clean water and meals while at school. They also have a program where the families are able to come in and learn about healthy food and water, and in return the family is able to take a water filter home to keep. There are multiple (much needed) psychologists at the school, available to both students and parents. The organisation continues to support students once they've left the school by giving them scholarships for further education and providing supplies and workspaces for them to utilise. 

Unfortunately the fructose got me again...so I missed out on a day and a half of volunteering and one Spanish lesson turned into a medicine-hunt, visiting every pharmacy and organic store in all of Antigua, in hopes of findig something to combat the fructose! Not much luck, as yet....