Salsa class was so much fun! I forgot to take pictures, but my friend did so hopefully I’ll be able to upload them soon. I actually knew a lot of the moves (thanks to Ali and Katherine for taking me to Latin night at The Venue after MCAT!!). We also did some lifts that were scary but fun. It was a great way for everyone in the group to let loose and get to know each other. This whole week has been a little challenging just adapting to the culture. After salsa class, we went out to a bar called Pool and Beer (really authentic Guatemalan… not! Even the waiter spoke English). It was a Texas themed bar and there were all these old American songs changed a little to be sung in Spanish, which was a little weird to hear.

This morning we hiked to Baul. It wasn’t too long of a hike. We left the school around 9am and got back around 12. We also stopped a lot to take pictures (some of which I have posted). Some of the trail was tricky and steep, but other parts of it were easy. 12 of our group of 14 went on the hike, and we had 2 Spanish-only speaking guides from the school. I was able to talk to both of them for a little bit. One of them runs a lot and has been to the states to run 2 marathons. If I understood correctly, he said he got 5^th in his age group in one of them. But, I could have totally heard wrong (It is good to practice Spanish with native Spanish speakers, but a conversation that would normally take 5 minutes actually takes 20 because every other word has to be explained in Spanish words that I actually know. And even after that I’m never sure if I actually understand).

At the top of Baul there was this monument thing, but I’m not really sure of its significance. I can probably look it up in a tour book. There was also this slide thing that was fun to go down. We spent a good amount of time just running up and sliding down. I’ve put a picture of that here too.

I had salad and pasta for lunch today. It is so random how some of the meals are really authentic and others are totally American. And some meals are just thrown together with random things that are left in the kitchen. But, it is all part of the experience! I also realized that a turtle lives in the kitchen. Marissa and I were eating breakfast this morning, and Señora Patti pulls a turtle out of a cardboard box under the sink. We were very surprised and it was a little hard to not laugh. She petted the turtle and took it to the garden (in the middle of the house) and then came back into the kitchen and kept cooking. Very different than the US!

Well, I don’t have much more to say right now (and I’m sorry that this post is a little random and blab-ful). I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Pictures:

I try to upload these in some kind of order, but they usually go in random spots. So, like I did last time, I'll just tell you about them and you can figure out which is which!

One is of Marissa and I at the top of Baul. Another is of the 12 of us that went hiking this morning at the beginning of the trail. Another is a slightly embarrassing but necessary picture of the group of people that I go running with in the mornings. The final picture is of the slide that we rode today. I'm the one in the white-looking long sleeve shirt (if you can't tell).