La primera dia en coban

I arrived in guatemala city on saturday night. Victor from my hostel was there waiting when i arrived to allay my transportation fears. Not much to report from the hostel other than an avocado tree i found hanging over part of the hostel/garden. The line between indoor and outdoor is blurry here with gorgeous mild weather year round. Some windfall avocados lead me to the avocado tree, which was much taller than I thought it would be. A slightly annoying American girl who must have used the word ´´armenian´´ 30 times referring to her family kept me up a little late. I saw maybe 15 beer cans at her table and noise carries in these tile buildings. can´t believe i forgot to pack my ear plugs.

In Coban I met Nirma, the director of the small school I am attending. She said things are slow with the US economy in the dumps so I am the only school right now. The classrooms are part of her home so fortunately she doesn´t have to close the school if she has no students. Nimra, like all the guatemaltecos i´ve met so far, is laidback and good humored.

Then I met my host family. Hilda is the matriach and she has a lot of people living at her house. The relationships among these occupants I have yet to decipher. We had ten people at dinner last night..Hilda, her two daughters Maria and jesica, the son of Maria, Alejandro. Alejandro, age 6, talks my ear off in spanish and is really adorable. Will take some photos of him tonight.

Then there are the possible non family members...Luis a ´guest´ and two electronics students. Add to that at least two mayan women who do the cooking and laundry. My teacher has mayan domestic workers as well. Seems pretty common with the middle class around here.

I like the food so far. Mostly it seems to be frijoles y tortillas. Good though. They make everything from scratch. There are two cows across the street from my host family house and they said thats where they get the milk and the creme (this sour cream type spread) they serve at meals.

My teacher´s name is Nabila and she is from a small nearby town called Tictac. She said her mom is mayan and still wears traditional clothing. Her father is an spanish teacher also.

Guatemala´s mountains are cloaked in green now with the rainy season. It´s misty and the temperature is perfect altho the natives complain about too much rain (everyday now).