La Tierra de la Eterna Primavera

Sunday, July 1 was Ali’s birthday. It also happened to be the finals of the Euro Cup between Spain and Italy, so we made an event out of it. After sleeping in, Ali, Morgan and I went to the juice café for a late brunch. They forgot my order and I waited 45 minutes for my eggs, fruit, and toast. However, when the meal finally arrived it was sans toast. I then got up and spent the next couple minutes trying to get the server to understand “toast.” By the time it came I was practically done with my eggs. It was a rather frustrating brunch.

After our meal we went over to Red’s (a bar really close to La Merced that is generally a good hang-out spot) and we found it packed with people waiting for the game to start. We thankfully found some decent seats, and the game started not long after. Every TV in the bar was showing the game. We were sitting next to this one guy that was too obnoxiously rooting for Spain as he downed beers, swore loudly, clapped thunderously, and booed at another patron wearing an Italy jersey. Almost unfortunately, Spain won 4 – 0. I wish that Italy had scored at least once!

When the game had ended and the bar cleared out some, we left for Quesos y Vino for an early birthday supper for Ali. It had started raining sometime during the game, and it hadn’t stopped. (Lisa – I took your advice and tried the hot chocolate. It was like drinking a liquid Hershey’s bar! So delicious!) I knew better this time, and I stuck with a small pizza. It looked unimpressive, but they stuffed it so full of cheese and other goodness that I was well satisfied when I finished.

Since it was still raining, Ali and I took a tuk-tuk home. It was a thrilling and bone-jarring ride over the cobblestones of Antigua … and definitely not for the faint of heart.

I spent the rest of Sunday evening brushing up on Spanish vocab. Now that I have internet at the house, I’ve been utilizing a website called Quizlet.com, where I’m able to import vocab words and it creates flashcards for me. I wish I would have thought of doing that in college!

My teacher this week is named María. I was nervous to have her because she seems like one of the best teachers in the school—and usually “best” means “strict” as well. She taught at the school soon after it opened in 1969 up to the early 1990s, some 20 odd years. She then left to work with children for a few years, but now she’s back at PLFM teaching Spanish again. She isn’t nearly as strict as I had imagined, and I really enjoy her teaching style. Every day she reads me a story from a book, and then has me retell what I remember using the past tenses. It is such a brain workout! I also like that she asks me questions and genuinely seems interested in what I (try to) say. We often slip into unplanned conversations, which I feel are just as useful as studying grammatical structure.

Doña (Señora) María told me in one of our conversations that she has a sister who lives in Philadelphia. She moved there long before 9/11, so it was much easier to obtain residency. Though I’m not sure how long ago, a man who was a friend of one of her friends asked if he could marry her so that he could stay in the country. At first she said no, but when he said he would pay her she agreed. So she has a “husband” though they don’t live together. Scandal!

Ali has been jumping around different classrooms this week because she seems to be attracting forest creatures like Snow White. First there was a rat that perched on a stone ledge behind her. That was clearly not okay. After she and her teacher changed locations, a baby bird fell out of a nearby tree. Ali returned the bird to its nest and later saw the mother feeding it, but it fell out again later. Since then, different people have been rescuing the bird because it seems to have developed an appetite for “tree” falling. Ali has named the bird Pablo.

Over time I have developed camaraderie with two of the ladies that work at PLFM. They wash dishes, clean the bathrooms, and set up the conference room for events, among other things. One day they were sitting near the conference room listening to a song and I started mock-dancing for their entertainment. They laughed and called me over to ask me if I knew the song. When I told them I didn’t they said, “¡Es una canción de amor!” (It’s a love song). They laughed again as I waltzed away. Ever since then we’ve been pretty chummy. When I later found out that their names are Wilma and Betty I took to calling them “Las Flinstonias.” They are the kind of ladies that make your day that much better when you see them.

Our Cuarto was pretty low-key here. There were no firework displays or flags or parades, but I still wore a T-shirt emblazoned with an American flag and many of the teachers wished me “¡Feliz el día de la independencia!” Olga served us spaghetti and two beef patties for lunch, which I suspect was to remind me of home in a way. I appreciated it, but it was a little hard to think about all of the famous desserts I was missing out on at home. That is something we don’t get with meals.

Sometime during the afternoon session, the neighboring Spanish school set of bombs and started blasting “American” music. María told me that they don’t have an afternoon session, so the students probably returned just to have a celebration. At first some of the PLFM students thought it was a parade and rushed to find out what the fuss was about, but it became clear that all the hullabaloo was coming from next door. It was a little hard to concentrate on Spanish at that point…

After supper a bunch of us went out to a couple bars, both of which were fairly empty, which made it more enjoyable. I was surprised not to see more expats around because during the day they seem to be everywhere. It was odd to be out on a school night, but I felt justified in doing something a little celebratory on America’s big day.

¡Hasta luego!

P.S. While the Midwest has been suffering in 90° range, the temps in Guatemala have been in the 70°s. It’s hard for me to imagine such a strong heat, because when I left it was still spring and everything was so green. One of the nicknames for Guatemala is “La tierra de la eterna primavera” (The land of eternal spring).

“But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. For surely, O LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.”

Psalm 5:11 – 12