Today, I climbed an active volcano. It erupted last year. It is the highest altitude I have ever been on.

Then I chatted in Spanish with a Professor of Politics on the bus.

Rode the bus for natives by myself.

And was yelled at by 4 people because I was wearing a UNC t shirt. [Go Heels!

Then I had panqueques and horchata. Do not worry, I am taking pictures of everything I eat.

I met 2 boys from England, 1 man from Holland, a couple from Dublin, 5 Americans and ONE SOUTHERNER!!!!

Everyone I met looked at me in shock when I told them I was travelling alone. I got excited because I have been feeling lame and that means I am doing something bad ass. They wereshocked that I used the buses for the natives and stay in hostels alone. Yes.

Then on my way back to the city i met a Guatemalan with a New York accent....he said [I will pray for your time here, remember God is with you always.....is it nerdy to believe in angels? Haha I don{t know yet.

Que le vaya bien. Gracias para leer.

Tomorrow I am going to church with my family.

In awe.

I just went to mass in the most beautiful cathedral I have ever seen. It is so easy to believe in God when you are in the most magnificant building you have ever seen. I left after awhile because I do not totally understand Spanish chants and I was the only gringa inside. But it was beautiful. It is cool to pray to a dome that is over 500 feet tall. The bigger the church, the more I can apprehend a Holy Spirit being there.

There is something really sad about having to ask for a table for "solo uno" but it also has been peaceful. To sip a half a glass of red wine *cause that is all you can drink* and watch the sunset over a decrepid arch in front of a volcano. It is good to be alone. Some times. I would like to have a companion...

Growing growing.

It is incredible how much can happen in two days.

Right now I am sitting in Antigua in an internet cafe. I just ate a snack in front of a Cathedral that is over 500 years old. I sat on the bench and looked up AMERICAN FOOD in my guidebook. WHOEVER GAVE ME THIS GUIDE BOOK (cough....peter...cough) IT IS AMAZING. I use it every single day, and the recommendations are always perfect. So I wandered to the cafe which is startlingly (?) similar to a Asheville type coffee shop. I have never been so happy to eat a grilled cheese. I have never had a Coke so delicious. I took a picture of both :)

So I sat there and got my bearings, and planned my weekend in Antigua. There were many gringos and international students in the coffee shop and everyone spoke english. There was a girl speaking french, other guys with an english accent, ome in language school and some are tour guides. The boys near me were backpackers, they looked like they were about to ascend a volcano. Then again I also heard them talked about the local bars and drink specials- so maybe they live here. I fit in very well with my Kelty pack and my chacos (thank you peter again). Maybe not so much when I wear scrubs around.

Antigua is beautiful. Touristy but beautiful. I love it. And I love the different languages as well. Tonight I am staying in my first hostel and tomorrow I am ascending a volcano named Pacaya. Yes it is active. Hell yes.

Earlier today I had my Spanish lessons as usual with Alex. I am learning all about the health care system, private and public hospitals and the social security. We have visited a few health care places and today we went to one aptly named "Los Obras Sociales de Santo Pedro"...I think all Peters are good people :) Just kiddin. Ok so it is a big church with health care for the abused, abandoned and mentally in. IN Guatemala, if you have a child with autism or down syndrome, you may not be able to afford to take care of it, and so many children are abandoned or dropped off at churches. It was so so beautiful so see the actions of the church, but also so painful to look around.

The nurses all wear dresses and white aprons. My nursing professors would be horrified.

I think I want to go to a a service in one of these giant Cathedrals.

I am kinda star crazy because yesterday I stayed at home all day with "enfermadades de extranjera". It´s funny how if you tell people you are a medical professional, or in school to be one, they always come to you with their sicknesses. I love and hate this. First of all I loved it when a friend, or my host sister for example, comes to me and I can help her with something. But I hate it when they expect something and you don´t know what to do. A little let down. I have noticed so much how everyone in the world is the same. I know that is what you´re supposed to learn when you travel but it is so true. We are all in the same human state. For example, lately I have been blown away by the similarities between me and my host sisters. I believe inside every girl there is a princess. Don´t laugh at me. You know it. Two nights ago me and my sisters gave each other makeovers and did a fashion show, last night we watched disney....and a preview came on for a chick flick. My and my sister Sandy both said at the same time ¨"Quiero ver esa pelicula!!!!!". You always hear that sermon about how all girls are princesses, daughters of a God, dying to be adored and respected and called beautiful. Not SAVED by a man, but just needed and loved. I think all girls fall into two categories. Hopeless romantics and hopeless romantics in hiding. And denial. Hehe

Tidbits:

-I met someone from Tennessee! Yay!

-Lately I have been relying alot on Psalm 23 to get me through anxiety and nursing school. Yesterday I noticed this Psalm is posted over the kitchen door in my house. Such providence.

-I got homesick so I watched Ten Things I Hate About you.

-I saw a mosquitos as big as a quarter. En serio.

- I had my first cofee from Guatemala. INCREDIBLE.

-Did I already talk about the chips I found that are like fritos but they are lime flavored! Only 1Q which is like

- I miss Charlotte and Mahlet. And the Bachelorette un poquito.

hehehe.

Today, I ordered my first alcoholic drink in a restaurante. It was a sangria the size of TEXAS. i am not kidding, it was the size of a small watermelon. I could only drink a few sips. I had it in a Italian-Guatemala restaurante (HAHA) in Antigua. I had an incredible pizza with tomatoes and basil and it was SO good to have American food. Yes. I also rode the camioneta, which is a bus that is usually only used by Native Guatemalans not by turistas. It was scary, I was definitely one of the only chicas on the bus.

Notas Pequenitas:
-today i heard the loudest crack of lightning I have ever heard. even our waitress thought it was a bomb.
- My friend Connor is irish, and when I speak english with him I take up an irish accent. I think my head is very confused about what language I speak. I say things like "necesito una camiseta posh please". haha
-There are so many turistas in Antigua. It is easily the most famous city in Guatemala and it is only a bus ride away. It is cool because you will be in a tienda and hear french, german english and spanish.
-it is official. I SUCK at bardering. I will keep trying though.

Now I am going to walk home along the highway. Usually I stop at a small Comedor and buy jugo de naranja. It is SO good. I am already a regular at the store that sells chocolate. This weekend I plan to stay in my very first hostel, and then take a trip to a volcano that you can see inside! Next weekend I am going to Lake Atitlan which is supposed to be so cool. Pray for me porfavor. Feliz noche.

I just paid for an hour of internet. it costs 3 quetzales which is about 50 cents. Thekeys on this computer are weird because they are made for spanish characters. SO please pardon mytyping and spelling!! I am sitting in a internet cafe in my small town Santa LUcia. I love my small town because it feels very safe, but its also frustrating because i am literally the only white person in the town so people stare- especially at my [blonde[ hair and blue eyes. By cafe I mean that it is a small room, that is open to the street. So even now i there arre dogs coming in and out and i can hear the bustle on main street. there are no sidewalks , everyone just walks in the middle of the road until a car honks at them. there are many street dogs that just eat tsh and are homeless. peter,you would want to adopt all of them!! i also can hear the park, where all the kids in the town go after school. it is also where i play soccer with my family! they are amazing, i love them. most of the volunteers go on many trips around the country. but i think i may stay near the town...i am not sure. Alex (who i spend most of my time with) says my experience is whatever i make it. so i can go on trips all the time, or just focus on my studies and hang out with my family. my family is helping me with spanish alot, and also the kids speak 1 or 2 words english. only somtimes does it feel like i am babysitting.

random things:
1. i just ate in a cafe by myself. and i have NOO IDEA what i ate. which is probably bad. but i am not eating raw food or salads or chicken so don{t worry. i can order and pay all by myself. i am proud. i have ALOT of alone time

2. there is a volcano smoking less than a mile away. its AWESOME

3. the only volunteer here is Connor, he is irish and has a CRAZY accent. He likes to make fun of americans.

4. last night i took a shower, and i got to use the running water instead of a bucket. yay

5. i sleep SOOO MUCH. last night i went to bed at 9 and got up at 7:30. But i am still weirdly tied all the time. probably because i am on adge alot.5. every night it is hard to sleep because a. i live on a highway. b. there are many [bombas[ or firecrackers that sound like guns. c. there are maybne 20-30 dogs in our neighborhood who bark ALL night. d. there are
6. we cannot flush the toilet, we throw all [waste[ in a trash can by the toilet. we don{t wash our hands or faces in a sink, we use buckets. instead of doors, we have a main lockable door to the house. but the rest is blanket across doorways.

10. today i saw a limon tree with lemons the size of baseballs. also there are many orange and avacado trees.

11. i packed all wrong. except the weather here is bizarre. it is very cld in the mornings and night....i wake up and need a sweatshirt...it is maybe 50 degrees. and then in the middle of the day it is 70 or 80. i never know what to wear! i wear scrubs pants alota. but alot of my clothes are not modest enoughj.

12. i thought time would fly here....but it does not at all. the days are very long and i feel like i have been here for a week. i cannot believe how much time i have. there is a chart in my school that says [stages of culture shock[ and i can{t figure out where i am. i do not think i am shocked, it is similar to honduras here, but i think i am not sure what i am doing here. so loco!!!! i can{t decide how much to explre and try new things and how much to be safe. I am sorry my grammar is bad. This computer is weird.

13. I found a type of chips I LOVE (duh) they are like fritos, but lime flavored! i also love the jugo from the bag. MMM....solo un quetzal.

I will write more soon. This will be my random post, and tomorrow maybe will be my chronological post.

A quick word!

Guatemala likes to make fun of phonetics, therefore in all the tiendas turistas there are shirts that say [guats up? and ¨guatever....it is pretty funny. anyway, I am not sure how often I will update this. But here is a start.