Language School is Over

I know I haven't really written anything about language school, but now that it's over I figure I should write something really fast. I received one on one classes with an extraordinary teacher, Marta Calderon. A lot of the time we just talked, and hung out, so often times it didn't even feel like class! We studied the subjunctive tense a lot, however, and I now feel a lot more confident with it. Funny though, how sometimes you still make a lot of elementary mistakes. I've been really bad recently mixing up the gender of words, or not agreeing them. THis is maybe the hardest thing for me when I'm speaking, hopefully just by continuing to read, talk, and listen my mistakes will decrease. For some reason recently I've caught myself saying Yo me gusta a time or to... really stupid. And the other day I said tenes hombre. I am also kind of getting the hang of vos too, which is nice because that's what young men here use with young men. If they use tu, apparently it sounds like you are homosexual... definately not a good thing here in Guatemala if you want male friends. Luckily as a foreigner people are forgiving!

My family has been wonderful. I get good food and I've really enjoyed hanging out with my host dad, Noel, talking about all sorts of things, from sports to politics to religion. We are both into the playoffs this year. Congratulations to all the blue blooded Dodger fans in my family. You guys are looking pretty good. A lot of people visit the family, so I meet lots of random people too, which is great. And a lot of them are nice and want to take the time to include a gringo in the conversation too.

I just finished the book El Senor Presidente by Miguel Angel Asturias. It's a very difficult book and I am prett proud I finished it and understood it. Though I am positive I do not have a level of understanding that allows me to fully appreciate it. I am just happy I was able to appreciate it at all. Let's just say it had a fair amount of words that weren't in my dictionary, and that can be frustrating. I did about a 15, 20 minute presentation on it today, and at times I felt pretty terrible, but other times were alright.

I've also had a lot of fun witht he other students here. Besides the two other MCC'ers, David and Raquel, who are always a lot of fun, there are four others, Tina and Cari: former Bethel students like me, Jennifer one of my brothers best friends, and Audrey, who, despite the fact that I didn't already know her has also been fun to get to know. The despite the fact part was a joke. We have had fun hanging out at CASAS, going to a soccer game, getting lost, shopping at a great market, worshiping at a Catholic church built on Mayan ruins in which people still mix in ancient religious traditions, visiting Mayan ruins, and playing some intense games of spoons... to name a few.

So I will be going out to my placemeant between Monday and Thursday. Finally. I hope I am prepared for it. I am definately ready to start though. THe family I was going to live with there is not quite ready though, so I am going to live with a different family for about a month and then move in with yet another family. That my not sound like the best situation, but the way I see it, it will just give me more close friends in Guatemala.

On a more somber note, recently we have been inundated by sombering news having to do with violence here in Guatemala city. It is quite bad, our CR from Colombia says it is much more dangerous to live here than there... so keep Guatemala in your thoughts and prayers. Guatemala's biggest problem is gangs. There are lots of single parent househoulds, and here doing that is even harder than it is in the states. The reasons for all the single parents here are complex, I think, having to do with culture, government policies, a violent recent history, and poor economic conditions, that I really don't know enough about to write anything worth your while. Anyways, kids end up growing up on the streets and joining gangs for support. Not a lot of public systems are set up to prevent kids from going the gang route. They end up doing things like killing a 26 and 24 year ould bus driver and aydante for not paying the taxes the gang had imposed on them. Or giving death threats to a community organizer. Meanwhile, families outside of the city are forced to move off of their land becaues of rising prices. They then have to try to squat on unused land of large landowners. The get evicted from there and have nowhere to go... all the while knowing that the land they were evicted from was gained by the large land holders because of unjust land policies enforced by liberal- not in the sense of politics today in the USA- dictators... all in the name of 'progress.' Yes it can be a sad story, and I haven't even mentioned the still recent cival war here.

But anyways, things are still good for me personally here.

My little while or strong feelings of nostalgia for the past have moved on and write now I am very happy to be here doing what I am doing. I can be a pretty nostalgic person sometimes, but I think I generally do a good job of staying present in the moment. That is not to say I don't want any of you, if you ever feel the disire, to write me a note and pull me back to Kansas, California, or wherever, please do!

Anyways, hopefully, I can put some pictures here sometime of Guatemala, I don't have my camara cord though, oh well.

Hope all of you are doing well!

Jordan