Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Postcards from Guatemala - 23 June 2008

Dear peeps,

Can I Skype you tomorrow? I can get a headset at around 4:00 pm, for half an hour. . . . i´ve found an internet place (that is, not my spanish school) that also has headsets, so just let me know when´s good! I´m super super super excited that it´s eleanor´s birthday, and i´m plotting to bring her a present from antigua, so she can have that when i get back.

MOM: do you know how to cook wild rice? this is a matter of crucial importance, because the ND volunteers gave some to rosa,a nd she doesn´t know what to do with it.
i went to a wedding on saturday, just sneaked into the back of la merced cathedral.
patricio showed up at el proyecto today! it is the first time i have ever seen him (that´s atkinson, dad, whom you met... just everyone here calls him patricio. he´s not EXACTLY worshipped, but there are photos of him everywhere in el proyecto (which equals the dreamer center, yes, sorry about the confusion), and random people in town will talk to me about him. like my spanish teacher gave a speech about how he´s a good chico who has done a great work for antigua. and so on!

today, i loaded bags of milk, in crates. they were heavy.

next weekend,t he young single adults of barrio antigua (that´s the branch-ward, not sure which) are having a Pioneer Party in the colinas of Chimaltenango. they´re taking a bus. i´m going, too... i have to rustle up some Pioneer clothes. i understand there is to be country music involved. woww. mostly music here is translated american music (Somebody loves you, somebody needs you, somebody thinks about you every single night... only in spanish), or imported american music (abba´s chiquitita, too, if that counts as american), or salsa.

i saw some of the euro cup last week. at that point, holanda was doing ok... no idea what´s happening now, but i have this affection for the whole thing! i wish i could watch it. there is a television in my house, but it´s in one of the back rooms that i´ve never been in, and i don´t want to intrude.

isabel (the baby,r emember?) likes me sooo much. she always starts laughing and babbling when i go hang out by her stroller. everyone in mi casa thinks that´s really divertido,a nd they joke about how i´m going to teach her english.
OH, MOM, good call on the photographs!!! i´ve told mi mama all about you guys, of course, but the other night, when i offered to show her my photos, she got all excited. it was super fun. her daughter mayra came out to look, too, and we had this great conversation. then rosa went and got one of her (many) albums,a nd showed me photos, too. turns out she´s been to paris (?????), and she took photos of the beautifully wide, smoooth roads, which made me laugh. but also the torre de eiffel and such. she´s also taken to staying late over dinner with me, while we both drink MorCaf (i told youa bout that, right? cafe para mormones? like postum) and eat sugary bread, and telling me about her life. like how she married young, and studied at night for years while her kids were babies,a nd stuff like that. very cool.
my spanish teacher makes me have HARD conversations with her in spanish. like explaining finer points of LDS doctrine, and encapsulating the current political views of the american youth ... what the heck, i would even have a hard time doing this stuff in english. we spent forever talking about guantanamo, because she had it confused with some immigration prison in miami, where her daughter lives.
today she and i went out walking, and some random dudes in a pickup (that's a spanish word, guys, pickup) drove past us and yelled, ¨goodbye, stepmother!¨ to her because we looked like a madre y hija pair, but obviously not related by blood. it made us laugh super hard.

i love love love love love you guys!!! emma, i hope camp was AWESOME! (mom, you too.) elmo, you´re a hilarious kid, i love your emails, viva la vida is chill... i streamed some of it off la internet before i left... maybe you should buy it. and eat lots of good american junk food for me while you´re away from our health-conscious family (om nom nom nom... yeah, that was just an excuse to use om nom nom)... i´ll let you know if we happen to get the cd here in san felipe... but my expectations are low. sam, i´m assuming you´re getting these by post... i tell EVERYONE about you, and today i saw the missionaries in town and yelled, ¨hey elders!!!¨at them because i thought it would make you happy if someone did that to you. and also i´m totally digging my teeth into the doctrine of happiness. singing hymns while i wash tables in the echoey kitchen pavilion is the best.

BESOS, ruth!

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