First, let me start with this disclaimer; I am not one who believes that my everyday life is all that interesting.  However, …………

I do get frequent questions in person, and in texts and emails, about what I do when I’m down here.  How do I spend my time?  So last night I decided to write a post about my day, which is now yesterday.

I started my day with coffee.  Pretty interesting so far, huh? 🙂  Remember that coffee maker situation?  I went to the store and bought one.  Which in the long run is much cheaper than buying my coffee by the cup for two and a half months.  Have no fear though, my favorite coffee hangouts will still see me plenty.  With coffee in hand, this day as most, started with reading.

After a trip up the block for a muffin, a couple of hours of reading and catching up with emails and the dreaded Facebook, it was time for a run.

Running in Guatemala is an exercise in survival.  Some of you who saw me shortly after my stay down here a year ago, probably remember I returned with a nasty scrape above my right eye and two black eyes.  What didn’t show were scrapes on both knees and one elbow, and a nasty big bruise on my right hip.  All of which, at my age, seem to take a long time to go away.  Back to survival.  I almost don’t know where to begin.  The only roads with any kind of smooth surface are too busy with traffic, too clogged with fumes, and no room on the sides.  If one of these thoroughfares does have some room, it is typically lined with fences or walls that have nasty little bits of rusty barbed wire hangin’ about.  On the side streets, the footing itself is challenge enough. (See description above of last year’s mis-step).  The cobbles have twisted ankles lurking everywhere.  The sidewalks are narrow, uneven, and often slanted.  To step up or down from the cobbles to the sidewalk is often up to a foot or so.  Any cover or grate along the path is not to be trusted.  There are numerous driveways that require a step down and a step back up, and bay windows that protrude over the sidewalk.  Oh, and did I mention the dog poop to be dodged.  To say nothing of the dogs themselves.  Many of them not friendly like me.  I shouldn’t even get started about the dogs, but you’ll have to allow me this small rant.  Guatemala has an ever growing problem of stray dogs and people who do not control their dogs.  In some areas it is reaching a level of a threat to public health and the common good.  Having to stop and face down a dog is becoming to common an occurrence.  One of my former sponsor kids, Kimberly, was bitten while running just the other day.  I should stop.  I should have stopped at dodging the doo doo.  It makes me crazy.  In spite of all of that, I still run all the time when I’m down here because it’s the only way to get some real exercise.  On to more pleasant things.

After a shower it was off to noon mass at San Francisco.  One of the changes in my routine this time is that I don’t have morning mass a quick five minute walk away.

The Church of San Francisco is about a twenty minute walk from home, so I’m figuring out how to satisfy my fondness for daily mass by planning for noon or 5 o’clock when I can.

After mass I was craving (and needing) vegetables, so I headed over to an asian place near the center of Antigua that I’ve been wanting to try.  I ordered chicken and vegetables which came in a portion that can only be described as a small mountain.  I also ordered some egg rolls thinking I’d get an order of a couple.  Oh no, no, no, grasshopper! It came as an order of eight.  I’m either proud or embarrassed to say I ate everything.  I would like to call what happened next a nice walk home, but it really was more like a sloshing stroll.  The trip, which  normally would take about twenty five minutes, took forty five.  It mercifully ended with me beaching myself on my bed.  Thankfully with enough recovery time before an evening plan with my Guatemalan family.

Part of the family is pictured here at Sunday breakfast during my last visit.  Seide is in the foreground, then Lourdes, then Samantha.  Not in the picture are Renato, who took the photo, Stefani, and Kimberly. Kimberly is actually Lourdes’ cousin but is like another daughter and lives with the family.  She’s the same Kimberly mentioned previously in this post.  I sponsored her “off the books” to help Renato and Lourdes with their support of her.  The story of how she came to live with them is not a pretty one.  But now she has graduated from high school, went on to get a degree in Hospitality Management, and is now working in one of the exclusive hotels in Antigua.  I’ve known Renato since he was in his early twenties and I’ve come to think of him like another son.  Lourdes frequently tells me that I’m the closest thing to a father that she’s had in her life, and the girls all refer to me as Grandpa Eric.  Voila.  Guatemalan family.

Meanwhile, back at the post about my day………..

Over the years I’ve been to all kinds of functions at the girl’s school.  Stefani is on the Student Council and they sponsored a show for a group of seniors who have been studying Improv as an extra curricular activity.  So last night we all went over to the school for the show.  The group was a complete delight, very funny and talented.  What they did with the spur of the moment challenges, which came from both the MC and the audience, was truly AMAZING.  

So I’ll end this post with telling you about a meeting I had this morning with my young friend Erin.  It’s pertinent to this post only because it speaks to how I’ll be spending my time.  Erin is a Minnesotan who works for Common Hope down here and is the coordinator for volunteer activities.  As long as I’m here for an extended visit, we were plotting ways I can plug in and help out during my stay.  Whatever of that I might think would be interesting to you, I will surely write about.  Right now I can tell you it’s going to start with a sanding and varnishing project of the shelves and bookcases in the day care center.  I probably won’t be writing about that one. 🙂

I am well and hope you all are too.