It’s been a very eventful week (9/10-17). Andrea and I started and survived our second week of Spanish classes. A three or four day, (who’s counting), festival celebrating the Guatemalan independence from Spain ended the week. There was a quick trip to the capital city to see friends on Friday afternoon, and a really fun but difficult mountain bike trip on Sunday. Keep reading for a few details

Monday morning jitters accompanied us on our commute to class. I guess there are several reasons: New teachers, higher expectations, and we’ve begun to realize that the more they reveal about this language the more impossible it seems to ever learn. As it turns out neither of us loved our teachers this round. My teacher spoke at full speed, spoke no English, and seemed very distracted all week. His favorite holiday was Independence Day and he had something like pre-Christmas excitement. Andrea had an…eccentric teacher but she can write about that!

Independence Day (Friday) was cool. Tons of people crowded downtown for marching bands, concerts, food venders, fire-works, kids drinking in the street, and the whole shebang. We saw some definite shady things, but that goes on everywhere on such holidays. Here no one tries to hide so it’s more in your face.

On Sunday, our German friend from school organized a mountain bike trip. There were six of us total including Andrea and I. We had great equipment and very friendly/skilled guides. However it’s possible they over-estimated our abilities! The first half of the ride was an extremely technical single-track climb. Apparently all the rain we’ve had lately really washed out much of the dirt leaving endless miles of trenches filled with rocks and roots. All the hard work paid off, however, as the second half of the trip was filled with wicked down hill runs and enjoyable cross-country sections with fantastic views. It was the most exhilarating time I’ve had in a while. So good to be out of the city, riding through forests & farms, and breathing fresh air!

I think we can make it through another week of mind numbing classes now. It will be tough to sit down all day, butt for a different reason!

Luke