Bienvenidos!

Hola Amigos!

After saying goodbye to family and friends at 5:30 AM, I have now arrived safely in Guatemala to begin language school tomorrow (Monday) at Sakribal.

Yesterday was an incredibly long and exhausting day. After landing in Guatemala City, my two community members and I (Regina and Tom), took a four hour bus to Quetzaltenango (Xela-pronounced Shae-la for short). It was not my first experience driving through the mountains of Guatemala but I was yet again reminded of the loco drivers that exist here...winding through the mountains without decreasing speed... loco. After arriving in Xela around 6:30 p.m, we took a taxi to search for our hostel. Our driver didnt know where our hostel was located so we drove around for quite some time in the dark trying to find it. After finding the hostel we checked in and went out in search for food. Sitting at dinner the three of us discussed how we´re all still kind of in shock of the fact that we´ll be calling Latin America our home for the next 15 months. Emotions were all over the place last night... excitement, nervousness, sadness... we were all so exhausted we couldnt completely register what was going on. It´s all still very surreal.

We then went in search of a phone card to call our families to let them know we had arrived safely in Xela. After about an hour and a half of searching for one in a town we had never been to before, in the dark, we had no luck. We went back to our hostel and asked the guy at the front desk who became our hero for the night. Not only did he go out and buy us two phonecards but he also came back and helped us to figure out how to put them onto a cell phone my brother Jake had given me to use in Xela. After the minutes were logged onto the cell phone we still couldnt figure out how to dial out to the US. After dialing about 5 or 6 times we finally realized that the country code was necessary and then proceeded to call our families at 11:30 (in the states) PM to inform of our success and safety. Needless to say... we slept VERY well last night-we all ZONKED!

This morning we woke up and went out in search for food then realizing that it was Sunday and most restaurants are closed. We went back to the hostel and Tom got sick so Regina and I went out looking for our language school (Sakribal). After finding Sakribal we checked in and then went back to grab Tom and all his luggage. Our host families were then called and picked us up at the school. So we went our separate ways to our casa´s that we will call home for the next 6 weeks.

I live with Auria (spelling?) and Ernesto. An older couple that is incredibly friendly and welcoming! Ernesto is wonderful because he is determined to help me learn as much Spanish as possible in the home. If I pronounce something incorrectly he is always sure to correct me and then teach me the proper way to prounounce it. AMAZING! Ernesto also has his own radio show and has an office upstairs from where he runs his radio show. Walking into his office and seeing all the shelves FILLED with different CDs of music was so exciting. My obsession with music will continue to be fulfilled!! :) Ernesto has also said that once I learn more Spanish he wants to put me on the radio show... but ONLY after I learn more Spanish... HAHA! It´s great though because he is very encouraging and patient... hes my buddy in the house.

Today Regina and I have just been exploring Xela. On the first Sunday of every month there is a mercato in the central park of the city. There have also been performers throughout the day! It´s been a fun first day in Xela! Today I´ve been really excited about all that I´m going to learn in language school in the upcoming weeks. Throughout the day we´ve been picking up different brochures of activities or trips we´d like to take part in while here. Basically i think right now I´m just enthralled by the culture and exciting opportunities that await me! Mom, Dad, Jake, Mol, Mike, Ben, and Keegan... this doesnt mean I dont miss you ;)
It´s Sunday night and six o´clock here in Xela, meaning its 7 in Toledo, OH which means that the Schoen family is currently sitting down in the Eddingfield living room for rosary which is a really beatiful thing to think of.

Thank you all for your prayers and support! I´ll continue to update this bad boy of a blog every week or as frequently as possible!

Love
Kate