Hola amigos!

Hola chicos y chicas! Como estas?

So it is my fifth day in Guatemala, and I have to say I'm absolutley in love with this place. The first 2 days I had a bit of culture shock and I got a bit freaked out, but as soon as I spent some time with my host family and the other volunteers I felt much better. I am staying with a family. Jaoquin, Patsy, and their 2 kids Andrea and Samuel. They are so sweet and Patsy is seriously the BEST cook in the whole world *sorry mom*. there are also 8 volunteers in my house and 2 dogs, so it's a pretty busy place but I love it. I share a tiny room with 3 other girls, I am on the top bunk of a bunkbed. Then next door there are 4 guys, and downstairs is another girl.

I think the biggest challenge for me so far is the language barrier. I knew it was going to be hard, but I had no idea it was going to be THIS hard.

Today I went to my placement, and I am basically working in a small room in an alleyway type street, where tons of kids pile in to play games and stuff while their parents work. It's strange because I am so used to summer camps and stuff where we have to keep such a close eye on the kids to make sure they dont wander off, but here it seems the kids are free to come and go as they please. SOmetimes they'll just walk home and get something and come back without even telling us and that is totally accepted. The youngest one today was 5 and the oldest 13. They are all very very small though, they look about 3 years younger than they really are, mostly because they don't get proper nutrition.

I have so much more to say but I am so hungry and Patsy is serving lunch so I should walk home now!

I will try to make another update at the end of this week.

xoxoxoxox