Almost done with staging

The past few days have been busy -- meeting staff, starting Spanish classes, getting immunizations, getting to know other volunteers (there are 54 in our cohort!), and of course, seeing Guatemala and my host family. Tomorrow is our last day of staging and we will all go out to different communities to start 11 weeks of training. I'm pretty excited to meet my second host family, learn Guatemalan culture, and get awesome at espanol!!! There are two volcanoes near our site, Volcan Agua y Volcan Fuego. Yeah for geology and the three tectonic plates that run through Guatemala!

Since I've never been a great writer or a lover of essays, I'll just stick to bullet points. Memorable activities so far:

• Playing futbol (not American futbol..) with a host brother and a host cousin.
• Playing cards!! I brought cards from home and we spent a considerable amount of time with them.
• Meeting my first host family; very very large with many uncles, cousins, and children.
• Using a "pila." An outdoor area with "sinks" where you can use water that is collected to wash your hands, brush teeth, do the dishes, etc.
• Taking bucket baths. Those of you who've been on missions somewhere know what I mean.
• Corn tortillas, corn tortillas, and more corn tortillas.
• Talking in bad Spanish (which shall improve dramatically.. soon)
• Watching Beauty and the Beast and Ratatouille in ESPANOL!!
• Meeting people who have similar interests, passions, and goals as I do... ^__^

Many more memories to come.

Prayer Requests:

• Perseverance and Patience
• Gastrointestinal (cough cough). People who've been on missions also know what I'm referring to here. Haha
• Open heart to absolutely love Guatemalans and their culture! And to remain faithful.....

Gracias mis amigos y familia.