Ancient Antigua

Well, we made it back to Antigua for our last two weeks in Guatemala.  Like Josiah mentioned, Antigua is a smaller town where most things are easily accessible by foot.  We are currently staying at a "Volunteer House" set up by the organization Casasito.  www.casasito.org  We have quite a spacious room with a high metal roof.  I feel we are a bit spoiled with WiFi and a tv!  You can't imagine how excited I was to actually unpack my backpack for two weeks.  I love being on the move and seeing new things, but it feels nice to be settled in one spot for awhile.  Casasito really interested me specifically because of the Volunteer House.  I wanted to come stay here and see how it operated because if I have my own organization someday, a volunteer house is something I've considered.  So far I think its a great plan.  We get to meet other people with similar passions who are volunteering to make a difference here.  We are not all involved with the same projects, but the exchange of ideas and stories are quite interesting.  The picture here is looking out of our room toward the kitchen.  Josiah and I have had a lot of fun going to the local market here.  I meant to have taken a picture by now, but keep forgetting.  Stay tuned on facebook for those to come.  The market here is quite huge with a plethora of options on fresh fruits and veggies.  These are great and extremely cheap (in price not quality).  I'm quite addicted to fruit so I have gone every single day to buy more.  Since we are staying at the house we have access to the kitchen and are getting to be flexible with our meals.  It's a lot more economical for us to buy things and cook them ourselves.  Plus, cooking always allows time for bonding and seeing where our creativity with flavors leads us.  So far I've been impressed with our variety in recipes.  

Being in Antigua we are of course surrounded by, yes you guessed it...MORE VOLCANOS!  I am not kidding they are everywhere here.  When I first started traveling in Central America I would be so shocked and giddy to see a Volcano, but in Guatemala its just part of everyday life.  The cobblestone streets are filled with colorful buildings and interesting architecture.  Josiah is looking forward to painting some landscapes here.  

We have decided to Volunteer in the afternoons with another after school program.  We have only been one day so far, but it's very interesting.  We have to take a bus 20 min or so up into the mountains to a very poor village called San Mateo.  In the project there are 118 students from K-6th grade.  This may seem a bit overwhelming to think about, but these students are so well behaved.  It was quite shocking how well they listened and were eager to do what we said.  The project is run by a Guatemalan woman and her two daughters.  There is one teacher to work with the students and then any volunteers she has available.  Right now it's just Josiah and I.  Josiah's spanish boundaries are once again being pushed as he teaches the children.  It's good to be pushed 

when learning a new language, and I think he's adapting more all the time!  

On Wednesday we get to meet a couple,

 Heather and Greg, who are starting an orphanage here in Antigua. www.projectsomos.org  I have been looking forward to meeting them for a long time.  They are just in the beginning stages of registering their organization here in Guatemala, and looking for land to build on.  To most people this process may seem like a pain, or something boring to be a part of, but I'm so excited to see 

first hand how it can be done.  If I am able to start something someday these are all things I will be doing as well.  They seem like such an amazing and inspiring couple, so Wednesday will be very fulfilling day indeed.  Much to our surprise we received notice that our friend Isabelle would be coming into town.  We volunteered with her at El Nahual, so we got to spend the day with her today exploring the town.  It was refreshing to meet up with her so quickly after we had to sadly say goodbye in Xela.  Tomorrow I believe we will meet back up with her, and also get together the other volunteers here at the house to go out and Salsa!  It will be fun to check out the dancing scene here.

This is about all that is going on here for now.  The weather is warm and nice, but a bit chilly in the evenings.  We heard about the abundance of snow in Indiana, so I hope everyone has been safe and well.  I'm sure we will write again soon, so stay posted.  Rest assured that we are both growing a lot and learning new things everyday.  Hopefully we are opening doors to walk through for the rest of our lives.