Life in Antigua: Part IV

Hey everyone. Thanks for sticking with me through the Life in Antigua series. Hopefully they get increasingly more interesting for you. Not much has happened here in England this past week, so I'll continue with the series. I think there are seven parts in all, so don't worry. It can't go on forever.


I am applying for a job that I am excited about this week. The deadline is Friday, so we'll see what happens. Please pray that we continue to hope in God and not despair about the weather or finances or anything! We know that the birds are fed and the flowers are clothed in splendor by God every day. He will take care of us! 


A little sunshine would be nice. I haven't seen the sun since Wednesday of last week. :(

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Friends and family,

In typical Guatemalan style, the power went out as I was writing this massive e-mail. Luckily I was only on the second paragraph. I'm hard pressed to find anything more frustrating than power outages when I am trying to be brilliant. This week's events weren't particularly thrilling or hilarious, but a lot of little things added together make for good entertainment.

For starters, Carlos, the third brother in my family, has elevated himself entirely to a new level of laziness. Never in my life have I met anyone more lazy than he (nor anyone who can whine in a more consistently annoying manner). Exhibit A: He brings his mouth down to his glass full of juice resting on the table and dips it down holding it with his teeth so he doesn't have to pick it up. Exhibit B: To return his thick glasses to the bridge of his nose, he throws his head back and bobbles it back and forth so he doesn't have to push them up with his fingers. Quite a sight.

There is a new student at the school, named Nikki, who is quite interesting. I think she's only here for a week or two. She knew absolutely no Spanish before coming, and I still haven't quite figured out why she chose to come here alone for her vacation. She graduated from some obscure college in Minnesota with something like two majors, three minors, and a host of concentrations. She is also an overweight vegetarian whose steady diet of chewy candy has been considerably restricted by her new braces.

The girl has been all over the world! She studied for one semester in Ireland because it was the home of Guiness beer. However, she first caught my ear when she said the word, "Israel" when we were walking to a field trip to a Jade factory. She was there for a few months, "post 9/11," she informed me. She confessed to me that she really wanted to be Jewish, but she's going to seminary starting in the fall to get yet another degree in something, something else, and Feminist Studies. Nikki's ultimate goal is to be ordained. I was confused. Only moments earlier, she was commenting on the hooded university students (more about them later) asking people for money saying, "They're just using the money to buy a bunch of liquor. I'm not giving them anything! I paid myself to get drunk all through college!" She's a hoot. I think she had a metal breakdown on Tuesday. She was pacing through the school during the break, shouting at anyone who was remotely paying attention, "I just can't handle any more verbs! I just can't! Don't these people know that I don't speak Spanish?" I'll miss her... :)

My dear housemate Anna returned to NYC this week. Everyone in the house misses her, although no one does more than me. We had lovely conversations and she was such an encouragement to both listen and talk to. We made lunch for our family last Saturday. Well, Ann cooked and I just chopped things. I was thrilled to eat a somewhat American meal, including a scrumptious fruit salad.

Oh, here's some exciting news... Next Sunday I will be fellowshipping here in Antigua with none other than some TU Spring Breakers! Yep! They will be in Guatemala City doing a service project and will come here to do the tourist thing for one day. I am so excited... and they're brining me a box of Cinnamon Life! Also, my mom is coming to visit for Holy Week in April. I'm really excited about that! These people take Semana Santa very, very seriously. Lent is time full of processions and other celebrations to gear up for the big week. There was one that passed by my house on Sunday. Tons of people, tons of ornate costumes, tons of incence, tons of fun to watch. [Editor's note: see picture at the bottom of this post.]

Work in the hospital is still going well. There is still one baby that breaks my heart every time I look at him. His name is Melvin. He just turned one. I think he weighs about 8 pounds. He constantly has tubes coming out of him and is dressed in wet rags to "reduce his fever". Now... I'm not a medical professional, but aren't wet clothes the last thing you want to put on a very very sick baby?

And now... a few random thoughts.

I've been seeing a lot of pickups holding at least 25 people in the back holding on to each other for dear life. The tail nearly scrapes the street beneath it.

We buy our eggs from a smelly pet store. It's a little disconcerting. I'm just waiting to crack one and have a little chick come out that was meant to be someone's pet.

I went to a museum this week that is actually an old house. The two daughters of the man who bought the house still live there. We passed through their bedrooms and everything. I wonder if I could get people to pay money to see my bedroom.

The men here like to hit on women indirectly. I was walking with my "mom" the other day and some random guy said to her, "Adios suegra!" (Goodbye mother-in-law) I suppose he was implying that he was married to me?! Strange...

This country likes to strike a lot. There's always someone on strike. Teachers, truck drivers, etc. They also like to sleep at the airport on the runways to prevent people from coming or going. Interesting tactics, but successful nonetheless.

Well, before disaster strikes again, I suppose I should be going. Thanks for your prayers!

Love,
Nicole

Photo credit here.