No Hablo Español

I am in San Pedro this week, a trashy village on Lago de Atitlan, studying Spanish. It has been raining like crazy thanks to Hurricane Dean and the two things I wanted to do here (kayak the lake, and climb Volcan San Pedro) have not happened yet, and I am not hopeful that they will get done before I leave.

So about Spanish, I was really starting to feel confident asking directions, ordering food, and bartering, but now I just feel hopeless. I am doing four hours of class everyday this week, and while I am learning a lot, I am quite certain my teacher has decided I am hopeless. Anyone who knows me well, knows that I have difficulty understanding English if there is any noise around. Usually at bars conversations with me are one sided and I just nod my head when I feel it is appropriate. Now would be a good time to say that if anyone has had a really weird conversation with me at a bar, and I was agreeing with something truly bizarre, I probably was just nodding along so please don't hold it against me! As usual I digress. The original point was that I have trouble deciphering English, so imagine how hard it is for me to understand Spanish when I am on the street, or even at my school. I will hear a word (or group of words), have no idea what the hell is being said and after several minutes my incredibly patient (though becoming less so every day) teacher will write it out and I find out she was saying something like: Hola, Como estas? I heard: Jolacom oesates.

Resolving not to be defeated by something as trivial as learning a new language, I am headed to Xela on either Saturday or Monday to continue with language school and to volunteer in either an orphange, a clinic, or both. I am hoping after two weeks I will be on solid enough ground that I can continue learning on my own for the next two months. Wow!! It is weird to think that I only have a little over two months left down here. By the time I leave Guatemala, I am really going to be in a rush. Considering that I will be in Utila for at least a week getting my diving certification I think I will need to start cutting areas from my trip.


Here is my tentative itinerary for the next few weeks.

8/27-8/31 Spanish School in Xela

9/1-9/4 No clue!!!

I interrupt this blog to bring you an important announcement. A Guatemalan girl just brought me steaming hot banana bread (one of the other reasons I love Guatemala)!!!!

9/5-9/11 Trek with Quetzaltrekkers through the highlands.

9/12-9/15 Copan and making my way to the Bay Islands

9/16-??? Diving in Utila

That leaves about a month to hit the rest of Honduras, Nicaragua, and then fly out of Costa Rica. I am feeling a bit panicked about the time crunch...

OK that was a pretty lame post, but there really isn't anything else going on.