Just another day...

Sorry this is a really quick entry, bare with me on the explanations and spelling…

This week has been full of activity. I gave my first charla, which is like a mini talk/lesson on the channels of commercialization. There were about 15 women there plus the other trainees and my trainer. It went ok, the activity turned out really well because they really understood that they could make more money through selling directly to the stores than to middlemen which was the point so props to that! The best part was in the middle of my talk there was a woman there with a baby and he was hungry so she just took him off her back and whipped out her boob and stared breast feeding right there in the middle of the room in the middle of my charla. I mean it definitely not the first time that I have seen women just whip it out but I was kind of taken back that it was in the middle of my charla….that’s life I guess!

Saturday we went on another hike but this time we made it all the way to the top which is about 10,000 ft above sea level. We were up in the clouds, it was surreal! We could see the clouds below us moving and forming and you could smell the freshness of the air, it was so clear and crisp. At the top there is a really cool set up that was done by another Peace Corps training group. There are benches, swings, and a slide for the kids and some picnic areas too!

Saturday night we had our first real night out in Antigua. We went and had a great dinner for Q15 (about $2), then hit up some of the Happy Hours before going to this great bar that had dancing! Although I only danced a little it was fun being in that kind of environment again, the loud, somewhat packed bar where everyone is having a good time! It was so fun too because it was all Guatemalan and not over run with Americans. It was awesome to see some Guatemalans kick back, drink and dance (a very rare thing here)! We didn’t get home until 11:30, I felt so bad though because I was later than I expected and I felt like I was seventeen again and sneaking back into the house!

Today I am off to Coban in the state of Alta Verapaz for FBT (Field Based Training). We will be there for a week; working with a women’s weaving group, a tea co-op and another coffee group. It should been a fun and interesting trip. We have to give two more charlas, which sucks, but we also get to have a night out in Coban and on the way home we are going to some hot springs which will be a wonderful! When we get back I will only have 15 more days until I found out my site for the next two years, YAY!

I miss everyone and I am trying my hardest to email as much as I can but the internet is a rare thing here, or it cost me Q6/hour which is about one-third of what I make in a day! I am going to try to figure out a regular schedule once I get to my site and get settled in! Thank you to all who have sent cards, packages, emails and facebook messages, you do not know how much it means to me!