We´ve really been enjoying our week in San Andres so far. There is a weeklong celebration going on in San Jose because sometime last week was the day of their patrón saint, so even 15 minutes away in San Andres we can hear music and ¨fiestas¨all day long! On Saturday night, we decided to join in the fun by attending the fair. We had a blast riding on the Ferris Wheel run by a tractor motor, trampolining and enjoying your typical greasy carnival food. However,the highlight of the night was definitely when Allison, Kira and Jessie ventured out onto the empty dance floor to show off their moves. Within two minutes, they had attracted huge crowd, and within five, the locals were joining in. Leave it to the gringas to get the party started! (Pictures to come soon- of San Andres´ many strengths, a good internet connection is not one!)
Anyways, each morning we attend Spanish classes for four ideas. Although the setup is somewhat different from Xela, we have made the most of it by incorporating polítical discussions, childen´s books and heated games of Scrabble into our learning. We also had a great lesson on Monday about the effects on the drug cartels, since unfortunately Peten is a region that has been deeply effected by the drug trade. In the afternoon, we have heard legends about the lake and learned how to cook tostados. However, it´s not exactly all work and no play-we have spent plenty of time using the beach to escape the oppressive heat!
We also had two other celebrations to attend to this week. On Tuesday, we marked Jessie´s 18th birthday with a delicious homecooked vegan chocolate cake! As luck would have it, the only house in the town that seemed to have an oven was Jessie´s, so we had to drag her out of her house in order to cook the cake. So the girls hatched a plan to take Jessie to see the fireworks while the boys and Allison got to work and somehow everything worked out. We had a great celebration with the group, Jessie´s family, and our new friend Leo (another guy taking classes at the school who happens to show up at every single group activity-no worries, he´s nice).
Finally, today is our official halfway point of the trip. Allison and Benji made us each personal collages to mark the occasion-definitely a hilarious way to start the day! We are all amazed by how fast the trip is going by, but we are excited for everything that is in front of us! Up next is our trip to Tikal on Friday and then it´s on to Nicaragua on Sunday!