The Four P’s: Partido, Pizza, Picnic and Pantalones

WHAT AN AMAZING DAY!!!

Ok, so I may be writing this today…but I am talking about last Sunday. (I hope this doesn’t confuse you all too much.)

Man oh man! So, the past week it has just been stressful, not only with classes at the Mayan school, but with Dr. Zalanga’s lectures and with being sick. I totally needed a day like today. it was great.

Ok, so first off…Sunday is my day to sleep in. Crazy, I know…but would you believe I get to sleep in and still go to church?! Oh the beauty of living in a society that functions more on the tardy side of things….

Anyway, this weekend I didn’t go to church because I went to a PARTIDO DE FUTBOL PROFESIONAL!!! (for the non Spanish speaking…that’s A PROFESSIONAL SOCCER GAME!!)

It was awesome. A group of us (Dan, Chris, Andy, Me, Lauren and Emily) met up and walked the few blocks to the stadium. At the stadium you can pay for the cheap seats in el sol or for the more expensive ones in la sombra. We opted for the sun…who doesn’t need a good dose of Vitamin D anyway?? The ticket was only 15Q….which converts to just under $2. What a great deal!

Antigua’s team won…of course. But what was really cool to see was the loyalty of the fans. There was fireworks, a band, people in masks screaming and yelling, and confetti paper raining down on us…and this was just for when the team came out on the field. When they scored…there was even more of a celebration. And their mascot?? An avocado. Of course they were going to win. How cool is that?!

After the soccer game, we were craving a bit of home-style food. So, we went for pizza. Dan, Lauren and I split one pizza and we took it to go. We ended up having a pizza picnic in the park. It was delicious. Since it was a Sunday, we receive a stipend because our host families don’t feed us on Sundays. Therefore, this pizza picnic in the park was possible. (man, how many “p”s can I get in one sentence?)

Ok, so I’ve gone through three of the four “P”s…what one’s left?? PANTALONES. And more specifically hippie pants. Dan, Lauren, becky and I went to the market and bought some of the best pants known to men. Think Aladdin…but in a typical Guatemalan fabric. I can’t wait for you all to see them. I believe next year we are going to have hippie pants Thursdays or something like that. So when you see those really cool pants in the halls of bethel university, you can know that that’s me!

Now for some more updated parts of life:

            My roommate and I have gone to two free jazz concerts that Antigua has hosted. One group from the US and one group from Italy. It was pretty fun and the setting was sweet. The concerts were at the Spanish Embassy in front of some ruins. It was so cool and kinda eerie to see the ruins lit up from the lights of the stage. Dan came with to the first concert, and it was cool to get a history lesson behind some of the songs. The US group played some that were very influential in the civil rights movement in the states. Super interesting. I feel like I am learning so much while here. It’s almost like I can’t not learn. I don’t have to be in the classroom for learning to take place, I am finding that this is a blessing as much as it is a curse.