Antigua

I made it to Antigua a couple days ago. It is really nice here. Antigua is probably the most touristy city in Guatemala. It is a very old city—several hundred years old—and still maintains the antique look. The city is very small too, which I like. You can walk practically everywhere. I live on the south side of the city, close Volcano Agua. I would say it is the most distinct of the three volcanoes. Step on to my street and there it is. It is incredible.

I am studying Spanish for a couple weeks at La Union Spanish School. They placed me with a family that I can stay with while I am here. I am staying with an older woman called Chiqui. She has a small, but nice house. She is also a very good cook. Chiqui has been housing Spanish students for 12 years. She does it as a full time job. She housed three of the Spring Arbor girls last week and currently has another girl staying here for 2 months. She is a med student from Michigan State University and is doing some medical research in Guatemala City.

I think Spanish classes will help quite a bit. It is nice to be able to dedicate all my time to studying Spanish. I am with a teacher for 4 hours in the morning and for 2 hours in the afternoon. I study and do homework in the afternoon.

Yesterday in class we experienced an earthquake. It was such a crazy experience. At first I looked around to see if someone was stomping their feet or shaking their desk. It just seemed like a soft shaking. Then It started getting harder and harder and eventually slowed down again. I guess altogether it lasted for 45 seconds. The earthquake measured a 6 point something on the rictar scale. The recent earthquake in Haiti measured a 7 on the scale. Thank God there was no damage in Guatemala or El Salvador.

I hope that two weeks studying will be sufficient, but I may end up doing two more if I need too. It has been kind of nerve-wracking moving around place to place by myself (especially considering the fact that I don’t know many people and I don’t know a lot of Spanish), but God has been working everything out perfectly. It has been a huge blessing.