Tuesday is my day off this week...

I didn't go up to the village today (because I went to Spanish school this afternoon), so this morning I slept in a little bit (til 8:20!!) then Skyped with a friend who just moved to Tanzania for 6 months through VIM. Christine and I met at the VIM training in October and I am blessed to have her as a new friend. We are going on our adventures at the same time, and will be experiencing the emotional phases (see a previous blog about this) around the same times. I know we will be great rocks for each other to lean on during maybe some not so happy times. 

After my Skype cut us off (yes I live in Guatemala and my internet is horrible) I decided it was time to wash my clothes. I hadn't done it since I moved here and seeing as I only packed really one bag full of clothes I was starting to run out. So here's the deal with washing clothes here. I can take them into town to have them washed, I could take them over to another volunteer's house and pay to wash them and also have to just sit around their house all day or take trips back and forth, or I could just wash them myself here. I decided to do it once myself and see how it turned out. I bought my detergent at the store the other day and this morning finally had the time to test it out. 

This is the wash center at our house. I went to Emme (Alberto's wife) and asked her to show me how to wash my clothes. If you had been watching and/or listening to us trying to have this conversation in Spanish you would have been on the floor laughing. Imagine it more like a complicated game of charades.

There are 3 steps... Soak, scrub, and rinse (obviously just like a washing machine). The biggest issues that I had once I finally figured out what Emme was trying to tell me was how cold the water was (it was FREEZING!) and all the spiders. They were everywhere! On a side note I have killed 9 spiders in the past 4 days. One was in my bed and another one crawled on my hand while I was doing dishes! I spent the weekend walking around my apartment with my shoe in hand like I was being attacked.

All my clothes hanging up to dry. At least it was a beautiful day to be outside even if I was spending it doing laundry.

So remember how everyone always says the dryer steals your socks? Well apparently they disappear even if you hang them up to dry. Notice how the Christmas sock and the purple one don't have matches. This is the cement wall that is behind our house, so that the waterfall next door (which you can hear clearly from the house, but can't see) doesn't flood our house during the rainy season.

After I finished hanging up my clothes I walked to town to grab some lunch and finish doing my Spanish homework before class. I have eaten at this restaurant a few times. You can get a chicken sandwich (which is rotisserie chicken chopped up), fries (which are more like huge chunks of potatoes), and a Coca cola lite (which taste nothing like diet coke!!) for only $3. It is right by the road and outside, so it is a beautiful cheap place to eat and study.

Every time I have eaten at The Patio this cat is my lunch date. He/she sits at my feet and purrs until I give it half of my sandwich. Today he/she jumped into my lap and sat there for about an hour while I was studying until I had to go to school. We're buddies.

If you read my last blog (or maybe the one before) you read me complaining about these bites I have on my legs. Well I still have them and everyday the itch gets worst. Other than itching like crazy (especially during the middle of the night) and looking like I have the chicken pox they really didn't bother me until I read this email from my grandfather. Granddaddy sent me an email a few days ago and this is what he said about my bites. I knew they were chiggers, but had no idea what a chigger was.

Granddaddy's email: A Chigger is tiny  (I mean magnifying glass tiny) red spider that burrows under the skin and establishes a blood connection,  It releases an enzyme to improve blood supply hence the itch intensity but unlike the mosquito this guy likes his new digs and the more you scratch the better the blood supply.

I almost cried (yes I'm emotional) when I read that. Anyways, here is a lovely picture of part of my leg (excuse the ugly scar). My ENTIRE legs are covered with these red bumps which are apparently spiders living inside me. SO GROSS!!!!

On a happier and less gross note tonight Audrey (one of the board members for Salud y Paz who is in town for a week) took Heather (my roommate) and me out to dinner. We went to a pizza place that has a lot of other stuff on the menu. I love walking around town and finding all these cool little spots.