Hi again,
A quick post to let you know that I've arrived safely in Antigua, Guatemala. I had a wonderful visit with my parents and grandma this morning. The drove 3 hours (six total) to come have breakfast with me but it meant the world to me to have a couple of hours with them and to feel the love and support of family as I headed out on my trip.
It is always a little be nerve-racking to arrive in a country where the primary language is not your native-tongue. Though, this has become significantly easier over my many years of working in Central American and as my Spanish has improved. Hopefully after language school I will be even more comfortable.
I had a shuttle waiting for me at the airport in Guatemala City and had a nice hour-long Spanish conversation with my driver. He told me all about his life, how he found God, and is now sober for 6 years. As has been my experience previously in Latin America, my driver was very direct about religion. He asked me directly if I was religious. Where for some in the US we shy away from talking about religion (the old don't talk about religion, politics, or money), here it is a question I have often received and can lead to some interesting conversations.
Later, he thought I was making an error when he asked if I lived alone and I replied that no, I live with my wife. He thought I was mixing up feminine and masculine endings, but finally (I think) understood that I'm married to another woman.
All in all, it was a great hour conversation and he was very complimentary of my Spanish. He was a perfect person to practice with given he was willing to help correct any errors I made (this can be difficult to get people to do- especially when they perceive a status difference between you) and he has learned to speak slowly for us gringos (side note- while very occasionally the slang term 'gringo' can be used as an insult- it is also often just used a 'foreigner' often from the US! This is equivalent to how you might call someone an "American" as a simple description or with the change of your town turn the same word into an insult.)
Well I am off to enjoy Antigua in the rain.
More soon.
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