Just roll with it! (updated)

Hi all,

Well as mentioned this morning today was the day for my switch from my hotel into living with a family. My ride showed up on time (which was impressive) and drove me over to the house since I didn't want to lug my suitcases down the beautiful cobble stone streets of Antigua!

In any event, imagine my surprise when I realized that I'm not actually staying at the traditional family home that I thought I'd be staying at. It is not totally clear (no one has said it and I don't feel comfortable asking yet) but on first glance it appeared that I'm staying in a retirement/ old folks home. :-D So it turns out that one of the elderly people is the woman who own's the house's father and she apparently has students and older people with no family live with her. Since it is Sunday there is a large gathering of family that has been coming and going all day. It is not yet clear who lives here and who does not but appears to be a mix of family, older people in need of assistance, and the occasional student/traveler. We'll see how this goes!

Life is rich and one thing about traveling / doing fieldwork is that you learn very quickly to roll with whatever comes your way. No matter what I imagine, nothing ever turns out exactly as I thought it might.  As a friend of mine was quick to point out when I updated my facebook status about my new location, I should be able to learn some great stories and as I reminded her, it is actually probably perfect for me if there are a bunch of older people here since I often have to speak Spanish with old farmers, some of whom also lack teeth!

Just thought you might appreciate the humor and richness of this adventure. Not even close to what I thought I was in for, but I'm sure it will work out for the best.

Chris