A time to study...

Hi again all.

Well an update is in order. I'm not actually staying at a retirement home, though it seriously appeared that way when I first arrived this weekend.  All of the very old people in wheel chairs, etc. were either family members or had been staying here over the weekend while their children or gradchildren had other obligations.  Rather than a true 'retirement' home, which goes against a culture with such a strong ethos of family, this is a place where many friends or families bring a relative to stay when there are other obligation/ trips they are taking.

Anyhow, it turns out to be a great place to stay with multiple people coming and going regularly and lots of opportunities to speak Spanish. Not exactly the "traditional family" experience expected but great all the same.

School is going well. This week I have a new teacher. One practice of the school where I am studying is to change teachers each week. This way students are exposed to a variety of teaching styles and accents. Anyhow, this week my teacher is very intense and demanding. It seems impossible to learn as quickly as she would like, but she's pushing me as much as she can. She's a great teacher, but a tough one- she even wants to work with me over the weekend to make sure I progress as far as possible.

One interesting cultural aspect today... this morning the grandmother who lives in the house here asked me if I'm married and have children. I answered simply that I am married and no, I don't have children yet. She then asked how old I was and upon learning that I'm 32 (gasp) with no children, she became insistent that I must have children immediately. She asked how long I've been married and when I answered we are coming up on 4 years, she thought it even stranger I have yet to have children. I explained that upon finishing my doctorate I will begin trying to have children. Truth be told, it is even more intimidating than usual to come out to an older person here because of combined cultural and generation gap.

Anyhow, I didn't have the heart to explain the whole situation to her but laughed at how intense the pressures are for a person, particularly a woman, to get married and have children in this culture. I have seen similar types of this response throughout Central America.  I'll never forget when on one project, the doctorate student I was assisting was 28 years old at the time and unmarried, so the woman taking care of the house where we stayed insisted she needed to find a husband and then proceeded to bring by eligible bachelors whenever possible!

That's all for now. I must get back to class!

Chris