Some Things

Here are some things i have learned since my last post:
1) milking a cow is hard
2) I should never doubt the ability of a family of 5 plus 2 giant gringas to fit into a tiny car made for tiny guatemalans.
3) You can make tortillas in star shapes, but it is difficult enough just to make a circle.
4) I have special twin powers.
5) Internet can be found where you least expect it.

My last host sister was a saint to wake up at six am because the crazy gringa wanted to learn how to milk a cow. When i asked my grandfather if I could watch him milk "Maravilla" he laughed and said I was asking for a swift kick to the face. Maybe at that point I should have taken the hint and gone back inside to sleep. But my friend Kendall had told me a bit about milking coes and i wanted to see for myself. After failing to coax out a stream of milk on the first try, I was pretty happy with successive attampts that i viewed as successful. Apparently it wasnt good enough for my host grampa. But try as he might to teach me how to get a stronger stream, I guess i am just not a natural.

I was very sad to leave the host family i lived with for 3 days. I had grown accustomed to the 3 yearold laughing at me when i tried to help him color and when even going to the supermarket is fun, you know its a great family.

Despite my failure at milking cows, it appears I am a natural at tortillando- or making tortillas. Although I have a sinking suspicion that my new host family is lying to me to make me feel better. I dont know how they get such perfect circles with much less dough than i use.

I have moved to a bigger town and live with a young married couple, their 2 month old daughter, and the husband's sister and father. Its a bit different dynamic than my last family, but they are very patient and kind to me. Best of all the house has A SHOWER WITH HOT WATER! And its 2 doors down from an internet cafe. This town seems a bit more traditional in dress and social roles. I dont interact much with the father or husband and the women spend most of their time cooking and cleaning. I have thus decided there is no time like the present to learn how to cook. This way i get to interact with the family aaaand I wont starve in 6 months when i move to my own house Today we went to the market and later we will go to church. Besides that I just kinda follow around after the women of the house. Hopefully when i start 6 hours of spanish a day i will be busier. If not, atleast I will become a pro at cooking over a fire and sustaining awkward conversations in spanish. I will also hopefully change some conceptions about the US. My host family already asked me if i was raised by a nurse and when i told them my family ate tortillas but didnt make them they responded- "ahhh so your servant makes them"

Its hard to believe I have been here only 5 days. I have already learned alot and it feels like much longer. Today Twin leaves for Africa, which is verrrry exciting! Before he goes, everyone should know about our our special twin powers. Being a twin has given me a reliable conversation piece, as it seems to be a pretty cool thing here. Many people believe that if you make a twin mad, they will poke many tiny holes in you clothes with their MIND! So watch out!

I also have a cell phone and its pretty cheap to call with skype... so email me if you desire my digits!