Going to the Market

More from Thursday - 

In the afternoon, we went to the local open air market Elyse's teacher told us about.  After splitting up to go in opposite directions to try to find it, we found the entrance to what seemed like a large market along a main street.  Little did we know - it went a block north-south and at least that much east west.  It was so huge we quickly got lost wandering around everything from clothing to fruits and vegetables to household goods, electronics, cd's collector items for video game and Dragon Ball Z enthusiasts, fresh cut flowers, dried beans and grains, and on and on.  We ended up at a far end where there were rural families from surrounding farms selling their home grown fruits and vegetables in a dirt lot.  We bought oodles of items for very little money, all farm fresh - including a cauliflower the size of a small watermelon.  Eventually, a vendor took pity on us and directed us to the exit.  Looking forward to Shabbat dinner!

 After resting from our long day, we met up with our friend Josh for dinner.  We heard about his adventure running up and down Volcan Acatenango.  We hope to have similar adventures on a local volcano soon.

Our walk back to our apartment was made adventurous as a result of a downpour that we managed to avoid from the top with our umbrellas, but succumbed to below as a result of the flooded cobblestone streets.  But we were pleased not to slip and fall.  

Nosotros Estamos Muy Consados! (We are exhausted) Pero estamos felices! (But happy!)

 Our first day of school.  And our brains hurt from trying to speak Spanish for four hours straight.

The school at which we are studying is called Spanish School Don Pedro de Alvarado.  (Don Pedro was the Spanish Conquistador who conquered and began the colonialization of Cuba, the Yucatan and most of Central America.  He was responsible for a considerable amount of violence against the Mayan people.  Why a contemporary school for Spanish language immersion is named for him?  Beats me...?)

The school is about 20 years old and has a reputation of being one of the better ones of the many found here in Antigua.  They believe in one-on-one learning and total immersion.  In other words, David and I arrived (a little late for class) and were immediately set up with two teachers to spend the next four hours speaking and practicing Spanish.  In a beautiful garden setting with a banana tree, orange tree, avocado tree and several resident tortugas (turtles!!!!!!) We engaged in one-on-one conversation the entire time.

I worked with Senora Christy from a nearby pueblo.  She asked me what I did in Philadelphia.  I told her that I am a rabbi (rabina) and she immediately asked me to explain to her the philosophy of Reconstructionist Judaism.  I told her that I have one daughter and one son and their names and ages.  That was a much easier conversational direction.

However, we came back around to it and I did learn the words "reparar el mundo"  (to repair the world).  I told her that was the philosophy of modern Judaism. 

David and Senora Wendy started by talking about David's having studied Spanish for 5 years (40 years ago!).  They mostly worked on verbs and tenses, with numerous tangential conversations that David often steered into Hebrew causing mystified looks on Wendy's part.  

Our day began with a simple breakfast in our private garden.  The flowering plants are beautiful, including bougainvillea, peace lilies, trumpet lilies, and jade vine.  Here are some photos, which really don't do it justice.  After the flower photos, there's more......

A Peace Lily in the sunshine!

Trumpet Lily!

And here we are eating in the garden.  You can see on of Antigua's many earthquake-ruined churched just outside our property.

Our apartment also shares rooftop space with the other unite. From the patio, you can see several of the volcanoes surrounding Antigua

Our walk to school:

A Pomegranate!