Long overdue update! Days 47-58

I stayed at the school in the city from Monday through Friday.  I got to help out in the preschool class and also take care of the babies:)  It was a normal school and nothing really exciting happened.

On Friday I went to a town called Juitapa to help an American family in their ministry with deaf people there.  The family has started a school for the deaf teens and adults in this community.  Most of these people have never had the opportunity to go to school, so they are taught the basic subjects at about a 2nd or 3rd grade level.  I got to teach the difference between addition and subtraction!  This whole trip was AMAZING!
-To start off, the climate was comparable to Puerto Rico (not quite as hot, but close)!!!
-The first night I got there the family was eating chicken noodle soup for supper- I had been feeling a little sick, so this was wonderful:)
-Then, on Saturday morning we were driving to another town to give a class and on the way I SAW A FLAMBOYAN TREE!!!!!   (In case you don't know what this is, it is my FAVORITE tree in PR and it is covered in really pretty flowers)
The family has a lot of kids (I think 8), but many are married or in college in the US, so they have 3 kids living with them in Guatemala.  I really enjoyed playing games with the teenage boys.  We played Risk (3 times!), a Rummy Tile game, and Othello!
The family's house is kind of like a bed and breakfast.  They always have visitors around and they have a lot of extra bedrooms, so it works well.  I got to meet a lot of deaf people from Gautemala and spend time with them, so I learned some Gautemalan Sign Language!

On Wednesday, I left the family's house at noon and traveled to the city then to a town named San Lucas.  Some of their friends was going from Juitapa to San Lucas so I got to ride with them.  They were all deaf, so I had about 3-4 hours of practicing only Sign Language- I loved it!!!
I left a suitcase of mine with another missionary family that I know in San Lucas (I will pick it up later) so that I could take the bus to my next stop in Guatemala.
From there, I took the chicken bus to Antigua.  The bus was CROWDED some seats had 6 people in them (4 sitting and 2 kids on people's laps).  Then there were people standing in the isles.  We had some entertainment- a clown got on and started telling jokes.  Once I got to Antigua, I went to McDonalds (just to sit in their patio).  The McDonalds here is really nice- they have a patio with a fountain, so it was a relaxing place to pass the time.
Then I got on another chicken bus for a 3 minute ride to the church.  At church, I met some of the kids and the "uncles" from the orphanage where I stayed in December:)  After church I rode home with them!

So now for 10 days I am staying at the same place that I was in December/January!  It has been really nice to see all the kids and to spend time with them again.  They are all in school now, so in the evenings after homework is finished, we have time to play.  Last night I played othello!

I am so thankful to be here with "my kids" but I really miss Puerto Rico, so I am looking forward to returning in less than 2 weeks!!!

*One last thing:  On Wednesday as we were driving down the mountain to get from Jutiapa to the City, I thought I saw quenepas (my FAVORITE food/fruit from Puerto Rico).  We were not able to stop because there was construction and there was no where to pull over, so I spent the next 3 hours looking for quenepas and I never found them.  Once I got to Antigua, I was walking through the market and I FOUND QUENEPAS!!!!    :)
So in one week I have:  lived in a warm place, seen a Flamboyan Tree, and eaten quenepas:)