Didnt you bring your helmet?

The walk to school takes me down a long, straight, cement street that goes past numerous shops and stores and one particularly shady looking ¨house¨ that from what I can tell, doubles as a bar. Why do I think that? Well..let me tell you...

Walking to school the other day there were very few people on the street ahead of me. It was practically deserted for at least 300 steps. All of a sudden I hear a door whip open and out falls an old man, dirty khaki pants, green button up shirt and a cowboy hat. Literally FALLS like a board into the street like something out of the movies! It looked hilarious because he fell literally like a two by four if you just let it fall. Good thing he was so drunk because otherwise he would have been in some kinda pain!

He lay there for about 10 seconds...rolled over...and sat up. I guess all is well in drunkie land after all.

Unavoidable church attendance

I had been complaining the last two weeks about the love affair my host family was having with God. I had been the elusive heathen that they weren´t able to convince to attend their church ceremonies. Feeling like a badass, I moved into the apartments that our school runs for students. Thinking I was so slick and would not have to hear any more ¨God is the Word¨ lectures (yes that really happened) I went to bed so content in my new house.

Until Wednesday morning...

At the strike of 756AM I was aggressively awoken by a religious song being played somewhere way too close to my eardrums and well above speaker blowing volumes. In a haze, I fumbled with the lock and stumbled into the hallway. I glanced up and down the street trying to pinpoint the location of this eardrum damaging drivel. Unsuccessful, I retreated to my room, first making eye contact with the lady that lives below us. I gave her a look that said nothing other than ¨jeez! this is uncalled for and TERRIBLE!¨ It was about 9 seconds later when I realized just beneath my room was a oversized speaker set up in front of about 25 plastic chairs arranged in preparation for some type of religious ceremony....and SHE was throwing the party!

This service continued for two whole hours. There were periods of time where literally twenty minutes lapsed and the same woman was still screaming some God praising tune into the microphone. Twenty minutes of a church song!? A SINGLE song!? Then for a short while they all said different prayers aloud and the lady with the mic wailed into it...she was really moved by the presence of god at their ceremony.

So it looks like due to my participation I am no longer a heathen. Is that how it works?

Good news: my spanish teacher told me its part of a program where every wed the women of the church get together at a DIFFERENT house and pray together. Each family does it ONCE a year.

Phew.

Some religious ceremony??

Warning...religious people may not appreciate this joke.


Im recounting my terrible nights sleep to my dad and saying....

[10:30:47 a.m.] Kat Fischer: k so last night i think i had the worst nights sleep imaginable. there were FIREWORKS at 430 am
[10:31:06 a.m.] Kat Fischer: dogs barking..a whole neighborhood of them like a badly coordinated chior practice
[10:31:16 a.m.] Kat Fischer: and what sounded like a pig being slaughtered sometime areound 5am
[10:31:17 a.m.] Robert Fischer Jr: some religious celebration coming up


pigs, fireworks and dogs....some religious celebration coming up??

The life I thought I wanted..

Growing up in America you either learn directly through your family, or indirectly through society that to be successful you must go to school, get married, have kids. End of story. I learned this lesson too and up until a few years ago, I probably would have followed the same path. To the disdain of my parental units, I discovered traveling and have been running in the opposite direction of this prediscussed lifestyle.

I want kids. In the distant future. And I actually want lots of them. I want marriage and a house as well. The trick to all of this being I couldnt pick a city in the world i´d be content to stay in for the rest of my life, or even for a long period of time..nor could I pick someone I´d be content being with forever.

Im 24 years old. Some people would say these types of thoughts are totally irrational and others, many of the my close friends, would say I am where I am supposed to be.

Last night I found myself at the dinner table with my host mom discussing birthdays. Turns out hers is in a few weeks on which she´ll be celebrating her 23rd birthday. She has three kids..the oldest is 8. Shes been a mom since she was 14 and has been maintaining a home for just as long. Now she takes care of 3 kids, her husband, her house, all the cooking, and now two Americans who are living in her home. Ill reiterate the fact that she is only 22.

Ill stick with my life as a professional wanderer (sorry mom).

Invasion of the Amoebas

After weeks of bodily explosions my spanish teacher finally convinced me it was a good idea to go to the Dr. Fantastically, it was a free clinic that also provides free medicine! I went in for an exam and she was convinced I have amoebas in my stomach!!! That would explain the chronic fatigue, fever, and other bodily problems that I will not elaborate on for the last like 3 weeks. SO, I got 5 days of free meds and should be amoeba free by then! While I do not thank Guatemala for my aboebas in the first place, I do find free clinics to be one more reason to love Guatemala! Is it ok if I stay here forever?