Guatemala

I just returned from a two-week Spanish immersion in Guatemala. We received four hours of one-on-one instruction each day, lived and ate with Guatemalan families, and had many other opportunities for cultural experiences. I was fortunate enough to have immersion with seven of my A-100 classmates.

Overall, the experience was fantastic. I highly recommend the immersion for any other language learners.

The good:

My Spanish improved (that's the point, right?). For me, the improvement was more about fluidity than new grammatical concepts. My professor was great; we passed many hours discussing topics as varied as politics, healthcare, archaeology, sports, and culture. I probably could have spent more time working on grammar, but for me, conversation was the most important.

We also had time for lots of other activities. We climbed a volcano and roasted marshmallows over lava, took a weekend trip to a lake, bargained in the local markets, took salsa dancing classes, participated in traditional culture events, and flew for a day up to northern Guatemala to visit Tikal.

But one of the best things we did is captured in the Spanish verb dominguar, which essentially means "to wander around aimlessly on a Sunday afternoon." Antigua (the city we were in) is an old colonial town still paved with cobble stones and situated around a large central plaza. Life really slows down there and we spent a lot of time simply wandering the streets, enjoying the sights.

The bad:

I fear that I may have brought a friend (the internal kind) back from Guatemala. I've been sick for over a week now. I'm on some antibiotics and the doctors are running some tests. Hopefully I will see some improvement soon.

As you can see, the good certainly outweighed the bad. Here are some pictures from the trip.

Tikal
Antigua
Lake Atitlán
Marshmallows
On horseback on the way up the volcano

8 years

I made a lot of bad decisions when I was young, but I somehow managed to make one of the most imporant decisions of my life correctly when I married Sara eight years ago today. I couldn't ask for a better partner in life or a better mother for our children. I love you sweetie. Happy anniversary.

October Reflection

Disclaimer: from now on, I cannot be held responsible for grammatical mistakes because Spanish is melting my brain.

Today begins the normal "busy season" in our household. Our anniversary, several birthdays, plus the regular holiday season tend to make money tighter, time thinner, and tempers flare(ier). This year, we have added pregnancy to the cauldron. And as if that wasn't enough, we've also scheduled two trips during the busy season.

We're heading to Dallas next weekend. Well, Sara gets to go for five days while I have just over 24 hours there. It's hard to take trips during training because I don't get per diem for leave time. And since our apartment is part of that per diem, we become financially responsible for our rent during leave days. It's not the end of the world to take a few days off, but a couple of hundred dollars a day added to a vacation can really stack up.

I also want to keep my out-of-town time short because missing Spanish class no es bueno. I had my first evaluation a week ago and scored a 1+/1+. If you're interested in the grading scale you can read about it here. I feel good about my progress after eight weeks starting from a 0/0.

I start in a new Spanish class on Monday. They use the evaluations to make ensure students are in the appropriate classes for their skill level, rate of learning, etc. My class is being broken apart and sent to other classes. While I really enjoy the company of my current classmates, I'm excited about the change because the new class is on the early schedule at FSI (8-2) instead of the "late" schedule I've been rocking (10-4).

Hopefully the early morning classes will sink in so that I can get to a 2/2 by the end of November. That's what I need (officially) to participate in the immersion trip to Guatemala. But since I already bought my tickets, I'm pretty sure I'll make it. There are eight of us going from my A-100 class, and we'll spend two weeks in language school while living with local families. Some of my other A-100 classmates are going to keep Sara company while I'm gone.

I also want to say that I'm getting more and more excited about Costa Rica. I've been reading the Costa Rican newspaper and learning about local issues. We've also been in contact with some friends who live there, and soon we'll get our diplomatic passports.

Have a safe and happy Halloween!

The Puke Couch

A new couch appeared in our apartment today with no explanation. Perhaps it was because our old couch had a huge (at least 20" diameter) puke stain on one of the cushions. The stain originated with our family, but I won't name names. When we mentioned it to the cleaning staff (several months ago), they recommended that we simply turn the cushion over. Problem solved! But today, the puke couch is gone, replaced by something approximately the same size and shape that doesn't quite match the loveseat, and without the familiar stains.

Spanish is progressing well, at least I think so. I have my first informal assessment on Friday. They will evaluate my progress and make sure I'm in the right Spanish class for my level and pace. Tomorrow I also start area studies (Central America). Two A-100 classes have finished since I did, and a new one starts next week. Someone from the last class is going to San Jose with us, and he and his wife live at Oakwood as well. Hopefully, we'll get to know them before we go.

It was cold and rainy here for the entire weekend, which pretty much meant we just say around. It also made me wonder if I'm ready for winter.

Costa Rica!

Nosotros vamos a ir a Costa Rica!

Our departure date is not until May of next year, so we have plenty of time for visitors and whatnot. As many of you know, Sara lived in Costa Rica for a few months before we got engaged. She's very excited about seeing her old friends. Malachi is very excited about volcanos, jungles, beaches, and monkeys. I'm excited about getting off language probation and maybe, MAYBE, finally doing some scuba.

Sorry about the terrible banner. My computer with photoshop is not functional at the moment...so I'm stuck with paint.

Breakfast!

I love breakfast. I could eat breakfast every day. Wait... Maybe more than once a day. Anyway, today's breakfast was steak & eggs, bacon, sweet rolls, and orange & grapefruit juices. Delicious.

We knew several great breakfast/brunch restaurants in Dallas, but we haven't had much luck around here. I know they're out there, we just have to find them. Fortunately, we aren't suffering from a lack of restaurants in general--we just need the time to find the good ones.

In other news...

Have we found out where we're going, yet? Yes. Can I post it here on the blog? No, not yet. For a few reasons, I can't publicly announce our assignment for a few more days. I CAN say that we are happy(ish) about it, that I'm still in Spanish training, and that we'll be in DC for a while.

More info to follow.

¿Que hora es?

Welp, September is shaping up to be a lower posting month than August. I definitely didn't intend that to happen. I blame the uncertainty funk I've been in for the last three weeks. That and laziness. And Spanish.

Spanish class has actually been pretty interesting. It's surprising how much Spanish exposure I've had in my life without realizing it (thank you, Texas). I seem a lot less stressed that many of my other colleagues who are learning languages like Hindi, Arabic, or Tagalog. Spanish seems fairly easy (as far as languages go). But I'm expecting it to get very tough any day now.

I'm also expecting, any day now, to find out where we're really headed, when we're going, and what the interim holds for me. Yes, we did receive a bid list on Thursday, and no, I didn't post about it until today. I can't really just throw it up on the blog, but I can say that it had equal number of English and Spanish posts, and we're bidding for an English post. Some of the highlights include a great place to get fish and chips, and a land down under. Some of the lowlights include cities very close to Texas.

Other than location, there are many other factors to consider. Timing is a big one. A few of the very agreeable posts on our list have terrible timing for a February baby. Some posts are very expensive places to live. And one has a 7:00 PM curfew and comes with a standard-issue bulletproof vest.

I will also say that what we thought we wanted at first is not what we are gunning for.

My CDO hopes we can know by the end of this coming week. I'm crossing my fingers for tomorrow.