today was a battle. so much spanish so little time. and each day i hear so many words that sound familiar and i know i should know and deep deep somewhere in the recesses of my head i do but…alas they fail to appear when i need them most. even so, mi maestro es muy patient and we struggled through it.
afterwards, we went to ixchalap (a mayan word i{m sure i just butchered) a forest at the top of the town. only 15 years old, the trees replace crops of maize and beans of the past. even so, it was amazing to stand on a clearing and hear samuel tell us (en espanol) that the spot we were on was a burial temple for the mayas. this truly is mayan country…all around me is proof.
after swinging a machete to clear the harmful brush from the new trees, sweating and feeling like bugs were crawling on me, we walked back down down down (abajo abajo abajo) the hill that feels like a mountain. of course that meant stopping at casa de mi hermana to chat with her and my hermanos. and onward to the lake for a quick dip to get the funk off. nightfall means no water and the idea of sleeping in all of that forest freshness was not appealing.
at the water{s edge i met a panamanian missonary who wanted to know if i was from panama, and chatted with him as best i could.
then, 0nce i found myself back at home, full of tortillas, frijoles y juevos, i decided to be less myself (read stay in the house and go to sleep) and so followed mi hermano here.
more later…maybe…
I'm cleaning out the closet in your room–did you intentionally leave your digital camera here? How are we supposed to share the beauty you are (quite eloquently) describing? Photos would enhance your description. I hope you have another camera or something. Smidge misses you. Today is the first day she hasn't said "where is auntie nea?"
she´s forgotten me in only a week!? don´t worry, i have my other camera. my digital sucks the life out of batteries and i wasn´t sure i could recharge them here. so i´ll have to scan it the old fashioned way.
i miss and love you guys!