El sol

Hey everyone!
This week has both crawled by and flown by, and I am quickly falling in love with the people, the culture, and the lifestyle of my life here in Guatemala.
On Saturday, I finally saw the sun! When I woke up yesterday morning and saw sun outside my window, my heart leapt inside me...one can only take so much rain before becoming completely batty. After tanning for a couple of hours on the roof of my house (translation: getting a fierce sunburn), my housemates and I visited Cerro de la Cruz, a cleared-out spot on top of a hill next to my house from which you have a panoramic view of Antigua and the surrounding areas. It was beautiful!
Earlier this week, a group of us visited Pacaya, an active volcano about and hour outside of Antigua. Words do not describe the terrifying beauty of this place! I was just blown away by how incredible it was to stand on rocks just inches away from flowing lava. One guy's shoes even started melting! We got to toast marshmallows over the lava. Good times.
This morning, we got to cook an American-style breakfast for our family and friends, with French Toast, omelets, fruit salad and bacon. Yummm. It was good timing because my host family is in mourning; Flori's 17-year-old niece gave birth to twins prematurely earlier this week and one of the twin girls died last night. In Guatemala, young men and women get married very young, as of 15 or 16 years old. Because the custom here is for the whole family to spend all night watching over the body, and then come home for a few hours' sleep and then go back for the burial, our family could not cook for us and it was a joy to be able to provide some good food for them. Prayer for the family would be appreciated.
I start teaching tomorrow, so I will update you on my teaching adventures next week.
'Til next time!