Most of you probably don't know but I sort of like shoes! (That was sarcasm) I loooooooove shoes. However, I have size 10/11 feet. This size doesn't exist in Guatemala. That size is a 41/42, really big. This place is the perfect place to buy shoes. Guatemala has a fairly large market for shoes. They don't mass produce shoes as much as we do in the USA, so the chances are if you buy a pair, you will be the only one who has them. The problem is everytime I walk into a store and ask for size 42 shoes, it is immediately followed with laughter. I actually really do need a pair of tennis shoes for jogging so I went out looking for them today. I'm about ready to cut my toes off. I suppose that in hind sight, this is probably a good sort of problem. It means I won't be able to add any more shoes to my collection. Muy triste. :-(
My other adventure of the day was going to church. One of the other students found some kind of Protestant something church. So a bunch of us decided to check it out. It was a really different experience. It is called Iglesia del Camino, church of the road. It was all very contemporary. One of the really neat parts about it was that everything was said or sung in both Spanish and English. The sound of two languages being sung at the same time is really beautiful. It is impossible to describe. You just have to hear it. The service was very simple. It opened with 4 or 5 praise songs, the kids left, and the pastor had a message type thing. Basically he told a Max Lucado story. So, Pastor Davisson says that I tend to over-analyze biblical things so I did my best to recognize the differences but look for the positives. Their really wasn't any Bible readings. The songs were definately full of the love of God and praise for salvation through Jesus. I think all that praise is going to be really good for me. I've spent so much time questioning God, praise is going to be different. Sometimes it felt like they were putting on a little bit of the show. One of the singers did this weird whispering thing in between every song. That really bothered me, it was really distracting. Overall, there wasn't a lot of substance, but the singing and praising was really uplifting and I think was probably really good for me.
Other than that, not much to report. It's been raining all day today, so Kristen and Sarah, the other two girls in the house, and I are just hanging out in the house. Everything is wet and soggy.
Oh, I have to mention this. This morning on the way to church in our alley, oh we have an alley that goes from the main street down to our house. There are a few houses along it. At night there are often guys out their urinating. This is sort of okay because there is a drainage ditch out there and that is generally where they go. I'm just careful to avoid the puddles. Anyhow, we were walking down the alley and a man was out their taking a dump, pants down and everything. The realization of what was actually happening was reallyy startling. Sometimes this trip can feel like a bit of a vacation. I live with a fairly wealthy family and I am surrounded by beautiful mountains and warm weather. It's things like seeing a homeless man in the alley in the middle of the day with his pants down that truly reminds me of the reality of life down here.
So now I am going to sign out and relax. Buenos dias!
2 comments:
Just the other day I was wondering where homeless people went when they needed to go because it's not like you just see poo lying around. But hey, I'm more intelligent and informed now. Thank you Anna. I owe everything I know to you.
I like all your little observations of the culture over there. Things like the sidewalks and people taking a dump in the street. It's interesting. That's the stuff you'll only notice if you actually live in a different country for a while. I think everyone should have to spend a good amount of time living in a different college.
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