Carne Asada

My birthday was most definately a birthday to remember. This was my first birthday away from home and that was definately a big step for me. I really missed my family and friends but at the same time I had a really great day.

My day started out with Pati bringing me breakfast in bed. I had melon and actual, cold milk which is a ginormous luxury. I also had chocolate corn flakes. Before you think to yourself Oh wow, corn flakes... let me explain. These were not chocolate corn flakes that just came out of a box. The flakes came out of a box but the chocolate was amazing rich Guatemalan chocolate that Pati melted down, cooled a little and then poured all over my corn flakes. Entonces, when I put milk in them I also got chocolate milk. This was a very good thing and definately started the day out right. In the morning as a present to myself I paid Q30 to visit two different ruins and a museum. The first ruin is actually down the street from my house. It was a school started by monks in the 1700s. The really beautiful part about it is that the caretakers have built a garden in and around the ruins. It was really interesting. The museum I went to was a textile museum. It was really cool because I had my own tour guide so I got to ask all kinds of questions and go at my own pace. I learned a lot about the clothes that I see every day and admire. Now I have a whole new respect and admiration fot the clothes and the people who make them. My third stop was at the ruins of this ginormous Catholic monastery. Going there is like walking into the apocalypse. It also sort of reminded me of Planet of the Apes when he sees the Statue of Liberty all buried in the sand. Very little restoration has been done on it. It was destroyed in the same earthquake in the 1700s. There are piles of stone everywhere and huge ornate chuncks of the building just lying around. It was really fun to be climbing around it. The weirdest part was that when I stood next to the wall, so much dirt and rubble had fallen in that I was almost to the top of these massive walls.

After my morning excursions I went home to help and watch my big birthday meal be cooked. This was pretty much a banquet. They cooked chicken and beef carne asada. This is meat marinated in pineapple, really thinly sliced and them grilled. Amazing! We had churritzos which are Guatemalan meat balls, also grill, and also amazing. There was grilled corn and grilled onions. They made beans and pico de gallo, my favorite beverage, Tampico, and fresh tortillas. The whole family was there including Dr. Lopez who is such an interesting and kind man. I really like talking to him. Before we ate, the family sang this rather long and rowdy medley of birthday songs. It was really fun. They clapped and shouted and jumped around. Then we ate... and ate... and ate. Sometimes when you make a really good meal and it takes two hours to cook but only twenty minutes to eat it is sort of frustrating, but this was no such thing. We ate and talked for an entire hour. Afterwards there were hugs and naps.

During the evening I played piano and read and walked through the town with Pablo. Antigua is really beautiful at night. Carlos, Andrea, Pablo, and I were going to go out dancing last night but all of us were sick in one way or another. Mostly, I was just stuffed. So we postponed the dancing util next Saturday or Friday night, or if Carlos gets his way, both.

I really enjoyed yesterday. I am so richly blessed that I live with a family who genuinely cares about me and wants me to make the most of every day I am here.