Hello Antigua!

Sunday 4-29-07
I arrived in Antigua Guatemala yesterday afternoon. We (Teri, her husband, and I) left the orphanage around 6am , caught a bus in San Salvador at 7am and arrived in the capitol of Guatemala, Guatemala City, around noon. At the El Salvador/Guatemala border, they checked everyone's passport. Once in Guat. City, we caught another shuttle for the hour trip to Antigua, Guatemala. What I dared not announce was how dangerous this route has been. On and off for years, there has been a number of hijackings and murders just after going past the Guat. border. This area is desolate and rugged. Don Benner says recently there's been an increase of activity, 2 deaths just last week on this one particular stretch of road. Teri Benner said she would not take this route via car, no matter who or how many were with her due to the danger. However, no bus has yet to be bothered. This is probably due to the number of people on the bus who could overthrow the bad guys I guess. As we journed on that one particular section, it was easy to see how this sort of things could happen...away from everything. Recently 3 congressmen and their driver were kidnapped, taken away from the road, shot, then set afire with their car. This was pinned on 2 police officers who were ordered to do this, and thus put in jail. The officers were found shot dead in jail a couple of days later, presumably to keep them quit. By the way, the good guys do not wear white around here, and the police are not necessarily the good guys. So, it is with much relief and thanks to God that we arrived safely. I totally trust the Benners. Teri says she would feel quite safe to do this route alone on a bus. I'll be doing it alone in about 8 weeks.

Oh, I should tell you about this bus. This was no typical "chicken bus" as is often seen everywhere in Latin America. It was great! Better than almost any flight I've ever taken. It was a very modern bus, double decker, 100 passengers, nice comfortable seats that were real recliners, and several TV sets hanging from the ceiling like a plane. The cost was $30 one way. I felt bad for the guy beside me since I was coughing (like bronchitis) and blowing my nose almost constantly.

Antigua is situated between small mountains. Nearly all the buildings in town are made of cement (but not cement blocks) and painted wonderful blues, earthy yellows and oranges, moderate pink, green, etc. The roads are all cobblestone. The architecture is old, classic and beautiful. The center of town has a park a little less than a the size of a city block. It's the center of life and is bordered by The Cathedral and The Courthouse. All the roads off of it are filled with small shops. There are shops that sell traditional Latin crafts and textiles, coffee, etc. Coffee shops, bars, and little cafes abound. There also also several museums, and hotels (both large and small). You can find a number of Americans here because it's such a pleasant place to visit, plus it has more than 8 language schools, mine having the best reputation. I'm currently sitting in an Internet cafe. People mill around all the time and are found just sitting and enjoying the park. Last night a fabulous formal youth orchestra performed outdoors in front of the magnificent cathedral and near full moon. We, along with 100s of others, enjoyed the time just to sit in the park and enjoy the evening. Teri said how nice it was to feel so comfortable (no fear) sitting out doors, relaxing and watching people go by. She said going outside after dark in El Salvador was very unsafe.

I'm staying in the home of a lawyer that is near the edge of town, about a 10-12 min walk from the park, and about 5 min from school. I interact mostly with the lawyer's wife, Elizabeth, and she's very nice. They don't really have room for me right now but I think may have agreed to keep me as a favor to one of my newly made friends. (This way we knew I was in a good home.) I'm staying in their adolescent son's room. But in 5 days I will move to the 3rd floor where there are 4 rooms for students. We each will have our own room and share a bathroom. My current room is tiny and has almost no circulation and nowhere to put my stuff since the sons stuff fills the closets and dressers. But it is only temporary. If you know me well, then you know that I HATE living out of a suitcase. Even when I go away for just a 2 day retreat, I unpack my bag. So, this is almost (but not exactly) humorous as I've had to live out of a suitcase since I arrived on Tues and will continue to do so for another 5 days. If you remember from my last blog, you know that I will be returning to the orphanage in 8 weeks (the school doesn't have room for me during wk 9-11 of instruction.) So, I'll pack up everything again and live who knows where at the orphanage. (The apartment I used before will be occupied by a new missionary in July.) Then I'll pack up again and move back to Antigua for 4 more weeks, then pack again and go back to the orphanage. I so much look forward to the time when I'll be settled at the orphanage, and can really unpack, "hang my hat", and put up my photos (which go everywhere with me.)

Teri and her husband Osvaldo (a really great guy) made sure I had everything I would need. He, being a native, could negotiate to get the best exchange rate of money for me. They use a Quetzal (Q), and one American $ is equal to about 7.5 Q. We enjoyed checking out Antigua together and they helped me get a feel for things. They took me to a nice restaurant for dinner. They left to return to El Sal. aruond noon today. So, here I am. Kind of all alone for the first time and it feels indescribable. In so many ways, this past week has felt eternally long and kind of like a dream, very surreal. I'll be glad to develop a routine soon. The food is provided as part of my fees for school except on Sundays. So today I've had the chance to look into some of the local cafes. Tomorrow at 8am I'll take entrance exams at the school, meet with admin, etc. I would start Tues except is is Labor Day here, so I'll have another day to look around and start classes on Wed.