Even cowgirls, rockstars and superheros get the blues!

I sent an email home yesterday that didn't make it as a blog post due to its negative nature. While I stand by my thoughts, I did learn a lesson in thinking before I speak and giving situations some time to settle down before I rant about how bad they are. I mean really. So I was homesick and had a bad day. We all do. The bottom line is that I'm still traveling in one of the most amazing countries in the world and my journey isn't even half done!

So, about my time in Antigua, the city in Guatemala - not the island in the Caribbean. It was a really good thing that my entry into Antigua was terrible. It forced me to seek out a Spanish school, in which I ultimately enrolled and had one of the most amazing experiences of my life! I couldn't ask for better hosts than the Ramirez family who have housed me for the past 2 days. I eat 3 meals daily with them - typical Guatemalan fare. Last night, I was given the honor of sitting at the head of the table and no one ate until I began. While the family feasted on tamales, I had sopa, pollo, arroz, frijoles and pan. I felt guilty, and secretly wished for the tamales, though the dinner was the best I've had since arriving in the country! After dinner, I insulted my hostess by offering to help clean up.

I had nearly 12 hours of Spanish lessons over 2 days. Alicia is my teacher and finds me an amusing student. We laugh loudly and often, much to the dismay of the other teacher-student pairs. I have learned a lot and now have about a 5 year old's ability to speak. I can understand much more however, and managed to understand an entire museum tour today in Spanish. Verb conjugations and infinitives escape me in English these days, so I'm not sure how I'm supposed to master them in Spanish!

The architecture in Antigua makes it very charming. Ruins are everywhere and history abounds. The city takes pride in it's appearance before and after dark - thousands of lights twinkle well into the night in the Parque Central.

I visited 2 museums in the Antiguan suburb of Jocotenango today - one for coffee and one for traditional music. The process of growing, harvesting and roasting coffee is very interesting and complicated. The most interesting thing I learned is that the most expensive coffee in the world is processed through the digestive system of the civet cat and costs nearly $100 per pound. I was able to eat a raw coffee bean today. I wonder if the biproduct will be as valuable.

Forgive me this one fleeting thought, as thoughts are very odd when traveling alone and your mind wanders to places otherwise forbidden. It has been 9 days since I heard an airplane, smelled a french fry, or gazed upon a NASCAR t-shirt. Ahhh...nirvana.