Day 2 and 3 and still no luggage

So Sunday night there was parade or something from outside my window- it was extremely loud and I was trying to sleep. But o well.

Monday we woke up early and had breakfast. Then got ready for our orientation- when I am saying we and I talking about the people living at the house with me. My roommate is Xuemei, she is from Beijing but goes to Michigan State and the other girl in the house is Ari, she is from South Korea but is an exchange student at Northern State University in South Dakota. We walked to Maximo Nivel which is the spanish school for our orientation at 8:30... I thought that was early but that is late compared to what I'll be doing this month. It's a good thing that Xuemei knew how to get there because Antigua is like New England- there are not street signs- if you don't know where you are you don't belong :). So after orientation we went on a walking tour- which basically just confused me and then one of the staff went with me to find my volunteer place. I am volunteering in San Mateo and working on a construction project at a school. We took a chicken bus, and for those who don't know, chicken buses are old American school buses that are painted in bright colors. San Mateo is close to Antigua but it is isolated, so buses don't run to frequently- meaning I cannot miss the bus! And the hills were so steep I thought the bus was going to tip, but I was assured that they won't. After that I had lunch, took a short nap (i'm guessing that is going to be a reoccurring event), and then went exploring. I got lost- of course, but it is a good thing that many people speak English and was able to help me. I had my first Spanish class at 4, and hopefully I will soon be able to really speak. After Spanish i tried to deal with my luggage but that was a fail, so I joined the tail end of the Salsa class. Hopefully at some point we will all go to a Salsa club. After Salsa 7 of us went to out to eat which was really nice. There are so many different age groups on the program... 19-mid 30s... so I am one of the youngest. And people from all over- many Asians, Aussies, Canadians, and people from the US. After dinner we headed back to the house and crashed out.

Today I had to wake up at 6... I was going to get help to get to the bus station, so I had to leave earlier. The bus station is hectic and as I said- I am still having trouble finding my way around the city. It is so strange being awake so early- I never do that... at school I am not awake until at least 9. I found my way to the school!! my goal for tomorrow is to be able to find my way to the bus station. When I got to San Mateo and the school, I found out that I am helping move the supplies- small rocks and dirt. I didn't expect to have to do that, but then again I have to do that before we can start building. It was really hard work, but I took some breaks to play with the directors twin daughter who are almost 5. Even though we don't speak the same language we were able to communicate some how which was great. After work I took the bus back to Antigua, had lunch, took a nap, and then headed into town. I went to check about my luggage- which I found out was supposed to get brought to Maximo Nivel this afternoon so I was excited. I then tried to find the supermarket. I was told to take a right and went left and again got extremely lost. I went into a store, but the clerk didn't speak English but there was a man in the store that answered me. I then noticed he was wearing a Twins hat. I found out that he was from Blaine and was a missionary in Antigua and has been there for 7 years. What a small world. Found the supermarket, but as I was trying to get back to the school... again got lost :)
I then had Spanish, and before I left found out that my luggage won't be in Antigua today.. but tomorrow I will get it. Went back home to eat dinner, and then the 3 of us decided to find some dessert. We got to the plaza and found this crepe restaurant. It was so yummy and we got to talking to the owners. The mother is originally from Chicago and her daughter grew up in Guatemala but speaks perfect English. We get to talking about how when working on my Spanish, I am having trouble and confusing it with Hebrew and then I found out that they were Jewish- some of the only Jews in Antigua but still none the less fun to find out. Afterwards we headed back to the house, and here I am now and about to go to sleep because I have to wake up at 6:15 am and I am exhausted.

Buenos Noches