Getting Adjusted

This is the view outside my friend's house in Xela. From what I can tell, a lot of houses are set up this way, with an outer gate leading into some kind of yard and then the house. It's the only picture I have so far of Xela, but more will be coming soon.
For those of you feeling climate-envy, let me offer this one consolation, small as it is: while it's pretty warm here in the afternoons, because Xela is up in the mountains, it gets pretty chilly in the mornings and at night, and since no one here has heat, I've been bundling up to sleep and staying bundled until it warms up. That will change in a couple months, but for now, it's not as warm as I had planned or packed for.
I spent my first full day in the house. I was tired from traveling, and a bit too overwhelmed to go out alone in a new city with pretty minimal language skills. Yesterday, I took my friend's dog for a walk in the city. It was really good to get out. The streets are laid out in a grid system with calles (streets) in one direction and avenidas in the other. They are numbered rather than named, so it's pretty easy to get around. For those of you who went on the Mexico trip last March, Xela is a lot like San Cristobal in that the buildings are almost all one-story with no breaks in between, the streets are narrow and a lot are cobble stone or brick, and there are really narrow sidewalks ranging from a couple inches to more than two feet above street level. You can see the mountains outside the house, but once you get further into the city, there's almost no green space other than the main plaza. I'll get pictures soon so you can see.
I found my school, and it was really nice to have another point of reference in the city and to know where I'll be for the next several months. It apparently gets a lot of medical students because it offers medical Spanish and is connected to a clinic. I'm looking forward to hopefully studying with people who have visions for their work similar to mine. School starts on Monday, and I move in with my homestay on Sunday.
Last night, I went out with my friend with some of her friends from work. We rode her scooter, which was a fun and exciting way to see the city at night. Tomorrow we'll go hiking above the city, so hopefully I'll have good pictures to share.
I'll leave you with a picture of Callie, my companion and protector for the past few days.