Varied Miscellania

My dad asked recently what kind of food I'm eating. I would imagine that's a common enough thing to wonder about, and maybe others of you have been curious. As would be expected, I'm eating a lot of eggs, beans, rice, and tortillas. I have never been a huge fan of corn tortillas, but I can't get enough of them now. We have them at every meal, and I am already thinking about how much I'm going to miss freshly made tortillas when I get back to the States. We don't eat a lot of fruit, which I miss, but it's easy enough to get in the market. It's mango season now, and they are everywhere for so cheap, and really sweet and juicier than any mango I've had in the States. Avacadoes are also everywhere for almost nothing. We made guacamole last week for the school dinner, and we bought 18 avacadoes for 3 US dollars. I'm a big fan of how abundant, cheap, and incredible tasting the produce here is. I did, however, decide to start eating meat a few weeks ago. Not eating meat is a lot easier in the States where there are more alternative sources of protein, and once I started not feeling well, I decided at least while I'm here, I'll suspend vegetarianism. Starting out a vegetarian had its advantages, though, because now my family gives me the best cuts, I think because they're not sure what I'll eat (much to the disappointment and frustration of Anneke, the German girl living with me).

This week marks the halfway point in my time at the school, so I'll be here for five more weeks through the end of March. My Spanish is coming along well. I have noticed my English skills deteriorating, which is supposed to be a good sign in learning a new language, but it means that I'm beginning to have a difficult time communicating in either language. I've been enjoying the people here a lot, but the turnover is getting to be difficult for me. The transience of community, while interesting because it means lots of new and different people are constantly passing through, makes creating and maintaining relationships difficult since nobody ends up staying very long. Most people are not able to spend as much time here as I am, so it may be that I will have several different communities while I'm here.

This week was Carnaval, a Mardi Gras equivalent in Latin America. It is much bigger in Brazil, but is also celbrated here before Lent starts. They set up a fair near my house, and for days before, I could hear some of the worst pop music of the last 25 years from the States blaring a few blocks down. There was a giant ferris wheel that would not even come close to meeting American safety standards that I don't think any of the students were brave enough to try. The big thing here is to to throw flour at each other and break eggs filled with confetti called cascarones (made me think of you, D!) on people's heads. I walked through it for maybe ten minutes and left covered in flour and confetti. I think we stood out as gringas, and all the kids swarmed us through these narrow pathways between the stalls. There was no escaping them. It was also the 67th anniversary of the Xela soccer team, the SuperChivos, and there was a big party in the central park. Chivo literally means goat, but it's also what people from Xela call themselves. The team was there, there were families, people selling all kinds of glowing accessories like you can find at fireworks on the Fourth of July, and then a great fireworks show. People here love their fireworks! They shoot them off at any hour of the day or night for nearly every special occasion (special being loosely understood as anything from passing an important exam, getting a promotion, to having nicer weather today than the day before). I thought it was rapid gunfire or explosions near to me in the city when I first got here, but I don't even notice them anymore. Carnaval was fun, but the much bigger deal here is Semana Santa, or Holy Week, and I am really looking forward to those festivities.