LIFE ON THE ROAD

We are now in Antigua, Guatemala, after a fine day of traveling (minus all throwing stars and incident reports). We are staying in a large room right at the Spanish school where Grace, Gloria and I will be studying for two weeks, beginning next Monday. The Internet is not working there, as promised, so we are sitting tonight in a fast food chain restaurant called Pollo Campero, tapping into their wifi connection.

The girls are happy to be in Guatemala and adapting well to the changes in our lifestyle. Better than I am, really. This past week has been an emotional roller coaster, and though I did expect that, it is nonetheless unnerving. I figure it's a combination of missing Gabrielle (though we did get her first letter today and she is doing very well -- yay!) and missing good sleep and a transition in my homeopathic treatment for depression and the stress of trying to make sure all travel details are in order. Now that we are here and settling into one place for the next three weeks, I expect my mood will improve.

Now it's a matter of finding a rhythm for our days. Home school doesn't really take that much time in the mornings. Grace and I are reading a lot, and Gloria spent a lot of time today watching the Disney Channel in Spanish, which actually is a great way to learn the language. Stephen is still on a full-time work schedule, so he is preoccupied with irascible internet connections. We are learning to put our used toilet paper in the trash, not the toilet, and doing our best to figure out meals from the offerings in the chaotic supermarket and the outdoor mercado. (Great fruit here!) We have access to a kitchen, but it's pretty grimy, so cooking is a challenge. We were hot today and cold last night. There is a lot of unstructured time, despite today's excursion to see the Children's Procession -- part of the Semana Santa (Holy Week) celebrations. BUT, we got some extra blankets for tonight and I managed to cook up a decent dinner of rice and beans and salad and Grace and I both finished a book today. The girls discovered a lime tree in the yard this evening and decided to bring some downtown to sell. This did not work out so well, partly because none of us knows how to say "lime" in Spanish. So now they are happily cutting them up at the table here and eating them.

I expect the next few weeks will be primarily about adapting to life on the road, as well as living in such close proximity to each other 24/7. Yes, life is simpler in some ways, and the stress I've experienced so far has been no surprise. So all is well!