Escuela de Español y Chicas Bonitas

Hello everyone! This past week has been quite the week. Jeff and I have a 3 day layover here in San Salvador and will be leaving here for Coasta Rica on a bus the morning of the 8th at 215 AM. There, we will start working on the farm. Our money hasn´t lasted near as long as we had originally hoped, and I´m down to my last $20 (other than a little bit of money I´ve set aside for getting home). We will try to get work permits in Costa Rica so we can get second jobs (as our jobs on the farm only give us free room and board) and if we get second jobs, we will continue to work in Costa Rica until we can afford to travel furthur south and into South America. This is not likely, but ideal. If we can´t get second jobs, we´ll have to suck it up and head back to Denver early-- but I don´t feel in the least that I didn´t accomplish what I set out to accomplish. Anyways, the past week has been incredible. Our spanish classes in Antigua, Guatemala were amazing. It was kind of a hectic week, studying all the time and whatnot. We made a lot of friends from all over the world in the student house that we stayed in, and the biggest new years celebration in Guatemala was only a few blocks from our home. Jeff and I did a few hikes in Antigua, and there were even some hikes where you could go to the top of an active volcano to see some lava. We didn´t have time to fit that in, and had to pass it up.
Anyhow, I´ll save the book for later and I´ll just put up some photographs for you all to enjoy instead.


A little El Salvadorian court where Jeff and I played some b-ball.

Our dorm room here in the hostel in El Salvador.

Mi Amiga and Spanish teacher Claudia.

Antigua´s Central Park, New Year´s. Santa Clause is all tuckered out.

New Year celebration in Antigua.

Latinos sure like their explosives.... they lined the entire park with fire-crackers and set them all off at once.

Yes, that´s a volcanoe in the background. I took this on the apex of a hike that Jeff and I took.

Antigua is at the base of three volcanoes, one of which is still active.

A beautiful Antiguan street.

And a beautiful Antiguan church.

Our New Year´s Eve celebration back at the house. Jeff is confused here because he mistakenly thought that it was his birthday.

Maria houses up to 12 students at a time. We were two of a group of 7 (or 8). This is the nativity scene in her living room, which has an open roof.

All us students. At the head of the table is Maria, our host.

We saw tarzan swinging in the jungle...

With his friend, Jeff.

Our work-out for the day in Tikal, Guatemala.

Tikal again.

Our hotel terrace in Flores, Guatemala. High brow? Maybe. This place cost us ten bucks for the night.

A Mayan temple in Tulum, Mexico.

Survivor man. Jeff and I avoided paying 50 pesos and snuck into the ruins the back way, across a jagged shoreline of volcanic rock.

Packing up after camping on the beach for free in Tulum.

A big fiesta for Christmas Eve in our hostel in Playa del Carmen. The owners of the hostel were Chilean, and knew how to throw a real Christmas party.

This is how much fun we had. I have no idea who the hell the dude in the middle is.