San Bartolomé

Today we were dropped off at our new more long-term home stays. I was placed in San Bortolomé with 4 other girls in my Spanish language group. We are all part of the youth development project and will be living in this town together for the next 3 months and working in schools and a youth institute here. We all live quite close, since it is a small town made up of only about 500 people. When I arrived I tried to have no expectations... I was greeted by a very friendly, smiling Guatemalan woman, dressed in the traditional attire. She showed me down a narrow path surrounded by greenery to a big open back yard lined with flowers. There were clothes hung up on the line and I could smell a wood fire and see corn hanging up to dry as well (which is dried and then used to make cornmeal). The house is wonderful (more than I could have ever hoped). The bathroom is much more modern than I expected, the shower is the same electric heat, and the toilet has a seat! The house is set up in a similar manner as the home in Santa Lucia, where all the rooms may only be accessed from the outside patio. I have a very spacious room with a cement floor which opens directly into the garden/patio (as they all do). There is a small kitchen with a modernish gas stove, fridge, etc. Then there is a small nook where there is a traditional wood-stove oven where most of the traditional food is prepared. Also there is a small fir going almost constantly to dry out the hanging corn.
The family again is absolutely delightful. Doña Rosa is a widow which I found out from her son William who is about 20. She also has a son Carlos who is 23 who I just met tonight. All day Saturday, Rosa had her sister and niece visiting and between them they had 3 children who were very funny. We walked through town and a bit up the mountain to some land where Rosa has an orchard. There we picked fresh peaches, pears, and apples but had to get back because it started to rain. Rosa makes this amazing tea in which she puts pealed apples, pears, and entire peaches (pit and all) into boiling water. Then she ladles each cup with piping hot "tea" and is sure to include pieces of fruit and it is delicious! All in all, it has been a great first day although it still looks like I'm destined to get fat. Oh well!