Terminamos Semana Uno! (We Finish Week 1!)

Well, we made it through one week of full-immersion Spanish school with our sanity intact! Having made flash card after flash card after flash card, we have come to appreciate our English vocabulary that seems so innate (and our parents and elementary, middle and high school teachers who helped us build that vocabulary when we couldn't really understand its value!). Other relflections after week one of Spanish school and living with a Guatemalan family:

• We do not eat enough fresh fruits and veggies! (We often consume more different types of vegetables in one meal here than we would typically consume in a whole month at home.)
• Learning does not just require listening to a lecture; it involves study, LOTS of practice, and an adopting of the topic/subject as one's own.
• There is much to be gained from learning and living in another culture... the least being that America is NOT to be considered the smartest nor most beautiful nor most blessed (depending on one's definition of blessed, of course) nation in the world.
• There is much value to be found in living at a slow pace so that we may better take in the world around us.
• An afternoon siesta should be an integral part of every cutlture's traditions

Having been here for a few weeks already, we have decided that we need to go back to where we should have started. We owe many people thanks for making this mission and cultural experience possible. Many thanks to our parents, friends, church family at Woodbine, the Lipscomb community and countless others who have supported us financially or through prayer. We are forever endebted to you. Know that God is working in us and through us in this beautiful country, and we are forever giving Him the glory!

And finally, a few pictures of the city to wet your appetite:

El Parque Central

European architecture in the Town Centre.

Two of the many outstanding Catholic Cathedrals in Antigua.

Our school and "home away from home" for the next 7 weeks!