What doesn't kill you....

So one of the big mantras that I have and will continue to fall back on is the tried and true 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.' I'd like to share one example from yesterday. One thing that has been really difficult to adjust to here in Guate is the volume. In general, Guatemala is just a really noisy place. This begins around 3:30 or 4 am when the roosters wake up ( I have one right below my bedroom window). Then the chicken buses and delivery trucks get going, the dogs wake up, babies start crying, music starts playing, and it all builds on each other into a general pandemonium that lasts most of the morning.
My neighbors perfectly exemplify this love of volume here in Guate. Tara and I had just settled down to work on our project plans a little bit on our balcony, when they decided to blast Alvin and the Chipmunks.... in spanish........for about an hour. Who in their right mind wants to listen to that, and at full volume nonetheless? And when I say full volume.... I mean the walls were vibrating with the harmonies of Alvin and his spanish, chipmunk brothers.
All I could do was laugh and practice 'tuning it out' which I'm beginning to get the hang of..