its april!

geez, time flies. Ok i have arrived 'here' and haven't blogged for...a while. But I have a good reason! Its because.. well, the truth is that it was scary finishing training and becoming a Volunteer for several reasons. And, now i'm in a happy place. Why, u ask? Well thanks to my temporary site mate, i am using the internet in the comfort of my new bed, vs an internet cafe. Plus I am sunburned in places that haven't seen the sun in three long months. Relax, i'm just talking about, like, my shoulders and legs. Thanks hyper conservative Guatemala.
But today, today was different and muy alegre! My host family is awesome and have made it their mission to make me feel at home, welcome, part of the family...etc. I've actually met guatemalans my age and they actually are interested in why i'm here. BUt back to the beach... The whole family piled in the microbus (favored family vehicle here; picture the eurovan... like 15 person passenger van. oh yeah) at 7 am and drove to the beach! I saw my beloved Pacific Ocean, and guess what? The beach looks pretty much the same here. I mean, there are subtle differences... the sand is darker due to volcanic activity, the water is warm (like...bathwater warm), there are people selling all manner of things up and down the beach (but that's everywhere in Guatemala, it is a nation filled up with entrepreneurs). But... people playing in the sand and surf, enjoying the sun, pelicans. Yes. this i recognize.
So all in all, I guess what I'm trying to say is that I had an awesome day in the sun, I'm hoping that cucumber jasmine lotion will have some of the same calming effects as aloe?? And, more importantly, I got the feeling (how can you not??) that i'm going to be OK here. More than OK perhaps.
Also, sampled the ocean fare. It was incredible. I got shrimp mojo de ajo.... in a garlic sauce. My host mom wanted me to try the fried fish but I have to admit-i'm still squeamish about entire pieces of meat and fish. Even picking chicken meat off the bones of various parts of the chicken still really turns me off. Yet i have no qualms about eating ribs.. go figure.
We then spent the afternoon at some public pools, which harkened back to my youth spending whole days at the municipal pool. Why we drove four hours to the beach and then paid 15Q to pass the afternoon at a pool is beyond me-but i went with it. Jumped off the high rises, sunbathed, tested out my waterproof camera... (dont get too excited, pictures to come later...i don't have my usb cable) and played in the water and sun to the point of exhaustion.
Upon returning home, my host mom asked me what I wanted to eat... frijoles y huevos, of course! with her famous flour tortillas stuffed with cheese. A great end to a Great day.