well, I have a little more time and patience today. So, first things first. I've decided to leave my family and live with an American girl. The first two nights I was here I didn't sleep. I got anxious every time I thought about going back to the house. The people are incredibly, incredibly nice but I'm beyond uncomfortable there and into miserable. As soon as I made the decision last night I relaxed for the first time since I arrived. You may feel like this decision was made too quickly, and you may be right, but I don't feel the need to suffer for the sake of suffering. Even these four days have opened my eyes even wider about the luxurious lives we lead in the United States. I think this is the right decision. That is all I have to say about that. My time at the school is passing well. It is amazing how tiring it is to practice Spanish for five hours straight. Usually I spend the morning in conversation with my teacher, then by 1030 I'm ready to read and write in order to give myself a break. I've checked out an encyclopedia so I can practice reading and writing on my own as well. Starting next Tuesday, I'm going to volunteer at la casa de las niñas, helping take care of the kids. It should be interesting. Every time I think I'm doing really well with the language, somebody who is not used to talking to non native speakers robs me of any illusions. I can understand almost everything my teacher says to me, and almost nothing anybody else does. The director of la casa asked my teacher at the end of our conversation if I spoke any Spanish because I was having so much trouble understanding her. In my defense, people don't give you enough time to translate the words into English. My teacher is hyperactive and a ton of fun. I made a couple of mistakes today that she found hysterical. I was practicing conjugating irregular verbs and said "Yo se mentir" meaning that I knew how to conjugate "mentir" but actually saying "I know to think." Later I said "Querio practicar reir" meaning "I want to practice conjugating reir" but actually saying "I want to practice to laugh." She made fun of me, and life went on. Yesterday afternoon I went to a talk a Mayan woman was giving about an women's organization she helped to found. There is a small women's movement in Guatemala which is battling for political and family planning rights (we're talking about contraception here, not abortion...that is on the map, but pretty far off the radar screen). She was determined and energetic and blamed all of the problems of women on machismo and the church, which I should think is the majority of but not the entire problem. Tomorrow I{m heading out to San Marcos del lago, on Lago Atitlan It is supposed to be incredibly beautiful. Since I'm so self confident in a bathing suit, I've decided to travel with this beautiful Swedish woman, just to make myself feel even better. No, it will be a lot of fun. She is a student at the school and is leaving Guatemala next week by way of Atitlan. It was on my agenda and I{m more than happy to have the chance to travel with someone. That is all I have for now. I'll probably not update until I return from Atitlan, though who knows!