Some of Our Friends

Study sessions at the coffee shop with Jill and Leah.

This is Xavier, one of the spanish teachers at our school--Flor de Maiz.  Everyday there are activities planned to further the education.  This is on a walk he and I took around town and into places that otherwise, I wouldn´t have entered.  We had a nice dinner at his house the other night that was cooked over the kitchen fire.  It was made in a handmade, fire roasted tomato sauce.  This turned out to be graduation night for Mike and I when upon entering the dive of dive bars for beers to go, we found our teacher and his boys that had just finished playing a soccer match and were on fire.  There were 2 tiny tables and a refrigerator of beer cramped under a low ceiling, that was it.  By the end of the night we had filled the table with empty liters, made good friends, and realized that we can hold our own when it counts with this language.

The Crew at Hotel Peneleu. 

Its a blessed existence when one can eat as much avocado as possible without spending a fortune.  Recently I was extemely fortunate and found 8 avos for Q3 = .45 cents!  Even without the good luck, they´re cheap.  My diet now has become mostly raw, or rather mostly quacamole, anything else is an extra.  Wrap it up or stick some chips in it.  Moral of the story:  Life is blessed when you stick your face into as much avocado as you like!

Catching a ferry back over to Santiago´s market for the day, we fell into a nice time as we chatted with the locals that got interested in our spanish flashcards.  Speaking the language, even if just a little, opens up a whole world of entertainment and smiles.