Happenings and Random Thoughts

Dear God,

Did you know that I no longer live in Ohio? No need to keep the temperature so low, the gray skies above, and the rain falling. I’m just asking you to shine a little sun on the area. It doesn’t have to be for too long. Maybe just a couple of days so my shoes and clothes will stop being constantly damp. I don’t think that’s too much to ask.

Love,
Sam

You guessed it. I’m on day seven of gray skies and rain. Each day the temperature seems to drop a little further. I’m hoping tomorrow things change and so do those around me. Those who have lived here for a while that they don’t remember it ever being as cold here as it was yesterday (I think it was probably in the 50’s, which is much colder than I’ve grown accustomed to).

On a more positive front I’ve found a language school to attend for the next 3 or 4 weeks. I’ll be studying Spanish at the Juan Sisay Spanish School. This school is a bit more expensive than the others but by no means breaking any bank account at $165 per week instead of $140-$150 per week.  Looking at schools today they all are very similar to one another.

They all offered:

1. 25 hours a week of one-on-one instruction (five hours a day).
2. Afternoon activities and something on the weekend
3. Lodging
4. 3 meals a day

So why Juan Sisay?

1. The place I’m currently staying is a host family. It’s not so much a family as two sisters and two university students but it works. They all eat meals together and speak Spanish so I’m immersed. Also, one of the schools coordinators is staying here who also happens to be from Ohio. Toledo to be percise.
2. There are actually people currently studying Spanish in the school. September is not exactly high tourist season due to the cold and rain mentioned above so all other schools I looked at had between 0 and 2 students currently enrolled. Juan Sisay had about a dozen. I think that says something about the quality of the school and also means there is a group of people to hang out with.  Also, if there are only two students what kind of activity/excursions are they really offering?

Random Thought #1: Hey Starving Artists! Expatriate Today.
Over the last week I’ve met four people that have moved out of their home country in search for a cheaper place to live while they get their careers off the ground. The internet makes this possible. If your an aspiring painter, photographer, writer, musician, you should be able to live in say…Guatemala…with a little ingenuity and sell your productservice to those in any “1st World” country via the internet. If you went to school to be a photographer and are tired of living with your parents until you ‘make it’ you should consider packing your bags. You can live here in your own place and still have some dinero to go out on a Friday night for some beers.


Random Though #2: What in the World is an Enchilada!?!
Before I went to Mexico I thought I knew. If you asked me I would have said it’s a tortilla wrapped around some type of filling with a red or green sauce and some cheese spread on top.

So, when I ordered some enchiladas in Mexico I was surprised when they brought me a plate of tortillas folded into quarters with some meat and sauce on top of the tortillas. A little different but close.

I was surprised yet again when I ordered some enchiladas today. In Guatemala an enchilada appears to be a fried tortilla with meat and diced vegetables mixed into a mayonnaise-y type sauce. This resembles what I would have called a tostada in Mexico. I’m now curious how many variants of the enchilada I’m going to come across and plan on ordering one in every country I’m in.