I Feel the Earth Move Under My Feet

There was an earthquake today!! My first one ever!!

Ok, so it only lasted about 10 seconds, but according to a news article I found, it was a 4.7. So that's exciting, right? My coffee threatened to slosh off the table, and my stomach dropped to my knees. But then I was told I wasn't going to die (right then) so it was ok :) Shortly afterward, I bought a tostada from a woman carrying a big basket of the makings. It was delicious. And covered in guacamole. Yum.

Also, I took the bus to and from school ALL BY MYSELF today! I was still giggling this morning that the extent of the notifications people have of the buses is a man shouting and whistling "Antigua! Antigua!" I made it to school in under 30 minutes today, so we must have been walking slowly yesterday.

We had a lot of fun at MonoLoco last night. It was ladies night, and all the rum/gin/vodka based drinks were 3 Quetzales, or 37 cents. Also, I tried the nachos there. I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that these nachos are THE BEST IN THE WORLD. I know what you're thinking: "Like anyone could ever know that, Emily..." But it's true. Es verdad. I have never tasted nachos that came close to the amazing flavor explosion that these babies held. Yum.

And I took photos!

Here are the girls:

From left to right: No idea, Gabriela (Claudia's friend), Me, Claudia (the daughter of the woman who owns the house where I'm staying), Carina (the girlfriend of Claudia's brother, Julio)

The boys:

From left to right: Julio (the son of the woman who owns the house), no idea, no idea.

The beer (excellent, I might add):


Also, I took some photos of my current home. It's really beautiful.

My room:


The living room (as seen from my room):

You see all that sunlight? That's because there's no roof over half the living room - it's open air! And you can see the rooms are situated around the living room. I want to live like this.

And here are two views from the roof (part of which is under construction, as they're building an entire apartment up there):




So you can imagine where I go every day (because I know you have nothing else to think about) I'm including some photos of my school.

The board:

FYI - If I know you, and you've done anything remotely interesting, or about which I can talk in Spanish, I have discussed you with mi profesora. This woman pretty much knows my entire life. Lo siento, pero necesito aprender!

The outside of my classroom:


The garden from my classroom:


In the background of this one, if you look closely, you can see the Volcano Agua. It overlooks the town. And it's huge. And after the earthquake today, I was very concerned that it would erupt. But apparently it's not active.


Turning left from the volcano, this is what I see:


And finally, the view that sometimes distracts me as I'm sitting in class:


And that, my friends, is a glimpse into the past 3 days :) A friend of mine pointed out that I've experienced a lot already, especially for being here such a short time, and he's right. So the next 3 1/2 weeks should be interesting!

Love you all!