My apartment

I am in the student apartment which I share with seven or eight others. It is off 2nd avenue, a fairly busy street. The house isn't airtight and one can hear neighbors, dogs church bells, and fireworks. There seems to be a passion for fireworks as some were lit this Tuesday morning at 4:30 am.

In the center of the house, there is a courtyard open to the sky with a concrete wash basin where the dishes are cleaned. There are back rooms , a dining room that seats ten, a kitchen, and two or three bathrooms. The roof is a hodgepodge of shapes and materials. The walls are painted concrete. There are three Internet routers strategically placed throughout. There are two computers but most of the guests seem to have their own devices.

Meals are scheduled to be served at 7am, 1pm, and 7pm but usually take a half hour more. The food is plentiful (pancakes and fruit for breakfast, spaghetti and sautéed vegetables for dinner yesterday). There's usually a pot of tea on the table. There's a common fridge with an assortment of alcohol on top- wine, rum, vodka.

English is the main language at the table even though we are all here to learn Spanish. There are probably four or five different languages represented, (I won't count Australian as a separate language). There is a core group who seem to have been here a while and who have travelled together. But everyone is friendly enough. I am the oldest.

Last night was a quiz night at Reilly's the local Irish establishment. The core group went together. I declined their invite. However, I got a second wind and decided to join them. First I stopped at a wine bar whose prices decline with the number of wines you have. The first glass starts at 30Q which is less than four bucks. i had a There were two girls sitting at a table surrounded by shelves of wine. One girl a blond from Colorado was a former Peace Corp volunteer and now has lived in Guatemala for three years. The other a local from Guatemala City but who had lived for some time in Miami and whose English was excellent. We had a pleasant conversation. Afterward, I went to join my housemates mid-game of Quizzo. A trivia game run by an American so most of the questions skewed toward US culture. I left by 9:30.

I heard the group return, at some time in the middle of the night. They were quite loud, obviously drunk. I am glad- they have nothing to say of my snoring!

The table is set for breakfast and I have to study some verbs I should already know. Breakfast just arrived rice, milk, and cinnamon. It smells great!