Yup, still here.

Three more months to go. I think I'm getting the hang of living here, but things continue to change...

Karri, my summer roommate, headed back to the states to return to her job and law school classes and (note the jealous tone here) DC. She was wonderful to live with and I'm already finding I'm less competent and confident without her copiloting skills. She had me all figured out - she'd offer me her sunglasses, I'd turn her down, but since she knew that five minutes later I would change my mind (this happened repeatedly) she never put them back in her purse. Now, there's no one around to offer me gum, listen to me decline and still take the piece out of the package because she knows it will only be a grand total of 30 seconds until I decide I really DO want it.

Plus, since she left on Sunday the total number hours of driving around Guatemala city completely lost is creeping up on five. Roscoe forgets to tell me where to turn.

I miss her, not just for these reasons but also because she became a great friend. We got through so much together: burst pipes, crazy trips, so much more... I'm looking forward to seeing her again, back on the streets of Washington where pigs will NEVER cross in front of our car.

I moved for the third time with one possible move left to go. The good thing is that I get rid of some things every time I pack up. The bad thing is that I've accumulated an entired bag of books that don't fit into my suitcases and make me quite worried about the trip home in November. I now occupy a room in the back of a cute house in one of the more central zones of Guatemala City, which is great because it means that I can sleep an extra hour, go for a run, and still get to work on time.

The weird thing about the house is that I'm no longer allowed to do anything for myself. Between the housekeeper, this really sweet girl who lives with us and always remakes my bed no matter how long I spend on smoothing out the wrinkles, and Tia Abuela, the tiny (would we say three and a half feet? maybe four if we're generous?) old lady who oversees the household activies, I'm basically banned from the kitchen.

Tia Abuela's control of the household primarily manifests itself in stressing a lot over whether or not the other occupants of the house are eating enough food. I never pass her test. I would like to point out, however, that I have never seen the woman eat anything other than tortilla, beans and cheese, so I think she should back off my dietary shortcomings and worry a bit more about herself. I would also like to point out that I'm pretty sure I've put on close to 10 pounds over the past few months, so no one needs to worry about anything. Except me, who might need to buy some new jeans.