May 30, 2009

Spent a good part of last night working on my blog, only to discover that I could not connect to the internet from the house. UGH! And Dick had conned me into agreeing to let him use my writing for his blog for the past two days. Reluctantly, I called him to explain my difficulty, but, in his usual style he said, “no problemo.” ******** Typical night at Dick's house ********
Of course, for him, his
very practical solution WAS no problem, because I was the one who had to go find a blank CD, then locate a computer to send the journal to him, while he sat in the comfort of his house inChimaltenago! Since he’s been great about driving me around while I here, I thought it was in my best interests, though, to go along with his idea. I did tell him I would NOT be doing it until morning however. He was placated, at least for a while. . .am beginning to think he’d to anything to get someone else to write for him. Of course, now that I’m trying to blog, I do have more sympathy for him—but only a little.


So, bright and early this morning, about 8 am, my phone rings and I hear, “Well, you can’t sleep in forever!” I don’t know what I’ve done to earn this type of treatment from a man who is usually so kind to people, but evidently I’ve found the way to bring out the best in Dick. He was a bit disappointed, however, when I told him that I was already up and showered and dressed and ready to head to town to send him the journal. After finishing breakfast, I picked up a CD on the way to Camperos. I figured that would be as good a place as any to burn everything onto a disk. I also wanted to check and see if I could get on the internet there, even thougbefore my battery wore down and it was time to head home for lunch. I was pretty impressed thath Dick was certain I couldn’t. Sure enough, I was right, and connected with no problem from there. Was able to answer numerous emails, send Dick his stuff, and even post some to this blog the folks working there didn’t mind me sitting there using their internet all morning, though all I bought was a diet Pepsi and flan.

If you come to Guatemala you have to experience Camperos. It’s kind of like KFC on steroids. They open for breakfast, and stay open through dinner. Their menu has chicken, of course, but now you can even order fried shrimp. Since I’d been assured they were safe to eat, I tried them yesterday, and still am not sick, so I guess they really are okay. You sure can’t beat the price—4 dozen for 84 Quetzales, which is about $10. If you split this with someone it’s quite the deal, and they are really tasty. Am glad, because after last year’s trip with Bethel Ministries, I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to look a chicken leg in the face again. Anybody who’s coming back with me next month, you’ll get more than your fair share of opportunities to try this cuisine. The rest of you will have to travel to Chicago, where they’ve opened a Camperos on the north side. Spent a few hours after lunch working on communication boards that I want to try out with a few of the kids at Hermano Pedro next week. Also got to play computer pinpall and solitaire with a six year old named Natalie, who is a friend of the Hernandez family, with whom I’m staying.

Decided I’d had enough time sitting today and went for a walk. I needed to locate the church I wanted to attend tomorrow. I’d tried to find it on my last two trips with no luck, and I was up for the challenge. The directions I’d been given THIS time actually made sense, and I found it without difficulty. Telling me to walk east on the street past the cathedral made a lot more sense than telling me to look for the gas station on the way out of town, especially since I don’t have a car and really don’t care where the gas stations are.

A side benefit of this walk was that I got to meet an 80 something year old Franciscan priest named Father Bernardo. Dick had told me many wonderful stories about this man, and also said that he often walks back and forth on a particular street. So, when I saw an elderly Franciscan, I decided to take a chance and introduce myself as a friend of Dick. Now, Father has a bit of Alheimer’s so it took a few minutes for him to remember who Dick was, but once he did, he could not have been more excited to tell me about all the wonderful things Dick does. I told him that Dick thinks just as highly of him, and he lowered his head and I could see tears in his eyes. He said, “I’m a Franciscan, I’m supposed to be good, but Dick is just a man.” I know there’s a moral in there somewhere, but, I think I’ve met another living saint who doesn’t seem to know that he is one. I’m so glad I finally got to meet him after hearing about him for a number of years.

Since I was in town I picked up some ink Dick needed and was heading back home, when Mari drove by with two girls living at the house. They were on their way for ice cream, and had driven around town looking for me so I could go with them. Traffic in Antigua on Saturday is horrible, so I had no idea how long they had been looking for me. They said they tried to call, but I must not have heard my phone. Anyway, we got ice cream and sat along side Central Park (in a no parking zone) and ate our treat. Then we were off to run errands in San Miguel, a small town just outside Antigua.

The University of Notre Dame Chorus is giving a free concert at the church of St. Francis in Antigua tonight. The girls asked me to go with them, and I think it would be a hoot to hear them sing in Guatemala, when I grew up just about a hundred miles from their campus in Indiana! Think I just might have to join the young people tonight!

Hermano Pedro Orphanage will not allow the public to come in and work with the kids until next week, for fear of the swine flu. There have been 11 confirmed deaths from this “dread disease” in the entire country of Guatemala, and they’re really concerned. Can’t help but wonder how many people died on motorcycles this past week alone. But what do I know, I’m just a gringa. Had been a bit worried that I’d be bored with nothing to do, but I’ve had experiences this week that I will never forget. Evidently God knew what was going on, even though I didn’t. Thank you, Lord, for all your blessings. Please let me be a blessing in return.

In the spirit of "full disclosure" I want to admit that I borrowed some of these photos from my friend Dick. Figured since I wrote a number of HIS journal entries this week, he owed me.