Is it Really THAT Hard to Quit Smoking?

I´m only asking because I think I´ve discovered a habit that is even harder to kick.  (Eric, stop reading this. Skip this paragraph, okay?)  That habit is throwing toilet paper into the toilet.  Which is apparently a no no here.  Like a big no no.  Like if you accidentally throw it into the toilet, you need to fish it out.  I am having a very hard time adjusting…  This particular habit is very difficult to kick.

In other news, not everything is as difficult to adjust to.  My host family is great!  So far I´ve found out that there are 8 people that live in the house (plus the 9 dogs), but dinners usually feature around 14 people.  Don´t ask me their names.  BUT Evelyn and I are getting much better at communicating, aside from a few snafus.   For example, they were telling us about earthquakes, and Evelyn pointed to the table and said ´´Este mesa?!´´ instead of saying ´´Este mes?´´  The difference is that she meant to ask if there were earthquakes this month, but instead asked if that particular table was experiencing earthquakes.  They laughed but continued explaining, so she tried to ask again.  This time she, in a shaky and choppy voice because it takes us quite awhile to pick a word out of our heads, said ´´Ahora?!´´ in an attempt to ask if we were in the season for earthquakes.  Instead, she, sounding very panicky, asked if we were currently experiencing an earthquake.  We all got a solid chuckle out of this and I think they gave up on us shortly after that.  She also confuses ´´mucho gusto´´ with ´´muchas gracias´´ so instead of saying ´´thank you´´, she says ´´it was nice to meet you.´´ It gets a little weird, but I´m not allowed to judge because yesterday I accidentally told my teacher that I eat my dog instead of saying that I go on runs with him.   I also keep saying ´´yesterday´´ instead of ´´over there´´ and it´s become such a common problem that my teacher now understands what I mean.  Meanwhile, my English is also deteriorating so now I can´t even speak one language well and I just do a shitty job of speaking two.

Yesterday, we visited what will probably go down in history as one of my favorite places ever.  13 of us were crammed into a large, boxy minivan with broken seats as we weaved our way through the narrow, winding roads along the side of a nearby volcano.  After about 40 minutes of me becoming more and more sure that my carsickness would result in very embarrassing bodily functions that would make all possibilities of forming future friendships null and void, we finally pulled into Las Fuentes Georginas.  We were so high up on the side of a volcano, that fog was below us and stole any chance we had at seeing the town below.  If you have a fear of heights, maybe just never ever look down. Our first stop was in the more popular, well known pools.  It felt like a giant hot tub but considerably less gross, even though my feet were pressed against rocks and I´m sure there was dirt and leaves and bugs floating around.  I didn´t see a single bandaid, so I was happy. After turning into giant, red prunes, we decided to venture out to the other, less popular, more private pools. This is probably not what my mom wants to hear, but the three of us ventured down this little tiny path, going probably ten minutes without seeing a single soul.  It didn´t help that we walked down the wrong path first, but we were pretty much encapsulated by trees, and couldn´t even hope to see the few buildings that represented the popular pools.  Finally, after hearing the waterfall for several minutes, we see the little waterfall through a break in the trees.  There wasn´t a single person in either of the pools and the water was clearer than the water in my pitcher at home (That says more about my pitcher than anything.)  After climbing some rocks and enjoying the glory that is currently my life, we decided to take a dip in the hottest water I have ever experienced.  (Side note-if it took us 10 to 15 minutes to reach these pools at a steep downward slope, please imagine how long it took to climb back up.  Consider the altitude.  My butt hates me.  My lungs fell out somewhere on the side of those volcanoes.)  If you would have told me 2 years ago that I would spend an entire day soaking in water that was clearer than what I drink, hotter than a hot tub, surrounded by the most beautiful, luscious greenery I´ve ever seen, and lulled by the constant, relaxing sound of a natural waterfall, I would have laughed in your face.  Then again, if you would have told me 2 years ago that I would visit 20 countries in a single year, I would have had you admitted to a psych ward somewhere because surely that would be impossible.  Yet here I am, 20 countries and counting.  Hella poor, but I bet I can name a few people with fancy apartments that are significantly less happy than I am.

In case you´re wondering what else I´m doing, besides traipsing around and taking pictures to get likes on instagram, you´ll be pleased to know that classes are hard.  But today, instead of learning the usual verb tenses and vocabulary, the school hosted a conference that talked about drug trafficking in Central America.  Checking that off the list of ´´firsts´´-Listening to a Guatemalan researcher speak about the implications of globalization and the details surrounding narcotics trafficking. After class, we visited a little town outside of Xela and learned about the religions of the smaller towns, the superstitions of the indigenous people, and the culture of rural Guatemala.  We also met three young girls and chatted with them for almost a half an hour.  They were incredibly inquisitive and asked about everything that involved the United States.  They even asked what our money looked like, at which time I saw Evelyn immediately grab for her backpack and cover her back pocket.  Her time in Morocco led her to be even more reserved than I am. But to my happy surprise, these girls were just what they seemed to be-happy, inquisitive girls.  I showed them the few American coins I had on me and they were amazed.  They quickly pulled out Guatemalan coins and gave them to me as a present, and so I gave them a quarter, a dime, and a penny.  They asked what the dime could buy in America and we had a hard time explaining that it would get one tenth of a piece of gum, but here it could buy several pieces.  The quarter I gave them buys them a pack or two!  As we left, they chased after us, asked for our phone numbers, and invited us to church.  (My mom pointed out that I would probably start on fire if I entered church, so I had to decline.  Also because we don´t have transportation there and lots of Saturday activities planned for the next few weeks.)  This encounter reminded me that not every child is a thief or a beggar, some are actually just children. The ride home reminded me of one of those roller coasters that mostly just bounces up and down and makes 90% of riders vomit.  It was our first chicken bus experience and even though I didn´t see a single chicken (Like where are they?!), I wasn´t disappointed.  I also wasn´t robbed or sold into sex slavery so I guess that fear can subside a little. Guatemala isn´t nearly as scary as most of you think.  (Mom.)

So it´s only been three days since I last wrote, but it seemed like so much had happened, and since I had a spare moment, I figured why not?  I miss home, but writing about this incredible experience makes me feel quite a bit better.