Raul, Emeteria, William and Brella















Here is Brella holding up the "book" that they are just dying to see each morning. They scream "Bobeeeeee"!!!

William (like Bobby)

Shakira (like Aubbie)

Brella (like Ashee)

Brella and neighbor, Gionvani with G's pet.

View from back of my hut to hut above

Brella standing at the doorway to our home

Shakira posing with crayon

Brella (always smiling!)

The neighbors with Brella and William

This is an experience! Right now I'm writin from my bed??? that has a mosqito net surrounding me. I live in a thatched roof hut with mud floors. There's a latrine out back and an open shower (like M*A*S*H) but no running water, just a bucket. Everyone goes to bed shortly after 6 (as there is no current!) so I'm writing this by headlamp.

Today after language class, I bathed in the river with my Maya sister, Brella who scrubbed my back. I'll be here in Armenia for the next 5 weeks with my host family. Oh, did I mention that the parents, Raul (23) and Emetria (21) sleep on the other side of this only interior wall with their 3 children, Brella (5), William (3) and Shakira (2)? Their room can't be any larger than 6' x 8'. They are a lovely family that is taking their job as a Peace Corps host family quite seriously--three hot meals per day that always includes tortillas and rice and beans--so much for losing weight!! Raul speaks K'ekchi and Emetria speaks Maya (mopan) so the children speak Maya. My host mom and dad speak English very well. I learned two phrases in K'ekchi today--Ma sa aach ool? how are you? and Anih ak aba? what's your name? It's a very gutteral languange with some clucking. Quite interesting!

We're in the rain forest so the walk to class is in this thick, sticky, heavy mud. Needless to say, I had to purchase boots!

We have three chickens in the yard that know to stay there. Raul said when they first get purchased they stay in the backyard in a chicken coup for a couple days and then let them out and they just KNOW to stay in the yard!

I asked Raul how many brothers and sisters he has and he said, "I think 8 sisters and 7 brothers...I'm not sure."

You hear the rain all night (no windows or doors). The roosters start crowing around 4am and you hear dogs barking the rest of the night. I won't go into the dog situation right now. That's a whole story to itself. I roll over and go back to sleep until 5:30.

Hope this paints a picture...Enjoy your AC and lights at night! Better turn it in--it's WAY past my bedtime--almost 9pm! The family has been asleep since 6:30!

God bless Raul, Emetria, Brella, William, Shakira and us ALL!!! Tracy

postscript: It's Sunday, Aug 30 so I borrowed Raul's bicycle so I could ride about 30 miles (thanks Katrin!) into Belmopan so I could call my darling Ashley to wish her a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! Her email address is ash1140@aol.com if you would send her a note to help me celebrate her big day. HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETHEART!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!