Settling In

My first two days of classes and living with a family are going well. I have class with another girl from the states. She is a bit farther along with Spanish than I am which is great because it pushes me. The school has a really down to earth feel and funds a program helping street kids by providing meals, clothing, and tutoring. Several of the teachers and the school tour guide are graduates of the program.

The school activity yesterday afternoon was a trip to a crater lake about 15 miles from Granada. The water was really nice and it felt so good to cool off. Have I mentioned that it is really hot here? In the evening after dinner, I went to a free salsa class at the school. I think I might have finally exorcised my salsa demons. I wouldn´t exactly call what I´m doing salsa dancing, but at least now I´m moving in the same direction as everyone else :-)

My family lives about ten yards from the school which is really nice in the morning. The house centers around a courtyard kitchen and besides the kitchen table all the furniture is rocking chairs (about 10) around a coffee table. I love it - in fact it totally rocks. Sorry. There is a grandmother, husband and wife, their two kids, and their daughter´s two kids in the house. The two year old and nine month old are hilarious and really fun. The two year old has been trying to explain something to me about dogs for two days now, but I´m just not getting it. Hopefully, we´ll cover his vocabulary in class tomorrow. The whole family is good natured, and they think it´s hilarious that every time I go to use the bathroom or the sink, the water goes out for several hours. Oh well. At least I´m not wasting water.