!Hola! ¿Como Estas? Ok, that is about all I can say at this point.

This is Laura, standing in our doorway,
just moments before a jaguar came and ate her.

These are reasons why my life rocks: I wake up in the morning to the sunrise and the sound of roosters. Then I perhaps go out to eat breakfast, which generally consists of black beans, eggs, some kind of fruit action, and delicious coffee. In my head, I have this notion that the food is all super fresh and local- the beans are straight off the vine, the eggs just plopped out some chicken’s uterus, and the fruit is actually washed. In reality, it is probably not so romantic (or heigenic). Nevertheless, at about $3, it is a great way to start the day.

Our cubical.

Its the end of the rainy season right now, so the first part of the day is usually much sunnier than the latter part. So during this time, we get most of our work done. Oh, and by ‘’work’’ I mean drink coffee, look at mountains, study spanish, eat some food, drink some more coffee, and perhaps use el baño a time or two. Yeah, that’s about it.


Then we have 5 hours of spanish lessons, one on one with our excellent teachers. My teacher’s name is really hard to pronounce (especially when you don’t actually remember what it was in the first place), but other than that, she rocks.

Me and Gallo (Rooster) Beer.

Speaking of names, I’m now known as Andres, not Andrew. ‘’Andrew’’ is too unfamiliar for most of these folks to pronounce, and they always seem a little relieved when I tell them my name is Andres. Its kind of like when you call some computer technician in India and he tells you his name is Peter or Steve or Harry or some equally American name.

Admittedly, the avocados aren't as good
as I was expecting. However, a sandwich
comprised wholly of avocados and
bread is still better than
anything else in life.

We also like to go to the market, where there are tons of Mayans selling their various fruits and veggies for very cheap. I think avocados are about 45 cents a pop, tomatoes are probably closer to 10 cents a piece. When I get the courage and the vocabulary, I'm going to ask some of the women what the other mysterious foods actually are, and whether or not I can make them into a burger of some sort.

I'm going to go work now. Those mountains aren't going to look at themselves!

Laura and our backyard.

San Pedro, as seen from our kayak.