Volcan Pacaya

My first day of class is officially done and I have survived! I like my teacher but taking seven hours a day of Spanish makes for a long day. I had 16 pages of homework my first night! I asked her for less homework so I can have time to study the massive amount of vocabulary I need to learn. She said okay. :)

My first weekend went well as I spent time mostly with people who spoke English. I walked around Antigua a few times and became familiar with my new home town. Sunday I went through a travel agency to hike up Volcan Pacaya which is about an hour away from Antigua. It was awesome! The hike was definitely more challenging than I expected but I would do it again in a heart beat. Volcan Pacaya is an active volcano so I got to see flowing lava at the top. The hike was about 2 hours up and a little less than 2 hours down. The last quarter mile to the top had loose volcanic rocks which made climbing up and coming down tricky. I just laughed the whole time (even though I was scared) because I knew I was going to slip again and again. I actually slipped into the splits one time, good thing I am flexible. I also made a few friends. They are from all over the place including Poland, Denmark, and South Africa.

The city of Antigua is growing on me more and more. I like that I have to walk everywhere as I haven't gotten much exercise other than that. I think the buildings here are so interesting. If you walk down a street, the buildings look like one long wall with a couple windows and doors but the insides are likes mini courtyards.

Thank-you again for all of your prayers and encouraging words. I love opening my e-mail or blog to find comments and updates! Please let me know how I can be praying for you and your family.

Julie-Anne

Psalm 67:3
"Let the peoples praise You, O God;
let all the peoples praise You."

This is the famous Santa Catalina Arch in Antigua,
also known as Arco del Antiguo Convento.

View from the roof of my house.

Another view from the roof of my house
and where my alarm clock resides (a rooster).

This is at the top of Volcan Pacaya. I am trying to roast
a marshmellow but it is really hot!

This is the rocky and slippery path we had to take to
climb up and down to get to Volcan Pacaya.

View from Volcan Pacaya.