Wow

I just had to take a picture of this. First of all, wow. What a huge chandelier...at least 15 feet high and 10 across, if not more (I'm not the best at guesstimating dimensions). And see all those candle harbors? That is going to be an incredible sight when it's all lit up.

Second, you've got to respect the intricate and optimistic securing of the chandelier to the small datsun/toyota type truck. That is some kind of maynarding, which is a fond term in our family, named after my grandpa (or rather, after a name someone once mistakenly called him) for any hodge-podge, use-what-you-have, creative construction.

The guys who made and/or loaded the chandelier were all on the sidewalk next to me when I snapped the picture. They all cheered. I wanted to tell them how cool it was + that I loved the craftsmanship. I wanted to know how many hours it took + who designed it.

At the moment all I could say, wide-eyed, was "grande!"

Hopefully they knew what I was referring to. On the way home I came up with all sorts of sentences I could have said. Oh well. Maybe this time my picture really was worth a thousand words?

Adios Boston, Hola Antigua

Maddy and I are leaving Sunday for Antigua, Guatemala. I was invited by one of my professors to work on some child development projects there but first (minor detail...) I need to build my Spanish skills from practically non-existent to at least conversational.

So we're heading there for two weeks of immersed language study. As luck would have it, the town where my professor lives and where I'll be hopefully doing some work later just happens to have a concentration of highly respected and inexpensive language schools (here's a link to ours). So, with Greg's encouragement and a little blind audacity, we decided to give it a try.

{Moment of my nervous and excited dance. Think Snoopy but more scared.}

We'll be staying in the home of my professor and doing one-on-one Spanish classes every morning for 4 hours, then spending the afternoons and evenings exploring and trying out our blossoming linguistic abilities. It sounds like the school and the home where we're staying both have wireless internet so I hope to post semi-regularly while I'm there.

Although I've had my moments of nervousness, I'm getting really excited to try this and to take my spunky and sunny Maddy with me. That quiets the anxiety I have about whether I'll be able to learn Spanish, if Maddy will like it, if it will live up to my high hopes, if we'll be safe, if Maddy will eat the food, if my professor will get tired of having us there so long, etc., etc.

See you soon...

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p.s.

I came across a really cool site while I was researching Antigua. Dozens of cities around the world participate jointly in a daily photo project. Sometimes they have themes, like colors or typical breakfast, but mostly they are simply fascinating views into life in locations around the world. You could spend hours here. I couldn't find a main coordinating site but the Antigua page had a list with links. Enjoy!