have worked it out!!!!!!

Saturday 30th August, 2008
Saturday dawned and I was up early as usual, excitement as the market beckoned. A big day as everyone from around Antigua gets on the bus and travels to the market....not unsimilar to Seychelles. So armed with my map, I headed off towards the market. The first thing that surprised me was the very very long queues outside the banks..its also the day most people get their money! It was strange to see the armed men controlling the lines and people just patiently waiting ,some for hours I suspect. I carried on past Central Square down 4A Calle Poniente towards the hustle and bustle of people. The market is set just behind the main bus station so people were getting on and off with either their wares or their shopping. Really noisy and busy and so alive. I strolled through the sections with mountains of fruit and house hold goods, no order to anything. Nestled amongst huge baskets of papaya and bananas were baskets full of crabs all with their pincers bound and strung together in sixes! Saturday is also a day when men and women who make the local Mayan crafts come to sell their wares, they wander around the markets with their baskets full of cloth, jewellery, carved wooden figures...mostly of Jesus Christ or angels hanging on their backs supported by ropes carefully balanced on their heads. The women with folded cloths on their heads to keep the sun off and the men in the sombreros; very difficult to photograph as they believe that you take their soul if you take a photo, unless of course you buy something from them. So I just carried on going ‘No gracias’ and smiling at the same time. The market is huge and I just looked and walked, I had no idea where I was until I stumbled into the clothes market...what a find! The market is a huge charity shop.!! Ever wondered where all the clothes that are collected and sent to developing countries end up.. well some of them end up here and not just from UK but also from the US. I smiled and thought of Martin as I checked out the labels I know so well : Next, George, Ralph Lauren etc etc, and true to form I bought some long sleeved tops and a few jumpers.....it gets really cold most days and the house has no heating...... It was fabulous and three hours just raced by. I bought a basket for my weekly shopping of fruit. This makes me happy as it confirms my determination to stay. Then it was a walk home and more study and perhaps an episode of Greys Anatomy?


Sunday 31st August
Sunday is special as everyone goes to church: its also the only day that I don’t eat with the family. So I decided to take a walk and have breakfast in one of the cafes and try out my Spanish (scary or what?) learning to be alone is quite something after so many years of constant company and I do miss that. At times it’s not so easy..... but I walk the streets and avenues and find the places and catch glimpses of people’s lives......So after breakfast I walked towards a church ruin or so I thought until I got there. Many of the churches are being rebuilt and repaired but the services continue. Hymns and music filled the streets and squares The sun shone bright on the families as they walked to pray, children running and fighting, parents shouting and talking, old couples hobbling along the streets with their canes holding each other and smiling dodging the horse and carts moving noisily, hooves loud and hard on the cobbled stones. Young couples on benches entwined in each others arms, distracted by the sun and the possibilities. Nuns and young girls in uniform snaked along the outer wall of the church clasping their bibles close to their chests, chattering away . Outside, men set up their boot polishing tables for the last bit before entering the church. I walked along towards the care centre / hospital where I will work and walked through the doors...... A huge old building. I walked through quietly, it was like walking into a church, candles, religious pictures and crosses adorned the walls, I continued towards the centre of the main building, an open area full of people of all ages with various disabilities and many in wheelchairs. Some had visitors but some, particularly the very old ones, sat and stared into the distant..perhaps their distant past, memories fading with time. I was a little taken aback. as the people have so many different problems I am going there next week and I know it won’t be easy, children are always harder to deal with they tell me…I am sure they are right. So I left and walked across the square outside towards the town washing area. Lots of brick ‘sinks’ where people from the town can come and wash their clothes. (I washed my clothes yesterday in a double sink; one with water and one with stone for scrubbing the clothes on, not easy but manageable as I can’t use the washing machine)
I continued to walk back towards the house to the sound of thunder. Every day the mornings are sunny and the afternoons and evenings... cold and wet. I zipped up my raincoat, tightened the scarf around my neck, flipped open the umbrella and raced home to a warm cup of tea and hours of homework. , tucked in under the blankets of the bed.
It’s been exactly one week since I arrived.


Wednesday 3rd September.

This week has raced by with longer hours at school, more homework than I can cope with and visits to the care centre. So much vocabulary to learn. The rain persists and I know it will do so till February as it’s the rainy season!!! So have spent much time at the house. And as luck would have it, the school has organised a trip..another of my favourite pastimes. On Friday afternoon we are off to Panajachel and Lake Atitlan.for the weekend.. I am really looking forward to it so hopefully more interesting photos next week. The big hurdle to overcome tomorrow however is to try to explain to my teacher the story of ‘Love in the time of Cholera’, I can see it being like a game of charades as my Spanish is nowhere ready.
Am ready for bed and its 4.45 in the morning in England and 7.45 in Seychelles. I think of you all as the new day dawns and send you love
Adios amigos.
Good night
Xxx