Semana Santa, the week leading up the Easter. This is a big week. Few people work this week, there are lots of special sweets, and many people spend time each day at church. I had class the first two days of the week. This was shocking to my host family, though I had classes during Festival and Carnival as well, so this should not have been a surprise. I was happy for the classes, I wanted all the practice I could get with my awesome Spanish teacher, Carmen. We were getting really close to the end of PST (Pre-Service Training), which meant the impending language exam. This was scary, as I came in at a novice mid level and I needed to be at intermediate mid by the end of PST.
Carmen gave me two folders packed with homework, one that was to be hidden from me and my host sister would read to me as I attempted to transcribe what she read. Always coming through for me, my host family took this very seriously and kept the folder under the tablecloth on the table when not in use. During this week, Jackie and I traveled to a nearby pueblo to study with Barbara and Angelica, two other aspirantes, and they came to us a different day to study and eat some of Jackie’s delicious food and cookies.
Jackie, Audrey, Maya, and I also used one day to go for a hike with Sammy and Alex, two current volunteers. We went to a beautiful pueblo lots of hills and a large church reminiscent of what I’ve seen in pictures of Greece. Two of the neighborhood kids joined us and we explored some medicinal wells and spent some time in nature. Perfecto! We took a lot of pictures…I think us aspirantes were really feeling the freedom of being out in the world! Luckily, Sammy and Alex went along with it, only occasionally leaving us behind.
All in all, lots of studying, time to relax, sweets made from ñame, papaya, and corn, and a bit of traveling…I’d call it a successful Semana Santa!
Estoy Capaz! 
It’s been nice reading your blog and seeing all the pictures! Best of luck in your new site, you’ll do great things!
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