...more like two degrees of separation..

so you know how I, like most people from Wenatchee, can't go anywhere in town without running into at least one person you know?!.. well same for here in Playa Guiones as well..

My first day of Spanish class went well!  "Tenemos solamente hablo en Espanol"  we can only speak in Spanish.  I love my teacher, Silvia.  She is very nice, and very smart.  She enunciates very well, so that us "gringos" can understand her.  It feels good to pretty much understand everything she says, it is just hard when I can't translate everything that I want to say :(  There are only two other people in my class, Trevor and Joe.  We did a lot of introductions, learned about each others Familias, etc.

I did get really frustrated one time, when I was partnered with Joe to learn about his family, and we could only talk in Spanish.  I wasn't understanding what he was trying to say, so I asked him to say it in English.  He has been taking classes for two weeks prior to now, so I guess he takes it very seriously or something.  He said, "Es mas importante que solomente hablamos in Espanol en la clase."  (it is very important that we only talk in Spanish in this class)  okay smart ass..ONE, you aren't my teacher, and TWO, how am I supposed to learn anything, if I can't understand what you are saying?? like I have to compare it to something that I already know, and maybe I need to clarify it for myself.  He kept pretending he didn't know English, and would try to explain himself in another way in Spanish.  UGH, I could have slapped that bald head of his.

Any-who... every time Silvia talks about where I am from, she always makes me spell Wenatchee, and makes this expression, like "where in the world is that, and why would you live in a place that is so confusing to pronounce."  She asked the other boys if they knew where Wenatchee was, and Trevor said, "Si, mi Abuelo vive en Wenatchee."  His frickin' grandpa lives there.. don't worry it gets better.  Later, when I could speak in English (because unlike Joe, Trevor will break the "rules") he tells me that he went to Washington Elementary until like fourth grade, before he moved.  I asked if he remembered any people from there, and he said "Yeah, I used to play basketball with like Dane Peterson, and Brett Peterson."  Then I told him that I know those boys really well, ya know, like Brett was Joel's best man.  Then he looked at my last name, and goes, "oh, Joel Hewitt?  Yeah, I am pretty sure I played YMCA basketball with him."  Seriously?..seriously.


So Rae and I compromised on a pretty sweet schedule today.  She goes to class from 6-9. Has a break, and goes back from 11-2:30.  I go to class from 8-12.  Then I lay by the pool, until she has her 2:30 break, and she meets me there.  We walk back toward our hotel, and get our big meal of the day around 4:30.  Then we go watch the sunset, and she goes back to class from 6:30-9.  That is when I get to chill out, and come hang with Guido and the gang at the restaurant in our hotel.  She meets me here after class, and we blog.  I think it will turn out to be a good schedule.

Still haven't quite accomplished any of the big things on our list, but we haven't given up yet.  The chocolate croissants are still calling our names.  We did some scouting at the beach today, to get a better grasp on the people around us.  We noticed that actually everyone comes out to the beach at sunset, so we may have to make a new name for ourselves besides the "sunset girls," seeing as though people may confuse us for the 100 other girls that appear at that time as well.

The pool at Hotel 506 (where my classes are) that we get to take sweet advantage of.

A smoothie that Rae gulped down before our wrap came :)

Our chicken wrap from Robin's, that we split tonight.  Not nearly as good as the spicy tofu one, but we settled, since she didn't have anymore tofu.

A secret path to the beach, that Jennifer (a local girl that owns a jewelry store here..i met her dad on my last flight) drove us to today.  Yup, our first semi-hitch hike.

Rae walking from the secret spot, to where the cool kids sit.

That little girl has been at the beach the last two times we have gone.  And I kept snapping photos of her, because she is a replica of me, 19 years ago.  Attitude and everything. 

One of the cool kids..  creepy stalker-ish of me?? Noooo

:)

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