First month in site!!

So, I have now been living in site for ONE WHOLE MONTH!  Some moments I feel as if I have been here for months, and other moments I feel as if it's my first day.  Here's a quick run-down on some of the things I've learned so far:

• There are dozens of types of mangoes, avocados, and bananas and I have a favorite of each.  These three foods comprise the majority of my diet here in Guatemala.
• I love salsa dancing.  I am still really, really bad at it, but I absolutely love it.  I'm sure it won't surprise any of you that I'm not too good at following a lead.
• If I accomplish nothing else in the next two years, at least my host sisters will be getting better grades in their English class.  I've been helping them out with their homework.
• I really love teaching.  I completed my introductory visits to each of the 14 schools I will be working with and am now returning to the classrooms to conduct an activity where the kids draw a map of their school and mark the things that they like and don't like about it.  I have found that when I am in front of a room full of kids, I really feel like my best self.
• There are things that I had always assumed I "needed", but am now doing quite fine without.  For example: a gym membership, a car, new clothes.  I've been working out in my room, riding public transportation, and buying my clothes at used clothes stores, and I've never been happier.
• However, I do still miss having electricity and running water 24 hours a day.
• An hour and a half commute to work isn't so bad if that commute is a beautiful hike.
• My head is quite literally in the clouds here.  We're at over 8,000 feet elevation.  
• Work comes in fits and starts.  I'm constantly evaluating if what I'm doing is actually working, so quite frequently my plan gets flushed and I have to start all over again.  Or, I get sick and stay in bed for three days.
• I prefer to work in a group.  I am the only volunteer in my project at my site, but there are two other volunteers working in different groups, so I try to tag-along with them or include them in my work as frequently as possible.
• Rainy season is super awful.  It rains EVERY SINGLE DAY.  This makes it incredibly hard to dry your laundry on the line or basically get anything done outside.  However, it is perfect weather for reading, of which I've been doing a lot.
• There are a lot of volunteers in the department of Quetzaltenango, where I am.  This has really been a lifesaver.  We get to relax together on the weekends, but we also get to work together (see the bullet on how I like to work in groups).  Every Peace Corps post has a different feel, and since PC Guatemala is condensed into a small part of the country, we've decided to take advantage of that and work together when it's possible.

Here's a few pics from my first weeks in site!!  Enjoy!