Mis primos chapines :-)

Today is Saturday, so no hospital or classes.  I was going to go to a water park about an hour and a half or two hours away - in a warmer climate than Xela - but it started raining pretty hard which could cause more landslides, so we decided not to go.  I had made plans to have dinner with Roberto's family.  I think I mentioned them in a previous post; it's a little complicated, but Roberto is the brother of my dad's cousin's husband.  So I just call them my cousins - mis primos chapines (chapin = Gutemalan, primos = cousins) - to simplify it.

At 7pm two of Roberto's kids, Ixquik and Tepeu, came to pick me up in front of the school.  Roberto and Lesbia have 3 kids, all university age.  Ixquik, the oldest daughter, is studying law, Maya is next and she's working but I can't remember in what, and Tepeu, the "baby boy" is in design school.  They live in Zunil, which is not far from Xela, but they also have an apartment in Xela, which is where they took me for dinner.  They welcomed me with open arms, had planned a beautiful dinner for me, and asked me a lot of questions about my trip so far and how my time was in Guatemala City.  I felt guilty for not having contacted them earlier, I guess I didn't realize that they were actually waiting for my arrival. 

The dinner was absolutely delicious.  It was jocóm (sp?), which is a chicken dish with a green sauce made with cilantro, celery, and other good stuff, served with rice.  When Lesbia offered me more I asked for just rice and sauce, but I guess she didn't hear me and gave me a whole serving more of chicken and rice!  We also had this amazing sweet tea - Lesbia said it's Joseph's favorite, I know you're jealous, Joseph! - but I can't remember what the name of it is!  Then after dinner we chatted and ate some of the chocolate I brought from Seattle from Theo Chocolates. 

Ixquik is definitely the most outgoing of the kids.  She asked me question after question, I almost felt like I couldn't finish answering one before she was on to another!  Tepeu was the one I had first talked on the phone to, and he had been very nice and chatty.  In person, though, he was so shy and soft-spoken, I couldn't believe it was the same person I had talked to on the phone.  By the end of the night, it was just me and Ixquik left at the table.  She helped me plan my two week trip around Guatemala after I'm done with classes here.  She even looked up hotels that are near the bus stations I'll be going into in the various towns, and gave me their phone numbers.  We'll be making plans to get together again, and I forgot to take pictures at this outing (oops!) but I will next time, don't worry Mom.