Valentine's Day

This year Esa and I got to spend our first Valentine's Day together ever! He did not disappoint. :) On Friday evening once it had gotten dark, he told me to follow him because he needed my help with something. (A quick rewind: I had been laid up in bed all day due to a tremendous mando-induced stomachache so I was pretty sure he knew I wasn't going to be of much "help.") As I had caught a whiff of "surprise" in the air earlier in the day, I willingly shuffled along behind. We got to the door, went outside, and crossed the street to the little park in front of his house. Waiting for me was this! (T♥ stands for "te amo" or "I love you.")

He had to relight the candles... the wind kept blowing them out! He told me how hard he had to try to get them to stay lit, and it made me appreciate it all the more. Also adding to the value: he put up with lots of questions and stares from the neighbors. :)

And THEN he went inside to get my present.


Taking pictures from on top of the bus. He likes to find a creative angle!

YES! It's chocolate!

Examining the quality...

And it's up to par!

Oh, and while he was inside getting my present? He filled my room with red balloons.

And laid a bouquet of roses on my bed.

The only down side I can see to all this is, what on earth is he going to do next year?

And now it's my turn...

I couldn't let him plan such a fabulous surprise without coming up with something of my own, so on Saturday morning while he was at English class, I got busy! These are the "after" pictures...

And now, backtracking so you can see what a mastermind I am. "Follow the hearts," it says.

So we did!

And they led us...

into the kitchen

and up to the freezer where it said "open."

And inside the freezer, his favorite popsicles, a teddy bear, and a card!

Esa thought it was barbaric to put Teddy in the freezer, but I assured him it had only been a few minutes.

If I look pretty pleased with myself it's because I was.

Grandma Pola's Birthday

February 9th was Esa's grandma's birthday (his mom's mom). We went to her house for supper and cake! Jerson's lighting the candles here.

Any new faces you see are neighbors. Quite a few (like this pair of sisters here) showed up to celebrate.

Grandma with her cake.


She's quite the character, although you probably can't tell that from the pictures. :)

Blowing out the (yes, sigh, relighting) candles.

Baby Karlita with mom Lucy.

The next door neighbor who was pregnant at the same time Lucy was. Her little girl is just a month older.

And yes, she is, as states her sweatshirt, adorable.

Little Karla cries when anyone but her mom holds her. She fondly gets called spoiled.

The whole busy scene.

Blanca, appointed cake cutter and server.

The Beloved Platano (Plantain)

Before introducing you to the platano, a basic knowledge of the Guatemalan Food Pyramid is necessary. It should be noted that the Guatemalan Food Pyramid differs slightly from the U.S. version. As you can see, making up the base of the pyramid is "frijoles" or "beans." Tortillas (pictured above "frijoles") and beans often compete for the honor of "base of the pyramid." The other main food group (comparable to what we know as the "fruits and vegetables" group) is the "platanos" group. Platanos are big bananas that must be cooked before they are eaten. Finally, in the "fats, oils, and sweets" (use sparingly) group, you find "Pollo Campero." Pollo Campero is the Guatemalan fast food of choice... Overpriced chicken, fries, and lots of other unnecessarily greasy things.

And now, what you've all been waiting for... the platano. As you can see, it's a big banana. In these pictures I am taking a crash course in the most efficient way to prepare platanos. First you make a slit in the skin...


and peel it off.

Lower knife, slowly at first, then more rapidly as you get the hang of it (and if you are not under 12).

And slice at an angle. Finally, you boil them with a few pieces of cinnamon and enjoy! (They are extremely yummy.)

I don't imagine I have to inform you of the cleanup...

The Origen of the Cashew

I am a lover of nuts and seeds of all kinds, and cashews have always been right up in near the top of the ranks. Previously, I had assumed the cashew probably grew in the ground like the peanut (I'm still trying to stretch my mind around that one, actually), but, as you can see from the little bean sitting atop this small red fruit, that is not the case. In fact, the little bean is not a bean at all. It contains a cashew! Here the cashew is called "semilla de marañon" which means the seed of the marañon. According to Esa, you cook the entire seed in a frying pan until the milk (?!) comes out and the seed is very burnt. You then chip away the outside, and, ta-da! a cashew.

I decided that since I like cashews so much, I was definitely going to like the fruit that they grow on. Here I am, all smiles, before the big taste-testing experience.

And... Here I am after the big taste-testing experience.

If I look a little queasy, that's probably because I was.

*Conclusion: just because you like sunflower seeds, does not mean you will like sunflower.

Just the Girls

Some of the girls after Sunday morning meeting. I would go through the names, but #1 I only know my own, Laura's and the girl next to her, and #2, you wouldn't remember anyway.

Laura and I with "Gasp!" matching denim jackets AND matching light up suckers. (They were bestowed on us by Esau's charitable little cousin, Ashley.)

The Zoo

A couple of Saturdays ago, Esa and I decided we needed to get out of the house, so we chose to go to the zoo. It was a new version of the standard zoo experience. :)

Buying cotton candy! From the minute we pulled into the parking lot, Esa was the classic zoo goer... the enthusiastic cotton candy-buying, picture-taking type.

This made me laugh. It says "if they can, why can't you?"

We could not believe the number of eggs this poor thing had. It kind of reminds me of the single mother who just added octuplets to her already struggling family of six.

They chose American Airlines for their trip south.

"A hedgehog!" I shouted with glee. No Katie, that would be an atelerix albiventris.

One of the stars of the zoo... a baby lion!

I thought he was very cute. I thought the woman that was desperately trying to bond with him through the glass was a little pathetic.

I don't remember what this was, but it looks ugly.

These guys read in Reader's Digest that one really MUST get 30 min. of daily physical activity. So they got in line and went around, and around,

and around, and around.

True to the guy/girl stereotype, Esa found a lot more enjoyment in the snake house than I did!

I think this is the one that was shedding his skin...

Me shooting...

...a poor, innocent, slightly blurry deer. (Esau cannot get over the fact that I deer hunt!)

The monkeys were the only reason I would go back.

Looking for something edible... This is probably the same little guy who picked up a banana peel in hopes of something tasty, sniffed it, and threw it back in disgust.

Esa teases me about being related, but I don't see the resemblance.

They even have a hammock!

By the way, I have to give Esa the picture credit for almost all of these! I really like this one.

Playing, fighting, play-fighting? One never knows.

A mama donkey and baby donkey... You could pet them and get your picture taken with them if you wanted. Another reason to go back to the zoo!

*And now for my favorite zoo memory: We paused quite awhile at the cage of the ugly monkeys with the bare red bottoms and were in for a treat. Not only did we witness the usual monkeyisms, but also a mother monkey's tight reign on her baby. He was absolutely desperate to go play, and mother was absolutely determined he was going nowhere. He would scurry away as fast as he could and she would stretch her arm out a little ways, then yank him back. He scurried away, she yanked him back, and so on.