Ground Hog Day - the first month

Ruins at San Francisco Cathedral c. 1700

As we have reflected on our first month in Antigua, we are reminded of the movie Ground Hog Day. In the movie, Bill Murray must repeat the same day over and over until he gets it right. This is painfully similar to our life in language school. Here is a general picture of a day in the life of a Spanish student:

6:00 - 6:15 - Wake up and start shower schedule
6:45 - 7:15 - Scrounge up breakfast - usually cereal, bagels or toast.
7:30 - 7:45 - Walk to school
8:00 - 10:00 - Learn new vocabulary, conjugate verbs and TRY to converse like a 3-year old in Spanish.
10:00 - 10:30 - Snack break
10:30 - 12:00 - More Spanish class (kids work on homeschool work)
12:15 - Walk home to make lunch - usually sandwiches or leftovers
1:00 - 2:00 - Mandatory rest time - recharge brains
2:00 - 5:00 - Misc activities for kids, but mostly Spanish homework for L & A.
5:00 - 7:00 - Make dinner, eat and wash dishes
7:00 - Kids get showers, sometimes Skype friends & family
8:30 - Kids in bed reading, L & A reading books or email
9:45 - 10:00 - lights out
REPEAT Monday through Friday. (you might also note that all the above activities include all four of us being together ALL the time - 24/7!) Maybe one day we will get it right and can move on to the next thing.

Sometimes, it feels exactly like the day before except MAYBE we got a few more right answers in Spanish class than the day before. We do get a small amount of variety in the daily schedule. For example, at least once a week we eat lunch out and then go to the supermarket for the week's groceries. It always seems to be pouring down rain when we leave the store - so Lee hails a couple of tuk-tuks (taxis) and we bounce home. On Sundays - instead of language school, we go to Spanish/English church. Then we have lunch with Jared & Joy - our new friends in Antigua.

This is a tuk-tuk (taxi)

Despite the sameness of our daily schedule - we have managed to have a few new experiences in the mix. We have explored many different areas of Antigua. We have shared some meals with new friends. One day, we went to the market and bought bikes for Lee and the kids. (Then walked them home in the pouring rain) The boys walked up the hill above Antigua to the Cross on the hill. We have toured some really beautiful ruins and ancient buildings.

Parker & Anna Kate on their new bikes!

El mercado at San Francisco

Close up of carved angel in ruins from 1700's

Please don't believe the above ramblings to be a rant or a complaint. We are really enjoying the experience of living in Antigua. This is a wonderful place to transition our family into the culture. We love school, even if it is really hard! The Lord has some very special purposes to accomplish during this time. He is challenging us, changing us, refining us. This isn't always comfortable, but we are humbled to be in the process of chasing after Him and his call on our family. Not to us - but to His name be the glory forever!

Healthcare in Guate....pay attention America!

Well - we have had another new experience on this wild adventure to Guatemala. Lee and Anna Kate have both had a nasty cough for several days. We know with all the rain and damp conditions its not likely to go away on its own, but rather get worse. SO - we made the decision to go see a doctor. YIKES! Where do I start on all the reservations I have about this prospect.
Let me just say that I am seriously prejudiced against most doctors that are not our beloved pediatrician from home. We love him and I hate seeing other doctors who always pale in comparison to his calm, friendly, knowledgeable bed-side manner. I was dreading this experience.
Lee's Spanish teacher helped us get an appointment with her pediatrician for Anna Kate and the school recommended a doctor for Lee, but we had to just walk in without an appointment. When we walked into the doctor for Lee, the waiting room was open to the outside where it was POURING down rain. The waiting room consisted of one receptionist at a small desk and several plastic outdoor chairs and of course the waiting room magazines. (Side note - they had a huge stack of American Airlines in-flight magazines in English - I read at least four!) Praise the Lord - the receptionist could speak enough English to tell us that the doctor was at an emergency and would be back around 5:00 pm.
We walked around the corner and went to the pediatrician's office. He shares office space with a dentist and an OB. Nothing in this waiting room looked like a waiting room in the US. It was old, dingy and NOT sterile. If I went to this pediatrician in the US, I would promptly turn around and leave and then bathe everyone in hand sanitizer. I like my doctors office clean, pristine and sterile. It's funny how your attitude changes when the options are limited. We waited a while and then the doctor himself called AK and I into his office. You see, his office and the exam room are one and the same. We sat by his desk and Praise Jesus he could speak just enough English too! He asked the normal questions, he weighed her and measured his height, etc. He did all this himself - no nurse! Most of his equipment for examining her came right out the laptray drawer of his desk. He checked her out, said she just needed a good cough medicine to knock it out. Surprisingly, I was pleased with the experience. He was warm, interested and thorough. He gave us a cough medicine from his unlocked cabinet next to his desk. We paid for the appointment and walked out the door.
We returned to the other doctor's office and waited for his return. He arrived a little after 5:00 and he took Lee back to his office. Again, he did all the work - no nurse. He spoke English well and was very warm. He took great care of Lee, prescribed some meds for the cough and irritated throat. Meanwhile, I was in the waiting room with the wild indians. (Parker & AK) At this point, we had been out and about for several hours and they were bored out of their minds - not sure why I didn't think to bring a book or games to play. I kept thinking - this is taking forever. Well, Lee struck up an interesting conversation with the doc. The doctor is also a local pastor of a church - which makes him a very busy man. He teaches Crown Ministries at his church as well as some parenting and family ministry classes. He recommended some great materials to Lee. They had a very interesting conversation about the culture here and how that effects ministry among the indigenous people. He really enjoyed meeting the doctor and felt he got excellent personal care.
We walked a few blocks to the Farmacia (pharmacy) and purchased the prescribed meds. Here is the big kicker - when all the receipts were added up for two office visits and meds - it only cost $80. That's all up and in - no co-pay. Back in the US - we would have spent more than $80 just paying for co-pays on the office visit and the prescription co-pays. (For those wondering about our insurance - we do have insurance, but we won't submit these minor incidents for reimbursement. It drives the cost of our premiums up. We will use our insurance for emergency or major medical expenses.) Anyway - I was astounded that we got excellent care for such a small cost. Perhaps I won't miss the medical community in America as much as I thought. Nationalized healthcare might have something to learn from the small independent doctors of the less-developed nations.
Lee and AK are already on the mend - both slept well last night with no coughing. Just another day in a foreign land...the adventure continues...we continue to learn and grow....the Lord continues to provide and care for us. Blessings on you our dear friends and family!

La Cocinera de Guatemala

Today we had a really fun cultural experience. Our Spanish teachers, Carola and Magaly came to our apartment for lunch. They prepared an authentic Guatemala meal for our family.

After Carola tortured me with zillions of new verbs to conjugate in past tense, she and I walked to the tienda/tortillera. This is a little shop around the corner from school that sell fresh, handmade corn tortillas. I was mesmerized watching a young woman make the tortillas. She would grab a small fist of dough, wet her fingers, then pat-pat-pat into a perfectly round tortilla. She would slap them on the flat grill and flip them with her bare hands. She made 30 or more in matter of minutes.
With tortillas in hand, we all embarked on the 15 minute journey to our apartment. We had the most incredible weather this morning, so it was a very pleasant walk - even if we did have to practice Spanish all the way home. Once we arrived, Magaly and Carola took over the small cocina (kitchen). They made us a traditional Guatemalan dish called hilachas. This is similar to a beef and vegetable stew. They brought arroz (rice) which was similar to rice pilaf - it had some small vegetables in the rice. They served the hilachas over the rice. Hilachas is shredded carne (beef), zanahorias and papas (carrots and potatoes). The broth is made from pureed tomate, tomatillos, onions, and garlic. You eat this stew with the corn tortillas and salsa picante (hot green salsa). It was so delicious. Our kids licked their plates clean.
We also tried two traditional Guatemalan drinks. Horchata - which is made from rice and tastes really sweet. I did not enjoy this very much, because it looks like milk. My mind couldn't get past the idea of milk. So it just didn't taste right for it to be super sweet. Lee was kind enough to drink plenty of it. The other drink is called Jaimaica (pronounced Hy-my-ca) This is made from flowers grown in Jamaica. The dried flower petals are boiled and steeped in water. Then you add more water and plenty of sugar. It was very tasty!!

Angel, Carola, Magaly, Anna Kate & Parker

We really enjoyed the time with our teachers. They are precious gifts from the Lord. They are truly gifted in their profession and genuinely love what they are doing. We are blessed.

A virtual tour of our home in Antigua

This past week we made a short video of our home in Antigua.  It is a great home for our four months in language school.  We are a short walk to both school and church.  Parker and Anna Kate have made friends with the other kids in the apartment buildings.  Today they were all playing badminton and our kids were keeping score and cheering each other on in Spanish.  We are blessed that they have made some new friends so quickly.

We miss seeing all of you!!!

http://vimeo.com/14228184

Exploring Antigua

Over the weekend, we decided to do some exploring. We took the camera and walked in the eastern district of Anitgua. We had never walked this area before. We told the kids to snap pictures of anything they thought was interesting. We let them each pick their favorite photo and write a short blog about it. (Of course, this is a homeschool assignment - have to take advantage of the something different for a writing exercise.) We decided to do this every weekend while we are in Antigua. At the end of our time here, we might make a coffee table photo book or something with all the beautiful shots and blog entries. Here is what we found this weekend.....

(Anna Kate)
One day we went for a walk and took a bunch of pictures. My favorite was the one of a water cannon on ruins. This building was built in 1694.  We could see a pretty garden through the gate.   The water cannon was actually a rainspout. It looked like an animal.  There was a plant growing on the waterspout. It looked cool.

The entrance gate of this ruin was built in 1694

The garden courtyard inside

Water cannon (rainspout) and plant

(Parker)
One day dad and I walked to Cerro de la Cruz or Hill of the Cross in English. It wouldn't have been nearly as fun without my dad. We got to take some cool pictures you can look at. It was a really long walk, if I hadn't brought my Camelbak water bottle, I probably would have melted into a puddle. We got to the top to be greeted by a great view of the entire city and ....bugs. From up there we saw a bunch of red roofs, about 4 ruins and a dome that looked like a space observatory. We could almost see our apartment complex but some trees were in the way. The girls stayed home - I don't know what they did. We had the best dinner called Fiesta Casserole or Dirty Rice whatever you prefer to call it. It was a fun day.

View of Cerro de la Cruz from Antigua

Dome of a cathedral

The Cross on the hill is a great point of reference - due North from anywhere in Antigua.

Hope you enjoy these views and thoughts on exploring Antigua.

La Escuela de Espanol

Todo lo puedo en Cristo que me fortalece. Filipenses 4:13
Translation - I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Phillipians 4:13

This verse has never been more true for us. We can only learn this language because Christ is in us and he gives us the strength of mind to understand and the strength of spirit to persevere. Our first week of language school has been intense to say the least. We spend 4 hours a day one-on-one with our individual teachers learning to speak, read and write en Espanol. By noon each day we are wrecked!

For those of you who know me (Angel) you will be shocked to hear about my new life. I have always been a crack of nine kind of girl - aka NOT a morning person. My best hours of the day are from 10 am to 2 pm. Well, imagine my dismay to realize the sun rises at the ungodly hour of 5:45 am. We sleep about 2 feet away from an open window and by 6:15-6:30 it is full on daylight in every room of the house. You might be wondering why I don't sleep with dark curtains or sun-blocking shades - did I mention there is no air conditioning in Guatemala. We have never been in a building that had AC. SO - all the windows stay open, therefore we are awakened with the chickens.....and roosters and dogs and did I mention that every other day they ignite fireworks to celebrate birthdays...at 4:30 AM!!!! What is wrong with this culture. Surely they can find better things to do than wake the world with fireworks....LIKE SLEEP!

First day of school 2010 

Actually, this new routine is good because we have to be at school by 8:00 am. YES, people I am showered, dressed, fed and walking to school by 8:00 everyday. We walk about 8-9 blocks to school each morning. Lee and I have 4 hours of language training and the kids have 2 hours. For the other 2 hours, they sit at a nearby table and do their homeschool work. After school we walk home, have lunch and mandatory rest time. Then we all do our homework. This routine seems to be working very well for all of us.

Learning a new language is intense. I hate grammar in English, now I have to learn it in Spanish too! We are amazed at what we have learned this first week. Before we started on Monday, we knew maybe 50 - 75 vocabulary words. Now we can conjugate the 5 most common verbs, we have learned a couple hundred vocabulary words and can put together some basic sentences and questions. We have found that reading is the easiest. We are getting much better at listening and understanding, but getting it out of my mouth is a whole different ball game. As I am talking, I am mentally going through each verb file and looking for the right form, tense and gender specification. I love that English doesn't have masculine/feminine words. Everything in the sentence doesn't have to change because the subject is feminine. YIKES! It's gets complicated.

Language school is pretty intense - fortunately, we have 4 months to focus on nothing but immersion of Espanol. The Lord has blessed us with this window of opportunity to really get good language skills under our belts. We know that the key to our ministry is relationships and the key to relationships is communication. Without the hard work right now, we cannot get to the next work God is already preparing for us. Thank you for your prayers and your support that allow us to pursue this calling in our lives.
Blessings,
ar

Strange and New

My apologies in the delay of posting this blog. I wrote this several days ago, but we have been consumed with our first week of language school. So here is an update - a few days late.

The last few days have been filled with many strange and new adventures... after the marathon trip to the "Super Target," we actually cooked our first meal at home. It can be tricky figuring out how to cook and wash dishes without using the tap water. We made spaghetti - a pretty easy and safe meal to begin with. We have to be careful - any fruits or vegetables that will be prepared for the meal have to be soaked in order to kill any bacteria on the food. So food preparation takes longer than usual. There are no dishwashers in Guatemala so we have to wash by hand - which I don't mind, but it gets complicated with boiling water, adding bleach and how do you rinse in a single sink?? We decided to wash in the sink and rinse in a bucket. Both bucket and sink have to include a small amount of bleach to kill any bacteria. It has to sit for 30 minutes in order for the bleach to be effective, which means you have to add a pot of boiling water to the sink so that the water is warm for washing. It gets tricky and everything takes longer to do, but we are continuing to refine the process.

In our kitchen there is a small step up - maybe 3 inches. The tile makes it very hard to see the step up. One of our first couple nights here, I walked into the kitchen and smashed my big toe into that step. It was excruciating. Well, the very next night I did the same thing to the same toe. I am amazed my toe isn't broken. I immediately burst into tears - not sure from physical pain or emotional?? Probably both! Anyway - while I was still crying and trying not to curse like a sailor, my sweet precious children made signs to post on the steps and counter - alerting all passersby of the step. It was so sweet of them to look out for the mama, and the good news is that we have not had anymore stubbed toes to date.

Anna Kate standing on the step with her warning signs.

The other day, we tackled another first. We washed laundry. We are blessed to have a washer and dryer in our apartment, but electricity in Guate is very expensive. So - we washed the laundry in the machine and hung it on the clothesline - OUTSIDE - I was mortified to hang my skivees out for God and everyone to see. We finished them in the dryer for a couple minutes so they are soft - and it began to rain!

Hanging laundry together, hoping it won't rain anytime soon.

Here is what cracks me up - at home in the good ole USA, Lee never goes to the grocery store, he helps in the kitchen because he wants to, not because he has to; and he rarely does laundry. I have happily managed those areas of our home. But here - all these tasks take more time and thought to accomplish. You can't just throw a load of laundry or dishes in the washer and forget about it. You have to think through what you're doing - it takes both of us to get these menial chores completed. I know in the weeks to come, we will find a groove and these things will become second nature. But for now, it is fun to be co-laborers as we figure out this strange but new world.

Day One in Antigua

                                           The Ruins of Santa Rosa Cathedral

                                          Vulcan Agua as viewed from our balcony

We know that many of you were praying for us yesterday as we traveled to Guatemala. We arrived mid-afternoon with all of our 17 pieces of luggage. We cleared customs and airport security without a hitch. The Lord was kind and gracious with his traveling mercies.

Our first comical sight - 4 people and 17 bags in 782 square feet of microscopic apartment. It's a big change from the Brown Mansion in Marietta. I think this apartment would fit in their garage. Joking aside, I think it is going to be a great home for us. I just finished unpacking and everything seems to have a place.

Another big difference in this place and our previous abode is the lack of climate control in the apartment. The light shines around the door frame, most but not all of the windows have screens, and most are open through out the day. We have a few small friends living among us - mostly the six-legged varieties. Since it is the rainy season, we have cool but damp temperatures. It feels like we are camping in the rain. Last night, I could hear the dogs barking and see plenty of light coming through our open windows. Fortunately, we were so exhausted it did not prevent us from sleeping.

We woke up to the most amazing views of Antigua and Vulcan Agua from our balcony. The ruins of Santa Rosa church are just on the other side of our courtyard wall. Life is going to be different here, no doubt. We are blessed to be in such a lovely setting as we begin the transition.

Our first mission today - find the grocery store and get some food. Well - lucky me we found the La Bodegona. I call it Super Target for short. We had a varied list of food and non-food items. We had no clue where to find the non-food items - like a laundry basket, coffee pot, cereal bowls etc. The grocery store went on and on and twisted through the whole block. It was crazy!! The aisles were so tight, we couldn't get the small cart down many of them. The store had a really insane layout - twists, turns, ramps up and down, cement floor, tile floor, linoleum. Good news - we found several unexpected surprises. For instance - sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, and a huge side of beef hanging in the middle of the store. I had to send Lee over to get the ground beef - it was a little too much for my senses. As we wound through the recesses of the store we found a container section where we bought a laundry basket, an appliance section where we purchased a coffee pot and a dinnerware section where we bought cereal bowls. We were able to purchase everything on the list in one place. Thank you Jesus for the Guatemala version of Super Target.

We debriefed the adventure at our favorite McDonald's with a spectacular view of the volcano. Our first day in Guatemala has been eye-opening, nose-offending, scenic, crazy, productive and satisfying. Wonder what tomorrow will bring....

Walking In My Father's Footsteps

The 4Radfords had the opportunity to spend one incredible week at St. Simon's Island off of the coast of Georgia.  It was a week of relaxing and focusing on one another.  Vacation was a welcome change of pace after 9 months of selling our home, moving twice, selling two cars, having the "world's largest" garage sale, taking 18 college students to Guatemala, raising support (thank you Lord and supporters), and making endless plans and decisions.  

As a husband and a dad it was a very special time for me to focus on Angel and the kids.  We laughed, we ate seafood, we played monopoly (Anna Kate beat me mercilessly).  But most of all we just spent endless hours together.

I had one of the those rare but special dad moments while walking on the beach with Parker.  It did not start out as a father/son moment, but I did seize the opportunity to connect deeply with him while the girls were off playing together.  We walked along a stretch of beach that I had played on as a 15 year old.  Over the last few beach vacations Parker has taught himself to skim board.  Check out the video below.  I told Parker that as a 15 year old I had skim boarded on the very stretch of beach that he was skimming on.  He looked at me and said - "I am walking in my father's footsteps, literally.  That is pretty cool."

I was in awe.  While Parker is an incredibly bright kid and he continually blows me away with what he says, he is at the end of the day a 10 year old.

His statement made me stop and realize the importance of playing the role of dad.  He is watching (and I am certain that Anna Kate is as well) and he is taking notes.  It was a spiritual gut check that made me question if I am doing enough to disciple my kids.

Are you a ripper or a peeler?

At some point in our lives all of us have to determine whether we are rippers or peelers, right? When you have to remove a bandaid, do you rip it off and get it over with immediately? OR do you gently and slowly peel it off in hopes of gradually reducing the pain. I have always been a ripper. Just get it over with already. I have no mercy for wimps who can't take the pain.  My poor children have had to endure the merciless habits of a mother who rips bandaids, yanks loose teeth and refuses sympathy to malingerers. (Bless their hearts, I am sure they will need some therapy in adulthood)

This process of leaving home often feels like the slow peeling of the stickiest bandaid. Recently, I have mumbled to the Lord that I would like to just be done with packing and letting go and packing and saying good bye and more packing! Can we just go already! Yet - I know that the Lord knows much better than I what I truly need. Fortunately, He is much more merciful than I. He knows that it is in my best interest to take this process of leaving slowly and in stages.

It reminds me of transplanting a tree. An older tree (35-40 year old trees) requires great care in removal from one location to another. They have deep roots that need special care. Young trees have shallow, smaller roots. It's a quick and easy job to dig it up and transplant to a new location. A mature tree requires more equipment, more time, more attention to detail. The successful transplant of a tree with deep roots is not easily accomplished.

We just returned from a visit to Florida where we enjoyed some time with my family. We spent a day at the beach on Anna Maria Island - love the feel of sand in my toes, blue green waters and a good book. Nothing better! Parker was obsessed with celebrating the 4th of July in Florida. He knows that two of his favorite people - Big Daddy and Uncle Larry love to blow things up as much and he and Lee love it. We were crushed when a major thunderstorm was unloading at 8:00 pm. The dream was salvaged as the rain eased up enough for a drippy fireworks display around 10:00. On Tuesday, we had a beautiful day at a water park and celebrated Lee's birthday. We are blessed to have some great fun and good memories with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Alas, Wednesday morning came and it was time to say goodbye. The bandaid gets tugged a little more. One more offering to lay at the foot of the cross...

I am realizing that because we have such deep roots, and mature relationships that it takes time to remove ourselves from this life in the US. Our ability to thrive in a new garden will depend on the care taken in extracting our roots from the soil here. Thank you Lord for knowing what is  best! Thank you for the deep and meaningful relationships we have at home. Thank you for blessing us and keeping us through the transplant process. We love you and praise you for these growth opportunities.
For you glory alone,
ar

Anna Kate and cousin Lauren

Olivia, Parker, Lauren & Anna Kate

FUN in the SUN!!