¡Buenas Tardes!

Hola mis amigos y la familia. I´ve already heard from people who wanted to know if I made it safely, so here you go.
I arrived in Guatemala City on Saturday and was swiftly taken in a taxi to the bus station. In the waiting room, I watched Spanish television and wondered just what in the hell I thought I was doing. The bus ride was just over four hours to Xela. My neck hurt when I arrived from looking out the window the entire time (intensified by a couple of cat naps no doubt). The terrain in Guatemala really is stunning. Lots of lush vegetation, mountains, and trees. And tons of farm land too. One of the first observations I made was the constant push of sales. People are selling stuff everywhere! The bus even allowed people to jump on when we entered their town, hawk their goods, and then disembark soon after. A lot of it was junk, some of it was handmade stuff, and my personal interest was the food. I ate something really delicious, and I have no idea what it was. All I know was that my choices were ¨pollo¨or ¨chile¨and I opted for the chile. It was some corn based fried patty with lots of chiles and other vegetables wrapped in two fresh tortillas. Que delicioso! And only 5 quetzales (about 65c).
Finally I arrived in Xela, but unfortunately the school was closed because they took a trip to Lake Atitlan for the weekend. So, as suggested, I went around the corner to Casa Argentina, the hostel. I stayed in my own room with a private bathroom, and it was honestly kind of a nice way to unwind. Alone & quietly. Yesterday, I was introduced to my host family, and I really like them already. Carmen is the mother, and she is very sweet. And patient. And a great cook! It´s weird still not preparing food for myself, but I really like the food she makes. Daniel is the father, and he is also very interesting. Very friendly, and he works at a local factory that makes Gallo, the local & very popular cerveza, and juice, two of my favorite beverages, so I think we´re going to get along just great! They´re young too, about 35. Y tambien, Daniela is their 8-year-old daughter. She´s very enthusiastic to have me around, and we get along great. She´s very cute, and also very patient with my Spanish. No one in my family speaks a lick of English, so currently our conversations are quite basic, but it´s great incentive to practice a lot. I want to know them better.
Man, it´s been crazy speaking Spanish exclusively. Honestly, writing this thing is kind of fun. It makes me feel calm because I don´t have to think about (& translate) every single word I say. Plus, it doesn´t make my brain tired. I kind of feel like I´m cheating to be perfectly honest.
And today was also my first day of school. My maestro´s name is Miriam, and she´s very sweet. It´s cool because we´re the same age, so I think it helps us communicate better. Plus, she laughs at me, which makes me feel better.
Anyway, I feel very comfortable here, and I´m glad for that. In general, the people on the streets are very calm and welcoming. And also there are a number of other gringos (because there are lots of other Spanish schools), so I don´t feel like I´m totally the odd, tall lady out.
I hope all is well with everyone, and I look forward to hearing about your adventures too!