Family Notes

Our host family is really something else. The father and mother, Cecil and Eva, don't speak any English which can be difficult, especially when Cecil is trying to share some words of wisdom.

He's a silversmith with a shop connected to our house and from what I can gather, he likes to talk about some of the failings of modern children, including, but not limited to, young Samuel, their high school age son. We are awakened many mornings by the cry of "Samuel!!" which is audible at all parts of the house. Cecil always wears a vest, which he says make him look good, and occasionally sports an SAE fraternity jacket.

Eva cooks all our meals six days a week, often hitting the kitchen before 6 to make our 7am breakfast. There are usually 5 or 6 students in total, so each meal involves a massive amount of regular food. Most meals also involve a massive amount of black beans, which Eva relishes and Seth does not. She also sells cosmetic products out of the front room, plays the guitar, and has been known to clean the kitchen while listening to Coolio.

The oldest child, Alicia, goes to medical school in Cuba and speaks very good English. She just left for another semester, so we didn't get to know her that well. She's already completed 3 years and has 3 to go, which leads to think she must have gone straight from high school into a medical program.

Samuel is the pseudo-black sheep of the family. I think he wants to be an engineer, but right now he seems to be practicing for a career as a DJ. He'll sit at the computer for hours singing along to different kinds of music, all the while insisting that he doesn't sing.

There's one more daughter whose name and age are still unclear ... it'd be kinda awkward to ask now after living there for two weeks, so we'll have to be very clever in our inquiries. She listens to music and sings most of the time, and judging by what I hear from the headphones, she might be a prime candidate to help Alanis Morissette's music go viral in Guatemala.