Friday the 28^th 

Normally Guatemala is a 6 hour flight, but due to bad weather and rescheduling it took me two days!  The first week is always a bit stressful with getting settled in and I have already started teaching my yoga classes.   

Yesterday, Glenda and her husband Oswaldo surprised my with a visit.  Glenda is one of my Spanish teachers and the first women that I helped to create revenue in Guatemala. 

With young children Glenda wanted to start a home business renting rooms and cooking for foreigners visiting Antigua.  The winter of 2010 I was her first tenant, my commitment to stay at her house for three months and the home accessories that I brought allowed her to purchase a bed and construct a bedroom.  She lives in a poor community outside of Antigua and now has two rooms for rent with private bathrooms!  Next week I will be starting my sewing project and Spanish classes with Glenda and feel pretty good about my developing possibilities and connections! 

She saw my ikat fabric sample that I want to sew the dresses with and suggested buying the fabric directly from the Mayan women at the market.  Purchasing fabric from a textile factory would not help the indigenous population, so I guess I am going to the market today!