there´s nothing quite like the fear you feel as you watch the scenery rush by while you ride a seemingly out of control chicken bus along a steep, narrow, windy mountain road.

we walked along a dirt road, hiked into a wooded valley, and walked around the mountain some more until we ended up in a tiny village where we were to build our stoves. we first visited a home where the stove had recently been finished, and watched as ana gave instructions on how to use the stove. then, we came to another house where we were given machetes and told to cut bricks in half. tammy mixed cement with her hands and laughed at seeing me do manual labor with my french manicure.

tram and i went to another house to start another stove. we were given new machetes and cut cinder blocks for an hour. then, we got our hands dirty grabbing fistfuls of cement and putting together the base of the stove. it was strangely relaxing.

fearful of the food and lack of clean water, we skipped out on lunch with the family and opted instead for doritos and cookies. maynor ended up getting sick from the food, so we were doubly glad we didn´t eat with him.

back at home, tammy came over for some hot chocolate.

after we showered the dust, cement, and grime away, tram and i got ready for our big night out. we broke out our makeup for the first time in guatemala, and put on nice clothes for a change.

we met cathy, liz, theresa, oscar, emma, and bryan at royal paris, a french cafe with live cuban music from ¨el sombrero negro¨.  after desserts and coffee, we ended up at kokolocos, the nearby salsa/merengue/whatever discotecque.