We finished our Spanish classes yesterday. For the past 5 days we have taken classes. My instructors were Reginaldo and Rodolfo, brothers from Ocosingo who grew up on a farm. Rodolfo is trained as an attorney, but he supplements his income by teaching English. At 7:00 John and I had intercambio. This is where people who are learning English come to the school to listen to our halting Spanish, while we listen to their (better) English. My "intercambia" was Ileana (who may be reading this - hi!). The teaching method was very effective and I made progress but still not enough to converse fluently. Ileana and her sister, Araceli are students. Ileana is at a University in Tuxla Gutierrez and is studying Electronic Engineering. Araceli met with me one night, but had a cold, as do many people here, so her sister met with me. Araceli is studying Hispanic Literature and Linguistics. They both seemed so intelligent and hard-working, but I think it is difficult to obtain work after graduation.

It was fun to come to the school and sit in the sunshine in the patio, warming up from the cold mornings, with groups of Mexican instructors and students from the U.S. and Canada.

Yesterday morning we went to the market to buy 2 pineapples as gifts to my instructors. It was packed with people preparing for New Year's Eve. Women wearing black furry skirts and satin blue and green blouses with embroidery, often with a baby tied to their side, were holding live chickens tied together by their feet - doomed to be dinner. Some were holding huge live turkeys. Men stood with cards of watches calling "relojes". In the market, since it is mainly for local shoppers, there was no one trying to sell us anything. Inside the market there are low tarps over the walkways so I have to duck. There are piles of mandarines in little buckets, vegetables, herbs and flowers. We bought carrots, which are delicious, and of course, 2 pineapples.

Tomorrow we are going to take a bus for 5 hours over some high mountains to Palenque where prehistoric ruins are near a small tourist town. I think we will go on to a town called Panchan where they have little bungalows in the forest, where I read you can hear howler monkeys at night. Hasta Luego.