A last day in Antigua to be remembered

It is quite incredible how fast a week goes by when you both study and play hard. We continued our regular schedule of 6 hours of Spanish per day, paced by the delicious meals that Dolores prepared for us. Knowing that Caroline's favorite meat is tongue, she even prepared it Guatemalan style with a coating of eggs and a spicy sauce, which was an exceptional dish. Needless to say, the three of us could not get enough of home made Guatemalan dishes. After dinner, we also introduced Eleonore to the cool spots in Antigua: cafe, gardens and others. Our best night was when we hit the Irish pub (yes, even in Antigua there is one) for the “Paca” night, which is the name of the local second hand clothes market. They had used “fashionable” clothes you could wear for thenight. As you can see, we were all really cool... 80's style!

A taste of French cuisine far away from home

To thank the Monroy family for all the delicious food they had prepared for us, we decided to cook them a French meal Friday night, our last night in Antigua. We decided to go for a hearty simple French dish, called “Hachis Parmentier”, which consists of ground beef with tomatoes and onions, covered with mashed potatoes and finally cheese, to be baked in the oven. The desert would be an Apple Pie, Alsatian style:) We went to the market and supermarket on Thursday with Melanye, who was an incredible help to find all the things we needed at the best price. Friday morning, we took our last four hours of Spanish lesson and took our teachers out for lunch to thank them for the great job they did with us. The afternoon was going to be all work: prepare the dinner in addition to a promise we had made to the girls: taking them on a motorcycle ride!

We brought the two bikes home to the family, both bikes untouched for the last two and a half weeks, ready to grant the prizes we promised. While Caroline started cooking, Chad took the kids in the neighborhood. He had a lot of success and in minutes, the bike was surrounded by 15 kids, all wanting to jump on it. After drastic prioritization, Chad started the rides. To be more efficient, he took up to three kids at a time as they all seemed to want to squeeze in rather than wait. The first question he asked: rapido (fast) or lente (slow)? Guess what the response was each time: rapido! The kids loved it, excited to be on such a huge bike, and asking for always longer and more rapido rides. It was so nice to see their faces light up on the rides and the big smile when they came back from a ride. Caroline was also requested a few times to give a ride, as the red bike was super cool too. It was such a fun time we had with the kids of the family and their neighbors. We had no idea a motorcycle is that big of a fantasy for the kids and we loved to give them a taste of what riding is about.

It is all about the hair...

Meanwhile, Caroline and the rest of the adults were preparing a meal for 13 people. It was really unique to see her explaining what to do in Spanish as her multiple sous-chefs were helping. The Hachis Parmentier was quite easy to prepare but demanding unique coordination skills when dealing with such big quantities. The Apple Pie was no small undertaking either: we made the biggest pie ever, that could feed 13, with 5 pounds of apples and 50 cm of diameter for the pie. It was by far the biggest pie Caroline ever made and it took quite a while to bake it; the result looked very good and it was hard to wait to eat it. The whole meal was a very happy moment we shared with the family: good French food, wine and great company, all the secret ingredients of a moment to be remembered;) The kids and grown up alike loved the Apple Pie as they all have very rarely pies or cake, desert not being part of a regular Guatemalan meal. Their faces, the silent while eating and then later asking if they could have more were all great rewards for the work. The most rewarding cooking experience abroad!

After dinner, the evening took an unexpected turn: soiree de Salon Haute Coiffure. Chad had wanted a haircut for a while and since the next day was back on the bike, he wanted to make sure he had the biker's short haircut. Caroline took the clippers and started the work. The kids were quite intrigued so after a few minutes, Caroline offered Melanye to do the work. Shy at first, she was easy to be convinced and use the clippers on Chad's head. She had a lot of fun, giggling as the hair was going away. She did a really good job and Caroline just had to finish with the touch ups. Chad is now ready for the road. Eleonore was looking at the salon experience and mentioned she was due for a haircut too. Caroline offered to cut her hair as well and brave Eleonore accepted (after all, Caroline knows how to cut hair but had no references on hand to prove her skills). The second customer of the evening sat on the salon chair, style and length were discussed and 30 minutes later, Eleonore had 10'' (15 cm) less hair on her head with nice bangs. Good for everyone: she loved the new do! She was ready as well to continue the trip with lighter hair, much more convenient in the heat.

That last Friday in Antigua was quite a full day and we were so glad we took the time to say goodbye to our teachers and our host family. Taking everyone for a bike ride, cooking French style for the entire family and finished with haircuts made it a quite unique and eclectic day with memories for us to keep about our almost 3 weeks in Antigua. We were both sad and excited to go back on our bikes the next day and continue our journey. We will see how it goes as we will have to drive through the capital city, known for its crazy drivers, as we will be driving north towards the Honduras border.