Christmas Shopping

Can you believe we are only 3 weeks away from Christmas, I can't. These past few month have gone so fast, but we are very excited to be home for Christmas in 18 days! Because it is so close to Christmas I thought I would take advantage of the great markets here and buy all our gifts here. I went with four other girls for the weekend to a neat little town called Panajachel on Lake Atitlan. We left Saturday around noon and returned early this afternoon. Pana is known for it's market and great buys. Not only did I get all but two gifts bought, but I also got to see one of the prettiest lakes in the world. I had a fun time practicing my Spanish while bartering with the vendors. I was able to get almost all prices in half from what they originally asked, which is pretty common, but it was a fun time.
I was also lucky enough to meet up with some old friends for just a short time Sunday morning. Joel and Cerrita are in Guatemala practicing Spanish and visiting another friend. It was great to see some familiar faces again and catch up a little.
Tony spent the weekend with the other guys from school and they had a "guys weekend." I am not sure what that all involved, but they had a great time:)
This week will be full of preparing finals, more Christmas shopping and just wrapping up the semester. I have chapel this week in the middle school. I am planning a two week exploration of Christmas songs, their history, what their lyrics really mean and then of course lots of singing, I think it will be a good experience for the kids and me!!
I hope all of you back home are enjoying the snow, we will be home soon!