A Rooster Welcomes Me to Guatemala

Yesterday Bruce and I arrived in Guatemala, currently in Panajachel, staying at the hotel Casa Colonial. It's not yet open to guests, but family members can use certain rooms until achieving permanent lodgings.

My husband is sitting out on the balcony (pictured on my blog header) reading. We are happy to be here but disappointed in our supposedly International phone service with Verizon. In other words, no service. Which bothers Bruce because the phone is how he does his major work with WiDo. And bothers me because I want to text my kids and say "We are here!"

But I have my laptop, the Internet, paper and pens. And there's a Mormon church down the street we plan to attend this morning. Although the services will of course be in Spanish, we'll feel right at home.

We woke up at dawn to a rooster crowing, followed by the symphony of many birds soon after--different bird sounds than what I'm used to in North America. I look forward to learning what they are.

The rooster's welcome call (exactly how it felt to me) I recognized with no trouble at all. It is the familiar signal, at least to this Nebraska farm girl's daughter, of home and family and land and productivity. Hearing it made me think, I'm home.