"God will protect you"

I'm sorry this took awhile, they keep us busy here in Guatemala.
After leaving home I spent a week in Louisville, KY at the Young Adult Volunteer orientation. It was a great week of fellowship, lectures, and worship. I am really happy to be a part of such a great group of people.
We spent the first three days in Guatemala in a monastery, messing around Antigua and learning about each other. The most interesting experience there was getting hot milk with our cornflakes, sounds gross, but I'm a believer.
On the first Friday we moved to San Juan Del Obispo where we have school. Language school is... not easy. Four hours of nothing but Spanish, it's exhausting! But my teacher is so patient with me and, even though it doesnt feel like it, Im sure Im learning a lot. On Wednesday I learned the past tense, it was a big day for me! The most frustrating part of language school is that I can already say all of these things in a language that is not my own (French!). Having to start all over again is a major pain, but it's fun and going well.
My host family in San Juan is AMAZING! The mom teaches Spanish in another school, so when I come home for meals it's like more school. She talks very slowly and is always quick to correct my (many) mistakes. Sometimes I get to help her cook real Guatemalan food (Pepian, salsa, and some veggie and egg dish). SHe is wonderful . She has two sons who are very sweet to me, the younger one took me around the house and introduced me to all the pets. We have has several "conversations" about things like movies and pet rabbits. We also watch TV together, X-men and Toy Story in Spanish (by the way, Mr Potato Head is Señor Carra de Papa).
A few nights ago i went into my room and saw three rather sizeable spiders hanging out by my bed. I looked at them for awhile, deciding if I could handle this situation on my own. I decided no, and went to my host mother. "Im sorry, I know it is stupid to be afraid of small animals and spiders, but can you help me?" She went right to work with the broom, and when she was done, she said "It's ok, when I first moved here I was always afraid of everything, and you are new, so it's normal. But don't worry, God will protect you."
Our first Saturday here we decided to hike up a volcano. I made lots of nerdy jokes about destrying the ring, but let me tell you, this volcano was no joke. We got right up to the lava, just flowing away, minding its own busisness. And the top of a volcano is not stable terrain, in case you were wondering. We were climbing on these rocks, like pebbles but sharp, which were constatly sliding out from under us. It was quite the adventure.
We've been spending a lot of time in Antigua, which isnt really like the rest of Guatemala, lots of tourists and ex-pats. But it's fine for now. We Visited Ana's placement in Santiago, SO BEAUTIFUL! We are all a bit jealous.
We have also spent a lot of time learning about the civil war here. It lasted almost 40 years and just ended in 1996. Over 200,000 people were either killed or dissapeared. Entire villages were massacred. They call it La Violencia, The Violence.
Im getting really excited about getting to my placement, even though it wont be for another month. THis whole thing still seems unreal. I think part of it is beacuse the people here call me Luisa (Jane is hard to pronounce, and I dont want anybody to be uncomfertable saying my name). But it's like I'm playing this character, Luisa, who has moved to Guatemala to learn Spanish and build relationships and do all these great things. But she isnt me, or at least it seems that way now. Hopefully it will feel more real when I can speak the language a little better and I finally get to my placement.
Well, that's the news for now. I miss everyone, and hopefully I'll get a chance to update more frequently.