Denton & Kay Rogers & Family

Back in January 30th 2011 the Temple close for 2 weeks to be cleaned; so I decided to go to Antigua to study Spanish. Two sister from the Temple, Hermana Wright, y Hermana Fletcher, decided they wanted to go with me so I made all the arrangements. Carol Mask told me I should work through a friend of theirs, Manuel because that is what he does for a living. So he arranged for us to stay with a Mormon widow, Hermana Alonzo, and her daughter. She would also cook meals for us. They lived very close to the school we would attend so we would just be able to walk over and it would be GREAT! I don't really know what I expected but it was NOT what we got!!! It became very clear that this was going to be an adventure. Manuel picked us up at the CCM and drove us up to Antigua. When we arrived at the house we walked in the front door right into a table where we would be eating our meals, that was the dinning room. A counter top behind was the kitchen. Our bedroom was up some stairs that had NOT been finished, rough concrete and no railing. Hermana Wright and I shared a room with two twin beds and Hermana Fletcher chose to have the room by herself because she didn't sleep much at night. We took our suit cases up the stairs and then asked where the bathroom was. It was down the stairs, through the kitchen and outside on the back patio!!! A little roon No bigger than a tiny closet!! It had a toilet, a sink right next to the toilet, so close you could was your hands while sitting on the toilet. The shower had ALL KINDS of open wires running overhead. These wires were to help bring in hot water of which there was VERY little. When you turned on the shower the water went EVERYWHERE and soaked the whole bathroom plus the towel you had brought in to dry off with. I just stood there and laughed wondering how I could get back up stairs and get dry. I always have to go to the bathroom at least once a night and it was a REAL trip getting to the bathroom, outside. in the middle of the night. Then it came time to blow dry your hair and Hermana Alonzo did not want you using your blow dryer because it used too much electricity. Are you kidding me!!! We had to find a beauty shop and have our hair washed and dried!!!!!
On the first day after we had unpacked and used the bathroom we went down for our first meal. it was beans, eggs, water and fresh bread. Very typical but not really what I wanted. WE visited with Hermana Alonzo and one of her daughters for a while and then went up to bed.

Got in bed and couldn't sleep because there were FIREWORKS going on all around us, the dogs were barking, for hours!! Hermana's son had come over and was building something on the back patio and hammered until midnight. At 4:40 in the morning a rooster from across the street started waking up the world. It was cold and I wondered how school was going to be!! What had I gotten us all into?