Friday, June 29, 2007
Changes!
There are a few changes on the horizon this weekend to mention:
My dearest companions are leaving for Honduras
I am MOVING!! This one I am most excited about. I have the same anticipation and feelings I had when I moved in with this family. Although I´ve very much appreciated and somewhat enjoyed the hospitality with my host family, I am looking forward to a) no curfew b) having an outlet to actually practice my Spanish (my current family is indegenious and their native language is Kiche, therefore, their Spanish is not so bueno) and c) living next to Corinne in a new part of town! We will be neighbors and it is a pretty centralized location, still in Zona 1 and still near the central park areas.
I finished my final Spanish class today with Tonia. She was GREAT!!! I loved working with her and she stuffed me full of information today to practice and use for the next 3 weeks with the ninos at EDLAC. I´m going to work a lot with my new host mom on practicing the conditional and future tenses in spanish. I am having trouble with indirect object but hopefully that will change with more practice. I figure as I´m teaching the basics to the little ones it can only improve my own Spanish.
Not sure of my plans this weekend as Corinne and Ben are headed to Fuentes Georginas (the hotsprings around here) for Saturday and Ben is departing from Xela on Sunday. I have loved having him here!
Here are more pictures but this time they are of my favorites in Guatemala: favorite views, favorite people and favorite places to study. Enjoy. Descriptions to come...some time ;)
My dearest companions are leaving for Honduras
I am MOVING!! This one I am most excited about. I have the same anticipation and feelings I had when I moved in with this family. Although I´ve very much appreciated and somewhat enjoyed the hospitality with my host family, I am looking forward to a) no curfew b) having an outlet to actually practice my Spanish (my current family is indegenious and their native language is Kiche, therefore, their Spanish is not so bueno) and c) living next to Corinne in a new part of town! We will be neighbors and it is a pretty centralized location, still in Zona 1 and still near the central park areas.
I finished my final Spanish class today with Tonia. She was GREAT!!! I loved working with her and she stuffed me full of information today to practice and use for the next 3 weeks with the ninos at EDLAC. I´m going to work a lot with my new host mom on practicing the conditional and future tenses in spanish. I am having trouble with indirect object but hopefully that will change with more practice. I figure as I´m teaching the basics to the little ones it can only improve my own Spanish.
Not sure of my plans this weekend as Corinne and Ben are headed to Fuentes Georginas (the hotsprings around here) for Saturday and Ben is departing from Xela on Sunday. I have loved having him here!
Here are more pictures but this time they are of my favorites in Guatemala: favorite views, favorite people and favorite places to study. Enjoy. Descriptions to come...some time ;)
Thursday, June 28, 2007
The water slide
I only bring this up because I got shit for not remembering it in my post about Tikal....friends here would consider this to be one of the best memories we had on our weekend excursion...so here goes:
At the zoo, off the island of Las Flores, there were actually 2 very large water slides available to zoo-goers who were interested in twisting and turning and dumping into the lake. Fun right?? Hmmm...
First things´s first, the slide must have water. So we turn on the water and oh! we find none other than a giant snake on one of the slides. This prompts the zoo guide-guy to remove it of course because you can´t have 26 Americans and 1 Swede heading down a slide with a snake on it! No! The snake should be in the water where they land!
Next: switch to alternative slide where there are no snakes but it seems that we now have a water pressure problem. Imagine if you will a giant water slide that hasn´t seen water in probably some time and the water that is coming down is a slow trickle so that it dries before the first turn. I know this is tough to imagine...but bear with me...
Next: American girl (we´ll call her Rachel...the one...the only) graciously decides ¨Hey! I´ll be the first volunteer to go down!¨ I say graciously because we just witnessed the snake incident and this slide hadn´t been fully inspected for life, therefore, she would encounter it, if any, on her way down.
So: Rachel climbs aboard...bathing suit and all and launches herself. We hear the sweet sound of ass being scraped against the tube. She stands up, a little bit of the slide still attached to her ass and she walkes to the turn...we figure if she passes the turn she´ll go down the rest of the way right?? Well...not really. She ended up taking a nice, curvy walk down the slide at which point i believe she launched herself into the lake.
Ok: We give it ago again, but this time a few of our trip friends had an idea to fill up an empty trash can (oh yeah...a random trash can found in a random Guatemalan zoo) with water to assist Rachel in her 2nd attempt down the slide. So...plan: fill it with water and send it with her...you know that extra ¨push¨ idea. Actual: the trash can has holes---that´s ok we´ll chew gum and cover the holes! Good--gum works.
Rachel and trash can water make their way ¨easier¨ this time and we hear a splash! woo! At this point slide 1 is free and clear of reptile or otherwise life and we think, as a group, we should give it a try. Rachel decides to try this one out too and by no means do we argue for a) she´s been in the lake twice now and b) we just saw a snake come off of it...no one was lining up. So Rachel goes and it was successful! She even said it was fast at the end...we didn´t believe her. She goes again...only this time she´s literally flying down the thing so fast that we could hear the echo of her splash back up the slide...WHAT!?!?
Another person in the group decides to go and on his knees (we have no idea why) and we hear a huge splash...ok! this is a water slide...in a zoo! Corinne goes next...it takes her literally 2.5 seconds for her to reach the water...they all love it...but one thing is for sure people are going faster and faster down the slide.
After about 10 people went...I decided ¨sure! I can go down, no matter that some people have red welts and scratches on their faces from the slap in the water¨ So I head down and scream a little, pray somewhat that I wouldn´t die, before launching literally 15 ft. off the slide and into grassy Guatemalan MUCK. Like, thick dark, snake-ridden muck. Woo! The top of my bathing suit came completely off, the bottoms were almost rapped around my next and my boob slapped the water so hard I actually stopped breathing underwater in the Guatemalan muck. Wow.
Got up...hiked my ass out of the water and left the zoo. Forever remembering the zoo slides.
At the zoo, off the island of Las Flores, there were actually 2 very large water slides available to zoo-goers who were interested in twisting and turning and dumping into the lake. Fun right?? Hmmm...
First things´s first, the slide must have water. So we turn on the water and oh! we find none other than a giant snake on one of the slides. This prompts the zoo guide-guy to remove it of course because you can´t have 26 Americans and 1 Swede heading down a slide with a snake on it! No! The snake should be in the water where they land!
Next: switch to alternative slide where there are no snakes but it seems that we now have a water pressure problem. Imagine if you will a giant water slide that hasn´t seen water in probably some time and the water that is coming down is a slow trickle so that it dries before the first turn. I know this is tough to imagine...but bear with me...
Next: American girl (we´ll call her Rachel...the one...the only) graciously decides ¨Hey! I´ll be the first volunteer to go down!¨ I say graciously because we just witnessed the snake incident and this slide hadn´t been fully inspected for life, therefore, she would encounter it, if any, on her way down.
So: Rachel climbs aboard...bathing suit and all and launches herself. We hear the sweet sound of ass being scraped against the tube. She stands up, a little bit of the slide still attached to her ass and she walkes to the turn...we figure if she passes the turn she´ll go down the rest of the way right?? Well...not really. She ended up taking a nice, curvy walk down the slide at which point i believe she launched herself into the lake.
Ok: We give it ago again, but this time a few of our trip friends had an idea to fill up an empty trash can (oh yeah...a random trash can found in a random Guatemalan zoo) with water to assist Rachel in her 2nd attempt down the slide. So...plan: fill it with water and send it with her...you know that extra ¨push¨ idea. Actual: the trash can has holes---that´s ok we´ll chew gum and cover the holes! Good--gum works.
Rachel and trash can water make their way ¨easier¨ this time and we hear a splash! woo! At this point slide 1 is free and clear of reptile or otherwise life and we think, as a group, we should give it a try. Rachel decides to try this one out too and by no means do we argue for a) she´s been in the lake twice now and b) we just saw a snake come off of it...no one was lining up. So Rachel goes and it was successful! She even said it was fast at the end...we didn´t believe her. She goes again...only this time she´s literally flying down the thing so fast that we could hear the echo of her splash back up the slide...WHAT!?!?
Another person in the group decides to go and on his knees (we have no idea why) and we hear a huge splash...ok! this is a water slide...in a zoo! Corinne goes next...it takes her literally 2.5 seconds for her to reach the water...they all love it...but one thing is for sure people are going faster and faster down the slide.
After about 10 people went...I decided ¨sure! I can go down, no matter that some people have red welts and scratches on their faces from the slap in the water¨ So I head down and scream a little, pray somewhat that I wouldn´t die, before launching literally 15 ft. off the slide and into grassy Guatemalan MUCK. Like, thick dark, snake-ridden muck. Woo! The top of my bathing suit came completely off, the bottoms were almost rapped around my next and my boob slapped the water so hard I actually stopped breathing underwater in the Guatemalan muck. Wow.
Got up...hiked my ass out of the water and left the zoo. Forever remembering the zoo slides.
finally...
....I can honestly post that the bathroom situation has finally gotten ahold of itself considering the rollercoaster it´s been these past 4 days!
The Cipro is doing its job.
My classes resumed today. We had a good lesson but she was hard on me for not having homework. The parasite excuse could only take me so far... as such we covered many topics and subject areas.
The school put on a conference today about the political system here in Guatemala as there is a presidential election come Sept. 9. After hearing the discussions and ideologies of the candidates...I can´t imagine having to pick between the upwards of 20 people and voting for 1. And...the political system is like watching the Godfather only with indigenious or non-indigenious family systems.
It is RAINING!!! but I love the cool weather here.
I just dropped off my clothes to the lavanderia and will received the best smelling, nicely folded and dried clothing possible at 6.
I am taking a Guatemalan tipico cooking class today...extremely excited.
I´ve started another new book (my 3rd) about a Peace Corps volunteer in the city of Fuling in China, who taught English and American Literature. He left to volunteer in 1996 and it details his travels and experiences. A lend from Rachel and so far so good.
I am anxious to begin teaching these classes for los ninos in Escuela de la Calle next week. The classes will only be in Spanish and I have to teach mathematics, reading and writing to reinforce what they´re learning in their schools in the morning. Typically students here are in school from 8 a.m. until only 1 p.m. and most schools are private. As such, some of these kids living at Escuela de la Calle and receiving all their basic needs from the volunteers receive classes in the morning and these extra classes as well in the afternoon. As I understand it, it is considerably different than a tutoring session and will require vocabulario. Aye! Wish me luck.
Yesterday, I watched the Rigobera Menchu story with Corinne and Ben. I really enjoyed the movie, but admittedly had a hard time with the descriptions of the torture that was performed on the peoples in the pueblos (small towns and communities) during the war. As such, she is running as Guatemalan´s first female president and we heard of her politics today. She has a fascinating and interesting life. Check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rigoberta_Menchu for more info about her!
Last night, Corinne´s former maestra, Marta, picked up Ben, Corinne and I and took us to her place outside of the central city area so we could cook Thai food and sushi for her. Turns out you can buy seaweed and rice noodles (or rice pasta...not really sure). The meal was GREAT! and we had the entire night in Spanish. I really really enjoy spending time with Marta and hearing her talk. Her pronounciations and language is easy to understand and she is always generous with her Spanish lessons in conversation. Also, she has led a truly inspiring life as a social worker in Guatemala and in the States. At one time, she spent 8 years travelling back and forth from Guatemala to the U.S. to counsel and teach other volunteers and social workers health care, education, etc. for immigrants crossing the boarder. Very inspiring.
This is my last week here at Celas Maya and I´m going to miss the atmosphere much. I´ve decided to come back during announcement times and see if there are any activities I´d like to join next week and maybe the following weeks.
I was going to climb Volcano Santa Maria this weekend on Saturday, but have declined due to health issues...but it remains a goal of mine, if not this trip, another when I return to Central America.
On that note, I am still very much enjoying my experiences here. I am learning a lot about my abilities to live within a different culture who have a different language than my own, different food than I´m used to, no water from a free-flowing mechanism that I can drink from or cultural customs that are significantly different and can only be learned after 3 weeks with a maestra. My spirits these past few days, admittedly were low, but with antibiotics and anticipation for a whole new 3 weeks, I´m ready to check out what´s next!
Rachel, Sarah, Ned and Joaqim are headed to Honduras on Saturday morning around 3 a.m. I´ve been told. Thanks to you all who made my last 3 weeks truly truly INCREDIBLE. I have laughed till I´ve cried, shared bathroom/lake/parasite/bottled water/Xela Pan/how to refinance my life/all food in general/stray dog/Blue Angel cafe/La Luna cafe and Tecun experiences with you all and would do it again if I could. Stay in touch and let me know you lived through the dengue and malaria in Honduras.
The Cipro is doing its job.
My classes resumed today. We had a good lesson but she was hard on me for not having homework. The parasite excuse could only take me so far... as such we covered many topics and subject areas.
The school put on a conference today about the political system here in Guatemala as there is a presidential election come Sept. 9. After hearing the discussions and ideologies of the candidates...I can´t imagine having to pick between the upwards of 20 people and voting for 1. And...the political system is like watching the Godfather only with indigenious or non-indigenious family systems.
It is RAINING!!! but I love the cool weather here.
I just dropped off my clothes to the lavanderia and will received the best smelling, nicely folded and dried clothing possible at 6.
I am taking a Guatemalan tipico cooking class today...extremely excited.
I´ve started another new book (my 3rd) about a Peace Corps volunteer in the city of Fuling in China, who taught English and American Literature. He left to volunteer in 1996 and it details his travels and experiences. A lend from Rachel and so far so good.
I am anxious to begin teaching these classes for los ninos in Escuela de la Calle next week. The classes will only be in Spanish and I have to teach mathematics, reading and writing to reinforce what they´re learning in their schools in the morning. Typically students here are in school from 8 a.m. until only 1 p.m. and most schools are private. As such, some of these kids living at Escuela de la Calle and receiving all their basic needs from the volunteers receive classes in the morning and these extra classes as well in the afternoon. As I understand it, it is considerably different than a tutoring session and will require vocabulario. Aye! Wish me luck.
Yesterday, I watched the Rigobera Menchu story with Corinne and Ben. I really enjoyed the movie, but admittedly had a hard time with the descriptions of the torture that was performed on the peoples in the pueblos (small towns and communities) during the war. As such, she is running as Guatemalan´s first female president and we heard of her politics today. She has a fascinating and interesting life. Check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rigoberta_Menchu for more info about her!
Last night, Corinne´s former maestra, Marta, picked up Ben, Corinne and I and took us to her place outside of the central city area so we could cook Thai food and sushi for her. Turns out you can buy seaweed and rice noodles (or rice pasta...not really sure). The meal was GREAT! and we had the entire night in Spanish. I really really enjoy spending time with Marta and hearing her talk. Her pronounciations and language is easy to understand and she is always generous with her Spanish lessons in conversation. Also, she has led a truly inspiring life as a social worker in Guatemala and in the States. At one time, she spent 8 years travelling back and forth from Guatemala to the U.S. to counsel and teach other volunteers and social workers health care, education, etc. for immigrants crossing the boarder. Very inspiring.
This is my last week here at Celas Maya and I´m going to miss the atmosphere much. I´ve decided to come back during announcement times and see if there are any activities I´d like to join next week and maybe the following weeks.
I was going to climb Volcano Santa Maria this weekend on Saturday, but have declined due to health issues...but it remains a goal of mine, if not this trip, another when I return to Central America.
On that note, I am still very much enjoying my experiences here. I am learning a lot about my abilities to live within a different culture who have a different language than my own, different food than I´m used to, no water from a free-flowing mechanism that I can drink from or cultural customs that are significantly different and can only be learned after 3 weeks with a maestra. My spirits these past few days, admittedly were low, but with antibiotics and anticipation for a whole new 3 weeks, I´m ready to check out what´s next!
Rachel, Sarah, Ned and Joaqim are headed to Honduras on Saturday morning around 3 a.m. I´ve been told. Thanks to you all who made my last 3 weeks truly truly INCREDIBLE. I have laughed till I´ve cried, shared bathroom/lake/parasite/bottled water/Xela Pan/how to refinance my life/all food in general/stray dog/Blue Angel cafe/La Luna cafe and Tecun experiences with you all and would do it again if I could. Stay in touch and let me know you lived through the dengue and malaria in Honduras.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Explanations and goings on...
Hello!
A friend facebooked me and asked if I was still ¨alive¨ whereas another friend emailed and asked if I had any explanations for the lack of posts, pictures and the two simulataneously...
They had good points...it´s been a few days...possibly close to a week since I´ve given a thorough post about my trip here. Truth be told, I have parasites in my intestines!! WOOOO!!! But, I am afraid I can´t give that information just yet as I need to catch up with my activities over the past 6 days. I left for Tikal on Thursday, June 21 around 2 p.m. on a private bus...about 27 of us left from Celas Maya together. There were, in all, 21 from Celas and an additional 6 from another school. Josque, a maestro here and our ¨guide¨ so to speak, posted ads for the trip all around popular places in Xela to invite other students on the trip. These 6 were interested and joined our group. I must preface that the trip to Tikal was supposed to take a long and tedious time to arrive. We left around 2 and ended up in the capital, Guatemala City, at 7 p.m. We pulled up to a ¨mall¨ in which we were told our bus driver needed a few hours to sleep (3 was all we could spare) and to stay in the mall until we left as it was one of the few safe places for 26 Americans and 1 Swede to stay until departure. As such, the mall closed at 8 and we decided Pizza Hut would be a good eating and gathering place for so many of us. We had delicious veggie pizza and garlic bread. During dinner, Corinne shared with me some of her Valium that she bought for 2Q (approximately $.30) per pill. I found out it was Valium after calling Mom in the States to find how much and if we should take it. I know this sounds like a crazy plan, but for godsakes were headed on a bus for another 8 hours...I had to admit that a night of sleep, without interruption due to a Valium coma, sounded like an attractive plan. As such, I can report, an Corinne I´m sure would verify, that the ¨Valium¨ actually caused extreme and ridiculous alertness on the bus. It was 8 hours of absolute paranoia and hell. Corinne reports taking another dose because she was experiencing the same thing, only to have neausa and weird dreams. No more Valium or ¨Valium¨ for me.
We arrived in Las Flores (the island we were staying on that bordered Tikal) around 6:30 a.m. We walked the town and stopped at our hotel. Because it was so early, we dropped our things in 1 of the 2 hotels rooms we had reserved for our ¨things¨ until the other guests had checked out. As for pictures of it...these would be the sign reading ¨La Tablita¨, the name of the restaurant we ate at every morning for breakfast and the one to the left of it with the car parked close. This was a few from the restaurant. I absolutely LOVE the cobblestone streets here in Guatemala.
We didn´t have much time to change or clean up, before we were headed off to the ruins in Tikal. The ruins were rediscovered in 1848 at which time excavation began to restore and renew the area. To this day, they have only excavated (I think) 60% of the park and 20% will not be changed or excavated (not sure why...a conversation I overheard). As for corresponding pictures, those are the 5 below the restaurant sign. 4 are of the ruins themselves and one is of the view after I climbed to the top!! It had, in my opinion, quite a few steps, but was worth being above the treetops!! We walked around the park for some time, but I have to admit, it wasn´t as much fun as I would have liked, with the intense INTENSE rainfall while we were there. I must preface this story with: I have NO rain jacket in Guatemala. Turns out, I have come during the rainy season. What´s an Arizona girl to do!?! So, back to the ruins: We were there for about 30 mins. or so and soon the rain begain to fall...hard. It rained for about 40 mins. and with no jacket that meant soaking wet...pretty much all of us in the group!! I protected my camera sufficiently, but for some, they weren´t so lucky. All in all, I was elated to see and experience the history but frustrated to be cold and wet for so long. After the ruins, we came home, Rachel, myself and others went into the ¨hot¨ tub in the hotel. Turns out it wasn´t heated and after, oh 10 mintes, it was warm enough to hang out in. It helped to have bottles of whiskey and wine and the company. Later, we had dinner on a dock next to our hotel. The view was gorgeous and we chatted with friends we have made here at the school. After dinner, we took a shower and headed for BED!
The next morning, after breakfast, we boarded boats, which sat close to the water and had benches for seating. Over our heads was a tarp that came to a point in the middle. The view, the breeze and the lake was absolutely beautiful. We took a tour of the lake area and came to the Zoo on another island. The two pictures above the restaurant pictures are from the Zoo. We walked across a bridge (15 people at a time) to the other side to view the animals. The picture next to it is that of a few I took next to the leopard´s cage. It was a small lagoon with a beautiful intertwining fence on our pathway. Zoo systems, admittedly, in Guatemala are considerably different. For example, I couldn´t see the giant leopard from where he was resting below by just looking over the fence, so I crawled over the fence and stood looking into the cage that way...much easier...perhaps a little more dangerous, but seriously 20ft away from this thing! Also, with the monkeys for example, Ned had an encounter in which he shook hands with one (several students as well) because they had broken through parts of their cage. Neither better nor worse...just a different experience. We continued with our tour to a ¨hill¨ of some sorts, which at the top had a treehouse-ladder thing to climb and see the entire view of the island of Las Flores and the lake (see the picture of me next to the tree!) After the view and the climb, we headed to a clean ¨beach¨ and swam for an hour or so. After we got out it POURED and our ride back in the boat to Las Flores was a little wet and a little cold. All the same...fun. We had dinner on another dock, which was also just as good! We tooled around the island for a few hours in search of hammocks for Rachel and goodies for the others. We were successful and now she was a ¨recliner¨ when she takes off for the peace corps in September.
We had drinks and hookah with the whole group and a restaurant owned by an unusual German man. He was friendly enough, but we had a hard time actually getting the food into our possession before it was time to leave the island altogether.
At 10 p.m. we boarded the bus and headed to Antigua. This time, I slept considerably better and considerably longer. We arrived in Antigua at 7 a.m. and had a fantastic breakfast at small garden spot. The restaurant was called ¨The Enchanted¨ and we sat on the patio, where above us were vines and beautiful flowers hanging down for us to enjoy while we ate! After the breakfast, Josque took us through the town on a ¨tour¨of various convents and missions. We paused for 20 minutes at one point to let a parade come through the town. It was the local Catholic church (the photo next to me at the top!) celebrating Corpus Christi and the feast of San Pedro. It was incredible to watch practically an entire congregation of people marching, playing instruments, children dressed as angels spreading flowers and the elderly men and women wearing veils and gloves in a procession around the padre who was praying into a microphone.
After half a day in Antigua, we boarded the bus and headed for home, in which we arrived here around 6:30. Because the host families do not cook for us on Sundays, we are to find our own means on Sunday. We headed to Blue Angel cafe, our favorite spot as it caters well to vegetarians here in Guatemala, for soup and sandwiches. It was there, that I find I wasn´t feeling so well...stomach pains and a headache. To be expected considering we had spent the better part of 20 hours on a bus!
Monday, however, it was much much worse. I have a new maestra this week and she is GREAT! Her name is Tonia and she is extremely dedicated to her teaching practices. She has good methods to teaching and we work well with each other. I feel lucky to have her. Also, Monday was ¨Teacher´s Day¨ in Guatemala and as it turns out, all this week, students do not have class due to the holiday. The stomach cramps and fever persisted both Monday and Tuesday. I took every anti-diarrheal I could get my hands on (luckily no vomitting) but the problems have not slowed down. Called Mom finally and asked if it was safe to take Cipro...supposedly the end all, be all of parasite-ridding medicines out there. I bought some here for less than $10. I´ve been taking for 1.5 days now and am starting to feel somewhat functional. Thus the reasons for the lack of posting! But! I´m hopefully bouncing back and killing any and all parasites in my body..woo!
As for today, I did not head to school and stayed in bead for most of my time before lunch. My host family has been serving me ¨soup¨ as they call it, but actually Ramen noodles (shrimp to be exact). Currently it´s hailing here...very strange...so strange that I´ve taken pictures to capture the moment. The other pictures are of Atitlan lake (the previous weekend excursion), my ¨treehouse¨ for a hotel, the hammock I frequented, the view of San Pedro Volcano from Santiago Island (it looks amazing with the cloud-coverage) and our group on our double-decker boat. The other pictures are of Escuela de la Calle´s walls we painted (which we finished YESTERDAY!!!...will post those pictures soon also) and of the Celas Maya sign outside of school..oh and a view from the top of the city here in Xela.
That is PLENTY for now!! will catch up with further news tomorrow
A friend facebooked me and asked if I was still ¨alive¨ whereas another friend emailed and asked if I had any explanations for the lack of posts, pictures and the two simulataneously...
They had good points...it´s been a few days...possibly close to a week since I´ve given a thorough post about my trip here. Truth be told, I have parasites in my intestines!! WOOOO!!! But, I am afraid I can´t give that information just yet as I need to catch up with my activities over the past 6 days. I left for Tikal on Thursday, June 21 around 2 p.m. on a private bus...about 27 of us left from Celas Maya together. There were, in all, 21 from Celas and an additional 6 from another school. Josque, a maestro here and our ¨guide¨ so to speak, posted ads for the trip all around popular places in Xela to invite other students on the trip. These 6 were interested and joined our group. I must preface that the trip to Tikal was supposed to take a long and tedious time to arrive. We left around 2 and ended up in the capital, Guatemala City, at 7 p.m. We pulled up to a ¨mall¨ in which we were told our bus driver needed a few hours to sleep (3 was all we could spare) and to stay in the mall until we left as it was one of the few safe places for 26 Americans and 1 Swede to stay until departure. As such, the mall closed at 8 and we decided Pizza Hut would be a good eating and gathering place for so many of us. We had delicious veggie pizza and garlic bread. During dinner, Corinne shared with me some of her Valium that she bought for 2Q (approximately $.30) per pill. I found out it was Valium after calling Mom in the States to find how much and if we should take it. I know this sounds like a crazy plan, but for godsakes were headed on a bus for another 8 hours...I had to admit that a night of sleep, without interruption due to a Valium coma, sounded like an attractive plan. As such, I can report, an Corinne I´m sure would verify, that the ¨Valium¨ actually caused extreme and ridiculous alertness on the bus. It was 8 hours of absolute paranoia and hell. Corinne reports taking another dose because she was experiencing the same thing, only to have neausa and weird dreams. No more Valium or ¨Valium¨ for me.
We arrived in Las Flores (the island we were staying on that bordered Tikal) around 6:30 a.m. We walked the town and stopped at our hotel. Because it was so early, we dropped our things in 1 of the 2 hotels rooms we had reserved for our ¨things¨ until the other guests had checked out. As for pictures of it...these would be the sign reading ¨La Tablita¨, the name of the restaurant we ate at every morning for breakfast and the one to the left of it with the car parked close. This was a few from the restaurant. I absolutely LOVE the cobblestone streets here in Guatemala.
We didn´t have much time to change or clean up, before we were headed off to the ruins in Tikal. The ruins were rediscovered in 1848 at which time excavation began to restore and renew the area. To this day, they have only excavated (I think) 60% of the park and 20% will not be changed or excavated (not sure why...a conversation I overheard). As for corresponding pictures, those are the 5 below the restaurant sign. 4 are of the ruins themselves and one is of the view after I climbed to the top!! It had, in my opinion, quite a few steps, but was worth being above the treetops!! We walked around the park for some time, but I have to admit, it wasn´t as much fun as I would have liked, with the intense INTENSE rainfall while we were there. I must preface this story with: I have NO rain jacket in Guatemala. Turns out, I have come during the rainy season. What´s an Arizona girl to do!?! So, back to the ruins: We were there for about 30 mins. or so and soon the rain begain to fall...hard. It rained for about 40 mins. and with no jacket that meant soaking wet...pretty much all of us in the group!! I protected my camera sufficiently, but for some, they weren´t so lucky. All in all, I was elated to see and experience the history but frustrated to be cold and wet for so long. After the ruins, we came home, Rachel, myself and others went into the ¨hot¨ tub in the hotel. Turns out it wasn´t heated and after, oh 10 mintes, it was warm enough to hang out in. It helped to have bottles of whiskey and wine and the company. Later, we had dinner on a dock next to our hotel. The view was gorgeous and we chatted with friends we have made here at the school. After dinner, we took a shower and headed for BED!
The next morning, after breakfast, we boarded boats, which sat close to the water and had benches for seating. Over our heads was a tarp that came to a point in the middle. The view, the breeze and the lake was absolutely beautiful. We took a tour of the lake area and came to the Zoo on another island. The two pictures above the restaurant pictures are from the Zoo. We walked across a bridge (15 people at a time) to the other side to view the animals. The picture next to it is that of a few I took next to the leopard´s cage. It was a small lagoon with a beautiful intertwining fence on our pathway. Zoo systems, admittedly, in Guatemala are considerably different. For example, I couldn´t see the giant leopard from where he was resting below by just looking over the fence, so I crawled over the fence and stood looking into the cage that way...much easier...perhaps a little more dangerous, but seriously 20ft away from this thing! Also, with the monkeys for example, Ned had an encounter in which he shook hands with one (several students as well) because they had broken through parts of their cage. Neither better nor worse...just a different experience. We continued with our tour to a ¨hill¨ of some sorts, which at the top had a treehouse-ladder thing to climb and see the entire view of the island of Las Flores and the lake (see the picture of me next to the tree!) After the view and the climb, we headed to a clean ¨beach¨ and swam for an hour or so. After we got out it POURED and our ride back in the boat to Las Flores was a little wet and a little cold. All the same...fun. We had dinner on another dock, which was also just as good! We tooled around the island for a few hours in search of hammocks for Rachel and goodies for the others. We were successful and now she was a ¨recliner¨ when she takes off for the peace corps in September.
We had drinks and hookah with the whole group and a restaurant owned by an unusual German man. He was friendly enough, but we had a hard time actually getting the food into our possession before it was time to leave the island altogether.
At 10 p.m. we boarded the bus and headed to Antigua. This time, I slept considerably better and considerably longer. We arrived in Antigua at 7 a.m. and had a fantastic breakfast at small garden spot. The restaurant was called ¨The Enchanted¨ and we sat on the patio, where above us were vines and beautiful flowers hanging down for us to enjoy while we ate! After the breakfast, Josque took us through the town on a ¨tour¨of various convents and missions. We paused for 20 minutes at one point to let a parade come through the town. It was the local Catholic church (the photo next to me at the top!) celebrating Corpus Christi and the feast of San Pedro. It was incredible to watch practically an entire congregation of people marching, playing instruments, children dressed as angels spreading flowers and the elderly men and women wearing veils and gloves in a procession around the padre who was praying into a microphone.
After half a day in Antigua, we boarded the bus and headed for home, in which we arrived here around 6:30. Because the host families do not cook for us on Sundays, we are to find our own means on Sunday. We headed to Blue Angel cafe, our favorite spot as it caters well to vegetarians here in Guatemala, for soup and sandwiches. It was there, that I find I wasn´t feeling so well...stomach pains and a headache. To be expected considering we had spent the better part of 20 hours on a bus!
Monday, however, it was much much worse. I have a new maestra this week and she is GREAT! Her name is Tonia and she is extremely dedicated to her teaching practices. She has good methods to teaching and we work well with each other. I feel lucky to have her. Also, Monday was ¨Teacher´s Day¨ in Guatemala and as it turns out, all this week, students do not have class due to the holiday. The stomach cramps and fever persisted both Monday and Tuesday. I took every anti-diarrheal I could get my hands on (luckily no vomitting) but the problems have not slowed down. Called Mom finally and asked if it was safe to take Cipro...supposedly the end all, be all of parasite-ridding medicines out there. I bought some here for less than $10. I´ve been taking for 1.5 days now and am starting to feel somewhat functional. Thus the reasons for the lack of posting! But! I´m hopefully bouncing back and killing any and all parasites in my body..woo!
As for today, I did not head to school and stayed in bead for most of my time before lunch. My host family has been serving me ¨soup¨ as they call it, but actually Ramen noodles (shrimp to be exact). Currently it´s hailing here...very strange...so strange that I´ve taken pictures to capture the moment. The other pictures are of Atitlan lake (the previous weekend excursion), my ¨treehouse¨ for a hotel, the hammock I frequented, the view of San Pedro Volcano from Santiago Island (it looks amazing with the cloud-coverage) and our group on our double-decker boat. The other pictures are of Escuela de la Calle´s walls we painted (which we finished YESTERDAY!!!...will post those pictures soon also) and of the Celas Maya sign outside of school..oh and a view from the top of the city here in Xela.
That is PLENTY for now!! will catch up with further news tomorrow
Monday, June 25, 2007
i promised pictures!
Because I have promised and failed to deliver here a few times...this blog will only include pictures and I will include descriptions of my weekend tomorrow!!
take care...
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
the Wednesday funk
I´ve decided Wednesdays in Guatemala, or maybe in general, seem to present a funk for me and the others here at the school. Perhaps it´s the feeling of wanting a break from the strenuous pace the Spanish lessons can sometimes...can´t say for sure, but today I woke up feeling sore and wanting to sleeeeeeeeeep!
Not much to say about today or the rest of yesterday. Had a great night with Ned, Sarah, Rachel, Corinne and Ben at Tecun. I love their drink prices and they offer freshly popped popcorn at the table...sounds crazy to mention, but after black bean paste for 2 weeks, popcorn is a nice change...lol.
I´m glad to have met the people I have here as it would not be the experience, I think, I would have imagined. They keep me entertained, they give me a social scene to look forward to and they give me good reasons to try new things!
Today I had studies with Karen, but wasn´t into it. I had a difficult time responding to her and I don´t know how she keeps her attention on what I´m saying as literally I talk like a 3 year old child with ridiculous grammar. But! I´m getting better, or so she says, with my conversation.
Tonight is Brian and Bridget´s last night in Xela as they have to return home on Friday. They are leaving here tomorrow morning to head to Antigua to visit a coffee plantation. We are planning a good bye for them tonight at Tecun (to start).
After school today...went back to EDLAC (Escuela de la Calle) to finish painting below the Mayan symbol names we had painted on Tuesday. We brought Joakim, Ned, Sarah and Rachel this time and they seemed to absolutely love the experience and being with the kids. SO GREAT! I find that the kids today took me, so to speak, out of the funk for a bit. They are helping me with my Spanish as I point to things and they tell me either their meanings or names in Spanish. They speak very very quickly in tiny high-pitched little voices and its sometimes difficult to understand.
My teacher also told me of another school today that is interested in having me volunteer in the afternoons with kids that are 4-6 years old. They need tutoring with their math and reading homework. She said it would be a good opporunity to help out and learn vocabulary....very quickly. So...it would seem that I have found what I am to do here for the next 3 weeks. I figure I can keep myself busy during the morning touring the city and practicing my Spanish and in the afternoon I will be volunteering!
I head to Tikal this weekend...needing to pack tonight as I leave at 2 p.m. tomorrow afternoon. Not sure when I´m returning.
I promise to post more pictures either tonight or when I return from Tikal. For those that are interested...here is a link as to what Tikal is! Check it out...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tikal
Not much to say about today or the rest of yesterday. Had a great night with Ned, Sarah, Rachel, Corinne and Ben at Tecun. I love their drink prices and they offer freshly popped popcorn at the table...sounds crazy to mention, but after black bean paste for 2 weeks, popcorn is a nice change...lol.
I´m glad to have met the people I have here as it would not be the experience, I think, I would have imagined. They keep me entertained, they give me a social scene to look forward to and they give me good reasons to try new things!
Today I had studies with Karen, but wasn´t into it. I had a difficult time responding to her and I don´t know how she keeps her attention on what I´m saying as literally I talk like a 3 year old child with ridiculous grammar. But! I´m getting better, or so she says, with my conversation.
Tonight is Brian and Bridget´s last night in Xela as they have to return home on Friday. They are leaving here tomorrow morning to head to Antigua to visit a coffee plantation. We are planning a good bye for them tonight at Tecun (to start).
After school today...went back to EDLAC (Escuela de la Calle) to finish painting below the Mayan symbol names we had painted on Tuesday. We brought Joakim, Ned, Sarah and Rachel this time and they seemed to absolutely love the experience and being with the kids. SO GREAT! I find that the kids today took me, so to speak, out of the funk for a bit. They are helping me with my Spanish as I point to things and they tell me either their meanings or names in Spanish. They speak very very quickly in tiny high-pitched little voices and its sometimes difficult to understand.
My teacher also told me of another school today that is interested in having me volunteer in the afternoons with kids that are 4-6 years old. They need tutoring with their math and reading homework. She said it would be a good opporunity to help out and learn vocabulary....very quickly. So...it would seem that I have found what I am to do here for the next 3 weeks. I figure I can keep myself busy during the morning touring the city and practicing my Spanish and in the afternoon I will be volunteering!
I head to Tikal this weekend...needing to pack tonight as I leave at 2 p.m. tomorrow afternoon. Not sure when I´m returning.
I promise to post more pictures either tonight or when I return from Tikal. For those that are interested...here is a link as to what Tikal is! Check it out...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tikal
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Back from the lake...but headed out AGAIN!
Hello All!!
It´s been a few days since I¨ve had the opportunity to post my adventures from the lake and of course my life here. I am, as I´ve said many times before, having an incredibly wonderful experience.
Admittedly, last week, it was very difficult for me to adjust to my new surroundings, my insanely odd host family and Guatemala lifestyle in general. Not feeling entirely comfortable and used to the surroundings did cause a few moments of anxiety. To be expected, right??
However, this past weekend at the lake changed everything for me. We headed out to Panajatchel around 7 a.m. on Saturday morning. Because of construction in the nearby towns, we had a 3 hour private bus ride. I have found, after oh 4 different modes or types of transportation locally, private buses are an extremely nice asset to have. The bus ride was uneventful. I had the opportunity to speak with a 15 yr. old who has come with her mom, Susan, to Xela to study Spanish for 6 weeks. She has apparently started dating her host brother, as in, they refer to each other as ¨novios¨ and this Friday she is headed to what some would consider in the States, the Prom with him. She was going on about how she tends to dangle information to her Mom, giving her (and I quote) ¨just enough information to not ask too many questions.¨ It was an incredibly unusual experience, for the first time, to be the one on the other end thinking this girl was way to young to be talking about this crap! Especially as she´s experiencing so much in a new environment.
After we arrived in Pana, we walked the town a bit, but there wasn´t much to see other than vendors and well, the street. We then charted this massive double-decker of a boat to the nearby island of San Marcos, which was also our home for 2 days. We found our rooms, dropped of our stuff and boarded the boat again to tour around the lake. The best way to describe my living quarters was essentially a ¨bungalow¨ or maybe treehouse even (!?) in a truly tropical environment. We had to climb a set of stairs to get to the room and inside were 3 beds for Rachel, Sarah and I, my treehouse mates. The 2 beds were on the bottom floor and the third could only be accessed by way of another ladder to a loft-type area. It was truly gorgeous.
After boarding the bus, we headed to Santiago Island where we did some shopping in the rain. Truly, I cannot mind this weather considering I live in the hottest place on Earth, or just about. The shopping was incredibly fun as I found some good finds to take home with me. The people here are very talented in their abilities to make jewelry and weave, but more importantly paint! I met an artist who has his work displayed in the Heard Museum downtown. AWESOME work he did and the others on the island. After Santiago we headed to San Pedro Island, which is known for having ex-pats. head to for vacation and end up staying, opening their own tiendas and such. We ate at the Freedom Cafe in which the menu proudly displayed the world smoking a joint. The food was AMAZING (I had veggie fajitas in a honey-soy sauce) and I enjoyed the company. The atmosphere was cozy (on pillows and mats) while it rained outside.
After San Pedro, the group headed back, in the cold and rain, to San Marcos, where we ate dinner and went into another natural sauna. Myself, Ned, Tyler, Joaqim the Swede and Sarah all crammed into a stone sauna that is headed by natural fire and wood. Again....AMAZING! We brought in red and white wine, water and some beers and had a great time for an hour...seriously a truly awesome time with these people!!
Went to bed shortly after as we were exhausted by this time. I slept fairly soundly and woke up way too early. It´s been hard for me to sleep in for what seems like a year now. After getting up early, myself and some others took a short walk to get some breakfast at ¨Moon Cafe,¨ which is a remote cafe that overlooks the lake and serves only natural vegetarian foods for a reasonable price. I got a breakfast burrito with unusual ingredients, namely brown rice, and LOVED it. Also, I haven´t had a bad cup of coffee in Guatemala (of course) yet. After breakfast, I hoofed it back to our hotel (the Paco Real) and had a massage for an hour and a half from a Berliner woman who now prefers ¨the third world¨ and has been living on San Marcos for at least 3 years now. She was great and I felt wonderful. Had lunch with Rachel, hung out for some time and then headed back home on the bus. Admittedly had LOTS o´car sicknes on the return and had to get creative on my breathing methods, but eventually made it home, had amazing Indian food here (who would have thought??) and crashed for the night. A great weekend of relaxing...finally, after a year. Hard to think, that a year ago I was essentially slaving away at this idea of becomming a SpEd teacher in Atlanta. Admittedly, this is way better...lol!
As for Monday and Tuesday, I have kept Karen as my instructor for this week, but will probably change next week. We have been having great conversations and I´ve learned a lot from her in a short amount of time. Turns out my former teacher is not working this week either and it´s almost as if he is no longer working with the school. I´m not really sure of the situation surrounding his whereabouts. Monday was extremely uneventful except for the movie we went to, which was a documentary about the Buena Vista Social Club. For those of you who have the music, GREAT! but for those of you who haven´t heard it yet....GET GET GET!! Had the movie and vino...relaxing evening. Oh! and I got to talk to Ash. back home on the telephono. Esta muy bien!
Today: went by so quickly! Had studies in the morning, of course, signed up for a trip to Tikal...will explain when I know more about the trip and eventually ended up at Escuela de la Calle with Ben and Corinne. There, I drew, by hand, on a wall, the names of the 20 days of the Mayan calendar. LOVED being with the kids. I find that, apparently, my Spanish is actually getting to be pretty good and I feel comfortable conversing with the kids. They are really kind and sweet and so eager to please the volunteers! After studying design for the past 5 or more years has really paid off as now my artwork is painted onto the walls of EDLAC here in Guatemala...lol. We were there for about 3 hours. The ride there, in my opinion, sucks. We take what´s known here as a microbus, which is essentially a van that should only seat 6 and instead carries literally on average 20 people for 1 quetzal, which equates to like 7 cents. It´s not my favorite and I did ride the famed ¨chicken bus¨ on the way back as well. It is extremely cheap transportation but there is a ton of pollution and you have to not mind small children, the possibility of animals or individuals in your lap. Muy intersante.
Not sure yet as to the future I have here in Xela, past 3 weeks of studying. I may ask my family if I can pay them to stay where I´m at and receive meals. I would really enjoy having that as my homebase! and then volunteering at various schools (I have 2 offers here) in the area. It´s a great way to learn Spanish and I love love love los ninos in Xela.
That´s it for now as I must head to study!!
pictures to come on the next post...
It´s been a few days since I¨ve had the opportunity to post my adventures from the lake and of course my life here. I am, as I´ve said many times before, having an incredibly wonderful experience.
Admittedly, last week, it was very difficult for me to adjust to my new surroundings, my insanely odd host family and Guatemala lifestyle in general. Not feeling entirely comfortable and used to the surroundings did cause a few moments of anxiety. To be expected, right??
However, this past weekend at the lake changed everything for me. We headed out to Panajatchel around 7 a.m. on Saturday morning. Because of construction in the nearby towns, we had a 3 hour private bus ride. I have found, after oh 4 different modes or types of transportation locally, private buses are an extremely nice asset to have. The bus ride was uneventful. I had the opportunity to speak with a 15 yr. old who has come with her mom, Susan, to Xela to study Spanish for 6 weeks. She has apparently started dating her host brother, as in, they refer to each other as ¨novios¨ and this Friday she is headed to what some would consider in the States, the Prom with him. She was going on about how she tends to dangle information to her Mom, giving her (and I quote) ¨just enough information to not ask too many questions.¨ It was an incredibly unusual experience, for the first time, to be the one on the other end thinking this girl was way to young to be talking about this crap! Especially as she´s experiencing so much in a new environment.
After we arrived in Pana, we walked the town a bit, but there wasn´t much to see other than vendors and well, the street. We then charted this massive double-decker of a boat to the nearby island of San Marcos, which was also our home for 2 days. We found our rooms, dropped of our stuff and boarded the boat again to tour around the lake. The best way to describe my living quarters was essentially a ¨bungalow¨ or maybe treehouse even (!?) in a truly tropical environment. We had to climb a set of stairs to get to the room and inside were 3 beds for Rachel, Sarah and I, my treehouse mates. The 2 beds were on the bottom floor and the third could only be accessed by way of another ladder to a loft-type area. It was truly gorgeous.
After boarding the bus, we headed to Santiago Island where we did some shopping in the rain. Truly, I cannot mind this weather considering I live in the hottest place on Earth, or just about. The shopping was incredibly fun as I found some good finds to take home with me. The people here are very talented in their abilities to make jewelry and weave, but more importantly paint! I met an artist who has his work displayed in the Heard Museum downtown. AWESOME work he did and the others on the island. After Santiago we headed to San Pedro Island, which is known for having ex-pats. head to for vacation and end up staying, opening their own tiendas and such. We ate at the Freedom Cafe in which the menu proudly displayed the world smoking a joint. The food was AMAZING (I had veggie fajitas in a honey-soy sauce) and I enjoyed the company. The atmosphere was cozy (on pillows and mats) while it rained outside.
After San Pedro, the group headed back, in the cold and rain, to San Marcos, where we ate dinner and went into another natural sauna. Myself, Ned, Tyler, Joaqim the Swede and Sarah all crammed into a stone sauna that is headed by natural fire and wood. Again....AMAZING! We brought in red and white wine, water and some beers and had a great time for an hour...seriously a truly awesome time with these people!!
Went to bed shortly after as we were exhausted by this time. I slept fairly soundly and woke up way too early. It´s been hard for me to sleep in for what seems like a year now. After getting up early, myself and some others took a short walk to get some breakfast at ¨Moon Cafe,¨ which is a remote cafe that overlooks the lake and serves only natural vegetarian foods for a reasonable price. I got a breakfast burrito with unusual ingredients, namely brown rice, and LOVED it. Also, I haven´t had a bad cup of coffee in Guatemala (of course) yet. After breakfast, I hoofed it back to our hotel (the Paco Real) and had a massage for an hour and a half from a Berliner woman who now prefers ¨the third world¨ and has been living on San Marcos for at least 3 years now. She was great and I felt wonderful. Had lunch with Rachel, hung out for some time and then headed back home on the bus. Admittedly had LOTS o´car sicknes on the return and had to get creative on my breathing methods, but eventually made it home, had amazing Indian food here (who would have thought??) and crashed for the night. A great weekend of relaxing...finally, after a year. Hard to think, that a year ago I was essentially slaving away at this idea of becomming a SpEd teacher in Atlanta. Admittedly, this is way better...lol!
As for Monday and Tuesday, I have kept Karen as my instructor for this week, but will probably change next week. We have been having great conversations and I´ve learned a lot from her in a short amount of time. Turns out my former teacher is not working this week either and it´s almost as if he is no longer working with the school. I´m not really sure of the situation surrounding his whereabouts. Monday was extremely uneventful except for the movie we went to, which was a documentary about the Buena Vista Social Club. For those of you who have the music, GREAT! but for those of you who haven´t heard it yet....GET GET GET!! Had the movie and vino...relaxing evening. Oh! and I got to talk to Ash. back home on the telephono. Esta muy bien!
Today: went by so quickly! Had studies in the morning, of course, signed up for a trip to Tikal...will explain when I know more about the trip and eventually ended up at Escuela de la Calle with Ben and Corinne. There, I drew, by hand, on a wall, the names of the 20 days of the Mayan calendar. LOVED being with the kids. I find that, apparently, my Spanish is actually getting to be pretty good and I feel comfortable conversing with the kids. They are really kind and sweet and so eager to please the volunteers! After studying design for the past 5 or more years has really paid off as now my artwork is painted onto the walls of EDLAC here in Guatemala...lol. We were there for about 3 hours. The ride there, in my opinion, sucks. We take what´s known here as a microbus, which is essentially a van that should only seat 6 and instead carries literally on average 20 people for 1 quetzal, which equates to like 7 cents. It´s not my favorite and I did ride the famed ¨chicken bus¨ on the way back as well. It is extremely cheap transportation but there is a ton of pollution and you have to not mind small children, the possibility of animals or individuals in your lap. Muy intersante.
Not sure yet as to the future I have here in Xela, past 3 weeks of studying. I may ask my family if I can pay them to stay where I´m at and receive meals. I would really enjoy having that as my homebase! and then volunteering at various schools (I have 2 offers here) in the area. It´s a great way to learn Spanish and I love love love los ninos in Xela.
That´s it for now as I must head to study!!
pictures to come on the next post...
Friday, June 15, 2007
So you wanna see...
...where I live!?!? I have taken many pictures since I´ve been here, but haven´t and won´t be able to label them on here. Therefore, I´ll give the rundown of what I´m posting!
The first few are of my first actual moments in Guatemala City with Corinne and our friend David (not shown). This was the area where the B&B was located, etc.
The next few are of the crazy ceremony I went to my first night. The little boy is Jesus #2! So cute!
After these, the next few are of the view from the natural saunas on the mountain top. It took about an hour and a half to climb and was absolutely gorgeous. The area goes from city to instant agriculture, which apparently is very common and popular here. The cinderblock looking rooms are the actual sauna and Corinne and I are standing outside the doorway. In one you can almost see the steam however it was difficult to get to close as my lens would become covered.
The final set is from Xela itself. Some are a 180 degree view from the park, others are of my walk to school, some are of friends at the bar in the evenings and others are of my home (look for the small room with lots o´crap). Like I said, my home here has a large courtyard and many rooms that surround it. These many rooms either house people or things (I took a photo of the shrine in the living room...needless to say bizarre). Hopefully this will give a good idea of my life here!! I think, in order to put the most photos that I can, I will make several posts. Stay tuned...hopefully this will work!
Today was another great day with my instructor, Karen. We studied and chatted in Spanish for 5 hour straight. During the break, I received the information about the lake trip this weekend, Atitlan Lake to be specific and I AM going to Panajatchel. So...confusion gone and I have some clue of my surroundings. We´re heading to San Marcos (I think) Island. There are a series of islands around this lake to visit. San Marcos, from my understanding is a ¨new age¨ sort of place for cheap spa care. I think I¨m going to spend most of my time reading, listening to music and drinking cervesas on the beach. From what I understand, several expatriots have visited these islands over time and like it so much, they stayed and opened tiendas of their own. Lots of English is spoken, which is good and bad and there are many things to do. I´m heading to a market to buy ¨handicrafts¨as it is described tomorrow...so watch out gifts for back home.
The weather here has been super rainy and wet and I had my first AWFUL lunch. Literally, one of the worst things I´ve ever eaten. Christina, our cook, claims it was cream, I´m positive it was mayo. Essentially, she boiled pasta, put some herb crap on top and made a mayo sauce. She, I think, would like to think that it´s alfredo, but no folks...this was freakin´ mayo on my pasta. For those of you who know me well...mayo is perhaps in the top 3 types of food I hate. Ah well...had fresh tortillas and salad to go with it. I think Corinne and I are going to a taco stand for dinner...mmmm. After studies and lunch, I accompanied Corinne and Sarah (friend from the B&B) to an actual mall here in Xela. Not like any mall, but like a nice mall with brands like Lacoste and Nautica and so forth. I don´t really own any warm clothes here or ones that protect from the rain. As such, I´m on a mission to find a cheap rain jacket in Xela. So far...not so successful. However, I´m hoping for better in the market tomorrow in Atitlan. The mall experience was so so. Not planning on returning while I¨m here as I couldn´t find anything cheap and we have Payless Shoe Source in the States.
Corinne got good news today as well: BENJAMIN, the boyfriend, finally got his passport and is on a plane tonight to Guatemala. He should be in Xela by 1:30 tomorrow! I am very excited to see him on Sunday and say hello!
This will be my last post for a few days as I don´t get free internet here on the weekends and I´ll be at the lake! Stay tuned for proof that I´m actually in Guatemala :)
Ciao
Thursday, June 14, 2007
I FORGOT TO POST ABOUT...
...THE EARTHQUAKE. I cannot believe I didn´t mention it (well can a little) because it wasn´t so major here in Xela. I felt the earth move (under my feet...he he)during lunch with my host family. They said it happens here often and not to worry about it. It wasn´t until Corinne told me that CNN had major news of its devastation. Apparently, some died and buildings were disrupted in the capital. I can assure you nothing like that happened here. We walk EVERYWHERE in Xela and I find that it´s a lot like a treadmill..when I stop I feel like I¨m still going. I had just stopped walking home from school and sat down, thinking that I was having that feeling, but when the table was moving and other students staying in the home mentioned they felt the room moving, we inquired.
All is well..the most we have to worry about here is staying dry!
All is well..the most we have to worry about here is staying dry!
the best of the best...
Admittedly...yesterday was appropriately titled ¨funk day¨I wasn´t interested in Spanish, I wasn´t interested in any more fucking black beans and I really couldn´t think about Guatemala for at least a few hours...culture shock maybe??
Today...much much better than yesterday. Last night, went to Tecun again with some friends from the B&B and had a few beers, some more beans (seriously...i could never say no to these things) and chatted about all things amazing in Central America and our lives back home. I´ve met some incredibly amazing and interesting people in the city and at the school, and have begun to think twice about my next steps. Originally, I had definitely planned to stay here for the 6 weeks and study and become acquainted with the language. After 4 days, I find myself, for the first time, feeling good about communicating and having conversations in Spanish. It´s in the present tense for 90% of it albeit, but we´re making our way!
As such, after 3 weeks, a tentative plan is to rent an apartment for approx. $13 per week here in Xela and use that as my base from which to travel from. I want to cut down some of my costs while I´m here and find it´s very expensive to stay with the school. Therefore, I also want to take a trip being offered here in Guatemala that would take 6 days and hike through las montanas and the volcanoes. We would end up in a small town somewhere (more information to come). As of right now, 6 of us are planning a week in Honduras and should be leaving about 3 weeks from now. The plan is to stay in the coastal town and take a ferry out to the island of Utila. There, we´ll rent a small place with a kitchen and make our food and bum on the beach. Not sure what or where I´m going after that! I know I have a return flight for July 23rd to make!
I have also discovered the most amazing woman across the street from the school. She sells chocolate covered EVERYTHING out of her home and it´s AMAZING for Q.2 (about 30 cents). I´m in love with her and her fruit. LOL. I had chocolate covered coconut...like a chunk of fresh coconut covered in chocolate...on a stick. Why are there none of these in AZ???
Um...today...for lunch I had a fish. I would like to say that I had like a piece of fish or a fish fillet, however, no. I had a FISH. I guess that´s how they do it here?! It was coated in something yummy and fried whole, at which point I had to peel away at it and eat. Good...but filling and kind of weird. Thinking I¨m going to stick with the black beans. Christina our cook said she would teach me how she makes them ..so so good. I mention the food a lot here only because literally everyday is something new and different and worth mentioning.
My teacher did not show today for classes. I´ve been informed that that´s really rare, however, they found me a new one. Where Jose went, I have no idea. As I said before, he´s a manager of a nightclub down the street. He told me last week he ended up in jail because he was out way past curfew here (no later than 1a.m. in the bars) and was sent. Maybe a repeat?? Ah well, truth be told, I loved my new teacher way way more today. In the span of 1 hour, I learned more and felt extremely comfortable. She was great! I requested to have her next week as well. We also had a guest speaker from the mountain regions who fled Guatemala 20 something years ago to escape the war, kidnapping and torture. She told her story of her return back to Guatemala. AMAZING. And it was translated...much easier to enjoy, lol.
Now, I´m off to watch a movie about I don´t what, but I´ve heard its good and it´s raining so I need to pass the time until cena! (dinner).
ciao for now...
Today...much much better than yesterday. Last night, went to Tecun again with some friends from the B&B and had a few beers, some more beans (seriously...i could never say no to these things) and chatted about all things amazing in Central America and our lives back home. I´ve met some incredibly amazing and interesting people in the city and at the school, and have begun to think twice about my next steps. Originally, I had definitely planned to stay here for the 6 weeks and study and become acquainted with the language. After 4 days, I find myself, for the first time, feeling good about communicating and having conversations in Spanish. It´s in the present tense for 90% of it albeit, but we´re making our way!
As such, after 3 weeks, a tentative plan is to rent an apartment for approx. $13 per week here in Xela and use that as my base from which to travel from. I want to cut down some of my costs while I´m here and find it´s very expensive to stay with the school. Therefore, I also want to take a trip being offered here in Guatemala that would take 6 days and hike through las montanas and the volcanoes. We would end up in a small town somewhere (more information to come). As of right now, 6 of us are planning a week in Honduras and should be leaving about 3 weeks from now. The plan is to stay in the coastal town and take a ferry out to the island of Utila. There, we´ll rent a small place with a kitchen and make our food and bum on the beach. Not sure what or where I´m going after that! I know I have a return flight for July 23rd to make!
I have also discovered the most amazing woman across the street from the school. She sells chocolate covered EVERYTHING out of her home and it´s AMAZING for Q.2 (about 30 cents). I´m in love with her and her fruit. LOL. I had chocolate covered coconut...like a chunk of fresh coconut covered in chocolate...on a stick. Why are there none of these in AZ???
Um...today...for lunch I had a fish. I would like to say that I had like a piece of fish or a fish fillet, however, no. I had a FISH. I guess that´s how they do it here?! It was coated in something yummy and fried whole, at which point I had to peel away at it and eat. Good...but filling and kind of weird. Thinking I¨m going to stick with the black beans. Christina our cook said she would teach me how she makes them ..so so good. I mention the food a lot here only because literally everyday is something new and different and worth mentioning.
My teacher did not show today for classes. I´ve been informed that that´s really rare, however, they found me a new one. Where Jose went, I have no idea. As I said before, he´s a manager of a nightclub down the street. He told me last week he ended up in jail because he was out way past curfew here (no later than 1a.m. in the bars) and was sent. Maybe a repeat?? Ah well, truth be told, I loved my new teacher way way more today. In the span of 1 hour, I learned more and felt extremely comfortable. She was great! I requested to have her next week as well. We also had a guest speaker from the mountain regions who fled Guatemala 20 something years ago to escape the war, kidnapping and torture. She told her story of her return back to Guatemala. AMAZING. And it was translated...much easier to enjoy, lol.
Now, I´m off to watch a movie about I don´t what, but I´ve heard its good and it´s raining so I need to pass the time until cena! (dinner).
ciao for now...
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Update
Not much to post today...
Had a rough night sleeping...received an email from Rio Salado informing me they were speeding up my payment system for a few classes by almost twice as much as I had orginally agreed on. Extremely frustrating, especially when I´ve budgeted carefully for this trip!
Today, I paid the $$ for the trip to Atitlan Lake. Not sure at this point if I´m going bungee jumping or not due to cost. I want to do as much as I can here in Xela and don´t want to blow 6 weeks worth of funds on one trip! I´m excited to consider volunteering here very shortly for an organization in Xela to meet new people and pass the time.
Yesterday Corinne and I walked about 7 blocks to the Mercado Democracia. It´s a HUGE outdoor mercado that sells essentially everything you could ever need (and find in the U.S.) just much cheaper. We chatted, ate pan from Xelapan and had overall a really great afternoon. Woke up this morning very very sore from climbing the hills! Got to talk with my family for 20 minutes or so...loved hearing from them in the States. Also called up T and spoke with him for 15 or so! So great! Last night, after dinner, met up with Corinne and we headed out to a bar (Tecun) for a drink and to watch the futbol game. AMAZING! I will post (seriously, I promise) soon the video I took of the people in the bar reacting to Guatemala scoring a goal against Trinidad and Tobago (sp?). They went NUTS..some even throwing bottles and food at the T.V. LOL. Walked home...and spent most of the night restless. Admittedly a little cranky for my lessons this morning. Poor Jose...I had to tell him that I was funky (at which point he began to sing funky town...a quality moment indeed) and wanted more verb practice, which I got!
Today, the school is offering a class for all students on ¨common phrases¨ spoken in Spanish in Guatemala. Hopefully a good review for me...I find that commonly the family I´m staying with has many phrases that I cannot understand...hoping this class sheds some light on what the heck they´re saying, lol.
ciao for now!
Had a rough night sleeping...received an email from Rio Salado informing me they were speeding up my payment system for a few classes by almost twice as much as I had orginally agreed on. Extremely frustrating, especially when I´ve budgeted carefully for this trip!
Today, I paid the $$ for the trip to Atitlan Lake. Not sure at this point if I´m going bungee jumping or not due to cost. I want to do as much as I can here in Xela and don´t want to blow 6 weeks worth of funds on one trip! I´m excited to consider volunteering here very shortly for an organization in Xela to meet new people and pass the time.
Yesterday Corinne and I walked about 7 blocks to the Mercado Democracia. It´s a HUGE outdoor mercado that sells essentially everything you could ever need (and find in the U.S.) just much cheaper. We chatted, ate pan from Xelapan and had overall a really great afternoon. Woke up this morning very very sore from climbing the hills! Got to talk with my family for 20 minutes or so...loved hearing from them in the States. Also called up T and spoke with him for 15 or so! So great! Last night, after dinner, met up with Corinne and we headed out to a bar (Tecun) for a drink and to watch the futbol game. AMAZING! I will post (seriously, I promise) soon the video I took of the people in the bar reacting to Guatemala scoring a goal against Trinidad and Tobago (sp?). They went NUTS..some even throwing bottles and food at the T.V. LOL. Walked home...and spent most of the night restless. Admittedly a little cranky for my lessons this morning. Poor Jose...I had to tell him that I was funky (at which point he began to sing funky town...a quality moment indeed) and wanted more verb practice, which I got!
Today, the school is offering a class for all students on ¨common phrases¨ spoken in Spanish in Guatemala. Hopefully a good review for me...I find that commonly the family I´m staying with has many phrases that I cannot understand...hoping this class sheds some light on what the heck they´re saying, lol.
ciao for now!
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
shout out to you, and you and you and you and you.....
Ahem,
After reading the copious amounts of love from friends and family, it brings me to be a bit homesick, missing my Friday dinners, sushi with C, chats and general agreements (and the occaisional disagreements) with T, Sunday dinners with mi familia and pretty much any conversation in English.
It´s weird...I´m literally, hands-down absolutely in love with my life in Guatemala (it´s been 3 days I know), but sometimes during my studies con mi maestra, I want to stop the Spanish and speak English and express every thought I´ve wanted to say since I got here (feelings, likes, dislikes, etc.). Most of you know that talking is something I do pretty much most of the time and here it´s not only extremely difficult for me to do in Spanish, but no one can understand English and it´s necessary. Definitely part of the immersion process and I´m thankful to almost be forced into it. So...again..thanks to everyone who has been reading of my adventures and sending me your thoughts. I think about you all daily!
So...when I last left of yesterday...I had mentioned that the school provides activities every day to different parts of the country, the city and Guatemalan life in general. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to take a hike (about an hour and a half long...and straight up-ish!?) up to Eco saunas Las Cumbres. These are natural saunas in the mountain in which you pay to spend up to an hour in. Once at the top, we were greeted by some women (whom we paid..costs about $2.50), who directed us to the changing room. There we put on our suits and went literally into a very black hole. It´s difficult to explain other than, the volcano heats the water in this mountain and where there are natural creveces forms a natural steam room. I took many pictures and will try to post as soon as I can. The room is very small and a tight fit for more than 3 people (although we fit like 5). I wore no shoes so I can tell you it was very slimy and I couldn´t seen pretty much anything. From my perspective: put on bathing suit in the dark, enter door #1 where there is a shower head and enter curtain #2: a dark hole that is dark and steamy. The walls are made of the mountain rock and there are a few seats to sit on. The whole room was probably 4 square feet. Aye.
The hike down was even more amazing, but at this point, I found this nasty cough I´ve had for 8 days to be getting worse. The moisture here in Xela is nothing like I´ve ever experienced, not even comparable to the midwest. Corinne and I and the group of friends we´ve made had a really great time on the trip. I must mention further some of these friends: Ned is from Minnesota orginally and has no Spanish experience...he is learning quickly and plans to spend at least 2 weeks here. After that...he has no plans. Rachel and Sarah came together from D.C. and are both here for a month. They are AWESOME! Sarah studied in Spain for 6 months and knows Spanish well...Rachel studied in New Zealand and is fluent in German and Russian, so she´s learning Spanish now. Corinne, of course is the friend from Chicago who I went to ASU with and is here with me! Brian and Bridget are brother and sister from CA, who are here for 2 weeks to study Spanish and hang out. Both are really active and have interesting lives in the states. Bridget is in medical school at UCLA and Brian is in the Navy in San Diego. They were all at the Bed & Breakfast with Corinne and I in Guatemala City for the first night in Guatemala. We met, made friends and have been doing the activities together.
As for activities this weekend, I have planned to take a trip to Panahatchel (an amazing lake and beautiful sights about 2 hours from Xela). Tentatively, the only plans I have at the lake is to bungee jump with Rachel. I remember seeing my brother´s pictures from Switzerland and how amazing the experience was and I´m actually really psyched to try it. I´ll give the full report upon my return on Sunday. Danny: post some helpful comments when you get the chance!
It´s raining like mad right now and I´m using the time to surf the net and soon I will begin writing my essay, due to my maestro tomorrow. Goal: use 35 verbs and describe a typical week in AZ. Aye.
more to come!
After reading the copious amounts of love from friends and family, it brings me to be a bit homesick, missing my Friday dinners, sushi with C, chats and general agreements (and the occaisional disagreements) with T, Sunday dinners with mi familia and pretty much any conversation in English.
It´s weird...I´m literally, hands-down absolutely in love with my life in Guatemala (it´s been 3 days I know), but sometimes during my studies con mi maestra, I want to stop the Spanish and speak English and express every thought I´ve wanted to say since I got here (feelings, likes, dislikes, etc.). Most of you know that talking is something I do pretty much most of the time and here it´s not only extremely difficult for me to do in Spanish, but no one can understand English and it´s necessary. Definitely part of the immersion process and I´m thankful to almost be forced into it. So...again..thanks to everyone who has been reading of my adventures and sending me your thoughts. I think about you all daily!
So...when I last left of yesterday...I had mentioned that the school provides activities every day to different parts of the country, the city and Guatemalan life in general. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to take a hike (about an hour and a half long...and straight up-ish!?) up to Eco saunas Las Cumbres. These are natural saunas in the mountain in which you pay to spend up to an hour in. Once at the top, we were greeted by some women (whom we paid..costs about $2.50), who directed us to the changing room. There we put on our suits and went literally into a very black hole. It´s difficult to explain other than, the volcano heats the water in this mountain and where there are natural creveces forms a natural steam room. I took many pictures and will try to post as soon as I can. The room is very small and a tight fit for more than 3 people (although we fit like 5). I wore no shoes so I can tell you it was very slimy and I couldn´t seen pretty much anything. From my perspective: put on bathing suit in the dark, enter door #1 where there is a shower head and enter curtain #2: a dark hole that is dark and steamy. The walls are made of the mountain rock and there are a few seats to sit on. The whole room was probably 4 square feet. Aye.
The hike down was even more amazing, but at this point, I found this nasty cough I´ve had for 8 days to be getting worse. The moisture here in Xela is nothing like I´ve ever experienced, not even comparable to the midwest. Corinne and I and the group of friends we´ve made had a really great time on the trip. I must mention further some of these friends: Ned is from Minnesota orginally and has no Spanish experience...he is learning quickly and plans to spend at least 2 weeks here. After that...he has no plans. Rachel and Sarah came together from D.C. and are both here for a month. They are AWESOME! Sarah studied in Spain for 6 months and knows Spanish well...Rachel studied in New Zealand and is fluent in German and Russian, so she´s learning Spanish now. Corinne, of course is the friend from Chicago who I went to ASU with and is here with me! Brian and Bridget are brother and sister from CA, who are here for 2 weeks to study Spanish and hang out. Both are really active and have interesting lives in the states. Bridget is in medical school at UCLA and Brian is in the Navy in San Diego. They were all at the Bed & Breakfast with Corinne and I in Guatemala City for the first night in Guatemala. We met, made friends and have been doing the activities together.
As for activities this weekend, I have planned to take a trip to Panahatchel (an amazing lake and beautiful sights about 2 hours from Xela). Tentatively, the only plans I have at the lake is to bungee jump with Rachel. I remember seeing my brother´s pictures from Switzerland and how amazing the experience was and I´m actually really psyched to try it. I´ll give the full report upon my return on Sunday. Danny: post some helpful comments when you get the chance!
It´s raining like mad right now and I´m using the time to surf the net and soon I will begin writing my essay, due to my maestro tomorrow. Goal: use 35 verbs and describe a typical week in AZ. Aye.
more to come!
Monday, June 11, 2007
el primer dia
!!!
Today was the first day of classes, yesterday being the first day of my arrival to Quetzaltenango (commonly called Xela). We arrived via first-class bus, which took approx. 4 hours. The school is absolutely beautiful! All of our lessons are in an amazing courtyard with open air seating and conversation. Much nicer than any classroom or learning environment I´ve ever encountered.
To call my first day bizarre I think would be an understatment and therefore want to give literally the play-by-play:
1st: arrive in Xela...drop off bags to wait until the office is open and explore the city a bit. It has cobblestone streets and narrow pathways. Drivers are crazy and the people are extremely friendly and kind.
2nd: office opens..wait an hour for my family to pick me up from Celas Maya. Astrid, my "sister" is 14 and accompanied by her brother, Jesus, 15, and their cousin, Jesus, who is 4. All three are extremely pleasant and nice and help me with my things to their home
3rd: I find that I live with Astrid, Jesus [brother and sister], their mother Beatrice, her brother [Astrid and Jesus' uncle] Israel, his wife Flora de Maria and their kids Jesus #2 and Ruby [who is 4 months and so freakin' cute]. Israel is the bread-winner as a lawyer...i essentially live in a very large Guatemalan home with 2 other students from Celas Maya [Heather from Texas and Akuro from Japan]. I have little interaction, it seems, with everyone except for meal times in which all gather to eat.
4th: I was picked up at a time when the family was headed to a fiesta for some members of their church. We came into a ceremony in which several men and women were seated around an altar of literally statues of baby Jesus, of the Archangel Michael and crucifixes galore. It was explained to me that the past President of the committee of the church was exiting and the new one was incoming. The ceremony took literally 3 hours to complete. First, there was a small mass, then an introduction of the new committee members [mind you..there was intense incense and prayer and ritual occurring]. The new President was given a sash in which it prominently displayed the "King," which is literally a doll that sits in a glass case in the President's home.
After the incense and prayer, the old President then gives the new President stuff...literally things to put into his house. For example, the President was given clothes in which to dress the "King" with [a petite dress make of tool]. I kid you not, for 3 hours I watched these men exchange these things. There were final prayers and incense and then we ate. First, chili relleno con pollo...I removed the pollo. Next was mini hotdogs [seriously] in which I gave my carne to Jesus #1. We then left [or so I thought] for mi familia's casa. No, no...next we arrived at the new President's house. There, we were served a delicious meal that I absolutely loved. However, during the dinner, they would repeatedly pass around drinks for the guests, liquor included. It was a homemade, clear and smelled faintly of rubbing alcohol. I declined the first pass, but Israel, the second time, called over nuevo Presidente and stated [in Spanish] that the President would be very sad if Arizona did not represent at his party!! Therefore, el Presidente and I took shots, however, you cannot just shoot alcohol in Guatemala, no you say "con permiso" to every elder in the room first. Aye. So...I became tipsy my first night here...and classes started at 8!
Today:
Met my instructor, Jose, who is a maestro by day and a bartender by night! He's been giving me the in's and out's of Xela nightlife and turns out he does some design on the side...therefore, our conversations have been extremely ecclectic. He did a lot of verb review with me and I find that being immersed and talking to someone for 5 hours..it's possible to be able to communicate well by the end of the week...in the present tense anyway.
I've met great great individuals here at Celas Maya and in my own living situation. I really enjoy walking and exploring the city! Every day they have fantastic outings and field trips planned for the students [today is to a natural sauna and a hike]..tomorrow I'm off to the hotsprings and this weekend we might take a trip to Antigua. I'm loving the living situation, the area, my studies and being here in Guatemala. I have to admit that last night I did have twinges of homesickness. It's very quiet here in Xela in the evening and it can be lonesome when you're used to the city sounds. But! I'm hoping to move my way around the city and meet more new people.
more to come...
Today was the first day of classes, yesterday being the first day of my arrival to Quetzaltenango (commonly called Xela). We arrived via first-class bus, which took approx. 4 hours. The school is absolutely beautiful! All of our lessons are in an amazing courtyard with open air seating and conversation. Much nicer than any classroom or learning environment I´ve ever encountered.
To call my first day bizarre I think would be an understatment and therefore want to give literally the play-by-play:
1st: arrive in Xela...drop off bags to wait until the office is open and explore the city a bit. It has cobblestone streets and narrow pathways. Drivers are crazy and the people are extremely friendly and kind.
2nd: office opens..wait an hour for my family to pick me up from Celas Maya. Astrid, my "sister" is 14 and accompanied by her brother, Jesus, 15, and their cousin, Jesus, who is 4. All three are extremely pleasant and nice and help me with my things to their home
3rd: I find that I live with Astrid, Jesus [brother and sister], their mother Beatrice, her brother [Astrid and Jesus' uncle] Israel, his wife Flora de Maria and their kids Jesus #2 and Ruby [who is 4 months and so freakin' cute]. Israel is the bread-winner as a lawyer...i essentially live in a very large Guatemalan home with 2 other students from Celas Maya [Heather from Texas and Akuro from Japan]. I have little interaction, it seems, with everyone except for meal times in which all gather to eat.
4th: I was picked up at a time when the family was headed to a fiesta for some members of their church. We came into a ceremony in which several men and women were seated around an altar of literally statues of baby Jesus, of the Archangel Michael and crucifixes galore. It was explained to me that the past President of the committee of the church was exiting and the new one was incoming. The ceremony took literally 3 hours to complete. First, there was a small mass, then an introduction of the new committee members [mind you..there was intense incense and prayer and ritual occurring]. The new President was given a sash in which it prominently displayed the "King," which is literally a doll that sits in a glass case in the President's home.
After the incense and prayer, the old President then gives the new President stuff...literally things to put into his house. For example, the President was given clothes in which to dress the "King" with [a petite dress make of tool]. I kid you not, for 3 hours I watched these men exchange these things. There were final prayers and incense and then we ate. First, chili relleno con pollo...I removed the pollo. Next was mini hotdogs [seriously] in which I gave my carne to Jesus #1. We then left [or so I thought] for mi familia's casa. No, no...next we arrived at the new President's house. There, we were served a delicious meal that I absolutely loved. However, during the dinner, they would repeatedly pass around drinks for the guests, liquor included. It was a homemade, clear and smelled faintly of rubbing alcohol. I declined the first pass, but Israel, the second time, called over nuevo Presidente and stated [in Spanish] that the President would be very sad if Arizona did not represent at his party!! Therefore, el Presidente and I took shots, however, you cannot just shoot alcohol in Guatemala, no you say "con permiso" to every elder in the room first. Aye. So...I became tipsy my first night here...and classes started at 8!
Today:
Met my instructor, Jose, who is a maestro by day and a bartender by night! He's been giving me the in's and out's of Xela nightlife and turns out he does some design on the side...therefore, our conversations have been extremely ecclectic. He did a lot of verb review with me and I find that being immersed and talking to someone for 5 hours..it's possible to be able to communicate well by the end of the week...in the present tense anyway.
I've met great great individuals here at Celas Maya and in my own living situation. I really enjoy walking and exploring the city! Every day they have fantastic outings and field trips planned for the students [today is to a natural sauna and a hike]..tomorrow I'm off to the hotsprings and this weekend we might take a trip to Antigua. I'm loving the living situation, the area, my studies and being here in Guatemala. I have to admit that last night I did have twinges of homesickness. It's very quiet here in Xela in the evening and it can be lonesome when you're used to the city sounds. But! I'm hoping to move my way around the city and meet more new people.
more to come...
Saturday, June 9, 2007
arrival!
Today I made it Guatemala both timely and safely.
Coming I had no expectations of vegetation, people, food or life! So far, each moment has been exploring my surroundings, brushing up on my terible espanol and spending time with my dear friend Corinne!
Had a lay-over in Houston and only flew 2 hours to Guatemala City...I met an interesting Jersey girl who was stuck with her relatives for 2 weeks ¨preaching the Word¨in a quaint villiage north of here. She was torn between wanting to travel to Guatemala to see the sights and having to spend time studying the Bible, literature in which she ¨knew nothing, nor cared about.¨Ah well...she shared her brownie with me, increasing her coolness status two-fold.
Corinne and David, and employee for Habitat for Humanity in the national office here in Guatemala, met me at the airport today only 2 minutes after my things arrived...perfect timing!! We caught a ride back to the Bed & Breakfast where I´ll be staying tonight. Bussing myself to Xela tomorrow morning--early to meet the host family and get settled. School begins on Monday.
As I said, Corinne and I have been exploring and working on our Spanish skills...over cervesas and papusos (tortillas con queso y chili). The weather is humid and cool, breezy and everything is GREEN. I absolutely love it so far :)
New favorite food (only food at this point): papusos
Beer: Gallo!
more to come...
Coming I had no expectations of vegetation, people, food or life! So far, each moment has been exploring my surroundings, brushing up on my terible espanol and spending time with my dear friend Corinne!
Had a lay-over in Houston and only flew 2 hours to Guatemala City...I met an interesting Jersey girl who was stuck with her relatives for 2 weeks ¨preaching the Word¨in a quaint villiage north of here. She was torn between wanting to travel to Guatemala to see the sights and having to spend time studying the Bible, literature in which she ¨knew nothing, nor cared about.¨Ah well...she shared her brownie with me, increasing her coolness status two-fold.
Corinne and David, and employee for Habitat for Humanity in the national office here in Guatemala, met me at the airport today only 2 minutes after my things arrived...perfect timing!! We caught a ride back to the Bed & Breakfast where I´ll be staying tonight. Bussing myself to Xela tomorrow morning--early to meet the host family and get settled. School begins on Monday.
As I said, Corinne and I have been exploring and working on our Spanish skills...over cervesas and papusos (tortillas con queso y chili). The weather is humid and cool, breezy and everything is GREEN. I absolutely love it so far :)
New favorite food (only food at this point): papusos
Beer: Gallo!
more to come...
Monday, June 4, 2007
taking a break
I have been working 'round the clock on Rio Salado work without much time to pause and consider what I need to do to prepare for my trip, which I depart for in less than 5 days.
After speaking with some of the friends that are to join me in Guatemala, I was (and still am) that I may be making part of the journey to Central America by myself. Without going in to too much detail, I am confident, that all issues and worries will be resolved by this Friday. Knowing all along that I would be working and immersing myself in the culture, I hadn't given much thought to the idea of going without companions. The idea of having someone along with me eased me into not knowing a soul in a country, which primarily speaks a language I do not. I, however, have received some incredible advice recently from loved ones, friends and colleagues on embracing the idea of complete immersion. I have been in contact with the school for several weeks now, arranging my pick-up from the airport and my sleeping arrangements while I'm studying. They are all incredibly wonderful and supportive and have provided me with amazing adivce and primitive language skills so I can get around pending my first arrival. While I don't anticipate heading to Guatemala by myself, I am slowly coming around to the idea and trying to embrace what that would mean for me. People do it all the time! From other countries, cities, nations, cultures, etc.
I am increasingly anticipating my trip, which is SATURDAY!!!
On another note, thanks to all of you who made my birthday WEEKEND an amazing one. I am so so blessed to have the family and friends that I do and I look forward to sharing with you my experiences.
P.S. who wants to come visit??
After speaking with some of the friends that are to join me in Guatemala, I was (and still am) that I may be making part of the journey to Central America by myself. Without going in to too much detail, I am confident, that all issues and worries will be resolved by this Friday. Knowing all along that I would be working and immersing myself in the culture, I hadn't given much thought to the idea of going without companions. The idea of having someone along with me eased me into not knowing a soul in a country, which primarily speaks a language I do not. I, however, have received some incredible advice recently from loved ones, friends and colleagues on embracing the idea of complete immersion. I have been in contact with the school for several weeks now, arranging my pick-up from the airport and my sleeping arrangements while I'm studying. They are all incredibly wonderful and supportive and have provided me with amazing adivce and primitive language skills so I can get around pending my first arrival. While I don't anticipate heading to Guatemala by myself, I am slowly coming around to the idea and trying to embrace what that would mean for me. People do it all the time! From other countries, cities, nations, cultures, etc.
I am increasingly anticipating my trip, which is SATURDAY!!!
On another note, thanks to all of you who made my birthday WEEKEND an amazing one. I am so so blessed to have the family and friends that I do and I look forward to sharing with you my experiences.
P.S. who wants to come visit??
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)