Guatemala #3

Walking home tonight from the super market was somewhat surreal. Uneven streets made from rough rocas. (rocks). I'm feeling not so much a stranger anymore even though I am. The bustling people and traffic going home for the day. Women carrying baskets of goods on their heads and babies in their arms. The clouds roll in as the afternoon progresses and as I sit here in my room I can look out the window and see yet another light show behind and above the volcanoes. Horns honk and eventually I'm sure music will be coming from somewhere. Life here is simple. When you want fresh tortillas you look for an open door and you can find young girls making them fresh right inside the door. At night when you see a red light above a door you can find fresh tamales. Life is simple for most people. Family, food, and work. Friends and church. There are those who have become caught up into the electronic world but not nearly as many as our country.

The wash hangs to dry above the roof lines after it is washed outside in a bucket or maybe inside with the one large sink. Cars are washed in the street. The lights flicker from power surges. Most people greet you with genuine smiles as you walk along the street. Buenos dias, Hola or just the simple buenas. The women who do not where traditional clothing all wear heels of some kind or another. Very daring from my western perspective. As I said above, the streets and sidewalks are a bit precarious. Young people openly show affection for one another. Old men pull carts full of goods down a side street. While chicken buses roll down the larger streets putting out fumes of diesel. Young men stand in the doors of these buses. I realized after a ride in one yesterday they are simply there to help navigate. There are very tight roads and bus mirrors will sometimes literally be an inch from one another after a group effort of young men directing each bus to enable them to pass one another.

I enjoy the tranquility and the odd craziness so different from our surroundings. Soak it up I tell myself soon enough it will be a memory.

Guatemala #2

What a day. I was woken up at midnight by what sounded like fireworks. Again and again. I finally went outside but was disappointed to not see anything. Then I went back to bed and 6am more Kaboom! Luckily I was getting up anyway to start school this morning. My instructor definitely does not speak much english. However, I think she will do a good job. We covered a lot in 3 and a half hours. Many of the other students here are much younger. They seem to be very adventurous people and will be fun to talk with. There are a lot of students. The area we study in has a beautiful garden in the middle and at our break we have yummy traditional food. Eventually I will know what it is called, the food that is,  for now I can say that is mini tortillas with meat inside. Then they fry it and cover it with guacamole and some sort of cabbage like mixture. It's good.

 After class I finally met with my host family. I think it will work out very well. The "mom" is a year younger than me and is very patient when we talk. She has a son and a daughter. The daughter is on vacation from school so is away visiting family. The husband works in a sugar factory far out of town. I believe I will meet him on Saturday. I have a nice little bedroom upstairs with my own bathroom. Very private. The roof is right beside my room and has a great view of the mountains. Hopefully all the clouds will leave eventually so I can actually see the view.The locals are saying it is unusually rainy for this time of year.

After meeting with my family I went back to the school. They have an activity each day for the students. Today we went to a macadamia farm. Very beautiful. All natural process. A long time ago someone invented a very rudimentary machine that would shell the nuts. They have brought this to many indigenous people so they can have better nutrition and a way to make money. Since they usually have no electricity it uses a small gas motor. I wish I could post pictures to better explain. It was a neat little tour. The owner, Lorenzo, a retired fire fighter from New York moved to Antigua in the 70's and started the farm. He was quite the character.

So far I have met one couple from PA. We went to dinner on Sun night. Mon I met this great Aussie lady. She's a riot. I think we will see more of each other. It is nice to be in school where I know it will be easier to meet people.

On Friday, which is there day of the dead. The school buses us to one of the villages where there is a large kite festival. I'm excited to be able to see that and sample many traditional dishes.

I have now had several conversations with my hostess suheidy. We talked about the culture and the differences from our two countries and we even spoke about religion.  I have also been able to talk to my instructor about several interesting topics, divorce, culture and I have tried to help her not have as much pain after she irons for 2 hours. Trying to explain what Taylor does for a living is somewhat difficult but it is fun to try. All this in just 2 days. I'm having a great time!

Nos vemos, mis amigos! mas pronto.

Guatemala #1

I'm finally going to use this again. It's been forever. It's a fun way to share my adventures. My trip began with a long afternoon and overnight trip to Guatemala City. Luckily, I was wisked away by my taxi driver Larry.  Being that it was 5:45 in the morning we were able to leave the city very quickly. I was able to talk to Larry a little even though he spoke no english. I was happy to make some small talk. He was very patient. Guatemala City was cleaner than I would have imagined. Although, I did not see a whole bunch of it. It is so green here. Lots of happy foliage. Large mountains of green all around it. Nice roads.

 I arrived at my B & B at 6:30. Fortunately one of the guests was able to let me in. I was not very excited about cruising around with a backpack that early in the morning. Especially on only an hour of sleep in a 26 hour period. But it all worked out. The little spot I will spend the first two nights is lovely. Beautiful spacious room and free wifi!

I was able to explore a little today. It is a very friendly walk around kind of town. Lots of Buenos dias as I walked to the bank. It was a very small bank that had two security guards. One even had a shotgun. Somehow they seemed friendly even with bullet proof vests and guns.

The streets here are made it seems from river rock. They are very bumpy. I believe it is cobblestones though. Being that it was founded in 1543 they are holding up very well. There are about 35,000 people here. I have only seen a small portion but it does not seem that crowded.

For a first day in a foreign city I'm feeling very relaxed. I had a great lunch and there I was reminded how happy I am to be here learning more spanish. The waitress got a few blank stares as did the super market clerk. I'm making along well enough though. Thank goodness for my spanish teacher the last 3 months. I would be a deer in headlights when talking with people if not for her.

Until next time...