School´s out!

Due to what I thought were light clouds during last weekend´s trip up the volcano, I made the bold decision not to put sunscreen on.  Of course, my face got burned pretty bad, and despite copious amounts of aloe vera, I started to peel horribly after about 2 days.  This made making new friends in Xela really fun and easy.  I was hoping that when my old face fell off it would reveal a new, better one...maybe a little more George Clooney and a little less Steve Buscemi.  Unfortunately, it was still my usual face glaring back at me in the mirror on Friday when I finally looked halfway normal again.

I finished up my second week of school, and found it a bit hard to say goodbye to all the friends I had made in Xela.  Usually traveling is all about quick two or three day relationships, but staying in Xela has kind of thrown a wrench into that.  It´s also kept me inactive enough that I haven´t dropped the weight I usually do when I travel.  The street food is catching up to me...fried tortillas, fried pupusas, fried sandwiches, fried tacos.  At least the ceviche is kind of healthy...

Anyway, I´m on good old dial-up internet, so I´m not going to throw any pictures on here.  Hopefully I´ll actually have something picture-worthy next time!

Back to school

View from Volcan Santa Maria

I´ve been in Quetzaltenango (known locally as Xela) enrolled in intensive Spanish lessons for the past week. I´ve had 5 hours of one-on-one lessons in the morning, and have been taking the afternoons to explore the mountains around Xela.  If it makes anyone in Seattle feel any better, it´s been around 50 degrees and raining here for six straight days.  I didn´t realize it until I had to put them on, but all my cold weather clothes are either dark gray or black.  In a country where everyone dresses blindingly colorfully, I feel like a raincloud walking the streets.  Every day my teacher tells me I look like I´m mourning the death of a loved one.

This is what I look like at 12,220 feet

Anyway, the city has been great, and I´m trying to decide if I can bear it to stick around for a second week of lessons.  The school is very well-run, and I´ve met some really nice folks here.  The afternoon excursions that we´ve been taking have been great, but I won´t trouble you with the details of all the trips.  The one that does stand out is a recent climb up volcan Santa Maria, just south of town.  An intrepid group of myself, an Austrailan fellow, a Taiwanese guy, a French girl, two Guatemalans, and one very friendly dog made the climb up the 12,200' volcano in record slow time.

Upon reaching the top, we spent 15 minutes or so watching the clouds swirl in and around the surrounding mountains.  I was unaware that this (and most mountains in Guate) are sacred Mayan sites, and on this particular afternoon, there were multiple groups chanting, burning incense, and offering flowers, liquor, and fruit.  It was kind of a surreal scene as we caught glimpses of the Pacific ocean and Mexico off in the distance.  We each found our own spot in the grass at the summit and fell asleep to the sounds of chanting and smell of smoke.  I was a little disappointed that there wasn´t an animal sacrifice (yes, they happen!), but I guess you can´t have it all...

Oh yeah I also did some other random stuff.  Some pictures are here.

Napping...

Chichicastenango - Largest market in Central America

Changing gears...

Ah...I´ve missed the jungle

There´s a parrot around the corner of my building that has spent the last 30 minutes trying to get my attention.  I think I´ve heard him pull out almost 10 different languages and the sounds of 4 different animals (he´s now mewing like a very frustrated cat) as I sit on the balcony overlooking a garden courtyard full of lime trees and flowers while the cool breeze blows in off Lake Atitlan.  It has set me back a whopping $10 a night.  The only downside is that I have to share a room with a gorgeous Swiss girl.  Oh my life...

Anyway, I moved on from Antigua and spent a night in Panajachel on the shores of Lake Atitlan.  Not really my kind of place, but it was my first stop on my journey west, toward my next destination of Quetzaltenango.

Arrival in Antigua

The streets of Antigua

I arrived in Guatemala a bit nervous and overwhelmed.  My near total lack of research probably wasn´t the best choice, but I´ve kind of managed to get my feet under me here in Antigua.  Though it´s become apparent that I´m going to need to learn some more Spanish quickly, I have had a few minor successes here:

-Negotiating the purchase of a SIM card for my phone so I can stay in touch with people here
-Posing for pictures with a bunch of elementary school children on the hillside overlooking Antigua
-Eating a nutella banana strawberry crepe for breakfast two days in a row
-Remembering the word for clown (thank you, third grade Spanish in Ms. Gustafson´s class!)
  **See picture below for the nicest McDonald´s seating area I´ve ever seen.**

Ol´Ronald doesn´t seem enthused by the 500 year old ruins
or incredible volcano views behind him.

Let's go!

So here we are.  Tomorrow I'll be on my way out.  It's not the longest trip, nor the most adventurous, but hopefully I'll come out of it with something valuable.  My last trip to Central America was almost 10 years ago.  As you can see, I had significantly more hair on my head.  I like to think that maybe not too much else has changed.

At least I still fit into that shirt...

I can't promise many updates as I'm not much for writing, but I'll do my best.  Hang out for a little while, and I'll be back before you know it...