 |
| Airport in Guatemala City |
|
I made it to Guatemala safely and as of
Sunday, I have been living with a family in a village on Lago de Atitlán . I
must admit the entire thing has been a bit over whelming. The vast amount of
visual and aural stimulation takes some getting used to. Luckily, the town I am
in is small, so it is hard to get lost without wandering out of town and the
family that I am with is very nice. Before I get into the present, I’ll back up
to Friday morning and start from the beginning.
I didn’t sleep much Thursday night. In
fact, I slept for only 2 or 3 hours between when I was done packing, (or
rather, when I was sure I hadn’t forgotten anything, which was around the 30th
time I check my bags) and needing to leave for the airport. The process of
getting to my gate was painless. The TSA people were direct, but pleasant and I
found where I needed to be without a problem. It was a quick flight to Houston
(we even got in early) where I had a brief layover before I left for Guatemala.
 |
| My room in Guatemala City |
|
 |
| Not Pollos Hermanos |
|
|
DAY 1: Our first night was spent in Ciudad
de Guatemala in a small hotel. We went out to lunch at a local fast food chain
called Pollo Comperos that does a few different takes on chicken (fried,
buffalo wings, sandwiches, etc.) before a few of us walked around the mall next
door and then the city itself. All eyes were on us at the restaurant and the
mall. Some people even took pictures with their phones. It is a weird feeling
to have that much attention on you because you are an outsider. It turns out
that crossing the street in Guatemala City is like playing life sized Frogger;
you have to wait for the right moment and be quick as there is a distinct lack
of crosswalks. It seems like there is an abundance of car exhaust in the air,
though I’m not sure if that is due to the number of vehicles, no emissions
regulations, or a combination of both.
Dinner was had at a pizza place called
Vesuvio where we were served pizzas by the meter. It turns out there is a
social work program here as well as an anthropology program. All in all we
total 44 students. A few of us explored more after dinner (most of the students
went to bed early) before going to hang out on the roof of our hotel to talk
and get to know one another. We met two local men who talked and joked with us
for a while. It made for immediate practice of the language. I also received a
nickname (Baby Face) because “no tienes
pelo de la cara!!” It was a ton of fun.
 |
| Sadly, I didn´t get a photo of my new friend, Kevin James de Guatemala (His name was Omar) |
 |
| Restraunt in Tecpan |
Day 2: We woke up early and had a small
breakfast of fruit, deli meat/cheese, bread, peanut butter and hazelnut spread
before loading up in to vans for the 2 hours drive to Tecpan for lunch. We went
to a small resort type of place (I guess people rent out small cabin like
structures and stay there) with small bits of seemingly randomness. For
instance there was a play area for children, including structures in the shape
and size of actual giraffes and elephants, as well as a small zoo area with
sheep, pigs, a rabbit, dogs, chickens, turkeys, ducks and a fox. After lunch we
jumped back in the vans to head off to Lago de Atitlán .
 |
| In the foreground is a ballcourt |
The social workers
went ahead to Panajachel (jokingly referred to as Gringotenango due to the high
number of white expatriates and tourists that live and visit there) immediately,
while the anthropologists were treated to a visit to Iximche (Ish-im-CHE). The
ruins of Iximche were amazing and I honestly have no way to describe them or
the feeling of being in a place like that, so pictures will have to suffice. On
our way out we talked to an indigenous woman who had a small table dedicated to
Mayan astrology. Using our birthdays (with the help of a book of course) she
told us (some of us at least as there were almost 20 students) about the
associated colors and elements that correlated with the symbol. It turns out I
am Aj (Ah-h), the armadillo.
Two hours later we were in Panajachel and
in our hotel. It would have been wise to nap, but I was still running on
adrenaline and decided to go for a walk with some fellow students. We stopped
at a small bakery and bought pan as a
snack. It was sweet and crumbly like cornbread. We eventually get to the shore
of the lake and met up with a few other students. We talked for a while then
decided to play hacky sack. It didn’t take long for a group to form up around
us to stare at the gringos kicking
around a small ball filled with sand. None of us seemed to mind. In fact, the
point was to be out in the community and have our faces seen – after all it
wouldn’t be the first time we would have to be out and about. Eventually a few
kids joined our circle and began playing with us.
 |
| At hotel Kachiquel in Panajachel |
|
This lasted until it became
too dark to see the ball and we had to leave for dinner. After dinner (and a
meeting) we went off to explore again. A huge procession of Católicos came down
the street carrying a statue of a religious figure. A fellow student told us that
they were still in their Easter celebration. The street was filled with incense
smoke, singing, and occasional firecrackers. We eventually all went back to the
hotel and made our way to the roof (again) to hang out and talk. This time we
had many more people with us (mostly anthropologists, but a few social workers
came to hang with us as well) and stayed up talking until one of the people who
worked at the hotel came and told us he had to lock up the roof, so we had to
leave. Most people went to bed at that point, but I went out for a walk with a
fellow student to see what Panajechjel was like at night. I have never seen
streets so empty outside of science fiction movies centered on futuristic
dystopias or the apocalypse. There was nothing around. The same street that was
flooded with market stalls, bright colors and people selling goods had
transformed into smooth brick facades and near absolute silence. A few hundred
feet up the road we found a taco stand and a few hundred feet after that a
second one. We eventually heard music and followed it to a small, local bar
that was packed with people and a live band playing rock music. Everyone was dancing
and having a good time and no one seemed to notice us or care that we were
there. After an hour of such adventure we called it a night and went to bed.
Day 3: Sunday started off early again with
a breakfast tipicos at the place we
had dinner. Eggs, frijoles, fruit, queso blanco, and toast filled us up
before we had to load into a van to get down to the docks (for ease of
transporting all of the luggage) to load up on a lancha to begin dropping us at our various villages.
 |
| Es un volcán |
Some students
are staying near the lake and took vans to get to their destinations but for
the rest of us that are living in villages on the lake we were treated to a
boat ride. I was last to get dropped off (though I am closest to Panajachel)
and so I was able to see the entirety of the lake including the 4 volcanoes
that dotted the area. I met my host family and was led to the house. The house
is up a series of steep alley steps… very steep. Luckily I don’t have to walk
up them often – twice a day at most – because my work takes me in to town for
extended periods. The worst part was lugging the water cooler sized container
of agua pura up the stairs and in to
my room (which is on the second floor, up to flights of steep stairs!), but I
could frankly use the exercise. Though mi
familia laughs at me every time I come home because I am panting do due a
combination of the exertion and the thinner air (I’m quite far about sea level)
often asking me ‘¿tú estás consado?’
 |
| Las bombas |
After I was shown my room we ate lunch (pollo con salsa y tortillas) and tried
talking a bit. I went over basics – ages, hobbies, asking about what various
sections of the town were – but also why there was tons of music blasting
through the town. It turns out that the church was celebrating not only mass,
but its anniversary. That night I was treated to fireworks at nearly eye level.
It was a cool way to spend a first night. We had dinner (a dish of spaghetti
and frijoles). I also got to try atol,
or at least what my family is calling atol.
It was a warm beverage made up of boiled tortillas and black beans. It was
think like porridge, not terrible in flavor, but very heavy. I was given this
before dinner. I was difficult to finish my meal because I was already full
from the atol. I learned s few
Kachiquel words that I will not risk writing here until I am certain of their
spelling, but there is a particular phrase used around meals – or at least it
seems specific to meals – it is pronounced (MAH-tee-O-sh) and I am told that it
is ‘igual de gracias’ though I am
sure the meaning is more intricate than that. I spent the remainder of the
evening playing games on my laptop with the youngest son (who is 14 and is very
excited to play ‘jugeos de computador’).
I feel bad sometimes because the
communication barrier is getting in the way of good conversation. I’m unsure
often what to talk about or if I have a subject to bring up I fumble through
the words often resulting in blank stares until I cobble together unconjugated
(or incorrectly conjugated) verbs and pantomime. I do okay most times and the
family is very patient, but I know that sometimes they understand something
different than what I meant to say. I worry about mistranslating something and
causing offense, but the practice is good when I can get it. They have taken to
pointing things out (the simplest things as you would when you teach a child to
speak) and giving me the Spanish word (and sometimes even the Kachiquel word).
I have to remember to constantly carry my libreta
on me, so that I can scribble down words as they come up. The mother and
grandfather even attempt small talk at times. It is part of the learning
experience and I’m having fun with it, though I know eventually I’ll have my
small bout of homesickness or days that it will be more frustrating than not.
There are no other students in my community, but luckily every Sunday is a
special outing and we do have various meetings from time to time. I do miss
home, but this experience has already been life changing for me after only a
few days.
