Bienvenidos Guatemala

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 30^th 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.