Sept 4 Tuesday The Trip to Zunil That Wasn't
Had a skimpy breakfast and walked to school. Today we have to find a "liberia" to buy new ball point pens since we are out of ink again. Patty begins with great gusto and then we left on a field trip that did not include the cemetery which was where Don/Juan were going. It was Spanish on foot or as the guys kept saying "Spanish para Mujers" (Spanish for women). We ended up at Hyper Paiz. We compared things and looked at shoes, clothes and all sorts of things speaking Spanish as much as I was able.
The afternoon activity was a trip to Zunil to visit a coop operation. We loaded up on a "Chicken Bus" with Palmenia our teach and guide. Everything was fine until we were about half way to Zunil at Almalonga. There we ran smack into a political parade that involved the whole town! The bus could not drive down the street. Everybody got off of the bus and had a partial refund. We thought that we could walk around the parade and get transportation on the other side to continue on to Zunil. The people were all very excited and friendly. The three of us made up a counter parade! Many people have here work in the USA and one man actually spoke to us in English! The parade had bands, dance groups, decorated cars and trucks and fireworks and decorated horses with riders in costume. Men on the horses were spectacular and put their horses through a parade routine. I got spooked at one point and jumped for the sidewalk! A Mayan women grabbed my arm and helped me up. We turned around and laughed when it turned out the horse did not come as close as it looked like he was going to. The Mayan women helped me back down to the street since the side walk was 2 feet or more off of the road.
We reached the center of the parade with the candidates and mongo rolls of fire works. I looked down as the roll of fireworks went by my feet and I realized they were going to light these things! We jumped and ran back with a large portion of the crowd standing around us. They also set a box of Roman candles in the street and lit those as well. It was supremely noisy!
We walked on and on and on and the parade had no end. Everybody in town and the surrounding area was IN the parade. No traffic was moving; No taxis, No buses --Nothing was going anywhere until the parade cleared. We were not able to continue to Zunil or return to Xela.
We took a side road to miss the parade going back the way we had come. We were hoping to find something moving on the other end to take us back to Xela. We walked through the outskirts of the village where we could see the fields and plots of land as far as the eye could see. We estimated that the side trip was at least 2 miles long. At the end of the road we attempted to get back to the main road through town and come out near the beginning of the parade. Not possible to do that-- we were back at the middle of the parade. Turning around we took another side street to by pass the parade and found that there was still no vehicle of any kind moving. By this time our little teacher, Palmenia, was beginning to mutter to herself. She was stuck in a town with two gringos with no idea how to get them home again! We came to a gas station and guess who needed to use the facilities there? While I was gone a microbus pulled in and both Palmenia and Don spoke to the driver about taking us back to Xela. The driver said he was not going to Xela until Don offered him 50 quetzales ($7.50) to make the trip. With relief Palmenia loaded us into the van and we headed back to be met with rain. We had our trusty umbrellas with us so we ran for McDonald's for something to eat because we were all starving. We finished at McDonald's and went home to dry off and rest. Our dinner was One chicken wing and a spoonful of carrots! Thank heavens we stopped and ate or it would have been a long night.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Sept 3 Monday Beginning of Last Week in Xela
Sept 3 Monday Beginning of Last Week in Xela
The day started as usual, nothing special about it. I spent the morning working with Patty until mid-morning when we left on a short field trip to the Hyper Piaz. Patty wanted to check out stationary bikes because her father agreed to pay for one so she can get some exercise. Diabetes runs in her family and she has an uncle that is on his last leg from it.
On Friday we had spent time at the Ropa Tipica museum. It was so very interesting and I learned a lot about the garments the Mayans wear every day. If I had a better understanding of Spanish I would have learned a lot more. After we finished the museum we went to Mount Blanc and smaller shopping mall. Patty was holding my feet to the fire over the missed class hour. We got a cup chocolate-con-leche and had a Spanish lesson at the same time. This week we are still adding 30 minutes to lesson time to complete the make-up.
Monday afternoon was free. Ha! Ha! We set out on foot to buy bus tickets for our last week in Guatemala. We were successful in getting a ticket to Guatemala City right after class on Friday which means we will eat an early lunch. We will purchase tickets to Flores in GUA city. Hurricane Felix has played fast and loose with our travel plans. Susan has played the roll of 'weather person' sending us text messages about the movement of the storm. The little cell phone works really well. We were concerned that Felix would go in around Peten near the Tikal ruins which is where we were going. It fizzled out and became a lot of rain for us which could cause flooding in Xela.
I had a screw fall out of my glasses at the finca. We wrapped up the new glasses with the screw and I pulled out my older back up glasses to get through until today. We went to Mount Blanc to get it repair.
The day started as usual, nothing special about it. I spent the morning working with Patty until mid-morning when we left on a short field trip to the Hyper Piaz. Patty wanted to check out stationary bikes because her father agreed to pay for one so she can get some exercise. Diabetes runs in her family and she has an uncle that is on his last leg from it.
On Friday we had spent time at the Ropa Tipica museum. It was so very interesting and I learned a lot about the garments the Mayans wear every day. If I had a better understanding of Spanish I would have learned a lot more. After we finished the museum we went to Mount Blanc and smaller shopping mall. Patty was holding my feet to the fire over the missed class hour. We got a cup chocolate-con-leche and had a Spanish lesson at the same time. This week we are still adding 30 minutes to lesson time to complete the make-up.
Monday afternoon was free. Ha! Ha! We set out on foot to buy bus tickets for our last week in Guatemala. We were successful in getting a ticket to Guatemala City right after class on Friday which means we will eat an early lunch. We will purchase tickets to Flores in GUA city. Hurricane Felix has played fast and loose with our travel plans. Susan has played the roll of 'weather person' sending us text messages about the movement of the storm. The little cell phone works really well. We were concerned that Felix would go in around Peten near the Tikal ruins which is where we were going. It fizzled out and became a lot of rain for us which could cause flooding in Xela.
I had a screw fall out of my glasses at the finca. We wrapped up the new glasses with the screw and I pulled out my older back up glasses to get through until today. We went to Mount Blanc to get it repair.
Sept 2 Sunday at the Finca --Waterfall!
Sept 2 Sunday at the Finca --Waterfall!
Thanks to Don and his phone alarm we were up at 6 am. I had to hunt the phone down in the suitcase before it went off a second time! Breakfast was to be at 8 am so Don and I had some time to wait. We went out onto the veranda and enjoyed the view and to watch the sun light up the world. We could see mountains in the distance and fields and trees we did not recognize.
Breakfast was pancakes and oatmeal with bananas and fresco (fruit drink). After breakfast we took a shorter hike to swim in the waterfall. The trail was partly the same one we took on Saturday but branched off and headed straight down. It was hard on the knees but we took care and did okay. Part of the trail was blocked by a mud slide and the waterfall swim was nearly cancelled. The rest of the group was a good deal younger than Don and I so it was really up to us rather or not we thought we could make the climb over the mud slide and continue on. My response was-- let's give it a try -- and with a little help and the use of my knees (short legs are not a blessing) we climbed over the mud slide. It was so worth the work to get to the waterfall. This waterfall is in the jungle so there was no 'beach front' to shed your clothes and put your things down to stay dry. We all had to find a spot that was relatively safe and dry to change out of our clothes. The water coming down off of the mountain had not warmed up any--it was still really cold and the waterfall was forceful but I really liked the massage/shower. It was still a cold shower but with water pressure! The water was so cold it took your breath away. After struggling back into our long pants we started back to the hotel. The return trip was much harder as we had to climb the mountain. The group of young people were polite and waited for me even assisting on spots were my short legs were a problem.
Dirty but satisfied we returned to the hotel. The cold shower actually felt good and almost warm compared to the waterfall. We had lunch and a break during which we packed all of our wet and dirty clothes so we were ready to return to Xela.
We were later leaving than our tour guide would have liked. It was looking like we would not make it down the mountain before the afternoon rain and we would be changing to the covered van at the bottom of the mountain. The first part of the trip back was done in the back of the pick up with one added person. We all had to put on our ponchos and we put our luggage in plastic bags. It was still a rough trip down and this time we got a little wet. We made it to the van and transferred luggage and all before the heavens opened up! We drove through the monsoon with Don predicting that the rain would stop at a certain time. He was right because it did stop raining at 5 pm which was when we had driven to the other side of the Santa Maria mountain and the rain was blocked. We had dinner at McDonald's followed by church for the 7 pm Mass and then home to our host family.
Thanks to Don and his phone alarm we were up at 6 am. I had to hunt the phone down in the suitcase before it went off a second time! Breakfast was to be at 8 am so Don and I had some time to wait. We went out onto the veranda and enjoyed the view and to watch the sun light up the world. We could see mountains in the distance and fields and trees we did not recognize.
Breakfast was pancakes and oatmeal with bananas and fresco (fruit drink). After breakfast we took a shorter hike to swim in the waterfall. The trail was partly the same one we took on Saturday but branched off and headed straight down. It was hard on the knees but we took care and did okay. Part of the trail was blocked by a mud slide and the waterfall swim was nearly cancelled. The rest of the group was a good deal younger than Don and I so it was really up to us rather or not we thought we could make the climb over the mud slide and continue on. My response was-- let's give it a try -- and with a little help and the use of my knees (short legs are not a blessing) we climbed over the mud slide. It was so worth the work to get to the waterfall. This waterfall is in the jungle so there was no 'beach front' to shed your clothes and put your things down to stay dry. We all had to find a spot that was relatively safe and dry to change out of our clothes. The water coming down off of the mountain had not warmed up any--it was still really cold and the waterfall was forceful but I really liked the massage/shower. It was still a cold shower but with water pressure! The water was so cold it took your breath away. After struggling back into our long pants we started back to the hotel. The return trip was much harder as we had to climb the mountain. The group of young people were polite and waited for me even assisting on spots were my short legs were a problem.
Dirty but satisfied we returned to the hotel. The cold shower actually felt good and almost warm compared to the waterfall. We had lunch and a break during which we packed all of our wet and dirty clothes so we were ready to return to Xela.
We were later leaving than our tour guide would have liked. It was looking like we would not make it down the mountain before the afternoon rain and we would be changing to the covered van at the bottom of the mountain. The first part of the trip back was done in the back of the pick up with one added person. We all had to put on our ponchos and we put our luggage in plastic bags. It was still a rough trip down and this time we got a little wet. We made it to the van and transferred luggage and all before the heavens opened up! We drove through the monsoon with Don predicting that the rain would stop at a certain time. He was right because it did stop raining at 5 pm which was when we had driven to the other side of the Santa Maria mountain and the rain was blocked. We had dinner at McDonald's followed by church for the 7 pm Mass and then home to our host family.
Sept 1 Saturday Finca Trip and Waterfall
Sept 1 Saturday Finca Trip and Waterfall
We planned a weekend trip to a Finca as a break for us and for our host family. We were hoping for more hot water and a change in menus. After we had put down a deposit for this trip we discovered that Sandra was going to be installed as queen during a coronation ceremony on Saturday. We decided that we had put in our time at the selection and that we would go to the finca.
The Finca was the "Communidad Nueva Aliana" and it is a cooperative of about 40 families. These families live and work together. We woke at 5:30 am Saturday so we could eat a bit of breakfast before meeting with the rest of the group headed for the finca. We traveled in a mini bus most of the way. When we stopped for gas we picked up a police escort for the remainder of the trip up the mountain. They were concerned about our safety if local people became aware of steady trips by tourist (who might have money). The police escort did not allow their pictures to be taken. At the bottom of the mountain we changed vehicles. We climbed into the bed of a small Toyota pick up truck which had a frame attached on which a tarp could be stretched over to provide shelter from the rain. It was a rough ride but the view was splendid.
We moved into our room, a hostel style hotel with five bunks to a room. They operate it like a hotel and it is a source of income for the community. While we had lights from the small hydro-electric plant, we had NO hot water! I think I am getting used to cold showers!! Dropping our stuff on our selected bunks (on the bottom) we packed the light back packs for a 3 hour hike. It was cool to be in the rain forest.
The coffee plants are scatted allover the forest. Some varieties of coffee like a more shady growing environment. We had a young boy as a tour guide with a translator. Given half a chance the boy could become a very valuable member of that community. Our first stop on the hike was a coffee bean plant. We were able to taste the "fruit" around the coffee been. It is very sweet. The seed is embedded inside like a grape seed, it is larger than a grape seed of course. The seed is slimy with a coating call "miel" which has to be stripped off during processing. The boy was very informative and answered our questions though an interpreter, Nick.
Next we looked at macadamia sees which is another growing cash crop. The seeds are picked up from the ground unlike the coffee bean which is picked from the bush -- both are picked by hand. It takes a whole lot of either seed to make any money from them. Coffee prices are subject to change at any whim.
We continued the hike up and down and around on the mountain. Our young guide pointed out plants that the community have found useful, edible or medicinal. One such plant has gigantic leaves which are edible. We stood under one such leaf that was as big as a beach umbrella.
We reached a spot where, if you had your swimsuit ON you can play in the water coming down from the mountain. The water is extremely cold but we found it refreshing when we rolled up our pants and put on swim shoes and waded in. The outside temperature was warm but not hot. The hiking up and down was work and the water really felt good.
After the hike we ate lunch. It was typical food of the Mayan people but the beans were not re-fried. The meals here at the finca do not include meats because they have no refrigeration. The small hydro-electric plant if fed from water coming down the mountain and supplies a little light but not enough to run refrigerators. The hotel is the only building that has the capability of storing energy. We had a short break after lunch.
A tour of the coffee making operation was next on the agenda. The plant is about 70 years old and requires a lot of human labor to operate. This plant goes through 5 prep stages in coffee production. The tour guide took us step by step through the processes that are done here. The actual roasting of the coffee bean is done by the company who buys to beans. During the coffee tour it rained like I had expected it to rain in Guatemala. It was a monsoon. It lasted exactly 2 hours so that when we walked out we walked into sunshine. We went back to the hotel which was just a short walk and prepared for dinner. After we ate we had a lecture on the development of the finca. It was a sad tale of greed on the part of the plantation owner and the struggle of the people who were born on the land saving their history/homes. The day was warm but it cooled off nicely to allow for a good nights sleep.
We planned a weekend trip to a Finca as a break for us and for our host family. We were hoping for more hot water and a change in menus. After we had put down a deposit for this trip we discovered that Sandra was going to be installed as queen during a coronation ceremony on Saturday. We decided that we had put in our time at the selection and that we would go to the finca.
The Finca was the "Communidad Nueva Aliana" and it is a cooperative of about 40 families. These families live and work together. We woke at 5:30 am Saturday so we could eat a bit of breakfast before meeting with the rest of the group headed for the finca. We traveled in a mini bus most of the way. When we stopped for gas we picked up a police escort for the remainder of the trip up the mountain. They were concerned about our safety if local people became aware of steady trips by tourist (who might have money). The police escort did not allow their pictures to be taken. At the bottom of the mountain we changed vehicles. We climbed into the bed of a small Toyota pick up truck which had a frame attached on which a tarp could be stretched over to provide shelter from the rain. It was a rough ride but the view was splendid.
We moved into our room, a hostel style hotel with five bunks to a room. They operate it like a hotel and it is a source of income for the community. While we had lights from the small hydro-electric plant, we had NO hot water! I think I am getting used to cold showers!! Dropping our stuff on our selected bunks (on the bottom) we packed the light back packs for a 3 hour hike. It was cool to be in the rain forest.
The coffee plants are scatted allover the forest. Some varieties of coffee like a more shady growing environment. We had a young boy as a tour guide with a translator. Given half a chance the boy could become a very valuable member of that community. Our first stop on the hike was a coffee bean plant. We were able to taste the "fruit" around the coffee been. It is very sweet. The seed is embedded inside like a grape seed, it is larger than a grape seed of course. The seed is slimy with a coating call "miel" which has to be stripped off during processing. The boy was very informative and answered our questions though an interpreter, Nick.
Next we looked at macadamia sees which is another growing cash crop. The seeds are picked up from the ground unlike the coffee bean which is picked from the bush -- both are picked by hand. It takes a whole lot of either seed to make any money from them. Coffee prices are subject to change at any whim.
We continued the hike up and down and around on the mountain. Our young guide pointed out plants that the community have found useful, edible or medicinal. One such plant has gigantic leaves which are edible. We stood under one such leaf that was as big as a beach umbrella.
We reached a spot where, if you had your swimsuit ON you can play in the water coming down from the mountain. The water is extremely cold but we found it refreshing when we rolled up our pants and put on swim shoes and waded in. The outside temperature was warm but not hot. The hiking up and down was work and the water really felt good.
After the hike we ate lunch. It was typical food of the Mayan people but the beans were not re-fried. The meals here at the finca do not include meats because they have no refrigeration. The small hydro-electric plant if fed from water coming down the mountain and supplies a little light but not enough to run refrigerators. The hotel is the only building that has the capability of storing energy. We had a short break after lunch.
A tour of the coffee making operation was next on the agenda. The plant is about 70 years old and requires a lot of human labor to operate. This plant goes through 5 prep stages in coffee production. The tour guide took us step by step through the processes that are done here. The actual roasting of the coffee bean is done by the company who buys to beans. During the coffee tour it rained like I had expected it to rain in Guatemala. It was a monsoon. It lasted exactly 2 hours so that when we walked out we walked into sunshine. We went back to the hotel which was just a short walk and prepared for dinner. After we ate we had a lecture on the development of the finca. It was a sad tale of greed on the part of the plantation owner and the struggle of the people who were born on the land saving their history/homes. The day was warm but it cooled off nicely to allow for a good nights sleep.
Aug 31 Friday Copovic Glass Field Trip
Aug 31 Friday Copovic Glass Field Trip
Early this morning we were scheduled to go to a re-cycled glass factory. This factory is a cooperative. We took a chicken bus with both Patty and Juan. There was no glass being blown today. They had one melting oven cranked up and red hot inside. Several men were cleaning and testing some pitchers that were headed for Italy. One man was sorting and cleaning a mountain of white class. He was using a rake to sift through the class and later it was put into a fame with a screen on it to shake out small pieces of glass and dirt. There were huge piles of colored glass waiting for the same treatment. In the shop there was a large selection of items to buy. don and I wanted to bring Hortensia a gift and finally selected a frosted pitcher with moon and stars on it. Fo us we chose a heavy, solid blue rendering of the Virgin Mary. That was our choice because not only was it beautiful it was solid and therefore not fragile so that it would transport fairly safely. None of us were in a great hurry to get back to class. We went to a tienda and bought a snack and made our way to the bus stop for the return trip.
Since I had missed class on Friday Patty and I made plans to go to a museum of typical clothing. I wanted an easy as well as interesting day and Patty needed to make up the time so that she would be paid for the teaching time. The lecture that Don and I had attended on the Naulies came in handy and I was delighted. It was nice to be able to follow the Spanish lecture of the docent as we made our way through each room. We met Patty at her college, Landiver, at 4 pm and we spent 2 hours looking at "Ropa tipica" in the museum. All of the tops and the skirts have designs in them that tie in with the earth, sun, moon and the Mayan calendar. Patty and I will have to work in the rest of the hours that I missed. She will keep my feet to the fire till all hours have been made up.
Early this morning we were scheduled to go to a re-cycled glass factory. This factory is a cooperative. We took a chicken bus with both Patty and Juan. There was no glass being blown today. They had one melting oven cranked up and red hot inside. Several men were cleaning and testing some pitchers that were headed for Italy. One man was sorting and cleaning a mountain of white class. He was using a rake to sift through the class and later it was put into a fame with a screen on it to shake out small pieces of glass and dirt. There were huge piles of colored glass waiting for the same treatment. In the shop there was a large selection of items to buy. don and I wanted to bring Hortensia a gift and finally selected a frosted pitcher with moon and stars on it. Fo us we chose a heavy, solid blue rendering of the Virgin Mary. That was our choice because not only was it beautiful it was solid and therefore not fragile so that it would transport fairly safely. None of us were in a great hurry to get back to class. We went to a tienda and bought a snack and made our way to the bus stop for the return trip.
Since I had missed class on Friday Patty and I made plans to go to a museum of typical clothing. I wanted an easy as well as interesting day and Patty needed to make up the time so that she would be paid for the teaching time. The lecture that Don and I had attended on the Naulies came in handy and I was delighted. It was nice to be able to follow the Spanish lecture of the docent as we made our way through each room. We met Patty at her college, Landiver, at 4 pm and we spent 2 hours looking at "Ropa tipica" in the museum. All of the tops and the skirts have designs in them that tie in with the earth, sun, moon and the Mayan calendar. Patty and I will have to work in the rest of the hours that I missed. She will keep my feet to the fire till all hours have been made up.
Aug 30 Thurs Pot Luck at Kie-Balam (school)
Aug 30 Thurs Pot Luck at Kie-Balam (school)
Up and ready to roll the same as usual. After a terrific breakfast (Ha!) we walked to school. Today we will be preparing a pot luck lunch. Can I tell you how much I hate pot luck meals? Anyway all of the students who wish to participate will be in the kitchen around 11:30 am. Of course that means we have to go to the mercado during our Spanish lessons. I decided not to make a gumbo because I could not face buying the meat for it plus I did not want to be standing over a pot of roux forever. I bought some green beans and onions to stir fry. We bought way to much as usual, however the final results were good. The beans could have been a bit more tender but time ran out so we ate them aldente. Don & Juan made a salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions with vinegar, salt and pepper. Then Don remembered that he had a hankering for guacamole so the Don/Juan duo went after avocados. Much to my great surprise the guac tasted simply terrific and the surprise was because I had to 'wing it' on the spices and other ingredients.
Marlo, the school director, contributed a casserole with spinach, potato, red pepper, cilantro, parsley, salt & pepper. Patty made a drink "tipico" of pineapple. The meal and the company was great. I had been longing for greens for some time and this was just what I needed.
Our plans for the evening was to go to San Carlos University to watch a performance of typical Mayan folkloric dances. Marlo invited herself to go to the event with us. We picked her up (on foot) and then took a microbus part way. It was part way because we found ourselves on a bus that didn't so where we wanted it to and Marlo had been involved looking at the pictures on our camera. Don was the one who noticed we were going to leave the area of San Carlos. We got off the bus and walked to the campus which was alive with people!! There was a rock concert going on in the courtyard. Then we discovered that the folkloric program had been cancelled! Disappointed we headed home on foot in the dark! Marlo took my arm & walked on the outside so she would be the one at risk and not one of her students. When walking around in Xela you will often see a mother and daughter hooked arm and arm or two girl friends hooked arm and arm and if I had to guess why they do that it would be because of the fear of children being kidnapped which occurred in the recent past in Guatemala. Even here there is safety in numbers and never go out alone--find a buddy.
When we reached our "home" neighborhood we went to Cubatenango for a burrito. They were great! They are tortillas filled with rice, beans, tomato, avocado, lettuce and wrapped as a sandwich. We continued our trek home and then Marlo invited us to have a cup of chocolate-con-leche (hot chocolate) at Cafe Q at Kie-Balam. The chocolate was terrific but we headed home soon after finishing.
Up and ready to roll the same as usual. After a terrific breakfast (Ha!) we walked to school. Today we will be preparing a pot luck lunch. Can I tell you how much I hate pot luck meals? Anyway all of the students who wish to participate will be in the kitchen around 11:30 am. Of course that means we have to go to the mercado during our Spanish lessons. I decided not to make a gumbo because I could not face buying the meat for it plus I did not want to be standing over a pot of roux forever. I bought some green beans and onions to stir fry. We bought way to much as usual, however the final results were good. The beans could have been a bit more tender but time ran out so we ate them aldente. Don & Juan made a salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions with vinegar, salt and pepper. Then Don remembered that he had a hankering for guacamole so the Don/Juan duo went after avocados. Much to my great surprise the guac tasted simply terrific and the surprise was because I had to 'wing it' on the spices and other ingredients.
Marlo, the school director, contributed a casserole with spinach, potato, red pepper, cilantro, parsley, salt & pepper. Patty made a drink "tipico" of pineapple. The meal and the company was great. I had been longing for greens for some time and this was just what I needed.
Our plans for the evening was to go to San Carlos University to watch a performance of typical Mayan folkloric dances. Marlo invited herself to go to the event with us. We picked her up (on foot) and then took a microbus part way. It was part way because we found ourselves on a bus that didn't so where we wanted it to and Marlo had been involved looking at the pictures on our camera. Don was the one who noticed we were going to leave the area of San Carlos. We got off the bus and walked to the campus which was alive with people!! There was a rock concert going on in the courtyard. Then we discovered that the folkloric program had been cancelled! Disappointed we headed home on foot in the dark! Marlo took my arm & walked on the outside so she would be the one at risk and not one of her students. When walking around in Xela you will often see a mother and daughter hooked arm and arm or two girl friends hooked arm and arm and if I had to guess why they do that it would be because of the fear of children being kidnapped which occurred in the recent past in Guatemala. Even here there is safety in numbers and never go out alone--find a buddy.
When we reached our "home" neighborhood we went to Cubatenango for a burrito. They were great! They are tortillas filled with rice, beans, tomato, avocado, lettuce and wrapped as a sandwich. We continued our trek home and then Marlo invited us to have a cup of chocolate-con-leche (hot chocolate) at Cafe Q at Kie-Balam. The chocolate was terrific but we headed home soon after finishing.
Aug 28 _ La Democracia Mercado
Aug 28_Tuesday La Democracia Mercado
We got up, had breakfast, went to school, then went to bed. What more is there to say? Actually, we had scrambled eggs to begin our day with the starchy hot drink call atoll. I am not sure if it adds anything to the diet but it is hot and warms the tummy.
Patty kept me busy just as I had requested. We worked hard for most of the morning then joined Don and Juan on a field trip. Turned out that the museum they had planned to take us to we had already seen with Marlo one evening the week before. So we made new plans and took off for the Mercado near Parque Central. Don wanted some music CD’s and we had searched every place we thought would have the music with no success. The black market is alive and well in GUA. Don found music he wanted and then had the help of Juan to purchase them. When we were done with shopping we went to McDonalds for a coke. Both teachers broke out the Spanish lessons and we went back to work. We had Spanish-on-foot most of the morning.
After school we had enough time to have lunch and rest a bit before meeting Palmenia, another teacher, for our afternoon activity. We went to la democracia, a city block or more of little shops. They had small stalls set up with belts, hats, purses, back packs, fruits and vegetables, yard goods, shoes or just about anything you could think you might possibly need. I am not sure how you would find something specific but I bet it would be here. It was colorful and noisy which is pretty typical. We stopped at a Mennonite bakery where we bought some raisin bread, cheese, and a small apple loaf to share for mid-morning snack.
We are making plans to spend a weekend away from the family. It is about time we all had a break. There is an overnight trip to a finca. The finca is a plantation which is worker owned and operated cooperative in the mountains outside of Xela. There is a minivan that will hold 8 people necessary to make the trip a “go” and comes with an English speaking guide. We put down a deposit and then had to wait to see if they would pick up 4 more people by the weekend. Fingers and toes are crossed because I am ready for new scenery and a different menu and less noise. The Xicara family are nice people but all of them are addicted to sound. The house sounds hollow and sound travels and it is hard to study at the house.
No dinner at home. We worked upstairs until time to eat. I can last til 7:30pm but need to eat by then. There was only the older son at home when we went down and he was on his cell phone. He left just as we decided that we would have to go out and feed ourselves. We went to Cubatenago and shared a California style burrito. While we were there the owners put in a movie for his customers. It was about a revolution in San Salvador which from the little we watch while eating was not going to end well so we left after we were done eating. We returned to the house and the family was all seated around the table eating. They looked a little concerned when we said we did not need to eat. They are to provide three meals a day along with a room & hot water to be a host family. If I were to speculate I would have to thing that it is the end of the month and the Xela queen pageant turned out to be expensive. Food is getting rather simple and scarce.
We got up, had breakfast, went to school, then went to bed. What more is there to say?
Patty kept me busy just as I had requested. We worked hard for most of the morning then joined Don and Juan on a field trip. Turned out that the museum they had planned to take us to we had already seen with Marlo one evening the week before. So we made new plans and took off for the Mercado near Parque Central. Don wanted some music CD’s and we had searched every place we thought would have the music with no success. The black market is alive and well in GUA. Don found music he wanted and then had the help of Juan to purchase them. When we were done with shopping we went to McDonalds for a coke. Both teachers broke out the Spanish lessons and we went back to work. We had Spanish-on-foot most of the morning.
After school we had enough time to have lunch and rest a bit before meeting Palmenia, another teacher, for our afternoon activity. We went to la democracia, a city block or more of little shops. They had small stalls set up with belts, hats, purses, back packs, fruits and vegetables, yard goods, shoes or just about anything you could think you might possibly need. I am not sure how you would find something specific but I bet it would be here. It was colorful and noisy which is pretty typical. We stopped at a Mennonite bakery where we bought some raisin bread, cheese, and a small apple loaf to share for mid-morning snack.
We are making plans to spend a weekend away from the family. It is about time we all had a break. There is an overnight trip to a finca. The finca is a plantation which is worker owned and operated cooperative in the mountains outside of Xela. There is a minivan that will hold 8 people necessary to make the trip a “go” and comes with an English speaking guide. We put down a deposit and then had to wait to see if they would pick up 4 more people by the weekend. Fingers and toes are crossed because I am ready for new scenery and a different menu and less noise. The Xicara family are nice people but all of them are addicted to sound. The house sounds hollow and sound travels and it is hard to study at the house.
No dinner at home. We worked upstairs until time to eat. I can last til 7:30pm but need to eat by then. There was only the older son at home when we went down and he was on his cell phone. He left just as we decided that we would have to go out and feed ourselves. We went to Cubatenago and shared a California style burrito. While we were there the owners put in a movie for his customers. It was about a revolution in San Salvador which from the little we watch while eating was not going to end well so we left after we were done eating. We returned to the house and the family was all seated around the table eating. They looked a little concerned when we said we did not need to eat. They are to provide three meals a day along with a room & hot water to be a host family. If I were to speculate I would have to thing that it is the end of the month and the Xela queen pageant turned out to be expensive. Food is getting rather simple and scarce.
Aug 26_Sunday_Church
Aug 26_Sunday_Church
The Cathedral off of Parque Central (Central Park) is a magnificant building. It has a white facade and is especially beautiful when it is lit up at night. The inside is huge and very beautiful. There are many side altars with statues of saints in beautiful display cases. All of these side altars have a place in front to place candles which are well used. There are beautiful altar clothes and some of the statues also have on colorful robes or dresses.
We slept in this morning. We got up to dress for church about 8 am. I wore the ugly skirt I bought for $4 with long johns underneath. We went down for breakfast which was a no show. We packed our study stuff and our journals and headed for the church to check Mass schedules for Sunday then we went to McDonald’s for the big breakfast of eggs and sausage. The Mass was somewhat better this morning. There was no outside noise such as firecrackers or vehicles with PA systems on top blairing out more noise. We had some little Mass booklets that help us navigate the Spanish service better. After church we went to the little restaurant Don and Juan love because of the Chocolate con leche (hot chocolate).
Una pelicula y no estudiar --Time off from studying
Sunday afternoon we took the microbus to Hyper Piaz to go to a movie. We wanted to take Mariana (the 9 year old) to see the penquin movie but I am guessing that will never happen. Anyway the movie was a cheap date but not a great movie at all. It was however in English with Spanish subtitles!
Back home for our little bit of dinner and a good nights sleep.
The Cathedral off of Parque Central (Central Park) is a magnificant building. It has a white facade and is especially beautiful when it is lit up at night. The inside is huge and very beautiful. There are many side altars with statues of saints in beautiful display cases. All of these side altars have a place in front to place candles which are well used. There are beautiful altar clothes and some of the statues also have on colorful robes or dresses.
We slept in this morning. We got up to dress for church about 8 am. I wore the ugly skirt I bought for $4 with long johns underneath. We went down for breakfast which was a no show. We packed our study stuff and our journals and headed for the church to check Mass schedules for Sunday then we went to McDonald’s for the big breakfast of eggs and sausage. The Mass was somewhat better this morning. There was no outside noise such as firecrackers or vehicles with PA systems on top blairing out more noise. We had some little Mass booklets that help us navigate the Spanish service better. After church we went to the little restaurant Don and Juan love because of the Chocolate con leche (hot chocolate).
Una pelicula y no estudiar --Time off from studying
Sunday afternoon we took the microbus to Hyper Piaz to go to a movie. We wanted to take Mariana (the 9 year old) to see the penquin movie but I am guessing that will never happen. Anyway the movie was a cheap date but not a great movie at all. It was however in English with Spanish subtitles!
Back home for our little bit of dinner and a good nights sleep.
Aug 29_Wednesday Clinic Field Trip
Aug 29_Wednesday Clinic Field Trip
Breakfast was a big bowl of fresh fruit. Hortensia cut up a banana, pineapple, & papayas. It tasted great but will not hold up very long. If we walk during class we use up a lot of energy walking up and down on cobblestone and broken sideways avoiding chicken buses and microbuses.
Today was another field trip with Patty as a PT student. We met the other two girls who are grouped together for these traveling clinic/hospital visits at the Benito Juarez Park traveling by microbus. We boarded a chicken bus and nearly missed getting off at the right village outside of Xela. We walked down main street to the clinic site. There they saw one patient, a women with a shoulder problem. It was a poor clinic with a staff of at least 5 or 6 therapist. As far as I could see they were doing much of the same treatments used at the rehab center, at least the treatments that did not require a lot of equipment.
The PT students all have to wear a navy blue uniform when they go out to do a clinical visit. They look nice and neat and professional.
The return trip was typical. We waited for a microbus going back to Xela and found some seats that were not occupied (that is sorta tricky on these things). By the time we were headed back to Xela there were 25 people stuffed into the van that would hold only 15 people here in the states. The last five people were hunched over and standing! Yes they can see that no seats are available and they get on anyway.
Breakfast was a big bowl of fresh fruit. Hortensia cut up a banana, pineapple, & papayas. It tasted great but will not hold up very long. If we walk during class we use up a lot of energy walking up and down on cobblestone and broken sideways avoiding chicken buses and microbuses.
Today was another field trip with Patty as a PT student. We met the other two girls who are grouped together for these traveling clinic/hospital visits at the Benito Juarez Park traveling by microbus. We boarded a chicken bus and nearly missed getting off at the right village outside of Xela. We walked down main street to the clinic site. There they saw one patient, a women with a shoulder problem. It was a poor clinic with a staff of at least 5 or 6 therapist. As far as I could see they were doing much of the same treatments used at the rehab center, at least the treatments that did not require a lot of equipment.
The PT students all have to wear a navy blue uniform when they go out to do a clinical visit. They look nice and neat and professional.
The return trip was typical. We waited for a microbus going back to Xela and found some seats that were not occupied (that is sorta tricky on these things). By the time we were headed back to Xela there were 25 people stuffed into the van that would hold only 15 people here in the states. The last five people were hunched over and standing! Yes they can see that no seats are available and they get on anyway.
Aug 27_Monday The Third Week
Aug 27_Monday The Third Week
The day began as it usually does, with just enough breakfast to prevent starvation. We got to school and had to review the “extra” activities. This week we are being a bit more selective because they are running us to death.
We were also given the choice of keeping our teachers or trying new ones. It was recommended that we change teachers so we could ‘hear’ different voices. Don and Juan are making progress and work well together. Patty and I are doing okay. I don’t think Patty is as experienced as Juan but since I am a real beginner in Spanish she is doing okay and I think I will stick with her.
Patty is studying to be a physical therapist and is 24 years old. On Wednesday this week she is taking me with her to a training session at her hospital. She makes me think of Robyn and I have told her that often worked with Robyn as she learned to verbalize her exercise sessions for class.
Today I requested that we try to add some conversation sentences to my Spanish and cut back on conjugating verbs. Since Sandra was selected Queen we are mixing with a lot of people. I would like to be able to answer simple questions and to inform people that I am a student of Spanish and know “un poquito” (a little) Spanish. Marlo spoke with Patty about a course of action for my Spanish. By the time she was done Patty had a whole new set of instructions dealing with my Spanish progress. I have to give Patty credit for dealing with the new direction. We spent more time talking and by doing that I am better able to listen and hear the Spanish spoken to me. I will still need to do a lot of verb conjugating but I felt better able to meet with people at the house and even in the city. Don and I plan to continue our studies once we are done here and I foresee a lot of verb conjugating in my future --- yeah!
The day began as it usually does, with just enough breakfast to prevent starvation. We got to school and had to review the “extra” activities. This week we are being a bit more selective because they are running us to death.
We were also given the choice of keeping our teachers or trying new ones. It was recommended that we change teachers so we could ‘hear’ different voices. Don and Juan are making progress and work well together. Patty and I are doing okay. I don’t think Patty is as experienced as Juan but since I am a real beginner in Spanish she is doing okay and I think I will stick with her.
Patty is studying to be a physical therapist and is 24 years old. On Wednesday this week she is taking me with her to a training session at her hospital. She makes me think of Robyn and I have told her that often worked with Robyn as she learned to verbalize her exercise sessions for class.
Today I requested that we try to add some conversation sentences to my Spanish and cut back on conjugating verbs. Since Sandra was selected Queen we are mixing with a lot of people. I would like to be able to answer simple questions and to inform people that I am a student of Spanish and know “un poquito” (a little) Spanish. Marlo spoke with Patty about a course of action for my Spanish. By the time she was done Patty had a whole new set of instructions dealing with my Spanish progress. I have to give Patty credit for dealing with the new direction. We spent more time talking and by doing that I am better able to listen and hear the Spanish spoken to me. I will still need to do a lot of verb conjugating but I felt better able to meet with people at the house and even in the city. Don and I plan to continue our studies once we are done here and I foresee a lot of verb conjugating in my future --- yeah!
Aug 24 Friday Sick in Bed
Aug 24 Friday Sick in Bed
I woke up feeling terrible so I decided to stay in bed. We were going to a glass factory but Don & I were the only ones going so Don decided to stay at school and work on more verbs with Juan. Hortensia came up and inquired on my health and later brought up a bowl of fresh fruit. In felt bad enough to stay in bed all day today. Don came home on the school break around 10 am to check on me. By evening I felt a great deal better – or so I thought – at any rate I got up and dressed for the Friday event of the Indigenous Queen pageant, the Umial Tinimit re Xelajuj Noj; Mayan Queen. I was soon miserable waiting for the start of the event. We stood in line with the family waiting for the doors to be opened and when they did the family saw to it that we had good seats in the middle of the theater. We then proceeded to wait, and wait, and wait for the thing to start. I was feeling bad all over, was generally miserable and soon had a whiz-bang headache that had me flinching. Each of the 5 candidates had their own cheering squad in a place designed to carry Sound! The little man with the hammer that was beating on my head nearly beat me to a pulp by the time the event finished. The whistles took off my head! I did not carry anything that would have helped to reduce the headache---dumb.
We had flags and balloons for Sandra. The balloons were “popped” when she entered the runway to the stage! Noise, Noise and more Noise. Mayans seldom get into a hurry & the walk down the runway was at a snails pace. Whiz-bang! The little man was busy!!! Each girl gave a short talk. Sandra’s incorporated the music of the marimba behind her talk and it was very effective. All the candidates and last years queen did a dance on the stage in slow motion. The judges finally left to make their decision.
While the judges were out the crowed was entertained by the Xelephone Municipal Band and several dance skits about Mayan life. The costuming was great and I would have enjoyed the whole thing more if I had felt better. After Sandra won we headed out for home. It was cold outside! My teeth starting chattering along working with the little man with the hammer, to make me totally miserable.. By the time we were nearly home I was nearly in tears. The after party was at grandfathers so Don took me home, loaded me with drugs and I was in PJ’s and in bed pronto.
Fortunately we had canceled the Saturday school activity. I laid low most of the day. I trailed behind Don trying to keep my stomach happy. We helped our fellow student, Stephanie get on her way on the next leg of her trip. Stephanie finished her Spanish lessons on Friday. She loaded her stuff into a monster back pack and we went with her to catch a chicken bus to Antigua. Once she was off we went to the Hyper Piaz, the large mall and got some dinner to balance out the bowl of fruit served for lunch at Grandpas. We bought a bath mat to help the process of bathing which is always an adventure. My vote after this was to go home and back to bed until supper.
Hortensia did not wash dishes under our room last night. I am sure she was exhausted. That meant we all had a full night’s sleep.
I woke up feeling terrible so I decided to stay in bed. We were going to a glass factory but Don & I were the only ones going so Don decided to stay at school and work on more verbs with Juan. Hortensia came up and inquired on my health and later brought up a bowl of fresh fruit. In felt bad enough to stay in bed all day today. Don came home on the school break around 10 am to check on me. By evening I felt a great deal better – or so I thought – at any rate I got up and dressed for the Friday event of the Indigenous Queen pageant, the Umial Tinimit re Xelajuj Noj; Mayan Queen. I was soon miserable waiting for the start of the event. We stood in line with the family waiting for the doors to be opened and when they did the family saw to it that we had good seats in the middle of the theater. We then proceeded to wait, and wait, and wait for the thing to start. I was feeling bad all over, was generally miserable and soon had a whiz-bang headache that had me flinching. Each of the 5 candidates had their own cheering squad in a place designed to carry Sound! The little man with the hammer that was beating on my head nearly beat me to a pulp by the time the event finished. The whistles took off my head! I did not carry anything that would have helped to reduce the headache---dumb.
We had flags and balloons for Sandra. The balloons were “popped” when she entered the runway to the stage! Noise, Noise and more Noise. Mayans seldom get into a hurry & the walk down the runway was at a snails pace. Whiz-bang! The little man was busy!!! Each girl gave a short talk. Sandra’s incorporated the music of the marimba behind her talk and it was very effective. All the candidates and last years queen did a dance on the stage in slow motion. The judges finally left to make their decision.
While the judges were out the crowed was entertained by the Xelephone Municipal Band and several dance skits about Mayan life. The costuming was great and I would have enjoyed the whole thing more if I had felt better. After Sandra won we headed out for home. It was cold outside! My teeth starting chattering along working with the little man with the hammer, to make me totally miserable.. By the time we were nearly home I was nearly in tears. The after party was at grandfathers so Don took me home, loaded me with drugs and I was in PJ’s and in bed pronto.
Fortunately we had canceled the Saturday school activity. I laid low most of the day. I trailed behind Don trying to keep my stomach happy. We helped our fellow student, Stephanie get on her way on the next leg of her trip. Stephanie finished her Spanish lessons on Friday. She loaded her stuff into a monster back pack and we went with her to catch a chicken bus to Antigua. Once she was off we went to the Hyper Piaz, the large mall and got some dinner to balance out the bowl of fruit served for lunch at Grandpas. We bought a bath mat to help the process of bathing which is always an adventure. My vote after this was to go home and back to bed until supper.
Hortensia did not wash dishes under our room last night. I am sure she was exhausted. That meant we all had a full night’s sleep.
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