Good things come in weird aggravating packages

my first chicken bus - day trip to Salcajas

Due to warnings from my hostel, I decided against the chicken bus as a way to Xela (Shey-Lah), and paid the extra money for the shuttle service. Lesson: always ask if service is direct without transfers. Shuttles here are best compared to old VW vans, and mine was filled with 7 other male travelers. I was looking forward to my iPod, and a nap on the 4.5-hour journey. Imagine my surprise when they dropped me at a shady bus station in Guatemala City to catch the bus they forgot to tell me I was catching. To say I was livid is an understatement. But big girls don’t cry over such things, even when there is no toilet paper in the bathroom and you have to wipe with a torn piece of a map. Finally at 3pm I was on my way. Next lesson: sometimes the best things come when you least expect them. The road to Xela wraps up and around the highlands into the mountains. I think bus drivers here have to have some crazy in their blood to navigate the “highways” and pedestrians darting into the streets. I started worry because it would be dark when I reached Xela, but then the sun started setting. I won’t even try to recreate in words what actually happened, but the combination of clouds, volcanoes, mountains, and scenery made for the most astounding hour-long sunset these eyes have ever seen. Thank god I took the late shuttle, and ended up on the bus!

I got to school Monday morning after a great night’s sleep in a hotel. I splurged the extra $20 because I wanted to be rested for the week.  Orientation started at 8am, where we got all the info on the school and what to expect. I’m studying at PLQE, Proyecto Linguistico Quetzalco de Espanol, which is a non-profit Spanish language school which gives students an awareness of the social, political, and economic realities of Guatemala and Latin America, and has a history of working with human rights organizations. We had a history lesson on Guatemala, focusing mostly on its military struggle and the Peace Accords. I find it really interesting and was able to contribute some of my knowledge from my previous involvement with the SOA vigil while at UD. 

I got a piece of paper, stating the terms of my stay with Doña Lilian Chacon Ramos and her family. Her 10-year-old son Marco and 17-year-old nephew Mainor picked me up at 1. The house is about a 4-block/5-minute walk from the school. We arrived in time for lunch, and Lilian, the woman of the house, showed me to my room. We then joined Marcos, Mainor, daughter Wendy (9), and two other cousins, Heydi (13) and Denia (18). I later found out the kids have a winter break of 2 months, and the cousins are visiting until the end of December.  Lunch was a bit awkward as it was our first meal together, and involved me struggling through answering questions, and a lot of silence. Buen Provecho.

At 2pm I met my teacher Doris, and the mind fuck began (in a good way). There is no English in the class. If I don’t understand something, I find a way to say it in Spanish. It’s super challenging but I know it will be worth it. She gave me a test to figure out my level, and we developed a plan of study for the week. I will have a new teacher every week so I can work with different accents and teaching styles. At the end of the 5-hour session I thought my brain was going to fall out of my head. We are starting with the basics so I can review all that I have forgotten. Yesterday afternoon, I couldn't even speak English. My mouth was only producing word vomit, neither English or Spanish. But today, after three days of classes, I am not too overwhelmed, and am starting to improve already. Doris has a way of talking to me that makes me feel like I am much better than I really am. I feel like an adult, but know she is speaking Spanish to me at the level of a 5th grader. I appreciate that.

It’s much colder here than in Antigua, but the kind of cold that I like, circa late fall in New York. It’s probably 42 in the morning, and warms up to high 60s in the sun in the afternoon. My house is an open-air house, which is awesome, but also means the nights are pretty freaking cold. At night after dinner, I play games with the kids in the open courtyard. Monday it was an hour of hide-and-seek, and last night soccer until we lost the ball on the roof. They speak so quickly, and I can only understand about every 10th word, but Doris says if I keep listening and listening and listening it will get easier. Lilian's husband works in Guatemala City during the week, and returns on Saturdays to spend the weekend with the family. I will meet him along with Lilian's sister and brother-in-law Saturday. They are coming to stay for the month of December so it will be a full house. 

My classes got moved to the morning, so my schedule usually goes something like this:

6 - wake up, do some yoga so my body doesn't hate me

7 - shower

7:15/:30 - eat breakfast with Lilian

8 - start class

10:30 - morning break for coffee and bread

11-1 - finish class for the day

1:15 - lunch with the whole family

2-6:30ish - study/explore the city/nap/read/go on a trip with the school

7 - head home for dinner 

7-8 - dinner with the whole family

8-9 - play with the kids/watch a movie/TV

9-10 - study

10 - bed

my hostel in Antigua

top bunk on the right

hotel room in Xela

view from Salcajas - we took a day trip to the market and to see some weaving

said to be the oldest church in Central America - looks like a crime scene

I have never been so amazed by the work that goes into making something

the view at night from inside my house