Taking the mountains to the ruins

Tomas - and my short-lived trip to the ruin

I don’t expect to fit in. I expect to stand out a bit. I’m taller than most Guatemalans, and though I re-upped my summer tan in Miami, I’ll never be as dark skinned. Plus, I have a limited, functional wardrobe. In the last few days in the small town of Antigua, standing out has been exhausting, and I am looking forward to heading to Xela, which is a bigger city. Not that my height or skin color will change, but I won’t have as much of a chance of running into the same people all the time. That, or I’ll just get used to it. 

Knowing that the next week, starting classes and living with a family will be overwhelming albeit exciting, I’ve been trying to relax, and ease into my first days on the road. No day trips from Antigua, just walking around, taking it all in, reading, observing. I have a whole year to do. This week has been for acclimation to this new beautiful lifestyle.

It would be a shame to visit Antigua and not see the inside of one of the great ruins here, so I made my way to Convento de Capuchinas, attracting unwanted attention with my conservative travel skirt. You would have thought I was wearing a club mini skirt the way heads were turning. Mental note to think about this next time I want to wear it.  The convent was beautiful, and I realized that my Spanish reading skills far exceed any others, and going forward resolve to only communicate in writing.

After lunch, I ran into Tomas, a 34-year-old flute salesman I had met earlier in the day. Sometimes I curse the two mountains that make up my chest. Now I think they may have magnets in them. Surely, there are man magnets in my boobs. And some day, I will learn to listen to the reasoning side of my brain.

Tomas said he would teach me some Spanish. I accepted, knowing it would be either a positive experience or a great lesson. He paid Q10 for both of us to enter the ruins of the San Francisco church, and was dismayed when I insisted on giving him my half. I didn't want him to think I owed him anything. With Tomas' numerous hand-holding attempts, and googely eyes, I started to panic. When I told him about my "boyfriend" and then refused to climb higher up the ruin for a photo (up my skirt) he asked why I was nervous and didn't like photos. I fumbled for words to explain my discomfort. He turned to face me, placed his hands on my shoulders, "accidentally" grazing my boob with the outside of one hand. Enough. I started to walk away as he tried to hug me and my chest got in the way again. I wonder what he might have gotten out of that, but didn't care to find out. 

But let's stop for a moment, now that I'm safely out of the situation. If I'm a guy, and I want to touch your boobs, and I know you're probably not going to like it because you've made it very clear that this whole situation is inappropriate and told me about your fake boyfriend, and you're walking away, and I might get slapped anyway, I would probably grab a whole handful to make it somewhat worth my while. Just saying.

So. Now. I know. You live, you learn. 

I came back to the hostel, and now will not venture out on my own without my Aussie friend Alison. I am not afraid, but I’ve made enough “friends” in this town for one week. When you’re with someone else, people are less likely to approach you. Sometimes, this is a necessity. We went to a charity concert last night, which turned out to be more of a US frat party dropped in a great open-air bar. The music was good, and Alison won us a free lunch in the raffle, which we collected today. We ended the night at Café No Se across the street from our hostel. It’s a great bohemian, candle-lit, music-filled bar packed with travelers and locals alike. It’s become our stomping ground.

Tomorrow I set off for Quetzaltenango to move in with my Guatmalan family. I have been back and forth on my decision to brave the public buses or take the shuttle. I think I’ll choose adventure since I didn’t make any new friends today.

The best news of my day was an email I received this morning. I submitted a piece to one of my favorite travel websites, The Lost Girls World, and heard from one of the founders today. I'M GOING TO BE ONE OF THEIR LATIN AMERICAN CORRESPONDENTS!!! I'll work with an editor to write an article/post every other week now through the end of December. I couldn't be more excited. Check them out here: http://www.lostgirlsworld.com

Arch of Santa Catalina with a view of Agua Volcano

Badass drummer from the band last night

On a walk today with Alison, not making new friends