Xela

Saturday turned out to be a day for an adventure. I´ve been spending my time tooling around San Pedro and was ready to explore. I have been told there are so many great cities around that all deserve to be seen and explored. After some discussion with two friends from the cooperativa, Jane and Jay, we decided to head west. Which was good for me because I plan on heading East when I disembark from San Pedro to close out my travels in Honduras. So with a Guatemala Lonely Planet Book (thanks David), my spanish dictionary, water, snacks and a camera we hoped on a Chicken Bus for a two and a half hour ride to Quetzaltenango, also known as Xela (Shea-La). Climbing up through the volcanoes and moutainous terrain alotted for some great vistas of the lake below. As we approached each turn the bus would sound a loud horn to warm approaching vehicles that we were about to make a wide turn around a tight corner on a narrow road. I think i´ve mentioned before that Jay is doing this trip on his motorcycle and he mentioned coming down this road was a pretty intense experience. It´s great fun riding on the bus and talking with locals or the best I can with my spanish. They are generally happy to chat and are patient as I try to come up with a word to replace one I can´t come up with in spanish or as I try to conjugate the verbs to not sound completely incompetent.

Through my travels and generally in life I have come to the realization that I am not great with navigating unknown territory. Though I had studied throughoughly the lonely planet guide on Xela and had a general idea of what I wanted to see, once I stepped off the bus the map became almost useless. But the taxis are cheap and with us being there for only a few hours we wanted to make the most of our time there.

The main allure to visit Xela was the architecture and museums around the central park. A beautiful scare located across town. I can´t say there was any one thing that really blew my mind, but it´s always fun to explore a new town. And by explore of course I mean wondering around lost and ultimatly asking directions about five times to finally arrive at our destination. I was pretty bummed to find the Natural History Museum was closed on weekends. So we found a nice place to get some food and walked about the town taking in the statues, churches, and other beautifully created buildings that litter the town. Jane did find a bookstore and purchased a copy of Harry Potter in spanish...better to translate and read this than a workbook she says.

Four hours later we had made our way back to the bus depot and found our bus back to San Pedro. I use the word bus depot loosely as it´s basically a really wide road packed with chicken buses. Each bus has a sign and a man leaning out the side yelling out it´s final destination. Being the end of the day and many people were making the journey home we found ourselves packed into the bus to the point that to reach into my pocket to get the fair I had to disloacate my arm. Next to me on the ride home was a little girl sitting on the lap of her mother, next to four other people stretched across the isle. The little girl´s hands were stained black, maybe some type of a die and I sensed that had spent the day working very hard as they struggled to stay upright as they continued to nod off. At one point the little girl was laying across my lap so I let her sleep and thought about the challenges associated with the lives the people of this country live. After the mother and daughter had gotten off the bus I started chatting with a 26 year old guy that was coming back from Xela where he has guitar lessons every Saturday. He has been working hard for years and saving to buy his guitar and take lessons. It´s great to see how someone´s drive can push them so far.

Today, Sunday, was a day to relax and sleep in. Sunday´s seem to be the most tranquil day of the week here as many families spend the day together going to church and walking about the town. I woke up at about 1030 to find Jay sitting next to the bathroom door and looking pretty bad. He had a woken up at 330 in the morn and had been back and forth to the bathroom all night. I hated it for him, but at the same time was thankful we weren´t having to take turns destroying the bathroom. Many thanks to Lissa for recommending the Probiotics. Every morning I take one pill that contains about 25 million little micro organisms that help fight off the bad bacteria that can be introduced into your stomach through food and water. Not holding my breathe but so far so good.

The true meaning of poverty

Life is so much fun here. I´ve met so many great people and love the general attitude and lifestyle of the people. It´s unlike anything I´ve ever experienced and everyday look for new opportunities to explore more and learn more about the people and culture here.

Yesterday afternoon the school took us for a "fieldtrip" to a place that processes coffee beans. A huge industry here many of the families including the family I am staying with cultivate and harvest coffee beans on step terrain high up into the mountains. My roommate and myself asked if we could go up there and help, but I guess most of the harvesting for the season is done. They bring in hundreds of thousands of pounds of coffee in sacks which is processed in machines to take the outter shell off and is then layed out in the sun to dry. How crazy is it to think that some of this coffee might wind up at a little coffee shop in Los Angeles. After we saw the general process of how they prepare the coffee we were taken to the back of the property where they compost the pulp leftover from the coffee beans to make fertilizer. A new venture the organization is taking on is growing plants which provide a natural dye from the leaves for clothes. We saw a variety of plants that produce reds, greens, browns, and a few other colors.

I talked with the owner a bit, though only really comprehended about a third of what he was saying about his operation. I did however get that they push to be as sustainable as possible from using worn tires to fill with rocks and make paths to the stalks of the coffee plants to string together and create shades.

One big draw to the cooperativa where I study spanish is that they give back to the community with part of my tuition. My teacher, Christina, and I got in a Tuk Tuk, and road across town to visit a family that is struggling meet their basic needs. After hiking up a trail and fighting off some dogs we arrived at a tiny structure where I was introduced to the family Christina has been visiting for the past nine months or so. They don´t speak any spanish so Christina had to translate for me in order to communicate. Christina´s mother grew up speaking the local language and her father speaks spanish so she was able to pass my questions, in spanish, to the mother and back to me. The family consisted of a 26 year old mother and her four children from 1.5 to 9 years old. Her husband had passed and was left with very little to take care of her family. The coopertiva gave us eggs, sugar, oil, and beans to bring to the family. I wanted to get something for the kids and thought about picking up a soccer ball from the market, but ended up just bringing a hackysack I brought along on the trip. After visiting with them I was glad I didn´t bring the soccer ball, what good is a brand new soccer ball to a family that barely has enough food. I asked if there was anything else I could bring and she said that her children were starting school soon and could use some school supplies. So with the money I was going to spend on a soccer ball i´ll be able to buy them backpacks, paper, pens and whatever else comes to mind. It really got me thinking about what it means to be poor. We talk alot at CELP about the distribution of resources and it´s hard to imagine not having the things I so often under appreciate. The mother was so happy to hear that I wanted to bring them supplies and she walked to the back of the house and picked about a dozen of some delicious oranges to give to me. I know it´s impossible to help everyone in the world but it´s nice to able to know that I can help one family. It´s hard to imagine how much a dollar a day would improve the quality of life of this family.

On a lighter note the weekend is upon us and I have two days to let the past week or so of spanish lesson settle into my head and relax a bit. Sunday afternoon they have a big bbq at one of the restuarants with a pool out from, I guess it´s kind of a tradition around here. So looking forward to having "the best burger in town" Not that I have tired of the piles of fresh tortillas Rosa makes for every meal, but it´s nice to have to fend for myself for one day a week and give Rosa a day off. Speaking of which, got to head back for dinner and get ready to go out for the night. They are showing The Men Who Stare at Goats at a restuarant\bar in town.

El Fin de Semana (The Weekend)

Good times Saturday night...I brought my ukulele along to a small bar in the touristy part of town where I met up with a my friend from Argentina I saw playing the other night at the Buddha. A few friends, my ukulele, Augustine on the guitar and two guys on the bongos rocked pretty hard and drew a decent crowd in the tiny room of the bar which overflowed into the street. Augu was really into my kazoo and wants me to send him one when I get back to the states. It was a great time and the owner of the bar comped most of my bar tab for playing. We have another "show" on Tuesday at the same place. May try to get some practice in tonight, but I dont want to let my spanish studys slip.

After the show I wanted to meet some friends at a bar down the way and as I approached there was a group of about 10 or 15 men standing in the doorway wearing sombreros, more like a cowboy hat than what one would imagine a sombrero. There is a lot of conflict between the local churches and the restaurants and bars. In talking with my teacher there are many families affected by the drugs and alcohol that are present in the country. Some of the fathers who have historically worked very hard throughout the day to provide the neccesities families need to survive are no longer providing which in turn has negative effects on the health and wellness of their family and community. The group of men are not police officers rather a group of locals who walk around at night blowing whistles and getting the drunks off the street and using their presence to try to get bars to close down early. Good enough for me, I decided to call it a night and head home.

Sunday was a day off from going to class so I took full advantage and slept in till about 10. I made my way down to a restaurant right on the lake and set up at a table to study the afternoon away. I am feeling pretty solid on my spanish, but still have a long way to go to meet my personal expectations of what I hope to get out of studying. At around 2pm my studies slowed down when they flipped on four tvs and started the colts/jets game. A friend I met at the bookstore also came in and sat down to watch the game. After the game my friend invited me to play some poker at another bar down the road.

On my walk back to the house, a little dog started following me. The culture of dogs here in San Pedro is pretty interesting. A lot of families have dogs I guess as a means of protection or to ward off people on their property. Fair enough, lots of people in the states have dogs. The big difference is that when it gets dark the dogs start up with their barking. And throughout the night there is seamlessly nonstop barking. Since being here a few nights I have somewhat gotten used to it, but occasionally wake up and hear the dogs singing the night away.

(25-10-2010)
Another great session with Christina (my teacher). I was able to kind of tell her exactly what it is I do back on Catalina. She knew I lived on an island and worked with kids, but when we started talking about the lake and how it had been so polluted in December I started digging through my dictionary to find words to describe my job. The gratification of learning spanish is so apparent when I am able to communicate with locals and get to know them and their culture on a personal level as opposed to a book. Although I am reading I Rigoberta Menchú, a great book about the life of a group of natives that lived in Guatemala...thanks Lissa! There is so much pride in the culture here, though some is beginning to be lost as there is more and more western influence and many people are starting to stray. Though you can still see a strong sense of the culture. The father of the household I am staying goes up into the mountains several times throughout the year to cultivate and harvest maize (corn), beans, and coffee which will be used to feed his family. And is soooo tasty and fresh.

Each village around the lake is named after a Saint...San Pedro - Saint Pedro, San Marcos - Saint Marcos, San Pablo - Saint Pablo, etc. for the day of the Saint on which the village was founded. Today happens to be the day of Saint Pablo and I decided to go for an adventure with two friends to the village across the lake. We hiked up to the back of the city and jumped in the back of a truck and were off to San Pablo. Ten minutes later there we were. San Pablo is definatly a bit poorer a village than San Pedro and with much less tourism. Besides myself and my two friends we saw three other Gringos. Being tall in this country really sets you apart. As we walked through the market I could see clear across the crowd of people pushing their way through the little space left over after the locals had set out different foods, clothes, kitchen wears, and just about anything else you could ever want.

A few highlights of San Pablo were the crazy ferris wheel that was rigged up on a crazy pulley system driven literally by a guy sitting next to a car engine shifting gears with a clutch to speed up the ferris wheel which was mounted on some percariously stacked bricks. We passed on that ride. One guy came up to me and asked me if I was from California...I started talking with him..in spanish...and it turns out he had a few guys from California working for him making oils from herbs he was growing in the hills...He invited us to his house to see some drums and dijerydo he had made. I was cautious at first, but he had two little kids with him and I had two friends with me. We made our way through an alley and he invited us in to his house. A little old lady sat in front of the wood stove making tortillas and there were probably 4 or 5 kids around the very meager 3 bedroom house. There was no electricity and he was very appolgetic, but showed us his beautifully crafted drums and dij and his essential oils. I did pick up a small bottle of almond oils, which smelled amazing...maybe I´ll hand it off to Lissa to make some lotion. We played with the kids for a bit before heading to the central square where we were no more than 25 feet from where they were launching fireworks. Everytime one would shoot off you could feel the wave of energy released from the blast. They cleared out the fireworks and the mariachi band came out and was raging. Odd thing was everyone was just standing there staring at the stage. And I mean everyone with the exception of two little boys dancing in the square. Not really sure, part of the culture maybe? So Im back safe from that adventure and ready to hit the books a bit before bed.

Buenas Noches

Im joining the band!

Two nights ago I found myself in a cool little bar called the buddha. There were two guys playing in the front, one on a drum and the other on a guitar. The guy playing the guitar is here from Argentina and was absolutly amazing. Last night as I was on my way home I saw the Argentinian and some folks playing in a little coffee shop. I told him I saw him play the other night and that I play the ukulele and he was stoked...asked me to join them tonight. This could be my big break! At any rate should be a good time.

It´s never really hard to find much to do, especially in the evenings. Im amazed at how many bars and restuarants line the "tourist district". So many have live music from some amazing bands from around the world, play movies that are still in theatres in the US, or even the NFL playoff games. Beyond that scene are some more active and exploratory activites that im really excited about. A few friends went up San Pedro Volcano this morning and said it was amazing. I decided to go to class this morning since I arrived so late and am just all about learning Spanish. It´s amazing how much I have improved after just three lessons and I am now able and comfortable talking to locals and carrying on conversations. So instead of hiking I went kayaking with a friend I met during my break at class this morning. We kayaked probably 5 miles in total to another town across the lake called San Marcos where a huge cliff jutted out into the lake and made for some great cliff diving. Glad I didn´t bring my camera as the kayaks were no where near the caliber of the ocean kayaks on the island, but no complaints it made the journey that much more romantic.

Well it´s time to make my way back to la casa for another amazing meal cooked with so much love and care by Rosa and her daughter. I´ll go into more detail on the cuisine here another time as it is a huge part of the culture here. There is so much to record that I have started a list of topics and experiences that are making this trip so amazing.

I can find my own way!

Upon leaving Antigua I have decided that I brought too much stuff. I mean, i still feel I did pretty well, but when the guy hauling my stuff up on top of the chicken bus yells out "Dios Mio" when I hand him my bag, it makes me wonder if I could have done without the extra t-shirts and socks. I feel I have gotten pretty good at the bus system though, you find an area with a ton of buses or stand on the side of the street listen for someone to yell out of the open bus door "pana" or "antigua", wave them down, then get your butt on...pretty simple right? the part that I need to work on however is knowing when to get off. Coming into what I thought was Panajachel yesterday afternoon(Pana to the locals), everyone started to get off the bus...seemed like a good cue, so i followed suit. As i walked through a beautiful town with markets, churches, and locals in beautifully ornatmented dress (Each community wears a similar dress but can be differentiated by the use of specific patterns and colors) I came to a sign which said Pana 7 km. In an attempt to save the 30 Quetzal it would have cost to take a taxi the rest of the way (about 4 dollars US) I decided to hoof it. I figured I have walked back to Howland´s Landing from Two Harbors on several occations and that´s 5 miles. I guess what did me in was the 50 or so pounds i was carrying on my back. So after 2 km I stopped at a little panoramic of the lake and decided to find a ride. To my luck a couple of guys let me hop in the back of their truck and ride the rest of the way in.



So finally in what was actually Pana I made my way down to the docks where I would catch a boat to Atitlan. The crossing was only a couple dollars US and I met two guys who were cycling from Belize to the bottom of Guatemala and had a good converstaion with them on the way over about their ride and my recent ride down the coast of California. Upon arriving in Antitlan I decided to treat myself to a ride in a little taxi. Basically a covered motorcycle with a back seat. After stopping at several language schools, none of which were the one I had made a reservation for, we decided to call the number for la cooperativa spanish school and found out I was in the wrong village. I took it in stride though and was glad that there was still another boat leaving soon to where I was supposed to go, San Pedro. I did meet a couple of Americans who had made Atitlan their new home and they invited me to come back anytime. On the boat ride to San Pedro I met a couple from Canada who have traveled this area many times and had a lot of good information about local culture and were just good people in general.



After a long day I arrived in San Pedro my new Candadian friends pointed out the coopertiva and I was introduced to Rosa who is the host of my homestay. She came highly recommened from two of my friends David and Lissa, who stayed with her last year. She has nothing but good things to say about them. The food is incredible, though kind of hot to eat in the kitchen where Rosa and her daughter cook over a wood fire. Jay is another student at la coopertiva also staying at Rosa´s. He came down from Washington State on his motorcycle and is continuing down into South America.

I went out last night for a few drinks and still can´t believe how cheap stuff is here. A litre of beer for 27 Quetzal (3 dollars US) I walked home from the bar with a big smile on my face and happy to call this place home for the next three weeks.



I woke up this morning (21-1-2010) to the sounds of barking dogs and roosters cacadoodledoodling at about 630, which was okay because breakfast was ready at 715 and my classes with my tutor Christina started at 8. I am grateful for all the spanish I took in highschool, but it is still going to take a lot of practice to remember all the vocabulary and verb conjugations, but better off than starting from scratch. So Im off to do some homework and catch a discussion after dinner on some local issues. we´ll see how much I can actually understand, but I feel that every little bit will continue to help improve my spanish.

Touchdown in Guatemala

Upon walking outside the Guatemala Airport I was overcome with offers to take me to my destination of Antigua. Thirty dollars didn´t sound too bad, but i knew i could do better so I took off to the streets to find one of the infamous chicken buses. A simple ¨hola¨ or ¨como estas?¨ goes a long way with getting help and before i knew it, my new friend Pedro and his elderly grandmother took a bus with me to another part of town and walked with me a good mile or two to where my next chicken bus awaited to take me into Antigua. All in all it was less than a dollar fifty US and the chicken bus provided far more entertainment than a taxi ever could. I counted at least 8 people who literally jumped on the bus and passed out candy, ingles dictionary booklets, and even two guys dressed to the T as clowns who put on a 5 minute routine, though i could only make out bits and pieces.

After getting off the chicken bus a good 2 miles from where my hostel awaited me, i made my way across town and took in the new region i´ll be exploring for the next month. Antigua is a cool little town, the streets bumpy with cobblestone are a bit confusing as there are hardly any street signs, but there was a lot to take in as I stood on the roof of the hostel and peered around the town shadowed by volcanos on all sides, one of which was puffing smoke in the distance.

Tomorrow, an early departure for San Pedro Laguna where i´ll settle in for a few weeks and enrich my lacking spanish skills.

Rainy Departure

Looking out the window from my dad's place in Long Beach I see and hear rain and wind ruining my soon approaching walk to the metro train station a few blocks away where i'll make my way to LAX. Not even the rain can ruin my spirits though as I've been planning and looking forward to my trip to Central America for several months now. Hard to believe it is finally here. I'll catch a late flight tonight to Fort Lauderdale where i'll hang out in the airport for a few hours before getting on my next flight into Guatemala City. I feel that I have prepared myself as much as possible, but there are still so many unknowns that I will come to face. With the help of my little spanish dictionary I will find my way to Antigua where i'll stay at a hostel for a night before making my way to Lago de Antitlan.