It has been such a busy few weeks here down in Xela. I had a new change of professor and she worked me really tough with 2 books, 5 Guatemalan legends and lots of different types of homework. So… in the past 2 weeks, we took a big trip to the beach, Tilapita, and also took a big group trip to Antigua. We have also been taking private salsa dancing lessons, which I thoroughly love because that means I get to dance 2 times a week! Wonderful.
We went to the beach 2 weekends ago with the travel guides that present us with weekend trips and trips during the week as well. The beach and ocean were both gorgeous. Yay for the Pacific Ocean. However, the town was so small that the resort was really sketchy. Bats flying in during the day, cockroaches and scorpions during the night (thank goodness not in our room) and really sketchy beds and shower part. Therefore, we all preferred the natural showering method of the ocean or the pool. Needless to say by the end of the weekend, every female was complaining about how gross their hair was, but oh well! We also went on a boat ride through a mangrove forest, which was really cool.
Antigua- It was actually the former capital of Guatemala and it is nicknamed “Gringoland.” When we went to the discotecas, they played all American music, plus they closed at 12:30! Earlier than in Xela and than in Minnesota. On the positive, Antigua has some architecturally beautiful buildings that were untouched by the various natural hazards they have gone through. We also got to climb a volcano, Pacaya, which was beautiful. We actually didn’t get to see any lava which was a downside, but the view of the capital was amazing. It was absolutely crazy being above and at the same level as the clouds. We also toured an organization called Common Hope which has another office in Minneapolis that works directly with Minnesota. A former Bennie was a long term volunteer there, so that was fun to connect with her. We toured a macadamia nut farm that was solely dedicated to planting trees that were genetically different because there has been a large decrease in the gene pool. The tour guide was a retired fireman from the States and made lots of inappropriate jokes and wore a name tag that said “Heavily Medicated.” He was a card.
Private salsa lessons- A group of 8 of us have been going once a week to the instructor from La Parranda (the disco that we dance for free on Wednesdays) to step up our dancing abilities. Our favorite line of his for the girls “Mas Sexy!” (More sexy). It is fun and we are all determined to come back to the States and teach our significant others how to dance.
Salsa dancing- We have spent from about 8:30 to 1 out dancing and around Parque Central the last few Wednesdays just bonding as a group. The teachers have all said how great it is that we went to salsa dancing right away and love it because not all of the groups have gone at first and then they regretted it towards the end. No. Our group loves it and will continue absolutely loving it. It is the highlight of every one of my weeks and I love learning new turns and just having fun with our whole group!
1 on 1 classes: The last two weeks, I was a bit frustrated by my language teacher as she had a different style of teaching and she tended to not pay attention when she was not teaching me. Therefore, I struggled a bit with stress. I read Charlotte’s Web last week in Spanish and then this week I finished El Alquismista which was surprisingly really great. It talked a lot about living in the present, not in the past or in the future and I was actually really inspired by some parts and also surprised at how much I could understand. I also took my first big test today and I think I did pretty well except for 1 section that was worth 5 points. Otherwise my teacher said that the other parts looked really well.
Food: I am loving all of the food that I eat at home with my host family. My host mom is an incredible cook and I hope to come back bearing many recipes. I also enjoy hitting up the local XelaPan which is an amazing bread store. I tried a Chevere finally, which is a hot dog with ketchup, mustard, mayo, cabbage and a green chile sauce. I didn’t throw up afterwards which I think is a good goal because it’s always hard to tell with street food. I had an unfortunate experience with street food yesterday which is kicking me in the butt slightly today and probably will for a little while but I’ll just have to be a little smarter about the food that I choose!
I was supposed to go to the beach with my family this weekend but because I wasn’t feeling well, I decided that I would stick around Xela by myself and relax for our big trip to Tikal this week! We leave Monday and 5 am and don’t get back until the following Sunday at midnight. It is going to be a LONG time on the bus, but I am excited. After Tikal, we will be starting our second phase, which means I will have 2 classes at the other university, Rafael Landivar, and then I will have language classes from 2-7 on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.. but Wednesdays and Fridays with no class which will be nice.
I know that I was very delayed in writing this, so hopefully another 3 weeks does not pass until I get another blog up! Hopefully everyone is staying safe with all of the snowy weather you’ve had in Minnesota, classes are going well and life is treating everyone well J
Abrazos- Sarita
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