Buenos dias, amigos.
Enjoying another beautiful morning here in Solola. I walked to the market and picked up a mango and 3 bananas for breakfast. Cost me a total of 8Q. That's roughly the equivalent of $1.14. I'll miss this.
Right next to the market this morning they're having a political rally for la Partida Patriota. This is an election year for Guatemala and candidates are only allowed to campaign during election years so the country has been inundated by political advertisements. Homes that support particular candidates hang their posters on the outside wall, not unlike homes in the US. However campaign teams have also painted signs all over the country. On curbs, on tienda walls, on rocks. It makes for a rather colorful country. Since illiteracy is high in Guatemala, each candidate picks a color or set of colors and a symbol to represent themselves. Then voters don't need to be able to read the name of the candidate; they can just check the box next to the apple (which is an actual symbol being used in this election). The rally in Solola today is for Otto Perez Molina. He's currently in the lead by quite a bit and is almost definitely going to be the next president of Guatemala. However, he has a terrible human rights record and a militant background. Theoretically this is what draws the people to him because the country is in need of a strong leader as they struggle to rebuild from the war. But all social programs run out when a new president is elected unless he or she chooses to actively sustain them. The Manna team doubts he'll continue anything already in place. For the sake of the Guatemalan people, I hope they're wrong.
Today we head off for our second weekend away in Xela. Apparently it's one of the more Americanized cities in the country. They have a Subway and a Walmart. Our friend Mike, the coffee hunter who lives in Panajachel, recommended we spend some time at Bavaria, a coffee shop there. It seems logical to take recommendations on coffee hotspots from a guy who's spent the last 25 years searching for the perfect cup of coffee. We'll also be stopping at some hot springs but the main attraction is Mega Paca. Every town has bunches of pacas which are second-hand stores that sell clothes from the states at extremely low prices. Mega Paca is the granddaddy of them all. So. Excited.
Last weekend we took a trip to San Pedro, a town across the lake. Along the way we stopped to swim in San Marcos. I don't know if I've mentioned this or not, but it's extremely non-tropical here. The altitude/rainy season actually makes it quite cold for being this far south. So swimming was chilly but totally worth it. I actually felt a lot less sick after a refreshing dip in the lake. Although I did have to fight to keep the water out of my mouth to prevent myself from getting sick all over again. So far so good.
Once we got to San Pedro, we checked into our hostel (Villa del Lago) and went to Zoola for lunch. Zoola is a restaurant run by an Israeli man that serves absolutely awesome food. They're well known for their Chocolate Volcano. It's really just a small bowl of vanilla bean ice cream next to another small bowl filled with brownie-esque material. But it's delicious and you can't really find much else like that in Guatemala. I was super excited to get to eat salad. It's not generally recommended that Americans eat salad in this country just because there's a chance the lettuce and other veggies were washed with tap water and not agua pura. But the Manna crew put the stamp of approval on Zoola salads. Probably the best Caesar salad I've ever had. But that may be influenced by the fact that I've been subsisting on toast, fruit, cereal, and pasta for a while now. Zoola is aesthetically a really awesome place in addition to having extremely tasty food. The dining room is a large colorful tent with about eight "booths". The booths are really straw mats with logs covered in fabric forming the walls. There are colorful pillows to lean on as you sit on the floor and a low table with a large paper lantern hanging over it. I can't wait to post pictures.
Ok, I must interject to say that Oliver just had a full-body muscle spasm in his sleep. He's sitting next to me on the couch. It gave the appearance of the finale to a fireworks show. Muscles firing all over the place in close succession. Very strange.
After lunch, some of us went to the Alegre Pub to watch the Mexico v. Guatemala soccer game. I could really get into watching soccer. It's much more exciting than basketball or baseball or the like. Sadly, Guatemala lost. But that's not surprising. Apparently they're really quite bad and Mexico is really quite good. Sad day.
After the game, we went to find some dinner and ended up going back to Zoola. Yes, we ate two meals at the same restaurant in the same day. We tried to go to another place but it was full. But Zoola is delicious. No regrets on that decision.
We turned in early that night because we got up at 3:30am the next morning to hike La nariz del indio (Indian Nose). It's an easy and relatively short hike but it was excruciating considering I still couldn't breathe through my nose at this point. We got to the top in record time. Our guide called us "chicos que caminan mucho". It's supposed to be a 40-45 minute hike. We were at the top in 32 minutes. We reached the summit just before sunrise and got to watch the sun come up over the lake while drinking delicious coffee made over a fire. Really, really wish I could post pictures already. Trust me, their worth waiting for.
We got breakfast when we got back into town at a cafe on the lake. I can totally understand why Lake Atitlan is a highlight of pretty much anyone's trip to Guatemala. It's a great place. Lots to do and something awesome to look at if you actually feel like doing absolutely nothing. Katy asked a guy on the plane what he recommended she see while she was here. He said, "I'd say Lake Atitlan, but you're living there." Good deal.
Our return home was followed by gratuitous amounts of napping. I think that was the night we had a big group movie night. Watched the Dead Poets Society. Loved it. Tragic, but really well done.
Monday was our usual group meeting. Assigned cooking duties for the week which amounted to not much since everyone was out and about for most meals this week. We discussed a little bit of what we'll end up doing for our last weekend here (the weekend of July 4th). I'm planning on just staying in Solola/Pana but I think the other volunteers may go to the beach. I spent most of Monday and Tuesday reading the book I wrote my last post about. I'm going to have to get my own copy when I go back to the States. Tuesday night we had our second salsa lesson. I'm loving it. We're going out to a salsa bar tonight. Hopefully we can successfully implement what we've learned.
Wednesday was supposed to be a review day with my sixth grade class for the test they were retaking on Thursday. Instead, we got out to the community and found out sixth graders didn't have class that day. It ended up being a good thing we had showed up anyway because we were able to advertise for our mini campamiento we're having next week. I'm teaming up with Elle to teach art to 1st-6th graders. We'll be making pinatas. Very exciting.
Wednesday afternoon was our weekly discussion. This time it focused on Guatemalan history and culture. We read and excerpt from Rigoberta Menchu's book and an article from March about the aftermath of the civil war. It ended up being a really healthy discussion about differences between our expectations and the reality of Guatemala and our perceptions of poverty both here and in the States. We also got a more complete picture of what the civil war was about. It felt like a really productive time as a group. Wednesday night was another group movie night. We watched The Town. Another volunteer had been telling me I would really like it but it was described to me terribly so I adamantly said I wouldn't like it all. I had to eat my words. I enjoyed it quite a bit. Foiled again.
Thursday morning we ended up giving the 6th graders the test without a review but it was made open note. I graded them that evening and it seems like pretty much everyone was able to improve their scores. Mission accomplished. The whole team went out that night except for Katy and I (just not in the mood for a night on the town) so we watched The Princess and the Frog. I really liked the parts I was able to stay awake for. May or may not have to rewatch that one when I get home...
On Friday, about half our team left in the early afternoon to go to Xela early. They're currently hiking the highest point in Central America which is a two-day hike. We should be meeting up with them on Sunday afternoon. I really wanted to go but I don't trust my body yet as it's still trying to get over whatever's made it so unhappy. But now I have a really legitimate excuse to come back to Guatemala...Katy and I spent the morning walking around Solola. We stopped for a little bit in the cemetery which is just an absolutely beautiful place. Each family has something akin to a mausoleum painted in an absurdly bright color. The cemetery is on top of a hill with a fantastic view of the lake. A few of the other people milling about called it "el cemeterio con el mejor vista del mundo". Es la verdad. After a while, a funeral procession entered the cemetery and Katy and I quietly exited. In the afternoon, she and Dave and I met up in Pana to go to Crossroads Cafe, the cafe run by our friend Mike. We all had such an enjoyable afternoon there, having him regale us with stories about coffee and finally getting his wife to say yes after three proposals. His enthusiasm for the Lord is intoxicating. I asked him if there was anything I could help him with in the afternoons after I'm done with class. His wife homeschools his kids and his youngest daughter is starting Biology this week. His wife doesn't really know anything about Biology so he asked me if I'd be willing to come down and teach some Biology. I'll be giving his wife a call on Sunday. =)
That night, the small portion of that team that's still around (which amounts to Dave, Katy, Dana (a country director) and I) went to Circus Bar for dinner. It looks a little shady from the outside but has fantastic pizza and bruschetta in addition to live music. Probably one of the better dinners I've had here. Dana and I split a Soleil pizza: cheese pizza with eggplant, zucchini, red pepper, and pesto on top. Nomnomnom.
And now we get to this morning. We'll be leaving for Xela in about 20 minutes. I should probably finish packing. =P
Thanks again for following along as I continue my adventure in this beautiful country. Again, feel free to ask me any questions you like.
Hasta luego!
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