Mateo Matateo

So, it´s about 3 months late, but oh well. After La Megan left, Christmas came. Here there is more emphasis on the 24th than the 25th. So on December 24th Kriss came by to get me around 6 in the evening and her and I went to church. It was interesting to say the least. It was like something on TV, I couldn´t believe what I was watching. A huge theatrical production, well put together with a storyline (no preaching) which told the story of Christmas which was augmented by song and dance. A band of about 20 people played the music and a cast of maybe 10-13 people acted out the scenes. Kriss´s aunt (only a few years older than her) played the main role of Mary (o Maria) which was interesting cause I had ... read more

Well, I finally did it! For a while now I had really been aching to get out and go camping. In Boone, NC it is so easy to just head out for a day or two. But here I can really only go on day trips which are nice but after awhile, just don´t do it for me. I knew I had wanted to do a hike with Quetzaltrekkers for a long time now, but I was worried cause it costs about $50 US to do the hike (though it includes gear, food, transportation when not hiking, etc) and since I have time here, I really didn´t want it to rain when I spend that much money and my ONE free weekend a month. I woke up at 4 am Saturday morning and ate peanut-buttered toast, ... read more

The last weekend in October I took students to Champerico, a beach town about 3 hours from Xela. It is definitely nothing to write home about (but ironically that is exactly what I am doing now) but it was certainly a nice change of climate and pace from the cold city of Xela. However, what happened is kinda interesting. We decided to go for a swim. I told the students to be careful because the undertow is very strong in Champerico. This is due to the fact that it was formerly a major port for exporting fish and other mariscos (seafood) and thus the ocean floor was dug deep so that there would be depth close to the shore so that boats could dock. Well, we went for a swim and enjoying the water, more and ... read more

On a Sunday morning we headed out of Xela for the coast. First to Reu, then to El Asintal, and finally a pickup that took us to Las Ruinas de Takalik Abaj. The name Takalik Abaj, which was until recently known as Abaj Takalik (wow! big difference I know), means "Stopped Stone". It was a pre-Classic site and is not very interesting for the average site-goer, but for someone who is interested and has read about the religious, cultural, and political significance of this place it is incredibly saturated with interesting tidbits. I had never been here before so I had really been looking forward to checking it out. It is really great to be able to go anywhere I want (granted it has to be within a certain time/distance from Xela) and get it paid ... read more

I know, I am really lazy, but sorry, I´ve been living and not wasting my spare time on the internet. Things are going here, new adventures (which are often always the same) happen daily. I remember one morning, we left here (Xela) at 8 am on a Saturday morning. It was almost still dark out and clouds filled the views, giving everyone awake slight chills. We made our way to the bus terminal, a grudgey, gross place and a long ugly walk from where one urban mini-bus drops you off to the massive bus Terminal called Minerva. Here you can find buses going almost anywhere in Guatemala. That day we were going to Lake Atitlan. As we came out from the heart of the highlands, to just a little bit lower (though not too much, still ... read more