So yesterday, Tuesday, August 7th, I went to play soccer with about 8 other students from my Spanish School (Celas Maya) 1 teacher (Byron), and an employee of Celas. Byron is always trying to get students together to play soccer, and he was able to rent an artificial turf field. The field was smaller than a normal field, but it was covered with a roof which protected us from the usual rain. At the field we encountered some Guatemalans (I think they were friends of Byron’s, but I am unsure) and they played soccer with us too. We had 3 teams [View Full Entry]

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Tikal July 17, I left for a four day trip to Tikal. For those of you unfamiliar with Tikal, let me briefly describe it for you. Tikal is about a 12 hour bus ride from Xela. It is in Northern Guatemala and is the site of one of the great Mayan Civilizations. The Mayans occupied Tikal in the 1200’s (if I remember correctly), and today many of their temples have been uncovered and restored. We left for Tikal at around 8 in the morning on Thursday. My Spanish school, Celas Maya, planned the whole trip for us; all I had to [View Full Entry]

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Before my trip to Tikal, I thought it would be good to trim my beard. Unfortunately, I did not bring a beard trimmer with me to Guatemala. So I decided that this would be a good opportunity for me to support the local economy, interact with more Guatemalans, and practice my Spanish. The bad part is I get nervous and forget Spanish when I need it for something important and the phrases you need to use at the barber are not ones I generally use, such as, “Please don’t cut my face.” But I ventured to the barber anyway and in [View Full Entry]

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So I would like to take this opportunity to comment on the drug use, ex-pats, evangelists, and hippies in San Pedro. We had heard of the reputation San Pedro had for drug use and ex-pats before we came here, but we still came because class was only $60 a week and the city as famed for its beauty. We have not been let down. Class is only $60 a week and the city is beautiful. Our first day we were enjoying the view from our balcony when a girl walked by and asked me if I wanted to smoke a joint [View Full Entry]

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So after class today Anne, Laura, and I went to lunch. We ate very close to the place we had breakfast, which is close to the place we had dinner the day before, lunch, breakfast, and dinner two days ago. Yes there are many restaurants which sit out on Lago de Atitlan and offer a great view of the water and the surrounding mountains. And believe it or not, friends, I started to get the urge to play—climb a mountain, kayak across the lake, go for a swim, or go for a bike ride. Well, I am still suffering from problems [View Full Entry]

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Hola Amigos, So my first day of class in San Pedro proved to be interesting. I met my teacher (Elmer) and we headed to our shack. After talking for awhile he asked me, “quires caminar?” I said “Si” and we went for a walk. We headed through the gardens. The school is outside and is in the center of a giant garden divided into many parts. Each section of the garden is owned and maintained by a different person or family. We climbed a small hill and Elmer explained that the hill we were standing on used to be an island [View Full Entry]

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So the 4 of July proved to be an exciting day here in Xela, Guatemala. Every Friday, my Spanish school, Celas Maya, hosts a graduation for the students who are not returning for another week of classes. Sometimes these graduations do not have a theme and we have typical Guatemalan food, but other times the graduation has a theme. My new good friend Dan, whom I have only known for 4 days, and I decided that because this graduation was on the 4th of July there should be an Independence Day theme. We talked to the director of the school and [View Full Entry]

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So my plan of staying in Xela for two weeks before traveling was thwarted by my friend Laura and my new friend Anne. They had the idea that we should go study at a school in San Pedro. For those of you who are not familiar with San Pedro, let me describe it for you. San Pedro, as Anne put it, is an oxy moron. It is a small town of about 10,000 which sits in the mountains on the edge of Lake Atitlan. I believe Lake Atitlan is the largest lake in Guatemala, and the beauty of the mountains rising [View Full Entry]

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