I left Rabinal on May 13th to return to Xela and spend my last two and a half weeks there. The heat in Rabinal had been unbearable for almost a month and, being sick for most of that time, I felt like I was really ready to leave. I didn’t think it would be very hard to go, or that I would miss it much... I noticed that I did miss it once I was in Xela, looking at pictures of Rabinal with a friend. I missed the colours of the sunrise and sunset in the dust-filled air... I missed sitting [View Full Entry]

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On Wednesday morning, I packed up my things and left San Salvador, destination: Jutiapa! Jutiapa is not exactly on the “tourist map”, and I had never had the, um, pleasure to visit. But this was Semana Santa, so some friends of mine had gone back to spend time with their families and convinced me to go meet them in Jutiapa a day before we were planning to head to Monterrico. With all I had heard about Guatemala’s “Oriente”, and Jutiapa in particular, I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised! After living in Rabinal, Jutiapa looked fairly big and its cowboy [View Full Entry]

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Semana Santa (Easter week) is a fairly big “deal” in most of Latin America, in Guatemala, it is HUGE. It is such an important holiday that most of the country’s Congressmen/women left for vacation a week early...! Hotels in Antigua book up weeks, if not months, in advance; beaches are crowded; and packed buses are even more unpleasant and dangerous than usual due to the increase in holiday travel. I had the week off from work and went off into the madness. Since my visa was about to run out and I would have had to leave the country before the [View Full Entry]

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Rio Negro is located in the northern part of the municipio of Rabinal, on the border with Alta Verapaz. This community was especially hard-hit by the violence of the 1980s through which it lost over half of its original inhabitants. One of the five massacres that affected the community took place on March 13, 1982. Monday morning, I left for Rio Negro with a group of survivors and human rights workers to commemorate the anniversary of the massacre through a series of ceremonies and an all-night vigil. Before you read any further, I have to warn you that I will be [View Full Entry]

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As I sit here writing this, a storm is brewing outside... After a hot and sunny day, the sky is black with clouds, the air dusty from the strong winds and the booming thunder is threatening us with rain. I rushed to bring in my still-wet, finally clean, clothes, that are now hanging a little everywhere in my living-room, but it still hasn’t started to rain. When it does start, it looks like it’ll pour. Maybe it’ll bring a little relief from the heat. I know that a few months ago I was complaining about the cold in Xela and I [View Full Entry]

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Since the last time I wrote, I spent about two weeks travelling with my parents and my aunt Irene, then went back to Xela for a few days, then came and settled in Rabinal, where I’ve been since, apart from the weekend or two in Antigua/Guate. Travelling with my family was great. It was good to see faces from home (even though I see Ben and Jackie regularly), and it was equally as great to be doing some more ‘comfortable’ and leisurely travelling for a bit. We spent the first 3 or 4 days on Lago Atitlan near Jabailito in a [View Full Entry]

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I’ve been here in Rabinal since last Wednesday and I have yet to find more long-term living arrangements in this village of about 10,000. So I am staying at one of the two ‘hotels’ here, where I have three - um, make that two - roommates (that I know of). Let me explain... Rabinal, located in the department of Baja Verapaz, at about 1,500 meters lower than Xela, has a much warmer climate than the mountains of Quetzaltenango. This warmer climate means at least one thing: more ‘wildlife’ in the form of insects. Last night, I discovered I was sharing my [View Full Entry]

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The New Year symbolizes a new beginning, a time to start anew, thus the resolutions, ambitions and wishes. However, probably a legacy of ‘school year’, January 1st has mostly felt as the middle of the year, the only new beginning being the approaching winter semester. This year however, the New Year was announcing a new beginning, my leaving the comforts of Xela and moving to Rabinal. I spent New Year’s Eve at Casa Internacional with some of our close friends as well as their good friends and acquaintances. At midnight we were on the patio and roof watching the firework [View Full Entry]

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Although this is getting to you a little late into the holiday season, I wanted to wish Happy Holidays to you all! The holidays here in Guatemala were, needless to say, a little different than at home. After spending the 22nd and 23rd making Christmas sweets with my friend Tim, Christmas Eve was spent at some friends’ house where we followed usual Christmas ‘tradition’: we ate and drank all night. Part of the Christmas tradition in Guatemala is also, of course, to set off abundant amounts of pyrotechnic devices. So when, at around 10:30pm, we went to the roof to take [View Full Entry]

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In many Latin American countries, the apparition of the Virgen de Guadelupe in Mexico in 1531 is marked on December 12th. All over Guatemala, this day is a celebration of faith and devotion. In most villages, people dress their children in traditional clothes, visit the Guadelupe temple and line the streets to watch the procession that accompanies the Virgin’s image, carried by women from the local Sisterhood of the Guadelupe Virgen. In Xela’s central park, a Marimba band started playing in the morning and festivities continued until late in the evening and were accompanied, as [View Full Entry]

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