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I flew into Guatemala City, the capital, safe and sound Wednesday afternoon (July 2nd). The city was noisy and dirty with generous amounts of carbon monoxide. Colorful chicken buses, retooled American school buses for public transportation, abound.
It took about 1 hour to arrive in Antigua from the capital. It was once the captial of Guatemala, but a major earthquake hit Antigua in 1773 and leveled the town. After that they moved the capital to Guatemala City. For a brief history see- http://www.thegringosguide.com/Antigua/AntiguaHistory.htm. The town is 5,000 ft in the mountains. Now is the rainy season, so it´s been fairly cloudy with a bit of sunshine here and there, mostly in the morning. Things don´t tend to dry out very quickly if at all. It´s quite cool as well, temperatures range from 70´s during the day to low 60´s at night. All the streets are cobblestone and the sidewalks are very uneven, so my ankles should be very strong when I return. It also takes some getting used to having armed guards everywhere. But the people are very friendly.
I´m staying with a family several blocks from the school- Sylvia, her son. Francisco, and their dog, Terri, a table-scrap
moocher. There are 3 other students there as well- two women from the states and one guy from England. Apparently there are many people who stay here for months to learn Spanish or to work volunteering or to do some kind of internship. I´ll send photos of "my " home with the next blog.
My Spanish teacher is great. His name is Giovanny. Classes are one-on-one and take place in a courtyard. It´s a relaxing setting, except when a big truck comes by. Overall, things are working out great.
Most of the pictures look dark because it is fairly dark, it being so cloudy.
More later.
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Michael Halamka
non-member comment
happy summer!
Paul, thanks for enriching us by sharing your adventures!