Learning the Lingo

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Double-Duty: Spanish school and Semana Santa in Antigua in the same week!

The Academia de Espanol de Sevilla set us up in a house where I was never sure how many people were permanent residents. Eduardo and Camilla, a lovely older couple in their early sixties were the heads of the household. They'd been having kids from the school stay with them for about three years and you could tell they were accustomed. They spoke slowly and clearly, making sure you understood what was going on. Their daughter Carolina was often around with her two children Maria and Diana, who were just as used to the constant rotation of guests. Brothers and uncles were also constantly stopping by.

The daily routine for most of the week was up for breakfast with Eduardo at 7h30, off to class for 8h00. Class till 10h00, a half-hour break and more class till 1h00. Usually it would only be till noon, but since Friday was a holiday, we had to make up the four hours we would miss with and extra hour each other day. Home for lunch at 1h00 and there was usually an activity for us to do in the afternoon. Salsa lessons one day, climbing to the the top of Cerro de la Cruz on another. On Good Friday morning we met the rest of the students at 4h00 am and were taken on a guided tour of the alfombras before the big 6h00 parade.

A quick explanation of what an alfombra is since they are essentially the main draw in these Semana Santa festivities. They are colorful pieces of artwork made directly on the street using either dyed sawdust, flower petals, vegetables or other organic materials. The most common are the sawdust. They are constructed in layers using stencils and different colors and can be quite intricate and ornate. Watching the time and labour that is dedicated to these pieces of work is mind-boggling especially considering that their ultimate purpose is to be destroyed by the passing of a procession of floats and marching bands almost as soon as they have been completed. It's supposed to symbolise the transience of material things. Do a Google image search for "alfombra" and you'll find a couple of good shots of what I'm talking about.

The family we stayed with apparently had a prime location right in front of one of the main churches, so we got to see a lot the processions really close to home.

In the four days of intensive schooling that I got, I could honestly say that I felt my understanding and even my ability to communicate tenfold. It was amazing. My "maestra" Julia was great. She did the hardnosed verbs and vocabulary but we did fun stuff too, like field trips to the mercado and some of the nearby churches. She was wonderful. Being forced to hold up my end of the bargain at meals helped too. I have a tough time staying silent, so if I was going to be able to put in my two cents and ask all the questions I wanted, I had to learn the lingo.

On one evening, Chris and I had discovered the perfect rooftop terrace for our famous sunset beers, when who should tap us on the shoulder, but Jeff (Pancho) whom we had met at Finca Ixobel in Poptun. I was thrilled. We agreed to meet him at his hotel after dinner, which was a beautiful place. Had a couple more drinks on the rooftop and one more round a bar around the corner named Frida's, with plans to meet the following night for dinner so we could meet the rest of his family. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Jeff mentioned that they were planning on climbing Volcan Pacaya on Sunday and spending the night on the mountain. We wanted in, but at the last minute the plans didn't work out. What we did manage to score was a second hand digi camera. Jeff graciously parted with his since his wife had just gotten a new one. We had been contemplating replacing our stolen one in Antigua, but the prices were such a swindle that we were having a hard time justifying it.

We planned to leave Antigua on the Sunday, but Chris' passport would only be ready in Guate City the following Friday. We decided to spend the week around the Lago Atitlan which we had passed by without seeing when we left Quetzaltenango. Jeff had a package he needed delvered to a wood worker friend who lived around the lake in a town called San Pedro. Since he wasn't going to make it out there we agreed to be his own private version of FedEx. (The package was band saws, for any one who thinks I haven't seen the movie "Broke Down Palace".)

There's so much else to tell about Antigua, but I'm afraid that this would run on forever. We left Antigua for Panajachel in the afternoon and after a three bus trip ended up in the biggest hippie/ ex-pat town I've ever seen.

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