05.07.2009 First day in Xela (Quetzaltenango)

05.07.2009 First day in Xela (Quetzaltenango)

While I had to wait for my family to pick me up, I read all the rules and had a look at the map in order to get a first sense of orientation. Fortunately it's very easy. The streets are arranged in rectangles and the "avenidas" go from North to South wheras the "calles" go from East to West. Looks like I'll find my way in no time.

Shortly after 3pm I was picked up at the school by my "abuelo" (Grandfather) Carlos. He told me that we'd walk which I considered a good sign in terms of living very close to the school. And yes, I really only live two blocks away right in the city center. How cool is that?

At the house I found out that I'm staying in a three generation household. Carlos introduced me to his daughter Claudia and his granddaughter Ale. Claudia showed me around the house, gave me my keyes and showed me how the shower works. Then it was time for me to unpack. What a great feeling to put my clothes in a cuppoard and to know that I can settle down for a few weeks and getting to know the language and the culture before travelling.

Claudia doesn't seem to talk much Ale is very nice. We played for about an hour or so and she showed me all her toys. She is very patient explaining words to me. I guess it's good to live with an eight year old because they always know something to say and their vocabulary is rather simple. The family also has a sausage dog called Estitch. Usually I don't fancy small dogs but this one has got a really cool spirit.

Because the host families only provide meals Monday to Saturday I had arranged to meet with Nanna and Luciano for dinner. I looked up two places that sounded nice in my guide book and was about ready to leave when it knocked on my door. My "abuela" (Grandmother) Suri welcomed me to the family and gave me an additional cover in case I'd be cold at knight. I like her already ;)

Yeah the sheets, that's a story of it's own. Honestly, what's up with that system? I already know it from pretty much every country I've been to. You get that really thin sheet and a cover and then yet another cover that is only used for decoration during the day and supposed to be taken off at night - I of course have to leave it on because I'm too cold most of the times. Because I move a lot during the night I wake up at least once when I find each sheet in a different corner of the bed and I have to rearange things in order to keep me warm. Whay can't they just have duvets like we do in Switzerland?

Anyway, I left the house and went back to the school to meet the others. We tried to find the two restaurants from the guide but we simply didn't find the first one and the second one was closed. So we just decided to walk down the street and find something else. We found a nice local restaurant and I was excited to have my first experience with Guatemalan food. We had a rice soup as a starter and then a platter for the three of us with different kinds of meet and vegetables and then a crêpe for dessert. It was all very delicious.

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Part of trip: Guatemala

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