I´ve Arrived in Xela, Guatemala

Unfortunately, I don´t have any original pics to share this week. I just don´t trust myself walking around with a camera yet. So far I have locked my keys in my room, misplaced my sweatshirt (found now), & lost my map (replaced). Also, I have not seen 1 person with a camera around here taking pics. I think I will ask my teacher about this and suggest she come with me so I can take some local pics....there are so many beautiful things I want to share.

These first few days have been all about adjusting to my new environment. While the city of Xela is surrounded by lush volcanoes and beautiful mountains, I am pretty focused on the bare essentials (not losing anything, finding my way around town, getting food, etc.). This weeks blog reflects this mentality.

Next week I promise to post pictures.


Day1
So many adventures filled with a mixture of excitment, frustration, the satisfaction of victory, and disappointments. Basically, it´s been just what I hoped for so far. I flew in on Mexicana Airlines and so many people kept speaking Spanish to me. I tried to smile and nod when I understood only a few words but would inevitably end with, ¨Lo siento no intiendo mucho español¨. The customs guy didn´t seem to believe I didn´t speak Spanish so I had to convince him in my best Southern CA accent that I really was coming to Guatemala to learn to speak Spanish. Met a very nice old man on the plane who jokingly called me a pocho (literal translation; ¨has lost the color¨ but refers to an Americanized Mexican) when I didn´t eat the chicken and rice they served on the plane. I had to forgive him when he gave me his serving of airplane cookies.

I had arranged to stay overnight in Guatemala City because my plane arrived after the last bus to Xela. Perhaps the happiest moment of the day was seeing Raquel, my contact from school, holding a big sign with my name on it outside of the airport. Whew! She picked me up in an old (80´s) hatchback that had a serious problem with the exhaust. I could barely breath but since have determined that this problem is very common with many cars here (in Xela too). The smell in the busy streets is something that might take some time adjusting too. I stayed overnight in a small room in her families home. She was very nice and practiced her English with me while helping me with my Spanish.

Guatemala City is so loud at night that it makes Hollywood sound like a secluded country cottage. I wore earplugs and played peaceful music on my iPod and was eventually able to fall asleep.

Day 2

The next day Raquel drove me to the bus station and I was on my way. Our bus broke down on the way to Xela. I actually really enjoyed this because the bus driver was able to get us to a mechanic that was across the street from a market. The view was beautiful and so diverse. On one side was a lush green field that was full of corn stalk and on another side was local women waiting to catch a bus. There was also a bicycle race happening and I saw bicyclists in full biking gear riding past these women dressed in traditional Mayan clothing, quite the contrast. I tried to take pics but made a mistake and took movies instead (completely uninteresting as most of them are of my feet). I also bought my first items using my little Español. I spent about $1 on bottled water, a can of pineapple juice and Trident gum. What a deal! I made it to school safe and sound and met some of the other students. I was disappointed that they all spoke English around the table, I definately can´t wait to get with my family. They were very interesting though. One just passed the bar in Virginia, another is riding a motorcycle from Canada to South America and another was talking about his trip to North Korea.

Day 3

Todays big adventure was me trying to buy a cell phone. I found a cell phone store close by and they had a special for a cell phone with 50 minutes include for Q100 (about $14). I thought I heard somewhere that sometimes they give you triple minutes so the phone is basically free. I thought I´d shop around for this deal so I went to a competitor whose cheapest phone was more than twice this amount. Someone at my school told me about a place called Hiper Pias that is like an indoor mall and with a store owned by Walmart attached. I read that they have a movie theater there and had planned on visiting eventually but planned on waiting until my español was better because I´d have to take a microbus to get there. However, I was determined to get my cell phone today so I decided to take on the adventure. For about 15ç I was taken across town crammed into a van filled with locals. I had a blast and safely made it to Haiper Pais about a half hour later only to find that their least expensive phone was also twice the amount of my original deal. Now I was excited that I found a great deal and couldn´t wait to get back the the original store to buy it. Unfortunately the store was closed. They close at 1pm, who would have thought???

Day 4

Decided to change schools today. This school seems to be much better suited to me. There is a cafe at the school called ¨CAFE GURU¨that serves fresh juice (I´m having a fresh carrot juice at this moment....AHHHHHHH). The owner at the other school was very nice but this school is so much more beautiful and peaceful. Also, the whole process seems much more organized. I feel taken care of and am much more happy. Now I am getting out of survival mode and am preparing to enjoy this whole process so much more!! This afternoon I will take a taxi to my host family and will begin classes tomorrow morning.

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Part of trip: Xela, Guatemala

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