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Published: January 30th 2007
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Eco Saunas1
the tapestry of land surrounding the saunas Classes
The first week here, I took my first dance class at my school. Very basic salsa. I have also listened to lectures on the history of Guatemala, the Mayan cosmovision, natural medicine, and the government's refusal to respect the people's decision to refuse a mining operation that will deprive them of what little water they have to grow their crops, will poison them, and will give very little benefit in return.
Crepes
My first Friday night in Xela, Alida and I went to a restaurant called Paris Royal and had some wonderful chocolate-banana-coconut crepes with a hint of orange zest while we listened to a live band playing Cuban music. The lead guitarist is also a guitar teacher, so I got his number so I can contact him when I know a bit more Spanish. We found out about the band from a guy Alida had met in parque central, and he was also there and we chatted a bit. He has visited Austin and seemed to like it as much as I do.
Eco Saunas
My first Saturday here I went to an eco sauna just outside of Zunil, a town nearby Xela, and sat in a
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Steam in the courtyard little stone room on a wooden bench and breathed deeply of vapors rising from the earth through a hole in the floor which we periodically covered with a stone when the vapors got too hot. That experience was followed by some nice sweet cantalope agua fresca. Alida and I went with one of the teachers at the school, Milton, who is studying civil engineering in Xela, specializing in water. We walked quite a ways from the town to the saunas and discussed how quickly the city of Zunil was growing and the problem with sanitation pickup being inaccessible to many of the city's inhabitants so that most throw their trash into the river which waters the fields of vegetable crops interspersed between the buildings of the city. Someone told me that before importation of many modern products packaged in plastic, most food items came wrapped in corn husks which were discarded along the street when done and that the people continue this habit although the plastic is not biodegradable. Yikes. The water coming from the taps appears cleaner than that in the river, but I have not found out what water treatment facilities here are like.
Futbol
Alida, John,
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Marta lifting the stone Milton, Niko (another student at my school from the Netherlands who studied engineering but worked in construction law before coming to Xela), Jorge (one of the sons of the family I'm living with), and I were going to go to a soccer game the first Saturday I was here, after we got back from the eco-saunas. But we found out that the partido de futbol had been cancelled because three players of Xela's team, the SuperChivas, had just played two games for the national team and the team wouldn't play without them. Thus we learned why they do not sell tickets for the games until a few hours before the game begins- because they don't know if they'll actually play a game until then. Not having anyone's number or a way to get hold of anyone, we met at the school as planned and decided to go to a cafe to sit and chat until it wouldn't be absurdly early to go to a bar.
Chocolate & Cafe culture
We went to La Luna which is known for its atmosphere and chocolate con leche. It was the best I've had in Xela so far, and that's saying something. I
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Alida in the steam room feel like I'm in chocolate heaven. One of the most prevalent and traditional drinks around is chocolate con leche or hot chocolate. People debate who has the best and I'm willing to try them all and put my two cents in. It will take a while before I can report authoritatively, but La Luna is definitely in the running. The atmosphere is dark and cozy. And as with most all cafes and restaurants here you can sit for as long as you'd like without anyone hurrying you or bothering you- they won't even bring your bill till you ask for it, though sometimes they're so busy not bothering you that its difficult to get their attention to get your bill- and when you decide you're ready to go, you have to remember to ask for your bill first. So, there's an upside and a downside to this custom. But generally, I like it. We sat and talked for hours- mostly about futbol, and mostly in Spanish- I tried to use as many of the new verbs I'd learned as possible. And I felt like I was understanding and talking alot- of course there was only one native speaker amongst us.
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Alida and Milton in the courtyard Nightlife
Niko was leaving to meet some friends for dinner and invited us along, so we went and met Katrin and Sara (two friends from Germany doing an social work internship in Xela for school). They were craving pizza, so we joined them at a local pizza joint where Milton's friend Eddie ( teacher at a different school and who works at the brewery here for one of the two local beers- Gallo and I cant remember the other- yes I actually tried one and it had such little taste that I was able to take more than one sip, although this may not be a trait traditionally sought by beer coneseaurs) also joined the group. Although Alida and I tried to say goodnight after dinner, Milton assured us that it was way too early to go home on a Saturday night, so we accompanied them to our first Xela discotec. John, who is twice my age, and I were probably the oldest people in the bar- me by hopefully only a few years. It was good people watching and good company and when it got to be a decently late hour, John, Alida, and I caught a taxi home.
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