Week 2- Classes, Salsa, Futbol, Microbuses, and Xela beyond Zona 1

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Classes
My second week of classes, I somehow felt like I was understanding less Spanish than the first week, but I was still speaking or listening to Spanish five to eight hours a day and conversing with my teacher on such topics as the current state of education in Guatemala, the impact of import and export and cultural differences in worldview of time and personal interdependance and the banking situation. Pretty complex ideas to discuss and convey if I was really not understanding more. Maybe I'm just to the point where I know enough to realize how much I don't understand. Still learning irregular verbs in the present tense. I suddenly have more empathy for people learning English who speak in the present tense all the time or who get the tenses incorrect. Not that I didn't empathize before, but I didn't really understand how difficult it is to learn.

Salsa
On Wednesday night, Alida, Katrin, Sara, Brandon (one of Katrin and Sara's friends they met here from Portland Oregon), and I went to La Parranda for the free salsa lessons (after chatting a bit in Katrin and Sara's new accomodations right off parque central in a beautiful renovated building- they have their own terrace on which to sunbathe). The class was like a line dancing lesson- they didn't get around to teaching how you might dance with a partner or do turns. Luckily I already knew some of the basics. So when they said grab someone and dance, I asked whatever guy was near me to dance- both times it turned out to be a dance instructor that I asked and so I got two good dances during the class, but after the class I didn't dance with anyone and the music was less salsa or merengue than discotec. I was mezmerized watching some of the teachers dance and when they were done I asked them where they taught- at cafeteria.net, one of the internet cafes I'd been frequenting that incorporates computers, cafe, bookstore, and apparently a dance school. It is a treasure, but unfortunately most popular with foriengers. they also have very good chocolate con leche. I found my friends at a table and joined them, but when they got up to dance, I stayed and enjoyed people watching for a bit. Another foreigner said hello and I answered him in Spanish, so we talked for quite a while in Spanish- we were about the same level of study I think, or at least I could understand him so that was good. After a while he asked me where I was from and I told him Austin, Texas, and he laughed. He said that when I answered him in Spanish he just assumed I didn't know English. good trick to know. I did dance a while after that- we waited for the DJ to play one of the songs Alida requested then we caught a taxi home.

Futbol
On Thursday I was dead tired during class and had a very long day. After class, the teachers and students cooked and ate lunch together. It was delicious. Then Alida and I went with Marlo, the director of my languge school who is very involved in the community, to an orphanage for boys. There is a single mother taking care of sixteen boys- one of which is her own. We got there and the boys were so happy to see Marlo and two strange girls, one jumped up on me and hugged me and wouldn't let go until he climbed over to hug Alida. Alida and I had bought some coloring books and crayons for them and they seemed to really enjoy them. Then we headed to the park with five of the boys. One little guy was wearing headphones and tuning in to various radio stations almost the entire time. There was a little boy who kept picking up various sized rocks. We went first to a park with several play structures, but some other boys were there and they had a ball, so, of course, we started kicking it around. Then we moved to the street and played till we kicked the ball onto a roof and Marlo said we had to go while the boys were knocking on the door to see if they could go onto the roof to get it back. Apparently the boys found another ball by the time we got to another park on the way home and Marlo said we could play for a short time. the boys chose two team captains who started picking their teams. My team was so good. They set me as goalie and I blocked a few kicks, the goal post? blocked a few kicks, and two got past me. But most of the time the ball didn' t even come close cause the two guys on my team kept making goals at the other end of the field. We must have been pretty loud and entertaining, because people were standing in their doorways to watch our game and laughing alot. Finally, we headed home and got some candy on the way. With lolipops in their mouths I understood less of what the boys were saying, but I hadn't really been able to understand them anyway.

Microbuses
Thursday was the first day I rode in a microbus. Marlo knew which bus to take and when to get off- we asked her how and she said you just have to ask. The bus can get pretty crowded, they'll fit as many in as possible. Each ride is one quetzalez, no matter how far you're going. One quetzalez is about 1/8 of a dollar. On the way home, apparently the guy who calls to people to get them onto the bus and who takes the money, misinformed Marlo about where the bus was headed and they said we had to get off somewhere in zona 3. More about the zonas below. The caller opens the door and closes the door and hangs out of the door to call for people and look for people. You don't pay until you get off the bus. So, I guess its not exactly a science, figuring out which bus is going where. We had to either find a different microbus going our way or walk the rest the way home. We decided to walk.

The microbuses are relatively new in Xela. But they have grown quickly. Apparently, the big bus companies wanted to increase their fare prices, but the government said they couldn't, so the drivers went on strike. Instead of giving in, the government said that's fine, and allowed the microbus industry to enter the market as long as they charged only Q1 per ride. This improved traffic in Zona 1 tremendously because its the historic part of town where the streets are very narrow and the big buses had trouble turning and would often block traffic. The government then banned big buses from entering zona 1- now they have to go around. Maybe not all of zona 1, I picked up a chicken bus on the way to Zunil's eco saunas a few streets behind the parque central. I think my teacher was saying, though, that the traffic might actually be worse in zona 1 now because there are more cars now that the big buses are gone. Kinda funny how that works.

Streets & traffic
In zona 1, most street signs are painted on the side of buildings on the corners, but there aren't always street signs= kind of like in Austin, sometimes you just have to guess which street is which. There are some traffic lights, but only at two intersections that I know of in zona 1. Many of the streets are cobble stone of various shapes and sizes, but some are paved, some better than others. The sidewalks are sometimes wide enough to fit two people if they both turn sidewize when they pass, but sometimes not. Cars will honk to let you know that they're coming from behind so you don't step out into the street to get around someone walking the other way on the sidewalk, but you can' t count on the honk, you have to be vigilant. Pedestrians do not have the right of way here-= the cars go at every chance they get, but some drivers will allow you to pass. However, jaywalking is prevalent- I don't think theres' any law against it. you cross whenever you can if no car is coming. I mentioned the streets were narrow. There are many motorcycles on the roads. Some bicycles, but the cobbled stones and steep streets are a bit prohibitive for many of those. I was walking on the sidewalk to get here and blog when I was literally brushed by a passing motorcycle rider. I think it may have been trying to go around a car that was also in the road. The sidewalks are also not very reliable, they have huge gaps, cracks, and posts in them and steps of various sizes. You must always be vigilant when walking around.

The view from the street
For this reason, I see something new everyday, because I take my eyes off the sidewalk at different times. I see new shops and new buildings. This may also be because not all shops are open every day and they close up pretty securely when they're not open. I just passed a video store I'm pretty sure I've never seen before. And have I mentioned that, at least in Zona 1, there's no zoning - houses and stores go side by side, there are few signs, so you don't really know what's there unless you can look through a doorway or window and see what's inside. Also, there are many large garage type doors. So, looking down the street, you mostly see many doors and windows, opened or closed, and the outside walls are pretty worn and have that rustic colorful look that makes each crack and piece of peeling paint look so cute. I want to go around taking pictures of all the different door ways. I'll add them to the blog when I get a chance. Oh, but my point was that you never can tell what's inside. my school for instance has a beautiful courtyard and rooms off of the courtyard and it goes back a ways into the block. You'd never know that from the outside. I've caught glimpses of other suck oases making me conclude there are many more. Its the same with the cafes I've found with wonderful ambiance inside that you would never guess from the street. Its like a treasure hunt everyday.

Zonas in Xela
The city is divided into diverent zonas or neighborhoods. Each zona has calles and avenidas and diagonals with the same numbers, so its very important to indicate which zona when giving an address. I had not been outside of zona 1 until we went to the orphanage. The streets in the other zones seem to be wider and usually paved and the buildings are more modern. On the way back from the orphanage, we walked through the mercado in zona3. Its definitely somewhere I need to return to, and I'll tell you more about it when I do.

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