Sloshing through the rain.

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We are now in the middle of our second week of Spanish lessons. Hard to believe that I can now talk to people in Spanish like a two-year-old might. Better than when I started. Last Wednesday I voiced my frustrations about my terrible Spanish teacher and I got a new one. Her name is Cindy and she is great. She actually teaches me, explains things, and speaks to me in Spanish. The only bad thing is that she gives tons of homework. Sometimes I am working on homework for over two hours.
Saturday morning we went to the very sad zoo that is here in Xela. Cramped cages, unhappy animals, and dirty. It is actually free to get into the zoo, so we could not pass it up. Too bad that it is so poorly kept; with a little tlc it could be very cool.
Sunday was the monthly handicrafts show in the main park. Really neat to see the things that some of the people can make. Macayla got a ring and bracelet. She wears them everyday, so I guess they were worth buying.
Monday we were able to move to morning classes at the school. I like it this way because by 1pm we were finished for the day and the day is not broken-up by classes in the middle of it. There are numerous activities to take part in at the school and I have been signing up for all of them. Monday was a historical tour of the city, Tuesday we went to a chocolatiera (very yummy) and today was a movie about Guatemala´s history. Tomorrow we are headed to the natural hotsprings!

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Photos

Quetzaltenango
Beautiful iglesia.

Quetzaltenango
Parque Centrale

Quetzaltenango
Beautiful iron work.

Quetzaltenango
Catholic Cathedral.
Original in the front and the newer version sitting behind and to the right.

Quetzaltenango
Monument in parque centrale.

Quetzaltenango
Near the zoo. Unsure of its significance.

Quetzaltenango
Indigenous woman carrying basket on her head.

Quetzaltenango
Typical street view.

Quetzaltenango
City view from atop a nearby foothill.

Quetzaltenango
Catholic parade on Sunday.

Quetzaltenango
Huge slab of wood with Christ on top. Indigenous women in a line carrying this on their shoulders. Very heavy. Halfway through they nearly dropped the platform and men took over.

Quetzaltenango
Another angle of Christ.

Quetzaltenango
Veiled women swinging burning incense.

Quetzaltenango
Indigenous woman praying with hair traditionally braided.

Quetzaltenango
Here comes the rain again.