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Had my first week of Spanish here and I think we can safely say that my natural aptitude for languages is fairly minimal! I think I have learnt a lot but I still struggle to communicate, although now I am having basic conversations with my homestay family. My teacher is a legend, a really great guy and we get on well.
Done a few things this week, went to Zunil a very rough, ready indigenous town that was like going back centuries. Dickensian almost, if Dickens had lived in Guatemala. They do lots of traditional fabric weaving there and I bought myself some which can be soon in my photos - lots of colours, very beautiful. It was bit rainy and drab in Zunil but a pleasant experience all the same and on the way back I was highfived by a man with a dead chicken in his hand on the bus. He highfived me with the other hand but I speedily covered my hands in hand gel so any horrible germs would have been erradicated in seconds. I felt sorry for the chicken, even in death you could tell in its face that it had a throughly shit existence.
Had a salsa lesson on Wednesday, one on one, which would have been great if it was girl but it wasnt, it was a man so there was a plethora of arkward moments when in the dance he was the girl and I had spin him around. In a country famous for its machismo and alphamaleness I think it was probably the gayest thing that has ever happened in Guatemala. I may as well have wandered into the town centre, donned a dress and then start belting out Streisand classics.
On Saturday my tutor took me to see Barcelona vs Real Madrid (in a pub), an opportunity to practise my Spanish with his friends and get drunk. I wasn´t so good at the Spanish part but the drunk bit, I had down to a T. My tutor supports Barcelona and we were very much in Barcelona pub so a lot of celebrations and drinks were had by all when Barcelona trounced the likes of that pretty boy Ronaldo et al, 2 to nil. In the evening (we started at 1) my tutor decided to teach me "essential" spanish, which included the phrases "no mi chingas" (don´t fuck with
me) and tequiero tocarla (I love you, can I touch you). I have not had the need to use either yet but you never know what the next week will bring. I left around 10ish when my tutor fell into a table.
The next day, rather stupidly with a hangover, I decided to attempt rock climbing for the first time in my life. And I can happily say that we can put rock climbing in the ever increasing group of sporting activities that I am shit at. We had three walls to scale and sadly I couldn´t complete any of them. I managed two thirds of one but then I started to scream in pain and the leader helped me abseill back down. But even though I clearly have no naturally aptitude for roca alpinisimo, I loved it and managed to get some great pictures too so altogether, I had a great day.
And we find ourselves on Thursday and every part of me aches after getting utterly trounced at football by a bunch of Guatemalan teenagers. There is a trekking company here called Quetzeltrekkers (who I do the trekking and rock climbing with) who´s profits go to
a local school for Guatemalan orphans and every Wednesday, they have a kick about with them. It´s a very humbling experience having a 12 year old run rings around you and out run you while you wheeze like a grandad and inform the closest person to you that you may need to be taken to hospital. But it´s great fun, all this exercise has made me a bit of a skinny boy so now which is only a good thing
More to come - hope I am not boring you too much!
Tequiero tocarla!
Simon. xxx
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