¡Hola Amigos y Familia!
We are currently sitting in the deserted, gringo-opperated internet cafe here in Xela, listening to the daily thunderstorm overhead. This past week has been adventurous, thought-provoking, stomach-inflating, and generally a positive experience for all!
Coming from Pasac (population 1200), the city life in Xela has been a welcomed change. When we`re not spending all of our Quetzales on overpriced hipster cafe food (and by that we mean anything over $2.50) we can be found bartering only somewhat succesfully in the thrift shops and mercados, eating questionable street food, sprinting between houses in the pouring rain, laughing our butts off together, and taking wonderful group naps.
After a week and a half of Spanish lessons we`re definitely noticing improvements in the group`s conversational abilities, and even bigger improvements in the group`s comprehensional abilities. Although it`s been a little odd to return to a school routine, we`ve benefited from it a lot. AND we have filled our bellies with way too much free bread (or cookies on Tuesdays and Fridays, courtesy of Shane) every day during the half hour break.
This weekend was more on the outdoorsy side of life. We were able to visit Los Fuentes Georginas, a set of magnificent hot springs on the side of a mountain in the neighboring village of Zunil. We returned more pruny than we`ve ever been. This also gave us our first, long awaited ride as a group in the back of a pickup truck! We enjoyed every minute of it. The next day we all (minus Ricky, sadly) got our butts out of bed at 4:30 am for an amazing hike up a volcano. Our summit gave us an incredible view, and we even watched another volcano, Santiaguito, erupt! Although it erupts every one or two hours and the eruptions consist solely of smoke and noise, it was still pretty cool.
Other fun excursions have included feeble attempts at salsa dancing at La Parranda (a discoteca down the street from our school), group movie sessions at the Blue Angel Cafe, chocolate making lessons from a precious old guatemalan lady named Josephina, and volunteering (playing games) at the orphanage that´s supported by Casa Xelaju.
At this point all of us in the group have gotten really comfortable with eachother. We`ve shared our most embarassing stories, our middle-school histories, our dreams and fears and a million little details in between. It`s clear that it would be impossible to forget eachother or the experiences we`ve shared, and yes, group reunions are already being planned!
Tomorrow we leave for a 3 day trek through the mountains to Lake Atitlan! We`ve had a wonderful time here in Xela but we`re anxious and excited for new experiences and adventures. We all send lots of love to all of our friends and family, and a slightly early happy birthday to Lisa`s Dad!
Con Amor,
Leigha and Lisa