Friends, family, countrymen, lend me your ears. We write to you during our last precious week in the lovely city of Xela, more formerly known as Quetzaltenango. Since its been a little over two weeks since our last update, fasten your seatbelts and prepare for a semi lengthy account of our ongoings thus far. Arriving in Xela on a Monday, our first days of class were on a Tuesday. The classes we are all taking (save for Andy the spanish master) are 5 hours,8 to 1, Monday through Friday. The teachers at Casa Xelaju are very knowledgable not only about the spanish language but also a great deal of Guatemalan culture. All of our experiences at Casa Xelaju have been nothing short of pleasant. The school offers daily activities that we all have been rather eager to participate in. The first of these experiences was a lesson in the Latin American dance of Meringue which had all of us stepping on toes and counting the steps out loud. Bobby´s homestay family had a birthday party and Dan´s celebrated a marriage anniversary. Interestingly the families are related and melded these two circumstances in to one joyous occasion. Meanwhile, the rest of the travelers attended a Salsa fundraiser which sparked a high level of enthusiasm to learn this style of dance. As a result, the follwoing evening we all took a free Salsa lesson provided by the individuals who put on the benefit. After the lesson had ended we all went back to our respective houses and prepared for our hike to Laguna Chicabal. Laguna Chicabal is a lake sacred to some Mayan cultures, situated in the crater of Guatemalan volcano. Having finally ascended the volcano we came upon the lake shrowded in fog, giving it a very mystic appreance. It was easy to see why the lake is important to so many people upon first glance. Located around the perimeter of the lake were altars about every 50 feet. On our way out of the crater we had to ascend exactly 615 steps before we could begin our descent. On Sunday, the eleventh, the boys experienced an authentic Guatemalan sporting event. The Xela Super Chivos (Super Sheep) played the University of San Carlos from Guatemala City. The event overall was a huge success highlighted by our newly enhanced vocabulary (mostly bad words), eating Guatemalan stadium food, and a 3 to 0 Super Chivos victory. On wednesday of our second week, we volunteered at a local grammar school called La Pedrera after our own classes were finished. The children who attend the school come from very impovrished backgrounds and enjoy the attention of big gringos. It made those who went feel a sense of nostalgia because of our intimate experiences in Poptun, Peten earlier on in our adventure. The next day after class, Casa Xelaju offered a lecture on the history of Guatemala up until 1954 going into specific detail on the revolution during 1944. This lecture was accompanied by a second part which covered from where we left of until present time. These lectures were great opportunities to practice our spanish comprehension due to the fact that they were given in spanish by a teacher of the school. If it werent for Andy´s timely translations most of us would have been lost within the first 5 minutes of each lecture. On friday the seventeenth we had a day off from school due to the celebration of Guatemalan Independance. We took this pause from our studies to further explore the area around Xela. The first stop was at a Mayan village called Zunil. We visited two very different places during our time here. The first of these was a weaving cooperative which employes over 500 Mayan women. This gave us some insight into all the hard work that goes into the creation of the bags, clothing, and trinkets that we come into contact with on a daily baises. The second of these locations was a house tucked deeply into the city. This place was the current home to the Idol named San Simon. San Simon is an example of the clash of cultures between Spanish indoctrinated Catholicism and Indigenous Mayan faith. It is also a prime example of Idol worship which the Catholic Church does not recognize as legitimate. After our departure from Zunil, the highlight of the day was upon us. Having bused for 30 minutes we were able to take a dip in the hot springs named Las Fuentes de Georginas for some rest and relaxation. All in all it was a great day. On suday the eighteenth we took a 2 hour and 30 minute day trip to the famous Guatemalan market city of Chichicastenango, to the locals known as ChiChi. The best way to describe the ongoings there is ¨Sensory Overload¨. The crowded streets, persistent vendors, inescapable noise created a very hectic scene. This is also were the lot of us completed the bulk of our shopping for all of you back in Gringolandia. That brings us to todays events. After class we learned how make chocolate at Max´s homestay. After today, we only have three brief days in this fabulous city. But its not all sad because on Saturday we embark on a three day trek to Lake Atitlan, one of the most flooring sights Guatemala has to offer. In total we will hike 42 kilometers in three days, thats 26 miles for all you who arent so keen with the metric system. Assuming that our prayers of surviving this hike, we will update all of our loved ones at the end of October. We depart for Nicaragua on the second of November.
Much Love from Dan, Bobby, and the rest of the CAM Carpe Diem Crew
