Hola from Quetzaltenango (or Xela)!
We were lucky enough to take private transport from Coban, as it is an 8 hour drive through mountainous terrain to Xela. Arriving Sunday evening, we were welcomed warmly at the language school Casa Xelaju, and driven (!?) to our individual homestays. The farthest homestay is a 15 minute walk. (I am the lucky one who gets to walk through le Parque Central many times a day, where most of the city´s activity is centered around). I feel I must also mention that these families are fairly well off, and we are living very comfortably. We have hot water showers…inside… for example.
Xela is the second largest city in Guatemala, and with nearly 50 language schools in the downtown area, it is relatively touristy…and gringo-y. We have stumbled upon and sought out a great many hang-out spots where one can easily find tofu, fresh peanut butter, and vegan desserts.
We jumped right into Spanish classes on Monday morning: 8 am. The school is quite large and very beautiful. The staff is helpful and friendly, and the teachers are incredibly talented. We all feel that we have learned a great deal in the last week and a half. When classes become tedious, an inevitability when they continue until 1 pm, our teachers take us on trips around the city. We visit the nearby historical museum, purchase fruit, and go nuts over baked goods in the famous, ¨bake shop¨.
After our classes and lunches with families, we are generally quite busy with activities. Nick took än internship¨ with our friend Danny, making traditional jewelry on the stoop of a grocery store. Some of us took Merengue class, a cooking class, many interesting yoga classes, and an informational session on Popo Vu (the bible of the Maya). Hannah and I volunteered at TRAMA, an organization that supports women through the sale of traditional weavings and the teaching of weaving classes. Our job has been to hand out fliers and promote an upcoming benefit.
Our first Wednesday in Xela we enjoyed a huka, then went out to LaParanda to salsa dance the night away. Thursday is kareoke night at El Cuartito (a cafe that I am particularly fond of…it has a Berlin vibe, and great employees whom we have befriended). Nick, Rachel, and Amanda rocked the place with their many songs, and Amanda won a drink for her first place performance! Jessica was able to attend a jazz concert with her host mother on Friday night, and Rachel, Nick, Amanda and I went to a drum performance. At 6 am Saturday morning, the group (with the exception of Jessica, Rachel, and me), began an adventure to La Luna Chicobal. The spot is supposed to be incredibly sacred, and Mayan priests do many ceremonies there. Those that made the trip say it was a very steep hike up the mountain, then 573 steps (but who´s counting) down to the lake. Clouds rolled in and out, Nick cast ¨the rock¨, and they sat in meditation. It sounded wonderful. In the afternoon, we walked to the stadium for a Xela vs. Peten (the region of our past travels) soccer game. We all bought Xela jerseys, grabbed some good ol´ street meat, and entered the stadium at 5 pm. We then proceeded to sit on the concrete bleachers for over 5 more hours. We all had a blast. At the beginning of the game, fans lit so many fireworks that the residual smoke covered the field and they stopped play until it cleared. Xela won by 1 within the final ten minutes of play. Good time had by all. On Sunday we all gathered at Nick and Amanda´s apartment (located in the same building as our Spanish school and it has a nice little kitchen) to eat, watch a bootlegged copy of Slumdog Millionaire, and eat some more. Julia, our culinary angel, baked fruit pies from scratch. Jessica made fresh guacamole. We all consumed a ridiculous amount of food. Two of our local friends joined us: Danny from the steps, and Jacobo from El Cuartito. This Tuesday, Rudi (or homeboy), a new friend of Amanda´s, invited us all to hear his band practice in a hilariously tiny rooftop room. Him and his bandmate picked us (only the girls that night) up and drove us out. They played a range of songs from U2 to popular Spanish artists, and we sang along as best we could. Rudi´s favorite was titled, ¨fiesta privado¨, which seemed a perfect title for the night. Today, Wednesday, we feasted at Sabor de la India. We had planned to spend the afternoon at Fuentes Georginas, the ¨most beautiful hot springs in Guatemala¨, but took the wrong bus to an unknown location instead. On the trip home we lost Jessica (finding her shortly afterwards, luckily)…and Nick had missed all of the buses in the first place. We plan to take the correct bus to Fuentes on Friday. We meet at 6 am for the 3-day trek of 40 K Saturday morning. Thanks for checking in…and until next time…amor and adios!
–Anjali, on behalf of our super group
Most of us will be out of contact through the end of next week because we will be enjoying a spiritual retreat on Lago Atitlan!
