Guatemala

September 22nd, Day 47 – Another learning filled week here in pleasant Xela. Should anyone be interested in learning Spanish, I highly recommend the town of Xela as well as my school Kie-Balam. They were a great group of people that made it quite difficult to leave.

The week was like any other of intensive Spanish instruction. Amidst the learning though, I had some great times learning Salsa dancing and befriending other students at the school. I also had an intense yet great experience cooking lunch for 15 people at the vegetarian café connected to the school. Just trying to bring a little bit of Iraqi culinary skills to Guatemala!

Tomorrow, I’m of to El Salvador to continue south.

September 15th, Day 40 – Today was my final day with Kevin. I am now traveling solo and hoping for the best. It should be a whole new experience. I decided to return to Xela from Guatemala City to eat good food, live comfortably, and advance my Spanish skills.

September 9th, Day 34 – As one must come to expect from this trip, we got to Flores with 6 hours to kill before our flight to Guatemala City. We decided to hire a guy to drive us to the Tikal ruins since we were so close. In the state I was in, this probably wasn’t the greatest thing as one can assume that the rainforest is both hot and humid as well as full of a lovely array of insects that really want to get to know you. I wished I was dead after 2 hours of those ruins! Don’t get me wrong, definitely worth seeing, only maybe when you’re feeling healthy.

Finally, we were on another little plane towards Guatemala City. Only thing worth mentioning here is that once we were in the air, what appeared to be smoke was rising from under Kevin’s bag. We made a little scene as we fumbled frantically to get out of our seats. The steward was kind enough to let us know that it was only the air-conditioning. So amusing!

One hour later, we were in Guatemala City preparing for our morning flight to Cuba.

September 7th, Day 32 - We coverd many miles in the past few days. We left Xela on the 4th for Panajachel on Lake Atitlan. Amidst torrential rains, we caught a boat over to San Pedro de Atitlan across the lake. San Pedro was a very strange town containing many ex-pats who left their western lives to do drugs and be dirty hippies in the 3rd world. One night was enough. The next morning we caught a boat back to Pana and hussled some guy to drive us in his car to Antigua.

Antigua was quite an attractive city that is known as the Spanish school capital. It’s mostly overrun with young westerners here to learn Spanish for the summer. After some bad Japanese food (what were we thinking?), we were off to Guatemala City.

Not trying to be negative or anything, but for being the largest city in Central America, Guatemala City was quite horrible. To sum it up in a few words, it was dirty, very gray, with little character or things to do. Having said that, I ended up returning 3 times!

The next morning, we were off to Punta Barrios on the Caribbean Sea. Though our guide book called it an “unfriendly place”, we made the best of it and had a good time. All one had to do to was decipher the strip joints from the brothels since that’s about all the place had to offer.

September 3rd, Day 28 - I'm officially done with school for a few weeks. I must say I've progressed a lot, but everyone is quick to point out the fact that we won't understand a thing in Cuba since they speak so fast. I guess it's not much of an insult since most Central Americans have problems understanding Cubans as well. Tomorrow, we hit the road again after 12 days here in Xela as we head to Lake Atitlan.

Last night was another unique adventure as my teacher Paola took Kevin and I out to the bars. We started with some wine at a cool little bodega. The difference between a bodega and a bar from what I gathered is that a bodega is a place that sells stuff you don't need (?). Following that, we went to a hip-hop club that had a whole bunch of Australians dressed in drag. Some friends of Paola's insisted we sit with them and bought a bottle of rum. They then mixed rum with beer which is one of the most disgusting things I've ever seen. It got a little stranger when one the guys asked me if I was Japanese. That was a good sign that the night had to end soon.

August 27th, Day 21 - One week of school over and done with! At 5 hours a day, I'm feeling quite a bit of progress. I must say it's more difficult than I thought. Xela has also been a good place to relax in and get some work done. Just having someone to converse with is helpful.

Yesterday was also quite an experience as my teacher took me to the San Francisco Market, the largest in Central America. Besides the usual 3rd world stuff, they had a great live animal market and a pretty little cathedral. Where else can you pick up a blanket, some used batteries, a goat, a cow, and stop at a church on your way out?

August 23nd, Day 17 - Xela is actually where we intend to study Spanish for 1-2 weeks. We have been placed with a family. My family is made up of 2 parents, a 6 year old girl, an 8 year old boy, a maid, a cat, 5 kittens, a parakeet, and a parrot! I've also begun instruction which is made up of 5 hours a day of 1 on 1 tutoring. I'm hoping to get this Spanish thing under control soon.

August 22nd, Day 16 - The day was far from over once in Guatemala. From the border, we caught a 2 hour bus to Coatepeque where we transferred to another 2 hour "chicken-bus" to Quetzaltenango (Xela). I must say, it's amazing how many people they can fit on these buses!