Friday, July 16, 2010

Today was a much better day, gracias a Dios! I woke up at 7 and quickly got ready. I went into the house for breakfast a little bit early (around 7:20). Sandy was still cooking the oats. I talked to her and set the table. I had coffee and oats with a banana sliced up in it. Sandy left the kitchen and I ate quickly. I got back to my room and finished packing up the things I would need. I left my room at 7:45 to walk to the bus terminal for the buses going to Toto (a neighboring region of Guatemala). I was headed to a big market in San Francisco El Alto. I had read about the market in the Guatemala book. There is a bigger market that is more famous for tourists in Chichicastenango, but my book said that San Francisco is more famous among guatemaltecos. Helen had drawn a map last week to show me where the bus station was located, so I found it with no problem. It is really near the gas station where I use the ATM. Unlike Terminal Minerva, there were not very many people around and only about 6-8 buses lined up, most of them empty. I wandered up and down the row looking for someone who could tell me which bus I needed to take. Finally, a young man came up and asked me where I wanted to go. I told him, and he said that I could take one bus to Cuatro Caminos and then I would need to take another bus to San Francisco. I asked him when the bus was leaving (3-4 minutes) and how much it cost (Q3), and then I got on the bus. I was the only one on the bus, which made me wonder if it really would leave in the prescribed amount of time, but we did leave pretty much on time after a few more people got on.

Our colorful chicken bus made the usual stops with the ayudante (helper) jumping off the bus and calling out the destination to attract potential passengers. A few vendors climbed aboard and tried to sell their wares (little packages of gum and other snacks). Many more people got on. Apparently most people don’t go all the way to the bus station but just pick up the bus along the route. Finally we headed out on the big road leading out of Xela. The bus ride took about 45 minutes. I enjoyed the scenery outside the window as we drove along. It was a really beautiful day and warm, too! Even though it was still early, I took off my jacket and only had one a t-shirt and one long-sleeved shirt. Heat wave! We arrived in a town and lots of people were getting off. I asked if we were in Cuatro Caminos, and I was told that we were. I got off and the ayudante pointed me in the right direction to take the bus to San Francisco. I walked across the street and headed toward a bus pointed in the opposite direction. The ayudante asked me if I were going to San Francisco, and when I said yes, he pushed me hurriedly toward the bus. I thought we must be leaving momentarily, but we actually didn’t leave for about five minutes. I sat next to a sleepy woman and behind a man from Mexico who began trying to speak English with me. He was very friendly, but it was hard to understand his English. He hardly knew any words, and so he would mix Spanish and English. It was already hard for me to hear him with all the noise on the bus, but when I couldn’t even tell which language he was speaking, it was nearly impossible to understand him. Finally, he switched to all Spanish, which was so much easier. He asked me how to say “how are you?” and “how old are you?” in English. We talked until the bus left, and then he still tried to talk to me, but it was even more difficult to understand him because of the noise and wind. This bus ride took about 20 minutes.

I got to San Francisco El Alto around 9. I headed in the direction where most of the people were going. I walked off quickly to avoid my Mexican friend who was beginning to seem a little stalker-ish. He caught up with me, however, and said a few more things. When we entered the market, we split off in two different directions, for which I was thankful. I had never been to such a big market, and I didn’t even see it all. The streets were completely filled with vendors selling about anything you can imagine. The first part I walked through was the fresh food section with vendors selling vegetables, fruit, bread, and meat. It was interesting, although very crowded. The aisles were narrow and there were many people. I kept wandering through the rows enjoying the experience. Finally I made it to the clothes section. I wanted to buy a scarf, but I didn’t find any in the whole market, even though I kept asking many people.

Leonel told me that people come from all over Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Mexico to this market because it is very cheap. They buy the goods in bulk and then return to their countries to sell them. He said that it is a very profitable business with Q2,000,000 changing hands each day in the market. The vendors in San Francisco get their goods from people in Guatemala City who buy a whole shipload of cheap fabric from China with which to make the clothes. It was interesting to learn more about how the market works.

I bought several clothing items, and so I had a couple of plastic bags hanging from my arms as I traversed the market. I had been wanting to buy a large piece of fabric that the women here use to make a bundle that they often carry on their heads. I decided that it was the perfect opportunity since I could actually use it to carry my stuff. I asked where I could find one, and headed to the center of the market. I had to pass through the area where vendors were selling food to eat at makeshift restaurants. I finally saw a stall that had a few for sale. They are called pañuelos, by the way. I bought a rainbow-colored one that is very traditional. The woman helped me tie my packages into a bundle. I still had trouble getting through the narrow aisles, so I adopted the traditional method of carrying my bundle on my head. I had put something flat in the bottom, so it actually stayed up better than anticipated. I think I need a little more practice, though. Most of the women carry their bundles without holding onto them. I kept one hand on mind in case it decided to take a tumble. I only saw three other gringos while I was in the market. When I told Leonel this, he was surprised.

I didn’t make it to the animal section of the market because I had to head back to Xela. I did see someone leading a cow through the market, a small pig in a bag, a man leading two sheep through the market, and a woman pulling a pig wearing a rope harness through the market. I am a little disappointed I missed out on this unique aspect of the market.

I walked back to where I could take a bus to Xela, and I found an ayudante telling me that his bus was going to Xela. I got on a crowded bus and found a seat at the back. A man soon came and sat next to me and promptly fell asleep. I saw someone with a cow in the back of their pick-up and a drunk man lying on the sidewalk. The bus ride back took a little over an hour. I was hoping we would arrive back at the bus terminal that I had started my journey from, but we went to Terminal Minerva instead. This meant I had to weave my way through the Minerva market and then find a microbus (van) to take back to Central Park. I was short on time, but I wanted to stop at a tour office and ask about doing a volcano hike this weekend.

I went to Adrenalina tours, but after sitting and waiting for almost ten minutes for the man to look if there was a group going, I asked him and he said there wasn’t. I quickly looked in the free magazine XelaWho that has info for tourists and found another tour company that was close by. I went to MonteVerde tours and spoke with a man who spoke English well and found out that there might be a group going to climb the Volcano Santa Maria Saturday morning and another group might be going to Volcan Tajumulco (sp?), the tallest volcano in Central America, Saturday morning to Sunday afternoon. That is an overnight trip and you camp up near the summit of the volcano. He also told me about a midnight tour that would hike Santa Maria Saturday night in time for the sunrise on Sunday morning. I told him which school I attended, and he said he would call during my break to let me know which tours were going. By the time I left, I only had ten minutes to get home for lunch, and I was in the middle of Xela and I live on the edge. I power-walked back to my house, dumped my stuff, washed my hands, and made it to the table only five minutes late. Impresionante!

For lunch, we had soup with little short noodles, rice, and empanadas with tuna and vegetables in them. They were very good. After lunch, I got my stuff ready and went to school. Today was a better day at school. Leonel and I talked for an hour about my trip to the market and other stuff. Then we began reviewing commands. At the break, I waited to hear from the man from MonteVerde tours. He never called, so I decided to try to call him. Oscar looked up the number for me, and I headed out to the pay phone on the street. It was my first time using one of these phones in Guatemala. I reached the guy, but what I didn’t know is that a 25 centavo coin only lasts about 30 seconds. Then you have about 5 seconds to insert another coin or you get disconnected. I got disconnected, so I called him back. I saw that I needed to put another coin in, but by the time I dropped it in the slot, I had lost the call. He had already told me that the only tour going is the midnight hike to Santa Maria and that it cost Q150. I called him back with my last 25 centavo coin and told him I would like to go. Luckily, he already had my name and address, so I didn’t have to give that to him. They will pick me up at my house at 11:50 on Saturday night! What an adventure! I need to find out if you can use other coins in the phones or only 25 centavo coins. The picture on the side of the phone is a 25 centavo coin, but it would certainly be easier if you could use one quetzal coins!

I hurried back to the school. Leonel was back from his break, and he asked me if I wanted to play “Escrabble” in Spanish. Of course, I said yes, so we played for a little over an hour. I thought it was funny because before we started, he told me that he likes to have the rule that each turn can only last a minute so it doesn’t get boring for the other person. I agreed, and we began. Let me tell you that the game was quite uneven. Almost from the beginning, I had double Leonel’s score. I don’t think he was used to being beaten by students. The final score was Carolyn: 379 and Leonel: 191. He told me that when he plays “Escrabble” with students, they usually play in teams with one student and his student against another teacher and his student. He said this was the first time that he has ever finished the game! He said they usually stop playing after four hours! I thought it was funny because probably one-third of Leonel’s turns lasted 3-4 minutes because he was having trouble finding a word. I think I only took more than a minute once. I had plenty of time to think while Leonel was working on his word. I like playing games, and I like winning! :)

After the game, we talked about traveling. We discussed the places we’ve been and what they are like. We actually had a pretty good conversation! I didn’t have homework for the weekend, which is kind of funny considering I had 2.5 hours of homework the night before! While I was waiting for Hussein to finish, Oscar told me that my teacher for next week is Teresa. I will go to school in the morning from 8 to 1. I am excited about the change.

Hussein and I walked home together. I stopped to buy another bottle of water for the hike tomorrow night. When we got back, we had eggs cooked in a circle with tomatoes on top, black beans that reminded me of refried beans, and slightly stale bread. Sandy had been wanting to see my Bible that is half in English and half in Spanish. I had brought it with me to dinner, but Sandy got a phone call. I sat in the living room reading it while I waited for her. After a while, Hussein came in. His Spanish is getting so much better. He told me to name a color, and I said red, not knowing why he was asking me. He then brought out a little bag of chocolates from his pocket and gave me one wrapped in red foil. He had gone on the field trip to the chocolateria and this was his souvenir. I thanked him, and we talked for a while and compared our maps of Xela. Then he left, and I wrote in my journal. Sandy came down, and I showed her my Bible. She really like it. She knows quite a bit of English, but it is hard for her to speak it, kind of like me and my Spanish. She read some verses in English and tried to translate them into Spanish, the opposite of what I do when I read! She liked it a lot. Roberto arrived and Sandy and Roberto got ready to go somewhere. I went back to my room, worked on the blog, read for a bit, and went to bed around 10:30.