Relaxing Day in Xela

el 18 de junio 2011

I slept surprisingly well last night given the noise level in the street outside my window. I ended up going to bed about 10, before Sandy got home. I woke up at six for the first time and then dozed until eight. It has been much warmer than it was last year. I actually slept in a t-shirt and pants and was plenty warm! :)

I got up and took a shower (poor rating on the water pressure scale, not too bad on the temperature scale) and then I unpacked my stuff. I really like my room. I have two dressers, a double bed, a double shelf by my bed, a wooden stand, a fold-down desk/tabletop, and a plastic chair. This does not leave much floor space, but it is a very homey place. I love my two windows. I don't know if it is because I am so much higher than last year, but I think it is less damp and cold here. Because my room is small, it is hard to back away far enough to get pictures of the whole room at once. For that reason, I have lots of pictures showing small parts of my room. I will try to post the whole panoramic view (for you, Jenny). However, for some reason, uploading pictures is taking forever. We may have to have a part 2...

Sandy got up while I was finishing my unpacking. She had fixed eggs and canned refried black beans (which were very salty). After breakfast, I decided to go find an ATM because I have no quetzales. I found an ATM across from the park. There was a line so a man who worked at the bank next door told me to use another ATM that was supposedly the same but was on the other side of his bank. I went and tried it, but I think it was out of money, so hopefully I won't be charged for the amount I tried to withdraw. I went back to the first ATM and waited. I didn't really like standing outside the ATM waiting because it kind of advertises that I am about to get money. I took out the largest amount that I could (Q2,000 or about $250) and walked quickly back to my apartment. I made it back with no problems. I stashed my cash and went back out with just my key to walk around. I walked to the church (after a bit of wandering around and then having to ask directions to the theater which is across the street) that I went to last year when I was here to find out what time the services are, but there is not a sign in front of the church giving this information. I went around to the side and spoke with a boy who looked about 10 and had trouble understanding my Spanish. He told me that the service is at 7. I asked "in the morning?" and he said yes. I asked if there is another one and he said he thought it started at 10. Sandy and I are going hiking tomorrow morning early so I don't know if I will be back in time for church. I hope so! Last year, I attended Sunday school with the young adults and that was how I found out about volunteering with them at that shelter for child workers who were taken from their parents. I also saw the Teatro Municipal (theater) and wandered up and down the roads around the park. They were setting up for something around the park and had several streets closed off. Everything I saw seemed so familiar from last year. I headed back to the apartment after about an hour and a half.

I stopped by the apt to get my books, journal, and water. I also put on sunscreen! Yay for sunny weather! I went up to the terrace or la terraza (teh-RAH-sah), which is more fun to say. It is really nice up there. They have tables and chairs and chaise lounges (sillas de playa), as well as many potted flowers. I took some pictures of the view. Then, I sat on a chaise lounge and read and wrote in my journal and started my Spanish book Cuentos de Eva Luna by Isabel Allende. I watched dark storm clouds roll in over La Muela (the molar), the mountain that we're going to climb tomorrow. It went from being hot and super sunny to cold and rainy. When it starts raining, it gets really cold. I went from being hot in a t-shirt and capris and bare feet to being cold in jeans, tennis shoes, socks, and a t-shirt with a sweater over it, all in a matter of minutes.

When it started to rain, I came inside and spent some time on the computer. I got to talk to Huseyin, the man from Turkey who stayed with Sandy last year when I was here. Sandy gives him Spanish lessons twice a week through Skype. It was fun to talk with him. His Spanish has improved so much since last year when he was just beginning to take Spanish classes. Sandy fed me some lunch which consisted of a quesadilla and a tortilla and something else that I can't remember (but wasn't a fruit or vegetable).

Andrea Sheridan (one of the "strangers" that Tammy and I shared our hotel room with in Costa Rica) and I tried to meet up. It is difficult to communicate because we have to use the internet and she doesn't have easy access to it. We wrote back and forth several times, but we never were able to meet up. Since then, we have planned to meet at 2 in the park tomorrow. I also practiced my English by talking to my family. Other than writing the blog and talking to my family and responding to friends who don't think Spanish, I have been trying to have complete Spanish immersion. I think it is working because I have been really tired. I remember when we got to Costa Rica and last year when I got to Guatemala, I was unbelievably tired the first few days, which I attribute to Spanish overload and my brain trying to compensate. Kristen is another girl who lives in our apt. She is from Sydney, Australia! She has been in Guatemala for 7 months.

Near sunset, Sandy and Gabby and I went out to see what was going on in the park. Sandy said that one of the presidential candidates was coming to Xela. He was from the Partido Patriota. The color of this party is orange and they had given out orange rain ponchos to all the people who were attending in the drizzle. They had set up a huge stage with orange balloons. The slogan of this party is Mano Dura and the symbol is a raised fist. Supposedly, he wants to take a hard stand against violent crimes in Guatemala. He is probably going to win. Several of the people I have talked with do not like him, but they think he is better than the other candidates. It was funny because after each point he made in his speech, the band would play a short, lively tune. At the end, they sang the theme song "Mano Dura" and Otto Perez Molina and other members of the party would shake their fists in time to the music. I tried to take some videos and pictures, but it was getting dark and rainy. After the speech, two bands played (one on each side of the stage at the same time playing different songs). One band consisted of about thirty men playing mainly brass instruments in a circle around four girls who were dancing to the music. We only stayed about a half hour and then we came back.

I helped Sandy get the dinner ready. I made the chicken covered in bread crumbs and Kristen made the salad of avocados, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Sandy made the rice and platanos, which we did not eat tonight. Then, Sandy, Kristen, and I played Bananagrams Espanol. We had fun. I actually won, which was a surprise because I think I know the least Spanish out of the group, but I have had experience playing the game. I am also very competitive. After our game, the food was ready and we ate together, which was nice. When we finished dinner (about 8pm), Sandy cleaned up the kitchen and everyone went to bed except me. They were all out late last night. Tomorrow Kristen is going hiking with us. I am finishing up with this blog entry and then I am going to head to bed, as well. I can tell that I got some sun on my face today from la terraza. Not burnt but definitely close. We leave tomorrow at 7am to hike La Muela. I hope it doesn't rain! I have pictures of the political rally, pictures of the view from la terraza, and pictures of my room to post when the internet is feeling more cooperative (probably when it's not raining!).