Cerro de la Cruz

el 6 de julio 2011

We got up at 6:15. I showered with cold water (not my choice, in case you were wondering) and worked on the blog a bit. For breakfast, we had eggs and meat cooked on a tortilla with papaya and bread and tea/coffee. We were late, as usual, to school. Sara and I talked a lot during my class. We discussed healthcare and I learned lots of words related to pregnancy as Sara was talking about when she had her baby and about her experiences with Guatemalan healthcare. During the break, we talked to the secretary in the office and she called Mike, the salsa teacher, for us. We set up an appt to talk to him after class. Then we walked down the road and found a place that sells licuados. Amber had pineapple and Lauren had strawberry. We returned to class and continued our conversation. We also talked a little bit about the environment. When class was over, I bought the book written by the director that is filled with phrases and slang. Then we walked back to our apartment and got ready for the afternoon.

For lunch, we had spinach soup and enchiladas. The enchiladas here are different from enchiladas of other places. These enchiladas are on a crunchy tortilla with a big piece of lettuce on top. Then cooked beets and other chopped-up cooked vegetables are placed on top, then a scoop of meat (that is similar to chicken salad) and then some more beets and some cheese and parsley are placed on top. We also had bananas with crema on them for dessert. After lunch, we got directions from Elvira and Enrique (two different sets of directions, I might add) to climb Cerro de la Cruz (the hill that has a huge cross on it that overlooks Antigua). We stopped at Lauren’s house for her to change her shoes and then we walked to the foot of the hill. We easily found Elvira’s shortcut. The “hike” was not difficult as there were concrete stairs almost all the way up. It only took 15 minutes or so to make it to the top. We enjoyed the view and took pictures before heading back down. When we were about three blocks from our house, it started sprinkling. We decided to go back to our houses and rest. Amber and I both wrote and then I worked on the blog.

Lauren came over at 4:30 and we headed south to go to salsa class. Amber and Lauren took class first from 5-6, so I went to the internet café and caught up on some emails, posted my blog entries from the past few days, and talked to my mom! I went to the dance studio (Salsa Dreams) and watched the end of their lesson. We were able to buy a package of ten classes and share them between us. We paid and then Amber and Lauren left for the internet café. The plan was for me to meet them at dinner, since I was going to be a little late since my lesson was going to end at 7 and then I would have to walk home. I had my lesson with Frank. It was fun and I felt like I learned a lot, especially with ways to hold my hands when I am dancing. Too soon the lesson was over. I started walking briskly home and when I turned onto Primera Calle (1^st street), I could see Amber and Lauren ahead of me. It wasn’t long before I caught up to them and we walked the rest of the way together. The bad thing was that they were later than anticipated, so Elvira didn’t know where we were. We finally arrived at the house around 7:20 (20 minutes late). We had frijoles volteados (which appear to be refried black beans, but I learned that they are actually red beans), pasta with seasoning, and fried plantains (yum!). After dinner, we talked for a while about Spanish grammar and what E&E would change about Guatemala if they were the presidents. Elvira told us how corrupt the legal system is. She said that if a robber broke into her house and started beating her up and she punched him in the face, she could go to jail for violating his human rights, never mind the fact that he broke into her house and was hitting her first. Enrique told a story of a shop near the park where a robber entered, and the owner’s son caught him, tied him up, and called the police. However, when the police arrived, they put the son in jail for violating the thief’s human rights. There is also a huge problem with witnesses of crimes because the police won’t do anything to someone who has committed a crime (murder, for example), unless there is a witness. However, most of the time, even if people saw what happened, they refuse to tell the police because they fear the repercussions of the murderer’s friends or family coming to get them. After we finished talking, we headed to our houses. Amber and I read and then talked for quite a while. We probably turned off the light at 10:00 and talked for another half hour. I did not fall asleep quickly and a half hour later, Amber woke up and thought we were still in the middle of a conversation. She said “Sweet dreams,” and then a few seconds later she apologized for responding so slowly. I told her that we had said goodnight a half hour before and we both laughed, then went to bed.