July 6, 2013

We got up and had breakfast with the family at 7:30. We had huevos rancheros (eggs with tomatoes and onions and more), refried black beans and bread. We left at 8:30 to catch a chicken bus to Chimaltenango for 5Q. As we drove out of Antigua, I saw a semi tailer that said "Lafayette" and "Columbus" and I wondered if it was from Indiana. then I noticed that at the bottom of the truck it had two phone numbers (a 765 area code and a The next bus, to Los Encuentros, cost 10Q, the bus to Solola cost 2.50, and the bus to Panajachel cost 3Q. We got there about 12 and the whole journey (4 buses) cost less than 3 dollars! One of the funniest moments was when people got on the bus to sell food right in front of a sign on the bus that said no food or drink. I really wanted to take a picture of the scene, but I had to satisfy myself with the memory. 

When we got to Pana, we went to find a hotel first before setting off to explore. we found a hotel from the book called Hospedaje Garcia. It was cheap and simple. We paid 50Q each for the night. The biggest frustration of the day was when we took a boat across Lake Atitlan to San Pedro. I talked to a man (who coincidentally was named Pedro) about taking a boat across. He tried to sell us a tour and then told us that it would cost $30 US to get across the lake even if we took a public boat. I knew this was not true and walked away. We found the public dock and unfortunately a boat for San Pedro was just pulling away. We had to wait 15 minutes for the next boat to come and then probably 15 more minutes for enough passengers to arrive. However, then about 6 of the guys in the boat and the driver left to go get beer and didn't return for another 15 minutes. We finally left and realized that our boat was taking an awfully long time to cross the lake. It ended up taking about 1.5 hours (and 25Q) to cross the lake. Our fellow travelers were loud and not so sober. 

When we finally got there, we jumped in a tuk tuk (which is like an enclosed three-wheeled golf cart) for 10 Q each to go to San Juan. I absolutely loved San Juan. It was so peaceful and there were very few other tourists. San Juan is known for its natural dyes. We visited several cooperatives that were selling textiles made with the natural dyes. I really loved the products and wish we would have had longer to look around. At one cooperative, we met a woman named Angela and her daughter Fatima. I asked the little girl how old she was and she held up fingers. It made me laugh because she kept changing the number of fingers each time I said a number. Another woman, Amalia, was dying scarves in the back using leaves called sacatintas that make a grey color. They graciously invited us to the back to watch. Angela explained that the cooperative provides work for 20 families. The women weave and dye and the men look for the plants that are used to make the dye. I took some pictures of the process and bought a scarf that was dyed purple using wood. We stopped by another cooperative and met a really old woman and two younger women. I saw that they were selling cortes (the traditional skirt that the Mayan women wear). They were only 100Q so I decided to buy one. I found one I liked and Berta and the other woman helped me learn how to wear it. It was close to 4 so we found a tuk tuk and went back to San Pedro. It only cost 5Q each on the way back and the trip seemed much shorter. There was a boat getting ready to leave so we decided to get on since it was 4:15 and the last boat was supposed to leave at 5. It was a fast (40 minute) pleasant trip. 

We looked for several restaurants from the guide book and none of them worked out. We found a typical restaurant with a mix of gringos and Guatemalans eating there. I ordered curry chicken and Christiana ordered carne asada. When I walked by the kitchen to get to the dirty bathroom, I became worried. As I left the bathroom, I ran into two boys who I think we're the owner's sons with a white mouse in an exercise wheel heading into the kitchen. I was really hoping that we wouldn't get sick from this experience! We also ordered licuados (watermelon for me and pineapple for Christiana). There were several dogs that wandered in and out of the restaurant. Christiana really has a heart for the dogs. She always wants to feed them. We threw pieces of tortilla to the dogs. Afterward I bought water and we walked back to our hotel. I was feeling really tired and Christiana is always ready to sleep. We got ready and I journaled and Christiana soon fell asleep. I turned off the light before 8pm! That must be some sort of record for me! The people in the room next to us were fairly noisy but I was still able to fall asleep in about a half hour.

July 5, 2013

Highlights of today so far:

• found and paid for our school which is close to our house and looks pleasant
• registered to volunteer at Obras Sociales Hermano Pedro (more on this later)
• explored the city by visiting multiple shops and the market
• had a delicious traditional stew for lunch
• went on a tour of a coffee plantation and musical instrument museum (Cafe Azotea)
• perfect weather

I tried to post pictures, but the computer I am using does not have an SD card slot. Someday soon!

Tomorrow´s plans:

We are leaving for Lake Atitlan after breakfast. We will be taking three chicken buses to get there. Pray for safety as we travel and for us to find a good place to stay. We will return Sunday afternoon.

July 4, 2013

Hola!

I just wanted to let you know that Christiana and I made it safely to Antigua. Our flights were both on time, we had no trouble with our airport pick up, and we have already gone to the bank and gotten money after catching up with Elvira and Enrique.  I will post more later when I can.

I got up at 4am after only 2 hours or so of sleep. Tammy and I stayed up too late and then I couldn't fall asleep because I was too excited. I got ready, ate a bowl of Cheerios, drank tea, and packed a sandwich and an apple. We left Tammy's at 5 and went to pick Laurel up at her apt. She was riding along with us to see us off and give Tammy someone to talk to on the way back. On our way to pick up Christiana, we saw a red fox running across the street in a neighborhood. We loaded Christiana's suitcase into the trunk and drove to the airport.

There was not a line to check in, so we got to go right to the kiosk. The man gave me a large plastic bag to put over the protective rain cover on my pack. Hopefully it makes it okay. We got through security super quickly as well. We went to the bathroom and filled our water bottles at a special water bottle filling station connected to the drinking fountain. We made it to our gate just 20 minutes or so after arriving at the airport! 

Christiana and I sent Elvira a message and wrote down her phone numbers. Then we talked about our plan for the first few days we are in Guatemala. At this point, I think we are going to visit Lake Atitlan Saturday to Sunday. We can scope out the bus situation on Friday and probably do some touristy stuff around Antigua. We are supposed to get to Guatemalaat 1:21 so we should have time to walk around later today.

Our plane took off on time. There was a crying baby in the row in front of us, but the minute we took off, she fell asleep. Hopefully she takes a long nap! The man next to us is going to visit his daughter in Flores, which is a town in northern Guatemala near Tikal. I hope to visit Tikal someday, but it is supposed to be pretty dangerous these days.  :(

I spent the flight journaling and reading. Christiana slept. When we got to Houston, we went to the bathroom and found our gate which was very close to where we had arrived. I made a few last minute phone calls and sent some text messages before it was time to get in line to have our passports verified. Christiana's boarding pass did not have a seat number and instead said "see agent." I was a little worried that they had overbooked the flight, but they just moved her to a different seat. I felt bad that she wasn't sitting with me as this is the first time she has had to fill out the immigration forms that are kind of confusing. I saw a girl getting on the plane with a big hiking backpack close to the size of mine. I can't believe she was able to take that as carry-on luggage! I think my goal for my next trip should be to pack light enough I could carry my backpack aboard as I think this would save a lot of wear and tear on it. 

As we boarded I started talking to a girl who was wearing a dress and white heels. She is going to Guatemala for the weekend to celebrate her host sister's quincinera. She had studied in Guatemala two years earlier and had promised to come back when her host sister turned 15. I made my way to the very back of the plane (last row) and found a man sitting in my seat. When I arrived, he said that he was supposed to sit in the next row, but he had just been talking with his wife. I asked him where his seat was supposed to be and offered to trade (middle seat for aisle, yes please!). I sat down in my new seat and a minute later a man showed up and said I was in his seat. I then had to go back and ask the man in MY seat which seat was really his. He told me the window start where his wife was sitting. This was getting super confusing. I asked where his wife was supposed to sit and he told me in the aisle seat in their row. I must have looked skeptical or he must have been unsure because he checked her boarding pass and found that her seat was the window seat one row up and across the plane. I happily agreed to still trade him and got a window seat (my favorite). I ate my peanut butter sandwich and Granny Smith apple while taking off. We had some turbulence, but it wasn't horrible. I spent most of the flight reading. I got a whole can of tomato juice. The little boy sitting behind me spent about one quarter of the 2.5 hour flight kicking the back of my seat and poking me with his feet under the back of my seat. It is not every economy flight that you get a vibrating, massaging seat! Haha! I could see cruise ships (I think) as we flew over the Gulf of Mexico. It looks pretty grey and rainy from up here and the captain told us it had been raining in Guatemala City. Hopefully it warms up there and the sun comes put!

When we got to the airport, we passed through customs and immigration just fine, and I was relieved to see that my new backpack made it without a scratch. We headed outside and found Eric holding a sign with our names on it. He went to fetch the car and we drove to Antigua. The sky was mostly cloudy, but it was not raining and felt decently warm. I spoke with Eric in Spanish and was glad to see that my Spanish was starting to come back. He dropped us off at Elvira and Enrique´s where Enrique let us in. We are staying in the room across from the birds so we will be waking up at 6am tomorrow! We talked wtih E & E and they gave us directions to a good bank. We went and changed money for Christiana and I got money from an ATM (kind of). We put our money back at the house and went to the internet cafe down the street for 15 minutes. We will be heading back for dinner in a minute.

We had dinner and met the other people living in out house. Steffi is from Texas and will be leaving on Monday. She is very talkative. Her husband is coming to Guatemala so they are going to stay in a hotel. Amanda is a speech therapist who will be here for almost a year.

Plans for tomorrow include finding our Spanish school and making sure everything is set up there, registering at Hermano Pedro hospital where we are going to volunteer, and maybe taking a tour of a coffee plantation. Saturday we will probably head to Lake Atitlan.

Getting Ready for Guatemala 2013

As part of my graduation gift for finishing my master's, my grandparents got me a big travel pack that I can wear on my back. This will make traveling much easier as I will not have to haul around a big suitcase, especially when walking on cobblestone streets or taking public transportation. I have a few pictures highlighting some of the wonderful features of my travel pack. However, the internet is not cooperating at the present moment, so I will add them to this post when I can. We leave tomorrow morning at 7:59am and arrive in Guatemala at 1:21pm. We will leave for the airport at 5am, and for once I am not going to have to stay up late packing!

el 21 de julio 2011

I woke up at 4:30 and finished packing my suitcase. The bus arrived at 5:05. The morning was warm and dark. There were only three other people on the bus. I was the last person to be picked up. As we drove to the airport, I chatted a bit with the other girls. When we arrived at the airport, I went to the money changing place to see about changing my lempiras into dollars or quetzales, but the rate was horrible (about 28 lempiras for one dollar instead of the current rate of 19-20 lempiras per dollar). I decided to wait. When I tried to check my suitcase, the woman asked me if I had coffee in my carry-on. I did because it is a heavy item, but she told me I had to put it in my checked bag. I am not quite sure why. I went through security after eating my apple and juice box. I found my gate and wrote my journal on the computer for more than two hours before boarding the plane. Our bags were inspected one last time on the way to the plane. The plane left at 9:45 from Guatemala City. I had tea with sugar, and I didn’t like it that the stewardess spoke to me only in English, although she was speaking Spanish with the Guatemalan passengers. We arrived in Dallas at 2pm after a flight of 3 hours. I went through customs and security without a problem. I talked to Tammy and my mom. We entered the plane, but before we took off, the pilot informed us that there was a tiny problem with the plane and the mechanic had to come and check it out. We waited a half hour and I used my phone to text Tammy and my family. Finally, we left and I wrote in my journal and took notes from my Debbie Diller math stations book. I arrived in Chicago and found my suitcase. I called Tammy and she came in and helped me with my suitcase. We had to run quickly to where Brennan had parked because it was only a loading zone, not a parking area. It was wonderful to be at Tammy’s house with her. Laura arrived and we were together for the first time since December 12. It is so fantastic that Tammy and I get to spend six days together before she heads off to Costa Rica!

el 20 de julio 2011

I slept rather poorly the night before. I kept waking up, I was cold, and my stomach hurt. The bed only had a sheet on it, so I tried to sleep under my towel, but it still wasn’t warm and the fan was blowing on me. I tried not to toss and turn too much since Amber and I were sharing the double bed. I woke up nearly every hour, and when the alarm went off at 5:30, my stomach was not happy. We got ready and I videoed Amber doing a Tato impersonation and we took a final picture. I took some medicine that Lauren had and went to the bathroom one last time. I was worried about being on buses (without toilets) for most of the day. It would have been better if I could have taken a shuttle at six. We left at 6:15 and we parted ways right outside our hotel. I headed toward the park and after asking a few people, I found the collectivos to the border. There was one waiting to leave, which was nice. I was feeling muy mal and spent the 20 minute trip to the border praying for easy connections for the four buses I was going to have to take and for my stomach to feel better. We arrived at the border at 6:45. I exchanged my meager amount of lempiras for quetzales and got my passport stamped. I walked across the border and found the Guatemalan customs office and paid 10Q to enter Guatemala and get my passport stamped there. While I was paying, a man came up to me and asked if I was going to Guatemala. I said that ultimately I was going to Antigua, but I was willing to take a shuttle to Guatemala. He told me that actually the shuttle was going to Antigua and that there was one seat available! What an answer to prayer and so fast! I climbed in the front middle seat, between the driver and a girl from UT in Austin who is getting her master’s in social work. Her friend was in the back and she is in the program, too. She is interested in working with people with disabilities. I got her email address so Emily can contact her. It was really windy because we had the windows all the way open. I talked to Nancy for about an hour and then she slept. I started feeling better soon after getting into the shuttle (another answer to prayer!) and I didn’t feel horrible again the rest of the day. We stopped at 8:30 for breakfast and bathrooms. I ate my peanut butter sandwich. We drove for another half hour or so and then Nancy and her friend Jennifer got out to take another shuttle to Coban. I now had the advantage of having the whole front seat to myself! I read my Bible and wrote in my journal. Then I worked on school stuff for two hours! I am so thankful that I can read and write in moving vehicles. Poor Amber feels carsick even if she is not reading and I don’t feel sick even if I am reading. There was a lot of traffic in Guatemala City and I think our driver tried to take a detour and got lost. Finally we made it out of Guatemala City and went to Antigua. We arrived about 12:30, which was hours before I would have made it taking four public buses! Our driver only dropped us off at one point, about a block away from the park. We drove right by where I needed to get off (about two blocks away from the house), but as my bag was on the roof, I could not just hop out. I met a family who had been in the back of the shuttle. Then I lugged my stuff to Elvira’s house.

Enrique opened the door for me and I went in and chatted with him and Elvira for fifteen minutes. I stayed in the room downstairs next to the kitchen. I put my stuff away and went to the bathroom. The only person who was still at Elvira’s from before was Alex. I met Luis from Quebec and Dexter from Minnesota who works at a school in Guatemala City. Rosa also ate with us. We had guisado de res (beef stew), rice, guacamole, and plantanos with mole. My Spanish was flowing nicely as I talked with the new guys, told Elvira and Enrique about my trip, and discussed recipes with Elvira. We all think that she needs to write a Guatemalan cookbook. After lunch, I stayed and talked for a while before heading out to do my errands. As I was preparing my purse for errands, I found 1,000 lempira in my other wallet! I was surprised that I had nearly run out of money, and now I know why. Ahhh! Why couldn’t I have found that before I crossed the border where you can get a great exchange rate?!

I needed to book a shuttle for the next day to get to the airport, but I had no idea how difficult of a task this would be. I went to an internet café for 15 minutes to make sure I knew what time my flight left (9:45am) and I chatted with Tammy and Laura for a few minutes. I then went hunting for a shuttle. I wanted to find one that left at 6, but there were not any, unless I wanted to pay big bucks for a private shuttle. I then settled on leaving at 5am, but most places only offered a 4am shuttle. The prices had gone up a lot from last year when I paid $5. This year I had to pay $10! After checking in about 12 travel agencies, I finally found one that offered a 5am shuttle (Ash Travel Agency). The woman working there (Maibely) was very friendly and gave me a 24 hour number in case of emergencies.

In between stopping at the travel agencies, I went to the grocery store and bought some unique foods that cannot be easily found in Indiana. I bought two pieces of milk candy from a little shop and a caramel ice cream from Pollo Campero in honor of my last day in Guatemala. I then passed by a Burger King, which I did not know existed in Antigua. In Honduras, I had seen an advertisement for green soft serve ice cream, and I was really curious about it. I wondered it if was lime or pistachio or fig. I went in to investigate, but this Burger King did not have that flavor and the ice cream cones cost nearly 3x the price of Pollo Campero ice cream! I went to the bank to see if it is possible to exchange lempira for dollars or quetzales (it isn’t). I went to the market and bought a few last souvenirs. In one stall, I talked with Tomas for a long time. He is from Chichicastenango and has 7 brothers and sisters. His father died and the three oldest all work in different cities to support the family. He only learned Spanish five years ago when he left his village where only Quiche is spoken. He also speaks two other Mayan languages and a bit of English. His boss is a pastor and Tomas earns $100 a month no matter how much he sells. I gave him the money for my purchase and a little more for him and his education. I bought an oil painting of Antigua for me at the next stall. The boy working there was named Jose. He really wanted me to buy his painting, but I liked his sister’s work better. I got the painting $15 when the asking price was $25. I need to find my oil painting from Hong Kong. I bought a tiny oil painting of Lake Atitlan last year. Too bad I don’t have a piece of art from South America. I guess I will have to go back sometime! I stopped a the Feria de Libros in the park and bought a book of kids’ riddles in Spanish. I headed back to the house to sort the clothes that I was going to donate. Our Spanish school collect donations. I left at 6:12 to walk all the way across town to the school. I got some atol de elote on the way since it was my last day. I needed Amber to share it with me, though, because I could not drink it all. When I got to the school, it was closed for some strange reason. I rang the doorbell, but no one answered. I booked it back toward Elvira’s and stopped in a tienda to spend my coins. I had actually accumulated a lot and bought candy. I got back just a few minutes before dinner, so I washed up and helped Elvira in the kitchen. Enrique did not eat with us because he was at a political meeting (maybe our joke about him running for office is coming true!). Dexter did not eat either. We had elbow macaroni with alfredo sauce and herbs, a hot dog with tomato sauce on it, and broccoli with lime juice on it. We talked about Lyme Disease at dinner. Alex has a friend in New Jersey who has it badly. After dinner, I headed to my room to pack. I say that I hate packing, but really packing up to come home is not too bad because everything must come. Luis had loaned me his travel scale to weigh my suitcase. It is really nice and small, too. Elvira came and said goodnight and asked me to turn off the light when I went to bed. I did a good job using stuff up and leaving stuff behind because my suitcase only weighed 40 pounds when I was finished! I moved some books from my carry-on to my suitcase. When I came, I had about 80 pounds of stuff not counting my backpack and when I weighed my stuff last night, I had about 60 pounds of stuff! I finally finished packing about 9:45. I rinsed off in the shower (good temperature, poor water pressure) and laid out everything I would need for the next day. I went to bed about 11pm.

el 19 de julio 2011

We woke up at 6, and the other girls. My stomach hurt and I spent a good portion of the morning in the bathroom. After an hour, I started feeling a little better. I have felt like this since the Saturday in La Ceiba. Maybe we ate something bad. I tried to check my email, but Gmail wasn’t working. I sent a message to Elvira to say that I would not be coming back until a day later. We ate hot ham and egg sandwiches. Amber still didn’t feel well. We took a picture with Tio Victor and we left for the bus terminal at 7:25. We arrived and bought our tickets for 130 lempiras each. Tio Victor insisted on walking us to our bus and he carried my bag. The bus arrived a little before 8. It was an old school bus with bucket seats. I sat in front of the other girls and put my bag above my seat on the rack. A man entered the bus and preached for a while. I guess this was to make up for the fact that we have missed church the last two Sundays. The bus left at 8:10 and was supposedly going to only stop twice, but, in reality, the bus stopped more like 10 or 12 times. Each time, vendors would climb aboard and try to sell their wares before the bus pulled out again. An old lady sat down next to me with a cat wrapped in a plastic bag (except for its head). His name was Javier, and his owner told me that he likes to travel by bus. I’m not so sure. I took a photo of him and then I peeked back at Amber and Lauren. They were both asleep with their mouths open. They both looked dead. I took a picture of them, too. The next time we stopped, the police climbed aboard and randomly began checking people’s IDs. They asked for Lauren’s and Amber’s passports, but for some reason, they didn’t ask me. They asked the girls about our trip: where we were coming from, where we were going, and other questions. I don’t know why. We arrived at Copan Ruinas at 12:15 instead of the scheduled 11am arrival. Amber had to go to the bathroom right away, so we stopped at Hotel Patty so she could go. Then we walked to a hostel nearby where we reserved a room for 210 lempiras at Hostal Posada Honduras. We paid and registered and went to the ruins. We found them easily. There were lots of semi trailers parked along the road. The drivers hang hammocks underneath them and lots of them were taking an afternoon siesta when we walked to the ruins. We didn’t have a lot of money with us, but we wanted to get a guide. The entrance fee cost $15 or L285 each and our guide (Obed) cost $25. We walked with Obed to the biggest estelas (I am not quite sure how to translate this word… basically it means the different temples and buildings that are there… the “ruins”). Amber sat down on benches or rocks whenever she could. She is such a trooper to participate with us even though she was feeling awful. The Mayan structures at Copan are incredible! I learned that the Maya constructed temples and houses over already existing structures. For this reason, there are four other temples under the biggest temple. There are still many structures that have yet to be excavated. The guide told us that the archeologists estimate there are enough structures to excavate that it will take 300 years to uncover them all. The Mayan had three main gods: the god of the sun, the god of the rain, and the god of the corn. It made me laugh to see the god of sun shaded by a roof to keep the sun off of him. We saw the giant stairway covered with hieroglyphics. The stairway is a “book” about the history of Copan. The stairway was ruined when it was discovered, and for this reason, the stones are not in the correct places. We saw the field where the Mayan played their famous ball game. It was much smaller than I had anticipated. The best players were sacrificed to the gods three times a year after the game. We saw the altar where they did the sacrifices. We also saw the “disco” of the Mayan people. It was interesting to learn that there were three classes of people in the Mayan society. However, it was possible for a person to change classes simply by studying or playing the ball game well. The women were honored in the Mayan society and had certain rights in the community. The women were the astronomers and dentists. Finally, the community and the land could not support the population of 30,000 people. There were diseases and not enough food. All the people either died or moved. There were 16 kings in Copan, all from one family. The first king came from Tikal, in Guatemala. The Copan river was very near the ruins and it was eroding the land and destroying the structures of Copan, so the archeologists changed the course of the river to protect Copan.

After the tour, we returned to our hotel and lay down for a while. The other girls slept, and I wrote in my journal. I decided to walk through the town. Lauren woke up, but since she wasn’t feeling well, she decided to stay in the room. I went to the park and found a street of souvenirs. I looked at the earrings, bracelets, and necklaces. I talked to an old man named Carlos who makes jewelry. He had a necklace made out of a Honduran coin. I liked it a lot, but I didn’t have enough money with me. I looked for information about a shuttle to Antigua, but there was no more space on the 6am shuttle. There was only one spot left on the noon shuttle, but that was really too late for me. I bought ice cream: one scoop of lime and one scoop of caramel in a cup for L25. I returned to the room, and we decided to go walking together. I asked in two more places about a shuttle to Antigua with no luck. Each time, the owner assured me that there was room, but when he called to check, there was not. I realized that all of these tour companies share a common shuttle. I went to look for souvenirs with Lauren and Amber. I bought the necklace from Carlos and took a picture. We asked him about a good place to eat baleadas. He recommended a restaurant near his table called Vamos a Ver. We went to look for more souvenirs and information about buses before returning to the restaurant. We ate humongous baleadas (flour tortillas with beans and cream inside) and licuados. I had a watermelon licuado, Amber had mango pineapple, and Lauren had chocolate (which had a flavor similar to chocolate milk). The baleadas and licuados cost L30 each. A child served us. There was a man at the other table that looked very much like David Durica. After we left the restaurant, we went searching for an internet café. We tried in four different locations, walking all over the town, but it seemed like all the places were either closed or did not have working internet. We went to a small shop and bought water and cookies for Jenny. Lauren and I went to the hotel to get Tio Victor’s number while Amber went to call her dad. Lauren and I found the place where you can make international calls. Amber was talking with her mom and Kevin since her dad was at a church meeting. Lauren called Tio Victor and tried to call her family, but they didn’t answer. It only cost ten cents a minute to call the U.S. I tried to call my mom, but she didn’t answer. I left a message and paid two lempiras. We returned to the hotel and I gave Amber a foot massage. I showered, and then she gave me a massage while we talked. We went to bed at 10:40.