weekend trip.

So, this past weekend we left to go to Panajachel, Guatemala, located on the immediate shore of Lake Atitlan. It is definitely one of the most breathtaking places I have visited... Take a look at the photos.

We left early Saturday morning and embarked on a four hour trip in a yellow and white tank-like bus. We literally chugged along at an astonishing 15 mph the entire four hours. However, halfway through, we took the time to stop at a womens cooperative where they handcraft amazing handbags, blankets, scarves, and more. This was an amazing and inspiring experience. Simply seeing how the women of rural Guatemala have escaped the clutches of machismo to form a life and profession for themselves was incredible. Not only have they changed the direction of their own lives, but they continue to provide hope and work to other women. Seeing as they are an indigenous group of Guatemalans, they spoke an indigenous language which was so interesting!!!

After the cooperative, we arrived in Panajachel. The road into the city provided a breathtaking view of Lago Atitlan, and the seven volcanoes that border its shoreline!! It was incredibly intense... The road had been trashed with landslides, and in one part, half of the road had collapsed!! Thus, there was a several hundred foot drop that was terrifying!!

We arrived in Panajachel, checked into our hotel, and some of the guys and I found some quality fried chicken- pollo pinulito! The chicken was so good that Lars and I took a tuctuc (a three wheeled taxi car) back to the pollo pinulito for seconds!! After that, we walked down to the shorline of the lake and looked around at various shops for sweet souveniers to buy! That night we ate delicious pizza, returned to the hotel, played various games, and went to bed!

The next morning, we woke up, ate a delicious breakfast at the hotel, and walked to the shore of the lake once again to catch a boat that would take us to the other side! It was an hour long boat ride, and we ended up in a little down called Santiago! We walked to the church where Jamie (a man who works at the school in Xela) gave us a talk about the church and about the civil war in Guatemala and the effect it had on the church. It was so interesting! We walked around the markets, bought ceremonial estolas that we will wear at graduation, and then took the boat back to Panajachel! We ate lunch, packed up, and headed back...

That is all for now! I hope everything is going well back in the states!

Adios!

wohoo.

It is warm, sunny, and I am enjoying my time in Xela, Guate... What more could I ask for?

Every day I wake up at 7am and eat breakfast at 7:15. We leave for language school (Casa Xelaju) and arrive around 8am. I am in spanish school till 1pm every day!! My teachers name is Roquel, and he is most likely the most chill person I have ever met. Every day, we either walk around the town and talk about historical landmarks, or he teaches me Guatemalan slang that I can use so that I avoid souding like an ignorant gringo (although no matter how hard I try, that will never happen...) We have visited the catholic cathedral near Parque Central, the Xelan cemetery, the municipalidad, and many other historical landmarks. The history of Guatemala is so rich!!

After school is over, I head back to my house (pictured above) which is about a 25-30 min walk from the school. I eat lunch, hang out with the family, play with the 9 and 3 year old boys, and then head back to school for an activity. Thus far, we have attended a cooking class, assisted at a childrens relief program called Pedrera, toured the town of Xela, and so much more!!

Once we are done with our activities, we head back to our houses (yet another 30 min walk!) where we eat dinner with the family and after we finish, either go out and do something as a group in the town, or do homework. Either way, we are busy till about 11 every night doing something! I then go to bed, wake up, and start over again...

Things are great. Although, many people in our group are getting sick... Pray it does not happen to me!! My family is great, school is great, and I definitely CANNOT complain about the weather...

Well, that is about all I have to say!! Ill try to post as soon as I can! Hope everything is well with you all!

Alex

arrival.

So. After countless hours of travel, we have arrived in Guatemala! More specifically, Xela, Guatemala. After a crazy bus ride, our host families picked us up and two-by-two we disappeared into the town with our families.

My family in particular is made up of 4 people. The father-Filipe, Mother-Flori, Son-Julio, and their grandson-Julito. Upon arriving, Julito wanted us to play a board game he had received for la navidad-Bancopoly. Bancopoly is exactly like Monopoly, however, all of the properties are lugares de Guatemala! After that, we proceeded to eat dinner. This consisted of scrambled eggs with tomatoes, cooked carrots and broccoli, and pan (bread). We sat around the table (Aaron and I) for about 2.5 hours before we finally went to bed just talking with the family!

Today, we woke up, visited the school, and all met in the Parque Central de Xela (Xela is also known as Quetzaltenango...) We ate, found an ATM where we got Quetzales (their currency), and now here I am at my very first internet cafe...

More to come! Hope everything in the states is going well!

Alejandro