Back to school, Guatemalan style
Trip Start
Sep 10, 2006
1
19
59
Trip End
??? ??, 2007
San Pedro la Laguna,
Guatemala
Saturday, October 28, 2006
01 Maria our host mother and her restaurant
. Vincent had called his nephew to come and lead us to the office of the school were I could register and we could spend a free night at the school dorm. The office was in the downstairs of the other founder´s house. It was all very informal and very disorganized and I was a bit scared. Registration was me writing my name in a notebook, and I was to pay on-line. But Casey reassured me and I was trying to go with the flow. We moved into the dorm for the night and first things first we went and found some food because once again we had not eaten much all day, I would ice and rest my ankle later, it was only a bit swollen anyway, not bad. Monday started with us heading to the house of the family we would be staying with for the next week. I was a bit nervous about staying with a family. It turns out that Maria our host mom owns a restaurant and lives above it. She is very nice and has 4 daughters, they all wear traditional clothes and are very nice. Maria and Casey talk at meals and I try to follow along, understanding some here and there with Casey filling the rest. After breakfast we explored town for a bit and rested my ankle while sitting on a beach with great views of the lake. Found a notebook and got ready for my first Spanish class since 8th grade. My teacher Concepcion (as in conception) is very nice and has a lot of patience with me. She speaks enough English to define words and help me along, but the whole class (4 hours) is in Spanish and it is very exhausting for me to concentrate and follow along for that long
02 My school
. It was not all that bad, maybe even interesting. After class Casey picked me up (she dropped me off too) and we walked back to our family´s home for dinner. Yes I know what you´re thinking I´m 32, why is Casey walking me to and from class, like I´m a 1st grader going to school for the first time. Whatever I liked it. Meals are in the restaurant and tonight Maria was too busy so it was just Casey and me eating. It´s a bit different than what I expected, since it is a restaurant we can eat when it fits our schedule and we often eat with just Maria or by ourselves. The food is muy rico, very rich and very good. After dinner and internet Casey helped me study, yes I did study! Tuesday we had a delicious bowl of oatmeal with Maria and then met Vincent, to go to Santa Clara, a town nearby, to go to the market. It was real cool having a guide at a market, he explained a lot about how the clothes differ from region to region and how they are made. He also explained a lot about the fruits and food we saw at the market. From here we started hiking towards ¨The nose¨ a high point with some great views. Vincent has never been up to the nose he tells us as we are hiking but he found the way with little trouble. He is an interesting man and very excitable. It was a great hike and very steep but the payoff was some amazing views of Lago Atitlan, a very beautiful lake. On the way down we met up with the main road back to town and started walked hoping a bus would pass soon
03 My classroom and teacher Concepcion
. Well one never did so we ended up walking quite a distance down a steep windy road. A pick up truck stopped for us and we hopped in the back but shortly after got a flat tire and we were back to walking. Finally we reached a small town and got in the back of a pickup truck that took us to another town where we got in yet another pick up truck which got us back to San Pedro. I ate a quick lunch and went to my 2nd class. It was not so bad. Dinner was eggs and beans, I´m not sure how they eat so little for dinner. Wednesday started with pancakes with yogurt and chocolate syrup, mmm. We rented a double kayak and hit the lake for an hour, we really didn't get anywhere but it was beautiful. It was a very calm clear morning so the views were amazing. We only had 1 hour because Casey started her traditional weaving class today. Maria's sister Silvia is giving Casey lessons using a waist loom. I watched and studied while she struggled at first to get the rhythm, but eventually she got it with only occasional help from her teacher. It looks real easy when Silvia does it but you can really tell how hard it is watching Casey do it. This is not to say she was bad at it, just that it is complicated. But Casey loves a challenge and really enjoyed weaving. Day three of class. Still going well.
Thursday started with pancakes again, and renting kayaks again. Our boat today was a wooden double kayak that we were both a bit skeptical about, but it turned out to be a good boat
04 Our guide Vincent. I called him Indiana Jones
. We paddled across the lake to a town called San Marcos. When we got to the dock there was a boy who wanted to watch our boat while we walked around town for 20 quetzals for a half hour, that was ridiculous, we paid 20 Q for an hour to get the boat. So we paddled around the shore and found a great place to swim, with some nice rocks to sit on and jump off of. The water was surprisingly warm and the surroundings were beautiful. After swimming for a while we found a small beach to stow our boat while we walked around town. This town is a bit different than San Pedro. It has a series of holistic healing places and is very serene. Nice but not our thing so we paddled back across the lake, about 40 minutes each way. Lunch with Maria and day 4 of class. Still going ok but those who know me know I am not a big fan of school and am about ready to be done. Casey picked me up again from class and we had dinner with Maria, eggs again so this time we went out and got some more food at a hippy place called The Buddah, not bad. Played cards and did some e-mail.Friday started with an omelette and we met Vincent our fearless guide for a tour of another market over in Santiago de Atitlan. We took a boat across and rode on the roof Guatemalan style. The market was interesting again with Vincent explaining about the sights we were seeing. Back to San Pedro for lunch and my last class. I was happy to be going to my last class, I did enjoy them and even learned some stuff but am happy that they are over. Casey finished her weaving today as well. It is a beautiful belt that looks professionally done. Nice work Casey. We set up a hike for the morning to go up Volcan San Pedro, we leave at 5:30 am.
It has been a great week here in San Pedro. Spanish and weaving classes and some good adventures around the lake. I did learn some new words and how to use them but I still need a lot of work and practice. Maybe by the time I get back to the states I will be able to speak like a 10 year old.
Comments
Hola!
Hi! I've gotten behind on reading your journal...but will dedicate today to catching up. The trip seems so amazing and I think of you both often! Miss you!