Well besides not having access to my computer... The Hp company here is really running on Guatemala time I must say. They were supposed to have my cord by last Friday and I am still waiting... So that is just great and then on top of that I got food poisoning on Monday. Yes, it feels like death if you have not experienced it. I have never been so violently ill before and hope to never experience that again. I'll spare everyone the details but I was not able to sleep the whole night. Quite awful. Hopefully, by tomorrow I will be feeling up to par again but for now I am just being a bum. My host mom told me I was the first girl who did not cry when I was sick. She said "Que valiente", or how courageous. She told me every other girl who got sick at her house would cry for her mom and she would have no idea what to do. Don't get me wrong I wish somewhere would have been by my side to hold my hand but lets be honest throwing up is just not pretty, who wants to see that. That is about as graphic as I am going to get. But like I said fingers crossed hopefully I feel better tomorrow!
Miss you all and like I keep promising hopefully by the end of the week I will have my computer cord and I can post about the last week or so, minus the stomach problems.
Love to all :)
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Monday, October 22, 2012
Technology
Hello everyone! It feels as if it has been a while since I have updated my blog. I have run into a problem. I still do not have a computer cord therefore I am being a mega moocher and I have not had enough time to write. Que triste! But by Thursday I should be able to buy a computer cord from the city. By the way the Hp mark up here is outrageous. I believe my new computer cord will cost about 100 US dollars. WHAT??? Wish I did not have to rely on technology at this moment. But I will update everyone on Thursday!
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
So behind!!!
Wow I did not realize how behind I was on my writing! This is going to be a long one guys! I have so much to say!
We shall start with my internship day last week the 10th! One of the other students, Brittany decided to come with me. If you recall our mode of transportation is an outdated motorbike. Daniel, the nurse, always told me I weighed a lot now we are going to attempt three people on this pos (only way I feel describes the bike). I mean we only had to go 3 km. That is not bad right. 3 km felt like 3 hours. We had to go so slow and every bump I swore the tire would just plum fall off. I basically had my bum on the fender. Great! Needless to say I am writing this blog so we did make it there and back in one piece. The town we visited is Called Hermano Pedro, which is situated in between two small mountains and part of the town is built on the side of the mountain. Very poor town, needs a lot of simple infrastructure. But anyway Brittany and I checked patients in, doing weights and heights. Mind you when I had to write their names it was about 7 of them and all of which I had no idea how to spell. The only names I could clearly write were Maria, Gonzalez, Pedro, and Garcia. Yea. That took place the first part of the morning and the second half we visited to mothers who had just given birth about 8 to 10 days ago. The first mother was 26 years old and already had 6 kids. Her newborn was about 6 lbs, slightly malnourished if you ask me and she had to have c-section to have him. Her stitches were done horribly. We took them out and it left a gnarly scar on her stomach. Her house had 3 large beds in it that look about the color of the ground and it just smelled of b.o. All of her children were no older than 8 years old and just about the happiest kids I have seen. I played tag with them for a little bit and they were laughing at me hysterically. I looked like a big ol blue blob chasing them. It broke my heart to see what they had to sleep on just awful. It almost made me a little sick to my stomach to even think of sitting on the bed. The second mother had a "better" housing situation. I put better in quotations because better only explains the idea that its better than the worst but no where near great. Her son was about 8 days old and was having a hard time going to the restroom. Again slightly malnourished and under weight. She will probably have to go to the hospital to have all of his intestines checked. Very sad. On our way home I think the motorbike had a heart attack. Pobre moto! All around a good day.
I also realized this weekend that my camera cord that connects to my computer happened to be in my backpack the little you know what stole. So unfortunately for the time being I have no way to upload any pictures :( Now how will you guys see my "lethargic" self...
Ok on to Friday.. Thursday was not exciting it rained all day... SO TIRED OF RAIN.
Friday was our day to take a field trip into the city with our whole study abroad program. I know many of you have probably seen horrible news clips on Guat city but we will not be in those zones so need to worry. But Camino Seguro is a non-profit organization that started a school program for kids about 12 years ago and were the ones to give us our Guat tour. They took us to the Basura which is the only trash dump in all of Guatemala. That means the entire Guatemala city and surrounding towns dump in this one single area. The city does not own the trash dump, it is run by private owners. Sadly part of the informal economy is run through the sifting and sorting of the trash. Over 400 people work in the trash dump sifting through trash to re -sell or eat. Age has no bound. You will see women with babies strapped to their backs sifting through trash to support their families. It is so sad but its their way of life. Camino Seguro basically started a school program for all the Basura kids. Instead of going to the dump they now have Camino Seguro to attend school and get away from the violence of living in the trash dump. I have shortened the story a lot but I think you get the basic idea. Most of these kids will not make it past 8th grade. But living in the informal economy having passed 6th grade can get you a job. Camino is located in the center of all the squatter settlements and colonial housing. For most of the people just having a tin roof is ten times better than anything they have lived in before. So we got to see the real Guatemala and not just the glamorous tour-on cites! After our tour with Camino Seguro (which stands for Safe Passage) we went into the central downtown area and watched a live peaceful protest to a shooting that happened 2 weeks ago in Xela. The protest focused a lot on independence for the indigenous people and resignation of a lot of political leaders. By this time it was late afternoon and to be honest I was beat. No amount of Guat coffee could wake me up. Bus ride home was very silent, all pooped.
Saturday was another fun day of homework all day. Boooooo! Even though it has been over a month I keep thinking that I am not in school since I am in Guatemala. I need to snap out of this dream.
Sunday fun day! The girls and I decided that since Saturday was spent with our noses in the books we were going to Chichicastenango for their Sunday market! Market is an understatement. It is 4th avenue street food on steroids with a lot of chickens, dogs and young men selling stupid wooden flutes. The market literally took over the whole town of Chichi. They start setting up Wednesday night and hold it only on Thursday and Sunday. It is a sight to see for sure. You will never have so many people in your life offer you to buy a wooden flute. I think I started getting forceful in my "NO GRACIAS" and the word spread that hey this gringa does not want a flute. By the end of the day all the flute vendors knew. The market takes about 10 hours to walk through. It is a giant maze full of bright colored wardrobe and all of the above. I have never seen so much color in my life. How can you decide on one thing to buy... I wanted to get it all! Also if you go far west in the market you get into the livestock area, where you can see cats on leashes, turkeys hanging upside down from wires tied to their feet, little baby chicks in crates (sooooooo cute), ducks in cages and I wouldn't be surprised if you could just walk home with a new cow. It was chaotic. People yelling out "Good price for you!" or "Your mothaa needs dis" or "You speakin English" ( by the way if you say no or make any response they already stole your attention and have grouped you into their little area). The key is to keep walking eyes straight forward with no recognition unless you want to be bargained with for a half hour. And also a key thing to know is look around for the first part of the day and by the end of the day the prices drop dramatically because everyone is trying to sell their stuff away. So wait until the end of the day and then buy all your goodies. I got a beautiful quilt that originally started at 850 quetzales and by the end of the day was 400.. See what I mean... Patience young grasshopper! And since I have no backpack I bought a traditional woven Mayan backpack! It totally screams tourist but I love it! Oh I must also comment on the chicken bus one last time. We got on all the seats were packed so for 3 hours I stood in the middle, my butt in one persons face and my stomach in the other. Every bump and turn I would smash someone. By the end of the bus ride I started at the front of the bus and the bus attendant kept pushing my back further in the bus so eventually I was by the last seat standing just waiting for the back exit door to swing open... There goes the gringa. I must also mention that the speakers are in the back of the bust and were blaring Salsa music. When I got off the bus my knees were hyper extended, I could not hear a word and I was slightly fumigated from the bus exhaust. Another lovely experience I might add.
Ok ladies and gents that is all for now! More to come this weekend!!
I also realized this weekend that my camera cord that connects to my computer happened to be in my backpack the little you know what stole. So unfortunately for the time being I have no way to upload any pictures :( Now how will you guys see my "lethargic" self...
Ok on to Friday.. Thursday was not exciting it rained all day... SO TIRED OF RAIN.
Friday was our day to take a field trip into the city with our whole study abroad program. I know many of you have probably seen horrible news clips on Guat city but we will not be in those zones so need to worry. But Camino Seguro is a non-profit organization that started a school program for kids about 12 years ago and were the ones to give us our Guat tour. They took us to the Basura which is the only trash dump in all of Guatemala. That means the entire Guatemala city and surrounding towns dump in this one single area. The city does not own the trash dump, it is run by private owners. Sadly part of the informal economy is run through the sifting and sorting of the trash. Over 400 people work in the trash dump sifting through trash to re -sell or eat. Age has no bound. You will see women with babies strapped to their backs sifting through trash to support their families. It is so sad but its their way of life. Camino Seguro basically started a school program for all the Basura kids. Instead of going to the dump they now have Camino Seguro to attend school and get away from the violence of living in the trash dump. I have shortened the story a lot but I think you get the basic idea. Most of these kids will not make it past 8th grade. But living in the informal economy having passed 6th grade can get you a job. Camino is located in the center of all the squatter settlements and colonial housing. For most of the people just having a tin roof is ten times better than anything they have lived in before. So we got to see the real Guatemala and not just the glamorous tour-on cites! After our tour with Camino Seguro (which stands for Safe Passage) we went into the central downtown area and watched a live peaceful protest to a shooting that happened 2 weeks ago in Xela. The protest focused a lot on independence for the indigenous people and resignation of a lot of political leaders. By this time it was late afternoon and to be honest I was beat. No amount of Guat coffee could wake me up. Bus ride home was very silent, all pooped.
Saturday was another fun day of homework all day. Boooooo! Even though it has been over a month I keep thinking that I am not in school since I am in Guatemala. I need to snap out of this dream.
Sunday fun day! The girls and I decided that since Saturday was spent with our noses in the books we were going to Chichicastenango for their Sunday market! Market is an understatement. It is 4th avenue street food on steroids with a lot of chickens, dogs and young men selling stupid wooden flutes. The market literally took over the whole town of Chichi. They start setting up Wednesday night and hold it only on Thursday and Sunday. It is a sight to see for sure. You will never have so many people in your life offer you to buy a wooden flute. I think I started getting forceful in my "NO GRACIAS" and the word spread that hey this gringa does not want a flute. By the end of the day all the flute vendors knew. The market takes about 10 hours to walk through. It is a giant maze full of bright colored wardrobe and all of the above. I have never seen so much color in my life. How can you decide on one thing to buy... I wanted to get it all! Also if you go far west in the market you get into the livestock area, where you can see cats on leashes, turkeys hanging upside down from wires tied to their feet, little baby chicks in crates (sooooooo cute), ducks in cages and I wouldn't be surprised if you could just walk home with a new cow. It was chaotic. People yelling out "Good price for you!" or "Your mothaa needs dis" or "You speakin English" ( by the way if you say no or make any response they already stole your attention and have grouped you into their little area). The key is to keep walking eyes straight forward with no recognition unless you want to be bargained with for a half hour. And also a key thing to know is look around for the first part of the day and by the end of the day the prices drop dramatically because everyone is trying to sell their stuff away. So wait until the end of the day and then buy all your goodies. I got a beautiful quilt that originally started at 850 quetzales and by the end of the day was 400.. See what I mean... Patience young grasshopper! And since I have no backpack I bought a traditional woven Mayan backpack! It totally screams tourist but I love it! Oh I must also comment on the chicken bus one last time. We got on all the seats were packed so for 3 hours I stood in the middle, my butt in one persons face and my stomach in the other. Every bump and turn I would smash someone. By the end of the bus ride I started at the front of the bus and the bus attendant kept pushing my back further in the bus so eventually I was by the last seat standing just waiting for the back exit door to swing open... There goes the gringa. I must also mention that the speakers are in the back of the bust and were blaring Salsa music. When I got off the bus my knees were hyper extended, I could not hear a word and I was slightly fumigated from the bus exhaust. Another lovely experience I might add.
Ok ladies and gents that is all for now! More to come this weekend!!
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Learning to weave!
Guess who is back??? Feeling much better this week. Went from feeling extremely homesick to feeling extremely inadequate in the classroom. Not really sure which one I can handle better. But Monday my geography class looked at colonial times in Guatemala and then all of a sudden we were talking about Israel and then we started talking about the processes that lead to globalization and how rural development is directly effected by globalization. I barely even touched on the rest of the three hours of class I had left after that discussion. I can read health statistics, look at graph trends, maybe even determine an outbreak but the idea of rural development in relation to colonial times has really taken my head for a spin. My fingers are crossed that by the end of the semester I will have some clarity on Latin American history and history in relation to North America. Like I said "mis dedos estan cruzado!" That was Monday. Brain dead on Monday night, resulted in going to bed at 9. How great is that? Remember when you were little and never wanted to go to bed early because it wasn't cool or something along those lines? Yea I wish with all my heart that going to bed at 8 30 every night was a reality and nap times were a mandatory part of the work day.
Now on to Tuesday! My Ka'qchikel teacher, Osbilda took us on a tour of her house in San Antonio! San Antonio is about 20 minutes away on a lovely chicken bus! It is always a new experience on a chicken bus but this ride was surprisingly calm with minimal stops and even better minimal people. Once we arrived we walked with Osbilda to her house and she took us on a tour of how to do Mayan weaving. Her room was tiny. Maybe 10 x 10 and she had a bunch of hand carved wooden tools to do everything. I think before I arrived I had this false idea of how they would weave and have fancy tools basically a machine but it was nothing as such. Everything was traditional. The weaver will first pick out raw wool or cotton then wash it, comb it and spin it. Then using a warping board (looks like a 2 x 4 with wood prongs sticking out of it in the shape of a body) she threads the fresh wool or cotton around to make the starting cloth. This cloth is then attached to her loom which is a a stick the cloth is fed through that attaches to a belt that sits around her lower butt in a sitting position. The complex process of weaving then begins. Depending on the desired length and design the weaver will use numerous rolls of cotton to create her masterpiece. Now mind you she is explaining this whole entire process in Spanish. I had to do some post research to fully understand everything. The process is a system of adjusting tension in the cotton through the loom by leaning forward and back with the "butt" strap"! After our weaving lesson we all got to try! It was so hard!!! You have to put some back muscle into it holy cow. After learning how to weave we were allowed to all dress up in the traditional traje! It was hysterical. The clothing was so heavy I have no idea how the women where the traje in the heat. I was sweating after about 2 minutes. Take your pictures, look pretty and get the clothing off as fast as possible. Ok that was my tuesday!
Now for the not so great news... I got my backpack stolen so I am lacking a few items, like my computer charger. So my computer is dead and has all my pictures on it. Therefore the next couple posts will probably be lacking some color.
Here is how it went:
I was sitting in a lovely cafe called Michos, the sun was shining, a few birds were chirping in the distant air, the courtyard was filled with English tourist bustling around buying jade things, the fountain had a steady flow and life was just beautiful. Ok... A little dramatic talking about how blissful the day was. BUT... I was sitting in a cafe called Michos and I was working on my computer doing some research, when a little boy selling bracelets approached me. Mind you this young man has approached me about 2 other times and had successfully swindled me into buying bracelets. Why would this time be different??? Of course he was successful but this time he gave me a great price!! (how lucky)What's another bracelet right? Anyway after I gave him the money he was looking at my computer and asked to watch a music video. Reluctantly, I let him watch a video, which turned into about 2 more videos. I said ok I have to get back to homework so he left and I turned around for about 2 minutes and my backpack was gone. Just that fast. No one even saw him leave. The server and I ran outside, I did about 4 laps around the general area and even went to the mercado where he most likely took it to sell. Sadly I could not find it. Now I started to get angry. I decided if I saw him or even if I see him now I will grab him by his ears lift him off the ground and demand to have my backpack back... (Unrealistic I know but it was my initial reaction). Could not find him anywhere... Sad day, I lost my wallet, all my school books and notebooks and my most favorite chap stick! Anyways sob story is over, its only material things after all but just rather a giant pain in mis pompios (butt).
Now on to Tuesday! My Ka'qchikel teacher, Osbilda took us on a tour of her house in San Antonio! San Antonio is about 20 minutes away on a lovely chicken bus! It is always a new experience on a chicken bus but this ride was surprisingly calm with minimal stops and even better minimal people. Once we arrived we walked with Osbilda to her house and she took us on a tour of how to do Mayan weaving. Her room was tiny. Maybe 10 x 10 and she had a bunch of hand carved wooden tools to do everything. I think before I arrived I had this false idea of how they would weave and have fancy tools basically a machine but it was nothing as such. Everything was traditional. The weaver will first pick out raw wool or cotton then wash it, comb it and spin it. Then using a warping board (looks like a 2 x 4 with wood prongs sticking out of it in the shape of a body) she threads the fresh wool or cotton around to make the starting cloth. This cloth is then attached to her loom which is a a stick the cloth is fed through that attaches to a belt that sits around her lower butt in a sitting position. The complex process of weaving then begins. Depending on the desired length and design the weaver will use numerous rolls of cotton to create her masterpiece. Now mind you she is explaining this whole entire process in Spanish. I had to do some post research to fully understand everything. The process is a system of adjusting tension in the cotton through the loom by leaning forward and back with the "butt" strap"! After our weaving lesson we all got to try! It was so hard!!! You have to put some back muscle into it holy cow. After learning how to weave we were allowed to all dress up in the traditional traje! It was hysterical. The clothing was so heavy I have no idea how the women where the traje in the heat. I was sweating after about 2 minutes. Take your pictures, look pretty and get the clothing off as fast as possible. Ok that was my tuesday!
Now for the not so great news... I got my backpack stolen so I am lacking a few items, like my computer charger. So my computer is dead and has all my pictures on it. Therefore the next couple posts will probably be lacking some color.
Here is how it went:
I was sitting in a lovely cafe called Michos, the sun was shining, a few birds were chirping in the distant air, the courtyard was filled with English tourist bustling around buying jade things, the fountain had a steady flow and life was just beautiful. Ok... A little dramatic talking about how blissful the day was. BUT... I was sitting in a cafe called Michos and I was working on my computer doing some research, when a little boy selling bracelets approached me. Mind you this young man has approached me about 2 other times and had successfully swindled me into buying bracelets. Why would this time be different??? Of course he was successful but this time he gave me a great price!! (how lucky)What's another bracelet right? Anyway after I gave him the money he was looking at my computer and asked to watch a music video. Reluctantly, I let him watch a video, which turned into about 2 more videos. I said ok I have to get back to homework so he left and I turned around for about 2 minutes and my backpack was gone. Just that fast. No one even saw him leave. The server and I ran outside, I did about 4 laps around the general area and even went to the mercado where he most likely took it to sell. Sadly I could not find it. Now I started to get angry. I decided if I saw him or even if I see him now I will grab him by his ears lift him off the ground and demand to have my backpack back... (Unrealistic I know but it was my initial reaction). Could not find him anywhere... Sad day, I lost my wallet, all my school books and notebooks and my most favorite chap stick! Anyways sob story is over, its only material things after all but just rather a giant pain in mis pompios (butt).
Thursday, October 11, 2012
More to come!
Hola to everyone! School has gotten very busy but tomorrow or Saturday I will update you guys on the last week! It has been raining like crazy. I have had a headache for about a week with all the rain and climate change but I've concluded its probably Malaria. Hypochondriac tendencies... Check. But anyway love you all! If you asked for coffee... It has been sent! Cross your fingers but the post office said 15 days so take into account we are talking about Guatemala so lets go for about 20 or 21 days :)
Abrazos!
Monday, October 8, 2012
Its Just that week
So I have hit the wall. This past week has just been... Blaah... in lack of a better word. I think the first month was overwhelming with so many different emotions, experiences, culture and adjustment. This weekend was a more relaxed weekend. The week was a little bit stressful. I had another Spanish test, my Mayan language class, well its still going. This week I have just felt inadequate. My whole house got in a funk and our Spanish sucked, my Mayan sucked, my English probably sucked and my Geography class used all my brain power for the week since it was on Monday. Ok, I am going to put my girl pants on and deal with it. I will stop feeling bad for myself, for pete sakes I am in Guatemala! This whole homesickness thing is contagious, I swear one girl feels sad and it spreads like a disease. Then all of a sudden all the girls are crying. Its crazy. I've been avoiding the criers cause that is contagious for sure. But to all my family and friends I miss you lots or in Spanish nos extrano mucho!!
But this week and weekend were very unexciting for me. I know its crazy Courtney with down time, more like Courtney over-whelmed with school and Spanish. So I really do not have much exciting news for the week. I apologize for the lack of excitement.
This weekend was fun and relaxing. However, on Wednesday one of the nurse's daughter had a birthday! Her name is Crista and she turned 12 years old! She did not have any plans so I told her I wanted to take her to ice cream! She was ecstatic. Ice cream turned into swimming at Hotel Antigua which turned into a lot of money spent! Holy cow, Hotel Antigua is like the resort of resorts here. In retrospect it wasn't an absurd amount of money but she was funny she kept asking me, are you sure? are you sure? She ran into the pool cannon ball style so of course my 20 year old self did the same. The water was not welcoming and refreshing... It was soooo cold I instantly had chills. My toes went a little purple. The whole staff just stared at me... Probably thinking gosh beached whale in the pool hahaha. More lethargic comments to come. Anyway we swam for about an hour or until I could not move my limbs and then proceeded to eat some ice cream to feed my lethargic stomach! It turned out to be a great day. She was so excited I wanted to celebrate her birthday and her mom was very excited and more thankful than anything. Ok so that was Saturday. Saturday night consisted of homework, smoothies and going to bed early.
Sunday pretty uneventful as well. I got to sleep in for the first time in awhile it was great! The whole day was cloudy and rainy. I spent most of my morning sitting in a very quaint patio with a small fountain reading for hours! Just hours. It would probably help if my reading speed wasn't one paragraph per hour since I get so distracted by the water or the butterfly or a squirrel or something other than my reading. Focus Courtney... Focus Courtney... I also got scammed by a little boy, a very cute boy, but nonetheless scammed. He was selling little cloth bracelets he originally told me 3 for 20Q and 1 for 10Q. I only had a 10Q and then he saw 3Q on the table so he said ok 2 for 13Q... Great! About an hour later I saw him in the street and he had the biggest grin on his face. He proceeded to tell me he could get dinner now. It was another rewarding experience. Whether or not he was just scamming me or being serious I wont know but "es la vida". Meaning its just the life and you just have to go with it. It has also been raining all day... Never forget your rain jacket during the rainy season... You are guaranteed to get rained on no actually poured on.
Sorry this week and weekend are so unexciting but love and miss everyone!
Con cuidado (Go with safety)!!!!
Finally got the beach pictures!!
This weekend was fun and relaxing. However, on Wednesday one of the nurse's daughter had a birthday! Her name is Crista and she turned 12 years old! She did not have any plans so I told her I wanted to take her to ice cream! She was ecstatic. Ice cream turned into swimming at Hotel Antigua which turned into a lot of money spent! Holy cow, Hotel Antigua is like the resort of resorts here. In retrospect it wasn't an absurd amount of money but she was funny she kept asking me, are you sure? are you sure? She ran into the pool cannon ball style so of course my 20 year old self did the same. The water was not welcoming and refreshing... It was soooo cold I instantly had chills. My toes went a little purple. The whole staff just stared at me... Probably thinking gosh beached whale in the pool hahaha. More lethargic comments to come. Anyway we swam for about an hour or until I could not move my limbs and then proceeded to eat some ice cream to feed my lethargic stomach! It turned out to be a great day. She was so excited I wanted to celebrate her birthday and her mom was very excited and more thankful than anything. Ok so that was Saturday. Saturday night consisted of homework, smoothies and going to bed early.
Sunday pretty uneventful as well. I got to sleep in for the first time in awhile it was great! The whole day was cloudy and rainy. I spent most of my morning sitting in a very quaint patio with a small fountain reading for hours! Just hours. It would probably help if my reading speed wasn't one paragraph per hour since I get so distracted by the water or the butterfly or a squirrel or something other than my reading. Focus Courtney... Focus Courtney... I also got scammed by a little boy, a very cute boy, but nonetheless scammed. He was selling little cloth bracelets he originally told me 3 for 20Q and 1 for 10Q. I only had a 10Q and then he saw 3Q on the table so he said ok 2 for 13Q... Great! About an hour later I saw him in the street and he had the biggest grin on his face. He proceeded to tell me he could get dinner now. It was another rewarding experience. Whether or not he was just scamming me or being serious I wont know but "es la vida". Meaning its just the life and you just have to go with it. It has also been raining all day... Never forget your rain jacket during the rainy season... You are guaranteed to get rained on no actually poured on.
Sorry this week and weekend are so unexciting but love and miss everyone!
Con cuidado (Go with safety)!!!!
Finally got the beach pictures!!
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| Beach front property! Our hotel is to the right! |
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| Our rooms with the lovely mosquito net! |
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| More hotel, out door showers only! |
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| Hammocks in front of the room! |
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| Fresh coconut anyone? |
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| The gross chicken place... |
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| Meat rack!! |
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| Board walk! |
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| The boys the started the sand war! |
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| Colleen and her new best friend! |
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| Giant waves! |
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| Dirty black sand feet! |
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| Not swimming in those bad boys! |
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Vamos a la Playa!!!
Let me first correct my error in last weeks post... I said we vaccinated the dogs with rabbis. No we did not make all the dogs Jewish. How embarrassing... Jessssus! Correction rabies!
This past weekend my roommate Colleen and I decided to go the beach on a whim. We talked with about 3 different people to figure our bus situation out. One man said 5:30 another said 6 and lets face it, its Guatemala it could be 7 for all I know. I will say one thing though. If ever in Guatemala and you ask for directions be prepared to be even more lost. Most people will tell you directions and they take you no where near your destination... You have been warned. Ok back to the story. We missed the first bus because it left at 5am, none of the times we were told were right... Oh and there is only one bus per day that goes directly to the beach. Great. So we had to go to the crazy bus terminal with about a million buses zooming around, men yelling out destinations, vendors off and on the buses selling miscellaneous things, and people jumping on the front and back of the buses to catch a ride. Chaotic in other words. But we eventually we got ourselves on one bus to Esquintla where we would have to transfer buses, then take a new bus from there to a shuttle and from that shuttle switch to yet another shuttle to get to the beach. Our hour and half trip turned into three hours. The whole way to Esquintla the bus was packed. Three to every seat and people standing in the isle. Word to the wise, sit in the very back that way its easier to hop out the back door when its your stop. Oh and if all the windows are up its because the Guats are cold. I DIED with the windows up. No circulation and everyone is in your bubble. But once we were in Esquintla the bus terminal was tiny, it could only fit one bus on the actual road at a time, and again people yelling and bustling around. Colleen and I were very close to wetting ourselves and we could not find a bathroom anywhere. An older man yelled to us and pointed us down a tiny alley with no light. Colleen was walking down as I was trying to find my headlamp and sure enough at the end there was a toilet, and a ducky shower curtain. All I have to say is ewwwww. Then as I was gathering all my stuff I heard our bus called out. Colleen took off running towards it and I was a few steps behind her then the old man came yelling after me "Necisitas pagar!!!" Ay dios mio. I had to pay for both of us to pee. A hole 25 cents to pee. We made it onto our second bus and there wasn't a double seat open so I got stuck sitting next to a heavier set lady that was sweating PROFUSELY. She also sat with her legs wide open leaving room for about half my body to sit on the seat. At one point she moved around and her sweat got on my arm. Keep smiling Courtney, DO NOT make a face. Also, if you see someone do the sign of the cross before getting on, try not to be too alarmed. Anyways from there on out we got dropped off on the side of the highway and transferred into a small shuttle that took us through a couple port towns, where we switched yet again onto our last shuttle and within about 30 minutes we were finally at the beach! By this time I myself was doused in sweat and just wanted to get in the water. The town we were in Monte Rico was very small, pretty tropical and our first stop was a fried chicken place to use the bathroom. The lady took me into the back and asked a girl to leave... Hmm what the girl that left was watching chicken off in the sink and guess where the toilet was... Yup right next to that. Reluctantly I bought some french fries since I used her bathroom but the chicken uh no thanks. We did not have any hotel reservations so Colleen and I decided to just head to the beach and pick one ocean front. About 3 minutes of being on the beach we had a hotel, $6 a night, a pool, hammocks all over the place and a restaurant. Could I ask for more? We quickly changed into our bathing suits, had a smoothie and made our way to the black sand beach. It was incredible. The sound of the waves were enormous. It sounded like a storm every time they crashed into the surf. The waves were about 6 feet and the under toe was so strong. With my excellent swimming skills I only went in about 3 feet deep. For most of the day we sat on the beach ate fresh homemade tortillas and just enjoyed the sounds of the beach. Mid day we decided to start building a sand castle. Yes regressing to about age 8. But as we were building our mote about eight little Guatemalan boys asked to play with us. Of course we agreed and within 5 minutes it turned into a sand fight. I am not kidding I have not had that much all over my face, hair body in...EVER. They were absolutely nuts. They would chase us to the waters edge while throwing fists full of sand and then they would stop cause they were too afraid to go in the water. The sand fight turned into tag which turned into a shower and then a nap! They were nuts, just nuts. After our nap Colleen and I walked down the beach to watch the sunset and just see where the other hotels were. We came up to a resort and of course had to check it out. We looked like bums. We had sand all over our legs from walking and everyone at the resort was sitting by the pool, with their pina coladas, that was about 200 yards away from the beach. Are you serious??? Jeeez resort people... They gave us some looks. As we returned back to our hotel there was a sand volleyball game going on and of course Colleen and I being competitors at heart had to join. We got stuck with the shitty team at first... The second round we switched onto a team with two Guat guys that apparently were actually on a team that played in tournaments so we ended up ruling the court! It was a good time but again I was covered in sand from diving. Its very apparent too since the sand is black and its so humid it just cakes your skin. It was great. Dinner consisted of a fresh cut chicken fried in front of us and delicious french fries. The french fries were perfect, not too squishy and not too hard. Reminded me of a five guys, a good American burger sounds good right about now. Later that night Colleen and I went salsa dancing. It was horrendous. Apparently there are a couple different types of salsa or at least just different beats. I looked like bambi with two left feet. Get the visual. The dancing did not last long so we returned to our room put our mosquito nets down and passed out. We missed the sunrise but were up by 7. It was quiet and the only overwhelming sound was the crash of the waves, in spanish very tranquilo (quiet and peaceful). Our shuttle to leave was scheduled for 1 so really about 1:20. Our ride home was nuts. The first shuttle started empty (false hope). Your shuttle will never just be empty. Sure enough ten minutes later the shuttle was full and the Guats closed the windows! What is the deal??? The second shuttle was even worse. I got stuck in the back with 3 people and two little kids on my lap, cute kids but it was hotter than poop. With about 3 more stops our 15 passenger van turned into a 26 passenger van. I got stuck sitting on the floor and again NO AIR! That was about a 30 minute ride back to Esquintla where we were dropped off in the middle of the town and given horrible directions to the bus terminal. While looking for the terminal of course it started to down pour. I mean with in minutes there were sheets of rain. After 10 minutes in the rain we found our Antigua bus and took cover. Again only 5 people on the bus... Do not get excited. Our bus took off and the city was just flooded, maybe about 7 inches of water in the street, hopefully our bald tires have traction... And again within 15 minutes the bus was packed. A woman got on, soaking wet, turned to sit in a seat next to me and sprayed me with her hair... I just have the best luck. If I end up having a growth on my face tomorrow I'll make sure to tell. The ride home was slow, long and hot. All the windows were closed except for Colleen's. The man sitting next to me put his wool sweater on since we had the window open, and then he proceeded to fall asleep on my arm. His wool sweater would rub my arm with every twist and turn in the road and basically chafe it. This was the story of our ride home! Oh wait I forgot to mention. There was a small leak on part of the roof and it kept dripping on this girl so I gave her a little rapper to maybe stuff it. That didn't work, so her mom asked for a piece of gum, chewed it and stuffed the hole. How innovative right, I thought it was funny. Pictures to come later!
Love to all!
Also good news for Rufino, I got a local doctor from the city to come and visit Rufino so we can hopefully get him some help!
This past weekend my roommate Colleen and I decided to go the beach on a whim. We talked with about 3 different people to figure our bus situation out. One man said 5:30 another said 6 and lets face it, its Guatemala it could be 7 for all I know. I will say one thing though. If ever in Guatemala and you ask for directions be prepared to be even more lost. Most people will tell you directions and they take you no where near your destination... You have been warned. Ok back to the story. We missed the first bus because it left at 5am, none of the times we were told were right... Oh and there is only one bus per day that goes directly to the beach. Great. So we had to go to the crazy bus terminal with about a million buses zooming around, men yelling out destinations, vendors off and on the buses selling miscellaneous things, and people jumping on the front and back of the buses to catch a ride. Chaotic in other words. But we eventually we got ourselves on one bus to Esquintla where we would have to transfer buses, then take a new bus from there to a shuttle and from that shuttle switch to yet another shuttle to get to the beach. Our hour and half trip turned into three hours. The whole way to Esquintla the bus was packed. Three to every seat and people standing in the isle. Word to the wise, sit in the very back that way its easier to hop out the back door when its your stop. Oh and if all the windows are up its because the Guats are cold. I DIED with the windows up. No circulation and everyone is in your bubble. But once we were in Esquintla the bus terminal was tiny, it could only fit one bus on the actual road at a time, and again people yelling and bustling around. Colleen and I were very close to wetting ourselves and we could not find a bathroom anywhere. An older man yelled to us and pointed us down a tiny alley with no light. Colleen was walking down as I was trying to find my headlamp and sure enough at the end there was a toilet, and a ducky shower curtain. All I have to say is ewwwww. Then as I was gathering all my stuff I heard our bus called out. Colleen took off running towards it and I was a few steps behind her then the old man came yelling after me "Necisitas pagar!!!" Ay dios mio. I had to pay for both of us to pee. A hole 25 cents to pee. We made it onto our second bus and there wasn't a double seat open so I got stuck sitting next to a heavier set lady that was sweating PROFUSELY. She also sat with her legs wide open leaving room for about half my body to sit on the seat. At one point she moved around and her sweat got on my arm. Keep smiling Courtney, DO NOT make a face. Also, if you see someone do the sign of the cross before getting on, try not to be too alarmed. Anyways from there on out we got dropped off on the side of the highway and transferred into a small shuttle that took us through a couple port towns, where we switched yet again onto our last shuttle and within about 30 minutes we were finally at the beach! By this time I myself was doused in sweat and just wanted to get in the water. The town we were in Monte Rico was very small, pretty tropical and our first stop was a fried chicken place to use the bathroom. The lady took me into the back and asked a girl to leave... Hmm what the girl that left was watching chicken off in the sink and guess where the toilet was... Yup right next to that. Reluctantly I bought some french fries since I used her bathroom but the chicken uh no thanks. We did not have any hotel reservations so Colleen and I decided to just head to the beach and pick one ocean front. About 3 minutes of being on the beach we had a hotel, $6 a night, a pool, hammocks all over the place and a restaurant. Could I ask for more? We quickly changed into our bathing suits, had a smoothie and made our way to the black sand beach. It was incredible. The sound of the waves were enormous. It sounded like a storm every time they crashed into the surf. The waves were about 6 feet and the under toe was so strong. With my excellent swimming skills I only went in about 3 feet deep. For most of the day we sat on the beach ate fresh homemade tortillas and just enjoyed the sounds of the beach. Mid day we decided to start building a sand castle. Yes regressing to about age 8. But as we were building our mote about eight little Guatemalan boys asked to play with us. Of course we agreed and within 5 minutes it turned into a sand fight. I am not kidding I have not had that much all over my face, hair body in...EVER. They were absolutely nuts. They would chase us to the waters edge while throwing fists full of sand and then they would stop cause they were too afraid to go in the water. The sand fight turned into tag which turned into a shower and then a nap! They were nuts, just nuts. After our nap Colleen and I walked down the beach to watch the sunset and just see where the other hotels were. We came up to a resort and of course had to check it out. We looked like bums. We had sand all over our legs from walking and everyone at the resort was sitting by the pool, with their pina coladas, that was about 200 yards away from the beach. Are you serious??? Jeeez resort people... They gave us some looks. As we returned back to our hotel there was a sand volleyball game going on and of course Colleen and I being competitors at heart had to join. We got stuck with the shitty team at first... The second round we switched onto a team with two Guat guys that apparently were actually on a team that played in tournaments so we ended up ruling the court! It was a good time but again I was covered in sand from diving. Its very apparent too since the sand is black and its so humid it just cakes your skin. It was great. Dinner consisted of a fresh cut chicken fried in front of us and delicious french fries. The french fries were perfect, not too squishy and not too hard. Reminded me of a five guys, a good American burger sounds good right about now. Later that night Colleen and I went salsa dancing. It was horrendous. Apparently there are a couple different types of salsa or at least just different beats. I looked like bambi with two left feet. Get the visual. The dancing did not last long so we returned to our room put our mosquito nets down and passed out. We missed the sunrise but were up by 7. It was quiet and the only overwhelming sound was the crash of the waves, in spanish very tranquilo (quiet and peaceful). Our shuttle to leave was scheduled for 1 so really about 1:20. Our ride home was nuts. The first shuttle started empty (false hope). Your shuttle will never just be empty. Sure enough ten minutes later the shuttle was full and the Guats closed the windows! What is the deal??? The second shuttle was even worse. I got stuck in the back with 3 people and two little kids on my lap, cute kids but it was hotter than poop. With about 3 more stops our 15 passenger van turned into a 26 passenger van. I got stuck sitting on the floor and again NO AIR! That was about a 30 minute ride back to Esquintla where we were dropped off in the middle of the town and given horrible directions to the bus terminal. While looking for the terminal of course it started to down pour. I mean with in minutes there were sheets of rain. After 10 minutes in the rain we found our Antigua bus and took cover. Again only 5 people on the bus... Do not get excited. Our bus took off and the city was just flooded, maybe about 7 inches of water in the street, hopefully our bald tires have traction... And again within 15 minutes the bus was packed. A woman got on, soaking wet, turned to sit in a seat next to me and sprayed me with her hair... I just have the best luck. If I end up having a growth on my face tomorrow I'll make sure to tell. The ride home was slow, long and hot. All the windows were closed except for Colleen's. The man sitting next to me put his wool sweater on since we had the window open, and then he proceeded to fall asleep on my arm. His wool sweater would rub my arm with every twist and turn in the road and basically chafe it. This was the story of our ride home! Oh wait I forgot to mention. There was a small leak on part of the roof and it kept dripping on this girl so I gave her a little rapper to maybe stuff it. That didn't work, so her mom asked for a piece of gum, chewed it and stuffed the hole. How innovative right, I thought it was funny. Pictures to come later!
Love to all!
Also good news for Rufino, I got a local doctor from the city to come and visit Rufino so we can hopefully get him some help!
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