Mom, Jenna & Monterrico

This week I got to go from being the tourist to the tour guide.  My mom and my roommate Jenna from Spring Arbor came to visit for the week of Thanksgiving.  It was so cool to get to show them all around Antigua and getting to experience Guatemala with them.  I was able to take them to all my favorite places in Antigua and introduce them to some of my friends here.   Marta was so excited to have them here and they definitely got some special treatment.  On Sunday we went with the group to Earth Lodge for the afternoon.  Earth Lodge is way up in the mountains and being that our transportation was in the back of a pick-up truck, I think my mom was less than convinced of my safety.  However, we all made it there and back in one piece and had a really good time.  Both my mom and Jenna got to go to the market with Marta which not even I have gotten to do. I am not sure how but somehow they communicated with each other even though neither my mom or Jenna speak Spanish and Marta doesn’t speak English. 

                For Thanksgiving my mom decided to make a traditional Thanksgiving meal.  Being that we are in Guatemala we had to adjust the menu a little bit.  We had roasted chicken, red beets, green bean casserole, dinner rolls, and instead of apple pie we had a traditional Guatemalan dessert made out of a vegetable called guiskil.  Marta said that this was the first time in her 21 years of hosting students that she got to have a Thanksgiving dinner.   

Earlier in the week we also went to Camino Real where me and Kyle are doing our practicum for dessert.  We got to take everyone on the grand tour and introduce them to some of the people we work with.  My mom and Jenna had to go back to the states on Saturday but it was so great to have them both here and I am really glad they were able to come!!

                On Saturday we went to Monterrico which is a beach on the Pacific Ocean.  Because of all the volcanoes in Guatemala the sand at the beach is black from the volcanic ash.  The waves at this beach were the most powerful waves I have ever seen.  We would be about a good 10 feet out of the water and when a wave came it would pull you right down.  I think that it is called a rip current because it literally rips you off your feet.  It was a little frightening to have no control of where my body was going.  After getting plunged onto the ocean floor over and over I finally had to take a break.  We had lunch at a little resort on the beach.  It was really incredible to be on the beach swimming two days after Thanksgiving.  After lunch we went back out to swim.  Some of us girls were standing in the shallow water when one of the girls screamed for one of the guys to get out of the water.  She had seen at least 10 sting rays in the wave that went over his head but luckily he did not feel any of them.  After that we all decided that being out of the water was a better decision so we went sting ray watching.  We followed the little buggers all down the beach.  When a big wave would come we could see their silhouettes in the water.  It was really creepy to think that we had all been just swimming with the same creatures that killed Steve Erwin.  It was certainly the most exciting day at the beach I have ever experienced.    

Livin' Life

Since I have been here it seems like I have had one once-in-a-lifetime opportunity after another.  I am getting to do so many things here that most people will never get to do in their entire lives.  Just two days after climbing an active volcano I found myself mingling in a group of over 200 very important people from all different countries.  For our business internship me and Kyle are working at a five star hotel in Antigua called Camino Real.  The director of the food and drinks department at Camino Real wanted us to see how an event is catered so she invited us to a cocktail party put on by the hotel.  Going into it all we knew was the location of the event and how long we needed to be there.  The event was at a church with a beautiful outdoor courtyard surrounded by ruins.  We got their long before the event was going to start and got into the ruins without even being questioned or having to pay the fee.  We have found out that gringos (Americans) in suits can pretty much do whatever they want and no one will even try to stop them.  We got to help the chef of a restaurant in a five star hotel prepare all sorts of delicious foods for the guests.  Then we got to watch some traditional Guatemalan dances.  At this point we still had no idea who all the guests were and what they were all doing there.  We started chatting with a man from Surname who was the CEO of a large company.  He told us that these were all representatives of different countries who were part of a week-long convention about tropical lumber.  He told us there were people there from all different countries like Mozambique, Malaysia, Peru, Costa Rica, Guiana, Chile, the U.S., Mexico, Cameroon and many more.  I have never before been with so many people from so many different places and I certainly never expected to find myself at an event of such high class and prestige.

                Even after we fulfilled the amount of time we were required to be there I could not tear myself away from such an incredible opportunity.  We ended up talking to a Bolivian couple who had lived in many countries all over the world and the wife spoke five different languages.  They have family in Detroit and relatives working in the White House.  They were the sweetest couple and really encouraged us in our pursuit of Spanish.  They also invited us to visit them in Bolivia and go with them to see a hotel cut out of a dried up salt sea in the mountains.  When we finally left the wife, Ana Maria, gave me about seven hugs and said she would be waiting for us in Bolivia.  When the night was over I think we were both a little star struck and in disbelief that we got to be in such an incredible situation.  Altogether it was an amazing opportunity and I am so grateful for my time here and all that it has exposed me to.   

(I don’t have pictures from the event but these are of the hotel)

The entrance to the hotel at night

The Lobby

One of the 6 courtyards

The Restaurant

A $55,000 statue

This is a room

A dining room in one of the rooms

The biggest Jacuzzi in Central America!

Us and Roselyn, the boss of reception

                About halfway through our time here a little café called Por Que No? (which means why not?) opened right around the corner from our house.  Since then it has really become almost like a second home for a lot of people in our group.  The owners Oscar and Carlos are incredibly sweet people and take such good care of us.  Carlos’s wife Carolina also works there and their baby Martinee is usually around too.  On any given night you will find at least one Spring Arbor student there.  It is also a really great place to meet other students, travelers or Guatemalans who are not really into the typical night life in Antigua.  Because it is right on the corner I always stop by and say hello on my way to or from home.  They always ask how my internship and everything else is going and like us to check in at least a few times during the week so they know we are okay.  It is so nice to know that I can always go there and feel safe and loved and it really is my home away from home.

Our Por Que No? friends

Carlos, Martinee and Carolina

The other night me and Kyle got to go to a town just outside of Antigua called Jocotenango.  Our friend Nathalie that we met at Camino Real lives there and we had a little movie night at her house with some of our other co-workers.  She is leaving to tour Europe for a month so it was kind of a goodbye party for her.  Her house is really nice and being there, eating pizza, and watching movies is the most American I have felt since I got to Guatemala.

This morning at breakfast there was another earthquake!  It is probably not good that I get so excited about earthquakes here but they are so cool!  It is something that I never experienced before coming here and it is just a really strange feeling.  Hopefully this one didn’t cause any damage anywhere else.

This Saturday my Mom and my roommate Jenna are coming to visit for a week!  I am so excited and I have been planning all the places I want to take them and things I want to show them.  It will definitely be cool to be the one giving the tours for a change.  I am so excited that they will get to experience a little bit of life in Antigua!

Volcano Pacaya

Volcano Agua from the other side

Since we have gotten here I have been itching to climb one of the many volcanoes surrounding Antigua.  I had my heart set on Volcano Agua which is the large inactive volcano at the southern base of Antigua.  However, after talking to a volunteer at the emergency response center nearest this volcano I finally had to give up this dream.  Although Volcano Agua is inactive it is one of the more dangerous volcanoes because of its higher elevation, steep paths and crime.  So instead I gathered some of my cohorts and found a small travel agency that would take us to Volcano Pacaya which lies is behind Agua.  Pacaya is an active volcano and erupted last year killing several people.  However, because of this recent eruption we were not able to see any lava. 

As we waited for the bus to pick us up to take us to the volcano I was starting to get a little nervous that maybe this travel agency wasn’t legit and just swindled 15 gringos out of Q 50 each.  However, in typical Guatemalan fashion, the bus showed up a half hour late.  The travel agency actually ended up being really good and doing an excellent job with the excursion.  When we arrived at the foot of the volcano we couldn’t really see anything except a lot of trees.  Vendors sold us walking sticks and marshmallows to roast at the top of the volcano.  (I highly recommend buying a walking stick, it is Q 5 that you will not regret spending.)  As we hiked up the steep trail we were followed by men and boys on horses offering us a “natural taxi” (a.k.a.  horse) to carry us to the top.  We broke through the trees into the top section of the volcano that was black and barren.  It was also freezing cold because we were in the clouds.  This created an interesting phenomenon since the ground was warm because of the lava underneath it.  From the top we could see what seemed like all of Guatemala, although I believe it was just Guatemala City and the surrounding area.  We also found little sunken coves where warm steam billowed out and made for a cozy sauna on the chilly mountain top.  To be honest, stepping into a sunken pit with steam pouring out of it on the top of a volcano is a little bit frightening and really goes against everything your natural instincts are telling you to do.

I MADE IT!

Earth's natural sauna

This is what the top of an active volcano looks like

It was a loooong way down!

When we got home, some of Marta’s grandkids were here and we were quite entertained by them.  We painted the little girls fingernails and afterwards they thought it was fun to imitate us (although I am pretty sure they were mocking me).  It is hard enough for me to understand an adult clearly enunciating their Spanish words let alone a shy child rapidly mumbling things to me.  However, when playing with little children words are not as necessary as they are in normal conversation and it was fun just to be silly with them.  

On a little bit of a side note, I learned a few words in Kakchiquel which is an indigenous Mayan language.  Kakchiquel is the native language of one of the bell boys at the hotel where I am doing my practicum and he taught me how to say a few basic things:

                Sa’Kar = Good morning

                Ta na quent = Goodbye

                Ash ranon a wanima = How are you?

                U’ts = Good

                Nu B’I = My name is

                Ka tok = enter or welcome

Since Gustavo (the bell boy) does not speak English he was teaching me Kakchiquel in Spanish.  Having a new language translated into a language that I am still learning is an incredible concept to me and I am honestly amazed that I was able to do that.  I guess that means that my Spanish must be improving.  A lot of Guatemalans view the native Mayan languages as inferior and I could tell that Gustavo was really excited that I wanted to learn his language.  This week has been one of much adventure and learning and I am looking forward to next week when my Mom and Jenna, my roommate, will get to experience a little bit of this with me!

Halloween, All Saints Day, Elections & Tikal - What a week!!

This week was one of the busiest for me since we have been here.  We returned from Panjachel on Monday morning and had just enough time to grab lunch and head off to class.  That night we celebrated Halloween at La Union with a costume contest and a buffet of traditional Guatemalan food.  Tuesday was All Saints Day which is a very big deal here in Guatemala.  Here people make detailed, beautiful and sometimes enormous (some were over 6 meters tall!) kites for the occasion.  We went to a kite festival that displayed some of the largest kites on a soccer field surrounded by rolling hills on which people of all ages set their little kites to the skies.  The place was so crowded that the road leading to it was blocked for miles with parked cars.  I also talked with a sweet older gentleman that lives in this city and he said that this year the festival was a lot smaller than it usually is and I could not imagine how it could possibly be any larger. 

Our Halloween Costumes (Jenna and Kyle got 1st place!)

Me and my sweet old man friend Francisco

That evening the sun that had scorched us all day long was setting and casting really cool shadows on Antigua.  Kyle and I decided it would be a great photo opp. at the ruins of Iglesia San Francisco (the church by my house).

                After several weeks of trying to find a place to do my practicum I finally found one!  On Tuesday me and Kyle started our practicum at Hotel Camino Real in Antigua.  After becoming so familiar with the dusty streets and cracked walls of Antigua, I don’t think that either of us where quite prepared for what we saw.  This hotel is by far the most beautiful hotel I have ever encountered.  I feel like the only way I should be allowed in such a prestigious place is if I become President of the United States.  We were given the grand tour and from room after room of luxurious accommodations, spas, remote controlled window shades, pre-filled wine coolers and refrigerators, saunas and the largest hot tub in Central America we were both quite star struck.  There is a strict dress code required which unfortunately meant that both of us had to buy formal dress suites.  Besides not being quite prepared for the grandeur of this place I was also unprepared for the amount of Spanish I would need to know.  Fortunately Dorys, the Human Resources director, is incredibly patient with me and draws pictures to help me understand things.  It is very frustrating for me that I want so badly to learn about how this business is run but I there is so much that I can’t understand.  Camino Real is an immaculately run hotel.  I have never seen such spectacular organization and attention to detail.  I am so grateful for the opportunity to learn there and I really hope that I am able to absorb information even though I don’t catch all of what is said.

                The second round of elections were this Sunday and Otto Perez won.  He will assume the position in the middle of January.   In my opinion (which I obtained by piecing together the opinions of Guatemalans I have asked about it) I believe that neither candidate is a good option for Guatemala.  Otto Perez was once a general in the Guatemalan military and during this time he took part in the massacres of Mayan villages.  Ironically, one of his campaign posters is him smiling with two Mayan girls.  The consensus for the other candidate, Baldizon, seems to be that he is an “egotistical son of a bitch” as one pastor put it.  He had a sculpture of himself erected in Guatemala City and I have no doubt that his plans for the economy would have plunged Guatemala even deeper into poverty.

                We topped off this exciting week with our long-awaited trip to Tikal.  Tikal is an extensive ancient Mayan epicenter of religious ceremony.  The city was abandon in 900 AD and was not discovered until recent centuries.  Even now only about 10% of Tikal’s ruins have been uncovered; many ancient pyramids still exist buried in the jungle.  In fact much of Guatemala is built on buried ancient ruins including the capital, Guatemala City.  In Tikal we saw a lot of large hills covered by the jungle that were actually Mayan ruins that have not yet been uncovered.  There is somewhat of a debate going on between the archeological and environmental communities about whether to continue to uncover this beautiful city full of history at the expense of the rain forest.  We were also able to see large parts of the city that had been uncovered and partially restored.  The views from the top of these pyramids were incredible and, in my opinion, definitely worth the extremely steep climb up set of stairs that were questionable at best.  The Mayan people and culture have such deep roots in Guatemala and are still a huge part of Guatemala today.  It was really incredible to get to see this city and gain a fuller sense of what Guatemala might have been like long before any Europeans stepped foot on the continent.

No big deal...that is just me on a Mayan temple