Guatemala: Uno!

Check out our pics: Guatemala 1

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Bienvenido!

Okay, after in-depth analysis, Tracy and I have realized that neither of us really wants to take responsibility for writing this blog. So we have decided to split the task squarely down the middle. Paragraphs written by me, Ingrid, will begin with a cute little ‘i’. Paragraphs preceded by a lumbering, awkward ‘t’, will be written by Tracy. Collaborations will start with ‘it’. Isn’t that adorable!?

P.S. Special thanks to Tammy, Anna, and Sophie for driving us to the airport on Christmas Eve. Unbridled gratitude towards Megan and Aly for providing first class accommodation and transport while in Seattle, the Chris’ for telephone service, and Beth and Mary for another set of wheels. And thanks to those we managed to see for making themselves available at such short notice. Sorry if we didn’t get the chance to see you.

Over to you, T!

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Well, we got off with a rocky start by choosing to spend Christmas Eve in a series of airports until 1 am when we, and a handful of tired and somber passengers, finally left LAX. Call me naive but I kind of half expected the people of Air Taca to do something special that evening, you know like roll a marimba out into the aisle or something and sing a round of Feliz Navidad. But no, the flight was just as dull as most are, and early that morning we flew into the crowded and dusty Guatemala City without fanfare. Christmas day was tainted by fear and apprehension at both being in a new foreign city and by the myriad of reminders from the guest house managers, Kaf and Victor, to BE SURE to be back in the guest house before sundown. Adding that, “Bad things happen in this city mostly under the cover of darkness and you’d be best to be behind these walls before 7 pm.” The word “mostly” didn’t fail to escape my attention, and with that we spent the next three days somewhat nervously. We must have looked pinched faced and uptight to most of the city dwellers any time we were caught wandering the streets.

But as is the human condition,we can get used to just about anything, and by day 3 we were starting to feel a little bolder and adventurous and wanting to explore the city beyond a one and a half block radius. So, with instruction and guidance from Kaf and Victor, we carefully scripted a day around the city, taking first a bus to the National Palace, then a stroll in an open market, some lunch along the way, and finally a taxi to a couple of art museums, heading back to the guest house just before the last rays of sun vanished. The plan was good and spirits were high as we set off. Over to you, Ing

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K, basically we had a great day until I left my wallet stuffed with dollars in a taxi and, penniless, we had to hoof it back to our hostel in the dark. In a very bad mood, rigid with anger, I walked at least three strides ahead of Tracy, desperately trying to blame her for the whole incident. Anyway, moving on…

From Guatemala City we went to Antigua, where we have spent the last couple of weeks studying Spanish. Our last class was today and we are both excited to be free! Though four hours a day of one-to-one classes might sound like a blast, after the first week we were both a little conjugated out. Tracy, however, had the foresight to negotiate starting her lessons half an hour late so she could enjoy her latte across the street, and she ended a half hour early in order to “absorb the day’s lesson”! She liked at this time to grab my attention by waving at me from her spot in the sun next to the fountain in the courtyard. I would pretend not to notice her as I reluctantly grasped for the right verb ending. Tracy has now graduated from pointing (like in Spain this summer) to full sentences such as “I like horse”. On the other hand, I, having wholeheartedly delved into language acquisition with gusto, can now use my Spanish in any situation. For example, only yesterday I was able to communicate the following: “Are this clothing use the brightening thing? We no want. Last laundry cloth we giving to you is become like white.”

Antigua is very pretty with views of three volcanoes and old colonial architecture, and it is a pleasure just walking in the streets. The people here are very friendly and are very helpful and patient with our mutant Spanish. No one here is pushy in the slightest, not even the street vendors in the market. Though there are a lot of beautiful indigenous Mayans here in traditional clothing, you may notice we haven’t taken any pics of them yet. We were told they don’t like having their photo taken. My like, totally main concern is like, how on earth will they be able to enter Guatemala’s Next Top Model?

Anyhow, we are having a wonderful time here. We have been meeting lots of new people, though mostly very briefly since everyone is always on the move. We experienced an earthquake last week, big enough to make the news. We have battled with bed bugs, endured countless power outages (Guatemala is currently working on its national grid), and coped with cold showers and frequent water outages. Somehow that is all part of the charm. At New Year, we laughed hysterically as we ran to avoid first degree burns from getting too near the ‘running bull’ (a man with a crate strapped to his back loaded with exploding fireworks). Most recently, we hiked to the lava beds on the active volcano, Pacaya. That was, like, way cool!

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We hope to leave Antigua on Tuesday (15th) to travel around Guatemala and use our brilliant Spanish while it’s still hot… Hasta luego amigos!

Love to you all xxx