Before I get ahead of myself to start talking about today (Monday, Sept 26) -- here are a couple photos of the 4 hour drive from Guatemala City to Xela. It was a pretty standard Greyhound type bus with big windows that were great for checking out the scenery. The roads were VERY wind-y and the further up we went the further down went the valleys. Definitely some youd-just-rather-not-look-out moments :) Once out of the capital (which was a little worse for wear for most of the time) we got into very lush and green country side. All along the roads were little stores like this one selling fruit, vegetables, handicrafts and other premade street food.
During my ride I sat next to a woman named Ada. Shes a lawyer in Xela with two kids and was very patient with my rusty Spanish and very open about her thoughts on Guatemalan culture, her experience, what her kids are up to, and what she sees happening in Xela with the huge influx of Spanish school tourists (there are something like 40 schools here - long story short -- good amount of money coming in, but its not going to taxes spent on a rising-tide-carries-all-ships kind of situation. I will soon find out that this is the story of Guatemala for the past 500 years). And long story short of making this delightful new friend -- always keep a extra few sticks of gum handy to offer the person sitting next to you to help start off conversations!
Arriving in Xela:
Got to school Sunday afternoon, met the coordinator and a couple other students who were also just arriving. Then my "abuela," Maria Antonieta Oroxom, arrived (with grandson Anthony, who will end up being a big part of my time at the house) to walk me back home. Shes about 4 and a half feet tall, with long black hair and always in traditional Mayan dress. Hair not in braids like the one below (she said she just never felt like doing it that way, but we`ve agreed that shell try to see if she can braid my hair in some way shape or form. vamos a ver). The roads to her house are wind-y and mostly all look the same so I was very grateful when she told me her son would help take me back to school the next morning. Took me a good 5 or 6 times to get to and from school in a straight shot but now it feels like second nature and the shop owners and I along the way have picked up a nice rhythm of Buenos Dias-es y Buenas Tardes-es.
That Sunday afternoon the son, Gabriel, and I walked to "parque central" to see some dances that were being put on in front of the municipal building. Lots of local people were there and I got a taste of some of the local traditional clothing and culture. Also for the first time in my life I had a really good view of everything at a parade.
Fun fact about this photo below -- theyre all wearing masks that represent the European "invasion" -- so lots of blue eyes and sort of devil-ish connotations. Military guys, priests, loose-looking women, the whole gang was there!
Maria Antonieta, La Senora de la Casa, is a very good cook and makes all sorts of local/typical dishes every day. Ive been trying to get pictures of them as much as I can. She also makes all her tortillas from scratch and by hand!! They are a completely different food group than what we know in the US as tortillas. These are as thick as naan and a bit more dense, the ones below are from blue corn but there are also more common yellow. She makes lovely little fruit drinks to accompany most meals - some sort of pulverized papaya or melon usually. And the teas, which are also very popular here, can have cinammon, berries, and other kinds local fruit. All delightful and a lovely thing to have in the afternoons when it tends to get rainy and a bit cooler.
Below is another shot of the parque central with the mountains in the background. I cannot overstate how beautiful the scenery is everyday. Green mountains wrapped in clouds encircle the city ... and due to a special climate phenomenon that happens here, pretty much every day you get to experience at least 3 different seasons. Sunny and warm! Cool and grey! Cool and rainy! Crisp and dry! Now a bit warmer?? Another benefit of returning home pretty much everyday for lunch is that you can reset your layers/pick up your umbrella if needed.
And now for the real reason Im here! La escuela! (http://plqe.org/) Besides having 5 hours of one-on-one work with a professor each day, their North star is having a `social conscience` that highlights issues and history of the indigenous, working class, and non-leading class of Guatemala. All of the teachers are/were in someway involved in activisit orginazations and are very open talking about what they see as strengths and weaknesses of the country, its politics, and outside influences. I left the States to be on the otherside of the world and history, and Im definitely seeing and hearing it. Not something that is easily digested
or understood within a week so will just leave it at -- nothing like `out of sight out of mind` to justfiy a lot of really terrible events that have happened to the people here over the past centuries. Even so -- everyone Ive met has been so warm and open and kind.
Below is a shot of a working session lead by Professora Shes (who had stepped out for more cafe) . The first few days my brain was absoutely NUMB after a few hours and I felt like saying "basta ya! no puedo no puedo!" But she was very patient and we covered manymany different historical and cultural subjects -- as well as shared stories about our families and lives.
Breakfast!! Frijoles morning noon and night! Y platanos!
Im gonna own up to not being the fastest and most comprehensive -- but of course Im taking a ton of pictures and videos here. So! If you want to jump ahead of descriptions and narrative, here is a link to all sorts of extra photos and videos, which Ill try to update more frequently. https://goo.gl/photos/H35qZiHR7m75QG6q7
(also if you are a spanish speaker, please forgive my rambling if you hear it in the background)
If you see anything in particular that youd like an explination for, please either comment on the photo or here in the comments below! The Management loves feed back, positive or glowing.
Besos de Lejos!
- Analu, Ani, Anita
Anna Blanco ("en serio, el apellido es blanco. si. es la verdad")
