Weekfull of Activities

Another week gone by living in Guatemala! This week had many activities! Last Saturday we had a community interchange activity. We had a community-sharing event with the volunteers from Pastores. Pastores was a lovely little town. There were barely any hills, and it is in a valley surrounded by hills. Pastores is a lot hotter than Sumpango. We got off the camioneta, and a wave of heat just slammed us in the face. Pastores is famous in Guatemala for making boots. They can custom make leather boots for you, and its reasonably priced, by dollar standards.

Volcan de Agua in Antigua

After the tour of Pastores, we loaded the bus to Antigua. It was my first time in Antigua, and it will not be my last. When we got to Antigua we saw the beautiful view of Volcan de Agua. We found a restaurant and I had one of the most amazing burgers ever! After lunch, we went and found the rest of the Peace Corps trainees. We all had a couple drinks together. I say that like it was a very calm affair. We definitely let loose. It was so nice just to be able to hang out with my friends, without having any commitments. We laughed together, drank together, and had loads of fun! I had to leave early because we were getting a ride back from Riley’s sister. That means that I got to ride in a car, not in a camioneta! It was just as swished as a camioneta, because there were 5 of us in this two-door car. (The rest of my group is super tall, like everyone is over 5’8. The fact that all of them are super tall, made it more difficult for al of us to fit into the small car. Nevertheless, it was an amazing day!

Sumpango group at the Museo de Cafe

The rest of the week continued as normal, Spanish class on Monday and Peace Corps office on Tuesday. Wednesday was field trip day. I feel like I am back in high school, being so excited about field trips. In the training period, my schedule is planned out for me. While there is some grey area, it is mostly a regular schedule, with not many different activities. To continue, on Wednesday, we took a field trip with our Spanish teachers to Jocotenango. We toured the Museo de Café (Museum of Coffee). I learned how much really goes into making coffee. For instance, the different colors (red, then green) the beans are before they turn brown. I also never knew the long process involved in making coffee beans. In my small mind, I thought maybe they were taken from a plant, and then baked. Man was I wrong. It is a very long process, which takes months. After the tour, we were able to try a cup of coffee. I think it might have been the best cup of coffee I have ever had. I would recommend the Museo de Café to everyone! After the museo we were starving, so we took a camioneta to Antigua, which was like 8 minutes away by camioneta. The teachers picked the place, and we ate at this really cute restaurant. I had pasta with pesto. It was really good, however later I felt like crap, so I am not sure it was worth it. I never remember that all the oil in pesto makes me sick until after I eat it. On Wednesday, I also bought my first pair of earrings in Guate. They are really cute! They are a 5-cent coin Quetzal. I got them for 10Q. I was super excited! I also had a lot of fun that day.

The ruins at Tecpan

Thursday and Friday were back to the normal schedule. Saturday was a change in pace, which Saturday usually is for Peace Corps trainees. Yesterday, we got up very early and made our way to Tecpan for a Mayan ceremony. I was not prepared for yesterday. It was my first time seeing a chicken’s head cut off in front of me. I was also not prepared for the Mayan ceremony to last 2 hours. I thought it would last, at most, an hour.  I usually do not have the patience for things like that, but of course I stuck it out because I am in a new culture, and it was one woman who was giving the ceremony to the 60 of us. It was actually very impressive. We prayed to the gods, and thanked them for everything, and asked them to watch over us. The priestess did the ceremony in 2 languages: Spanish and Keckikel. After the ceremony we had some time to walk around the Mayan ruins, which I just loved.

Just some of the PCT'S at Tecpan.

On the way back to Sumpango yesterday, we drove through Chimaltenago. During our drive through Chimal, the road turned into a river. It is only the beginning of the rainy season, and I cannot imagine what it will be like in a couple months. If this is a sign of things to come, then I am a tad bit nervous.

Let me close by saying how difficult it was for me to write this post. Not emotionally difficult, but physically. Since I have been diving into Spanish, my English writing skills have completely gone out the window. I have never had to use spell check this much in a long time. When my spelling was this bad, I don’t think that I was using spell check, because I don’t think I had a computer yet.