Hello all,
Sorry I am getting behind on my posting but there is just so much going on here, so little time, I like to sleep and internet is iffy sometimes. So this past weekend I went with most of our group to Lake Atitlan. It is a beautiful lake and it was an amazing trip, with a few bumps, but I will get to that later.
So the group of 11 left for the Lake at 8am on Saturday. We traveled in a large van and the trip took about 2 hours. However the ride was a bit of a roller coaster as we traveled through the mountains. We arrived at the hotel and dropped off our stuff and then we were off for a boat tour of the lake to visit two different villages. There are many different villages around the lake. There are also mountains and three volcanoes surrounding the lake. The villages are really built into the mountains. (Yes I have pictures that I will put up sometime).
The boat trip on the way to the first village was very fun. We took lots of photos having a fun time. The plan was to go to the first village (San Pedro?) for lunch. However that did not work out so well as our professor accidentally remembered the wrong village. It turned out okay though because we walked around a little bit and then got Chocobananas, which are frozen bananas dipped in chocolate and nuts. It was very tasty and nice on a hot day. We then walked back down to the dock and got back in the boat to head to the other village, Santiago Atitlan. This was a very interesting town. The first thing we did was find a "guide" to take us to see Maximon which is a statue of a cigar smoking, rum-swilling deity (there are different theories as to who he was). You have to have a guide to see it because the house he is in changes each year. We each had to pay 2Q to go into the house. This was one of the starngest/creepiest experiences. First the trip was of course up hill though so back alleys. We get there and the statue does have a cigar in its mouth. There were Christmas lights up, candles lit and on the floor, some thinks they saw a Menorah, and a figure of Jesus. In addition, in the background there was music that sounded like "Santa Clause is coming to town", and whatever was playing the music was dying, as the music was creepily high pitched. But it was a fun experience. We then went and visited the church, where in 1981 the priest was murdered. the church is very different and is a Catholic church with a Mayan feel. We then went and had a nice lunch.
The boat ride back was very fun/crazy. I was sitting in the second row of seats. The day had turned gloomy and the water was rough. The front of the boat went up in the air several times and slammed back down. We also got some water splash, but not too much. The back of the boat apparently had a much calmer ride and took video of us. When we got back to Panajachel (the town our hotel was in) and we went to put our stuff away and then set out for exploring the market. I shared a room with Adrienne and we had a fun time shopping around. She helped teach me how to negotiate prices because you should never take the first price offered and you have to learn how not to be too interested in anything. I had a fun time and bought gifts for four different people while there. That night we had dinner at a cool restaurant, though there were definitely mostly gringos there. There was also a fun band that played all different types of music. It was a great day except the fact that I was developing a cold and cough. We went back to the hotel and Adrienne and I watched the last 20 minutes of Harry Potter number 3 in Spanish before going to sleep. (by this point I was not feeling good at all)
On Sunday we did not have to leave the hotel until 11am. I ended up just staying in the room and resting until 10 when we went out for breakfast. Adrienne and a couple of other people went to swim in the lake. At this point I was feeling horrible with a bad cough, sore throat, stuffy head and nose, and probably a slight fever. We left at 11 to see Mayan ruins on our way back. I mostly stayed in the back to myself and rested. The Mayan ruins were cool, and really old. I have some pictures but I was kind of just feeling out of it that day. We stopped in Chimaltenango on the way back for lunch. We ate in a mall, and let me say that it was like a culture shock in reserve because malls are very similar. I ate at a fried chicken place that is very popular in Guatemala. Once we got back I just rested for the rest of the day.
I think my host family is going to think that I get sick easily. In my defense, it is the rainy/winter season here. The temperature and weather had been changing. Luckily I was feeling better on Monday though still a cough and stuffy nose (apparently I couldn't taste the food at breakfast). We had group class in the morning, which was good and then Spanish in the afternoon, which I had a hard time focusing at. Tuesday I felt a little better and went with my group to Hermano Pedro in the morning. I got to work with one little girl for a good portion of the time, which was really nice. I also got to try the AIMS, which is an assessment. The afternoon was back at Spanish. Oh and both Monday and Tuesday it rained pretty hard but luckily it was mostly during Spanish class. Today we were with the big group both morning and afternoon. It was a good day, and we learned a lot. Tomorrow we get to have lunch with OT students from a university in Guatemala City, it is the only university with OT students in Guatemala. It sounds very exciting. In addition, Hermano Pedro is celebrating their anniversary tomorrow so it will be different there also. Then in the afternoon, if it is nice my Spanish teacher and I will be going for a walk during class so she can show me a church and I can look for something. It should be a good day. Friday we have a fieldtrip all day, with going to different rural villages I believe. (Oh and I am still stuffed but have less cough and am overall feeling very good).
Thank you all for staying with me and I will write more later,
Teresa
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