Guatemala: Epilogue

My trip is over, but there are many little things that I wanted to mention.

On Parenting:

• Breastfeeding does not seem to be subject to the debates that I hear in the US. If your kid is hungry, you feed him, even if it's while you're crammed into a Chicken Bus with 50 other people.
• Stroller sightings were few and far between. Most parents carried their babies in slings. I imagine this is because many parents are using public transportation or walking precarious sidewalks. Strollers aren't practical.

On Transportation:

• Lots of people have cars and motorcycles to get around, which sometimes made it tough as a pedestrian. The side streets are very small and the sidewalks are unreliable. Stop signs are optional.
• Public transportation has a variety of forms. The Chicken Buses are everywhere for longer trips. There are also lots of people driving vans as if they are buses. Someone will pop his head out the side door as he approaches to ask if you will want to board. If you say no, they just close the door and keep on driving.

On Food:

agua pura

• Eggs are for lunch and dinner, not breakfast.
• Fresh tortillas are a staple and my family served them with all of our meals.
• I noticed a lot more consumption of juice, and you can buy juice in a small clear plastic bag.
• You can also buy pure water in a clear plastic bag.
• I ate avocado a couple times in Guatemala without any allergic reaction. I came back to the states feeling confident that I could eat avocado again. I was wrong.

• In Guatemala it is easy to drink a lot of coffee (pronounced cah-FAY in Spanish and CAW-fee in Laura). It's common with breakfast, lunch, afternoon breaks, and dinner. I occasionally read these studies, like "PEOPLE WHO DRANK 5 CUPS OF COFFEE A DAY SHOWED THE FOLLOWING HEALTH BENEFITS". And I would always think, "Who the hell drinks that much coffee?" Well, I think I drank 5 or 6 cups one day and then felt in need of a huge break from it the next day.
• Also, you have to specify that you want milk when you order a coffee. Milk was not always available either. I learned that I like black coffee more than I had previously thought. This came in handy when I returned home and my milk was bad.

On Community:

• People are out and about all the time and almost everyone will greet you with "buenas dias" or some equivalent pleasantry. 
• The workdays are longer, but tend to be more relaxed. People will stop by to say hi or spend some time relaxing. Start times are not nearly as strict.
• One of the employees for the restaurant, Aurelia, has become part of the family. I think she gets room and board as part of her pay.

On Games:

• I played Connectivo Cuatro and SET while staying with my family.
• Danilo regularly solved his Rubix cube.
• Pablo and I played baseball using some balled up napkins and a plastic pipe.
• I had a piece of yarn for Cheetos that Glendy picked up to show me tricks, like Jacob's Ladder. This brought on memories of the hours I spent playing Cat's Cradle in Middle School. I showed her how to play.
• They had a stuffed Care Bear.
• One time I was about to enter the garage from outside, but heard someone entering the garage from the house. So I waited off to the side. It turned out to be Danilo and I gave him a scare. This made us both laugh. Craig and I play this game all the time (though usually we're only pretend scared).

On Italian:

• My Italian speaking skills helped and hurt on this trip.
• At first I pronounced five as cinque (chinkway), which is the Italian word. Then I said cinco (sink-o), which is the Spanish word. Then I said sinkway, which is a blend of the 2. 
• When I had a sore throat, I wanted to ask for salt, so I went with the Italian word - sale (soll-ay), which worked because the Spanish word is sal (soll). 
• My Spanish instructor told me I spoke Spanish with an Italian accent.
• Even for words that are pronounced exactly the same, the spellings are different, such as che/que or montagna/montana
• And words that are spelled exactly the same often had different pronunciations, such as piscina (pee-SEE-nuh in Spanish and pee-SHEE-nuh in Italian) or cena (SAY-nuh in Spanish and CHAY-nuh in Italian).
• At first I would think about what words to say and my brain would tell me the Italian translation. Then I took the Italian word and my brain had to find the Spanish translation. 
• I don't want to lose my Italian skills, but I also want to become much more fluent in Spanish. This makes me think I'm going to have to work extra hard to maintain all 3 languages. Luckily, I have a super cool Italian friend who plays Tetris with me on the internet and I work with someone who speaks Spanish and un poquito ingles.

On communication (and miscommunication):

• We talked with our family about where they were from and Chris asked if Danilo was born in the lake instead of at/near the lake.
• I described my cats as picante (spicy) instead of pequena (small).
• When teaching Daniela English adjectives one day, I taught her the word smart. "Smart?" she asked. She walked away and got her phone and laughed. "Smart phone?" "Si, si!" I laughed. Then I walked away and got my basic phone and said, "stupido phone!" 

On Getting Home:

• I started my trip back to the states by getting a shuttle at 5:45 am. I arrived at the airport around 9:00 am and then spent some time doing not much of anything until my flight at 2:00.
• I flew to Atlanta, where I spent a lot of time going through customs.
• When I was in the Phoenix airport getting ready to leave, security flagged my bag for my metal spork. They searched my bag, found it, and said it was okay. So when I flew into Atlanta, I took my spork out so I wouldn't have to get searched. They took it. Grr.
• I saw 4 movies during my round trip flights: Ted 2, The Martian, Inside Out, and Brave. I recommend all of them. Ted 2 was hilarious, The Martian was interesting, funny, and visually enjoyable, Inside Out was creative, funny, and made me cry a little, Brave had a sub-par story but the scenery, Irish accents, and Irish music made up for it.
• I caught my flight from Atlanta to Phoenix and arrived in Phoenix just before midnight.
• I caught the light rail and walked home from there, arriving at my door just past midnight.
• Craig had locked the doors. Even my sneaky way in for when I was locked out was not an option. Luckily, I was able to wake him up by pounding on the door. He said, "You're going to put this in your blog aren't you?" I wouldn't have, but since he asked I kind of had to.

Guatemala: Day 10 - Panajachel Part 3

January 18

Did I say Monday would be relaxing? Okay, okay. It was, for the most part.

I started the day lounging in bed and planning my day. After that, my first priority was to find something for my lingering cough and my problemas femininas. I went to a farmacia for these needs. Everything was in glass cases, so it was hard to find what I needed. I almost bought a pregnancy test because the box looked about the right size for tampons (which I was surprised by, because tampons are supposedly hard to find in Guatemala). Luckily I saw the image with little check boxes marking "si" or "no" and moved on to different products. I got what I needed, plus a pack of strawberry cream cough drops.

I walked to a cafe to enjoy a morning coffee. I strolled through town in hopes of finding something worth buying as a souvenir, which I did.

Me, and the lake, and my awesome new hand-stitched skirt

I continued to walk through town and somehow walked full-circle. I was not at all interested in being lost this time, so I caught a tuc-tuc to take me to the playa publica. My next goal was to figure out where I could actually dip my feet into the water. So I wandered about and continued to pass through shops and lake views.

One dog adopted me and started walking with me. I happened upon 2 more dogs who had their rear-ends touching and I tried to figure out what could possibly be going on in this position.

I knew better than to interfere with what might be a sensitive situation. The dog that was tagging along with me went over for a sniff and quickly got growled away. I had a good guess about what was happening, or had happened, but is this what normally happens? I don't think so. I waited for a while and then continued onward.

I found an entrance to the lake and dipped my feet in and took some pictures. A man came along to make small talk. I wasn't interested in conversation, so I headed back to find a new quiet spot. I sat on a nice little bench and knitted while looking at the water. Some women passing by showed a lot of interest in the knitting.

Then I went to find lunch. The attached dogs were separated and a new male was already expressing interest in the female, who was NOT in the mood. 

A little further along, I found myself a lake-front restaurant.

A few salespeople came through trying to convince me to buy bracelets and other trinkets. I had to say "no gracias" many many times. I accidentally said, "si" to one woman who asked if I might want something later. I instantly kicked myself for this, because I'd already learned that they will follow through. When Chris admired some goods outside the school earlier in the week, she told them that she'd come back another day. The woman asked which day and held Chris to it. In my case, I just repeated some more "no gracias" and she finally gave up on me.

As beautiful as the lake was, there wasn't an easy place to set up for the day, so I headed back to one of my wrong turns from the previous day to explore the Nature Preserve, which was about a mile and a half away. 

I paid my admission and took a look at the map. I decided to head for the monkeys first. After seeing the monkeys high up in the trees, I hoped to continue on the path to see the waterfall, some other stuff, and then end with the butterflies. To continue this hike, I had to cross a rickety bridge about 15 feet across. About 3-4 inches of space separated each plank, which meant that scaredy-cat Laura needed to carefully step on each plank of wood.

I approached another bridge and started walking before I realized what I was in for. By the time I realized that this bridge was at least three times as long, I was committed. I knew I should put away my tablet, which I had been using as a camera, but coordinating that action while on a rickety bridge seemed far too difficult. So I continued to carefully cross the scary bridge, clinging on to my belongings.

As I arrived at the middle of the bridge, my tablet slipped from my hand. Crap!

But it landed on the bridge inches in front of my feet. Thank God!

And bounced. Super Crap!

And gracefully dove between the wood planks to the ground 20 feet below. Super Duper Crap!!!

Suddenly, I had a reason to walk faster on the bridge. I got to the other end and scurried down the hill of dirt and branches to the ground. I climbed over a giant pile of other Lost Forever items before eyeing my bright orange tablet on the ground. I retrieved it, and climbed my way back up, thankful for the branches that I used to hoist myself up because flip flops are not the best hiking shoes.

And then I continued on. For about 10 feet. Until I arrived at another long, rickety bridge. Screw this, I said. I cut my losses, PUT MY TABLET IN MY BACKPACK, and then headed back across the 2 previous bridges. 

This turned out to be a good call, because when I got back to the monkey area, there were some new animals hanging out. I wasn't sure what they were, but when I approached one, it bolted away like a cat. So I was fairly certain it was harmless. This one was brave enough to continue to approach me. I couldn't get a still shot of him, because he moved like this.

Then I was off to sit in the butterfly sanctuary for a bit. I also happened to catch some peacocks. After that, I headed back to the beach to enjoy the sunset.

Don't mind us. We're just hanging out on our car.

At the beach, I found some concrete steps to sit and relax. Children came to play and 2 of the younger ones sheepishly stripped off most of their clothes to swim in the lake, giggling the entire time. I made small talk with a man collecting cans. A young girl selling trinkets admired my knitting and asked about it.
"Para usted?" she asked.
"Si," I responded.
"Para mi?" she asked.
"No."
Which prompted her to leave.

An older woman selling items sat next to me. We talked about my knitting and her beading. We talked about the sunset and the clouds. She pointed as a crane flew by and I asked her what it was called in Spanish.

"Grua," She replied. Soon after that she continued on her way.

At around 6:30, it began to get cold and the clouds had ended the sunset early. So I went to the public bathrooms, paid dos quetzales for my share of toilet paper, and then headed in the direction of my hostel. The streets that had been bustling with pedestrians and vendors had turned into a ghost town, so I flagged down a tuc tuc for a ride home.

I packed up, wound down, chatted with Craig, and got some sleep before my early morning shuttle to the airport.

My host sister, Daniella, liked to ask about English words and phrases that she saw on signs and TV. One phrase she asked about was THE END.

Guatemala: Day 9 - Panajachel Part 2

January 17th (Still)

At 1:30 on Sunday, I thought for sure I had made it to my destination, Panajachel. I was in the center of a city and caught sight of a few street signs. I looked for these signs on my map, but couldn't find them. I saw a sign pointing to the beach and decided to go for it.

By the time I realized that the city I was in probably WASN'T Panajachel, I was in too deep and walking on a road with no turnoffs. I could turn back, but that would require me to head back uphill and I figured it just couldn't be that far, right? But after some more walking, I saw a billboard advertising some place in Panajachel that was 5k away. I convinced myself that this would mean that the beginning of the city would be closer. So, I continued to walk on the side of a reasonably busy, winding road, with the occasional drainage that I could walk in for added protection. This wouldn't be so bad if:
a) Chicken buses weren't flying past every 10-15 minutes.
b) I wasn't walking in flip flops that had already taken me 3 miles to the bus that morning.
c) I wasn't battling a mild cold.
d) I weren't in the middle of some problemas femininas and in need of more, ahem, equipment.
e) It hadn't been 5 hours since I'd last peed.
f) There weren't random dead animals in my path.

dead snake

There were some silver linings: I was going DOWNhill. The weather was nice and it was daylight. Plus, I occasionally caught view of the lake.

Lake Atitlan, Guatemala

Eventually, I arrived at a little area with souvenir stands. I asked a man if taxis would stop there. He said yes. So I waited. I flagged a couple of taxis and the drivers looked at me, but didn't stop. After 15 minutes of this, I continue onward.

Finally, there was a turnoff! I headed down this road and saw children playing soccer and some roosters milling about. I saw a church and thought this was a good sign because it was probably the city center. I continued walking, determined to make it to the lake. I ended up at a dead end with a sign telling me I was on private property. I headed back UPhill to the church to look for signs that might tell me where I was. I learned from a man in the church that I was in Santa Cruz, which is so small that it doesn't even have road signs, not even on Google maps. There was a church, a bunch of guys playing soccer, some roosters, and a view of the lake that I couldn't seem to reach. 

I asked the man at the church if taxis would come to this area and he said yes. I asked how long and he said 10 minutes. So I waited. After 15 minutes a taxi passed by. I flagged the driver and he continued to drive. I even waited an extra 10 minutes in hopes that he would loop back around after dropping off a passenger. He did not.

So I continued to climb back UPhill to the main road again. After another hour of walking, I arrived at another turnoff. There were billboards for hotels, so I felt a bit more optimistic. There was also this sign:

But if I followed that sign, I would have had to continue on the main road. So instead, I walked down a quiet road, lined with small houses and people working on farms. I saw the lake, but again couldn't get to it. I passed a sign for Reserva Natural Atitlan, which would have been intriguing if I weren't so desperately in need of a bed (and a toilet). But I reached another dead end. So I turned around for the millionth time. At this point it was nearly 5 pm and I resigned myself to becoming a Guatemalan vagrant.

But on the way back, I passed a big fancy hotel and a tuc-tuc (aka mini taxi) pulled into the parking lot. I ran over and asked for a ride to my hostel. 

tuc tucs

And for 10 quetzales (less than $1.50), I received a ride to my hostel. When all was said and done, it turned out I was in the main city of Solala and walked 6-7 miles to the tuc tuc, which should have been a 10-minute chicken bus ride if I had known I needed to take one more bus.

My hike from Solala to Hotel Atitlan, with a 1 mile detour in Santa Cruz

The final stretch of less than 2 miles that I completed via tuc tuc.

Around 6 pm, I arrived at the hostel, relaxed for a little bit, and found some food. I also figured out that I could take a shuttle directly from the hostel to the airport on Tuesday. And I learned this from someone speaking English, so I was pretty sure it was true. I booked a second night in Panajachel, planning to have an exceptionally relaxing day on Monday. 

Guatemala: Day 9 - Panajachel Part 1

January 17

I left the house shortly after 9:00 am on Sunday. I had a bit of a walk to get to the bus station that would take me to Panajachel, Lake Atitlan, based on the conversation I had with one of the employees of the school. Of course, that means I had this conversation in Spanish, so all I knew for sure was that if I got to a specific spot on the map I had, there would be buses that could get me to Panajachel.

My family was surprised that I would be walking all the way there and offered to take me there on their moto. Riding on a motorcycle of any sort is not on my list of things to do, so I answered with a no gracias. I added, "Me gusta caminar" (I like to walk). I would be eating those words by the end of the day.

After making a couple of wrong turns, I was on the correct route to the bus station. I arrived at a main road and the first thing I noticed was lots of dogs everywhere along with their owners. Is this road a dog park? I asked and learned that this road was closed every Sunday until early afternoon. So people would take their dogs and go for runs and walks around the area. There was also a park where people were playing AMERICAN football.

Soon I arrived at the market that I knew was close to the bus station. This area was stuffed with people and fresh fruits and vegetables. I wasn't sure what street I was on and just pushed my way through. People were advertising their goods left and right. At one point I even passed a man leading his 3 goats down the road, weaving in and out of the crowds. When I made it through the market, I hit the end of the road and realized I would have to circle around to get to the buses. So close, yet so far, I thought. Finally I arrived at the road and saw nothing but Chicken Buses. Ugh! I thought I would be getting on one of the nice buses! I circled around once more just to make sure that I was in fact destined to take a Chicken Bus for my long trip to Panajachel.

Photo of chicken buses, courtesy of Chrissypants

Luckily, I took a couple of Chicken Bus trips during the week for our short trips with the school. Chicken Buses are refurbished repainted school buses from the United States. They are infamous for being a little crazy, a little unsafe, and quite the experience.

I walked through this street filled with dozens of Chicken Buses, people, and trash. As I strolled along the side of the street, I wondered why there was so much trash in this area. My thoughts were interrupted, and answered, when a Gatorade bottle came flying out of a bus window and almost hit me in the head.

I got on a bus that would supposedly take me to Panajachel and squeezed in with a lady. People walked through the aisles selling snacks and drinks, frequently entering through the front door and jumping out the emergency exit in the back. A woman carried her son, who had obvious disabilities, asking for money for a surgery her son needed (personally, I'm pretty sure there was no such surgery). I asked the lady next to me if this bus was going to Panajachel, just to get some reassurance, but she said this bus was only going to some city I didn't know.  I talked with the driver, but didn't understand much of the exchange and got off the bus. After a couple more failed interactions, I realized that there weren't any buses going directly to Panajachel on Sunday and I would have to change somewhere. So I settled into the very back of a 2nd bus with a man, where more salespeople came walking through, including the woman with her son.

A curvy woman with twice my hips and thrice my bosom came down the aisle. Where does she think she's going? I was sharing my seat with a man and the seat next to me contained a woman and her 3 children. I realized with slight horror that she was heading towards my seat. She asked if we could slide over, so we spared her a few inches. She wedged herself somewhat between my seat and the seat with the family of 4. She even managed to nap during the trip, which I found quite impressive. If I had attempted such a feat, I surely would have gone flying down the aisle. I talked with her for a little bit and learned that she was going to Panajachel because her father was ill and it looked bad for him. I frowned and said "lo siento", but inside I was giving myself a little pat on the back for understanding her.

Meanwhile, throughout the trip, a man walked up and down the bus to collect fares from everyone as they settled in. He jumped on and off the bus, even when it was moving. Within seconds of people boarding the bus, the driver ramped back up to full speed while the other man climbed through the emergency exit door and up to the roof to stow luggage. You know all those movies where people are climbing on moving trains and buses and cars and you think, "This is not at all realistic." Well, I now find these actions much more believable, because I saw it with my own eyes. This, by the way, is why I opted to keep my things crammed at my feet.

After a couple hours, I knew we should be close to my destination, so I asked the man how much farther to my change for Panajachel. He said, "Ahora! Aqui!" and ushered me quickly off the bus as it arrived at the stop. After I stepped off the bus the man quickly helped new people get on and stow luggage. As he was mid-transaction with a potential rider, the bus started to pull away. He gasped, ran, and jumped on the back of the bus as money flew out of his hand.

I got on my second bus, which was much more relaxing in comparison. I talked with a young woman next to me and learned she was a teacher. When she learned I was from Arizona, I caught the change in her facial expression, obviously aware of some of Arizona's lovely laws. Luckily she didn't judge me based on the opinions of my entire state, and we continued to converse. She also pointed out when I was supposed to get off the bus.

Around 1:30, I left the bus and I was in Panajachel. My adventures were over. Or so I thought. I was wrong.

Guatemala: Day 8 - Last Night in Xela

For my last night in Xela, Chris and I agreed it would be nice to treat our family to dinner and dessert. I mentioned that pizza was kind of a specialty dinner here and that Dominos was the popular place to go. Chris hasn't given up her NY snobbery about pizza and thought Dominos would be way lame.

However, I talked with Danilo and he instantly requested pizza (which he and the rest of the family all know to be his favorite food.) And followed up with saying to go to Dominos. "Told you!" I said to Chris. We tried to explain how people feel about Dominos in NY, but it didn't matter much.

Before dinner, Chris and I also got a bottle of wine,  a bottle of beer, a yummy-looking cake, and some other pastries.

We asked when they would like to have dinner and they said 7. We said that we would leave for pizza around 6:30, but Danilo added that Glendi could take Chris on the moto at 7. So dinner at 7 became go leave to get dinner at 7, which really means 7:15, which means when all is said and done dinner will be at 8. Ish.

But when we finally sat down for dinner, we had such a nice time chatting and eating. They enjoy kidding around and they seem to be an all-around happy family. Because of the restaurant, this was the only meal we all sat down to together other than the Chinese food on our first night. After pizza and beer, I brought out the treats, which were even yummier than they looked. The cake was called tres leches and the pastry was called mil hojas.

And after this began the vino challenge. When we bought the wine, I knew there was a chance the family wouldn't have a corkscrew. But I asked Danilo if they had anything and he said yes. Then he banged the bottle bottom on the wall a couple times. I thought he was being silly. He WAS being silly, but he was also showing me how he planned to open the wine. This didn't work, so we brainstormed some other methods.

I brought out my spork, my tweezers, and my knitting needles. We opted for the knitting needle. We hammered it into the cork, in hopes to create a hole. But then the needle was stuck. Like, super stuck. Like, so stuck that Danilo got his drill to pull it out. Which worked. And a little bit of wine came with it so we thought we had succeeded. Sadly no more wine came out. Danilo tried drilling into the cork with a drill bit, but finally we opted for using the hammer and another tool to push the cork into the wine. Which was perfectly fine and we enjoyed our well-earned beverage.

Drills, knitting needles, and wine.

The night turned into a nice little celebration. Danilo played his xylophone while Pablo played his child-size version. We also shared our facebook names (which was a good chance for me to see how much can be seen by people who have no real connection to me at all) and looked at photos. Glendi told me to tell mi esposo that I would be staying longer in Guatemala. At first I misunderstood and said, "si!"

We wound down around ten, with Cheetos the kitten cuddled into Chris's knee. Usually he sleeps in the garage type area with the dog, but he was so cute we let him stay. Until he decided it was time to play all over me at 2:30 in the morning.

I woke up, showered, and ate some more dessert for breakfast. Glendi made some coffee and gave me a pair of earrings she made. Soon after I was off to Panajachel, which is another adventure that I'll be saving to share for another day.

Adios, Xela! :-(

P.S.

Dear Mom and Dad,

Our Christine is safe and sound. We met lots of nice people at the school who will take good care of her. AND several of them will be heading to the mountain school at the same time as her! I believe I left her in good hands.

Guatemala: Days 6, 7, and 8

Today is Saturday, my last full day in Xela. I began the day by going to the restaurant, Gran Luna, with the family. Then I ran a quick errand to the school. There is a man, Amaro, who works with the school and he leads most of the trips. During these trips he also shares some history of Guatemala. There has been a lot of corruption and violence over the past century. Things are calm right now, but far from better. A new president just took office this week, which is a big deal. People feel hopeful, but also see that he is probably not much more than a puppet.

Amaro experienced a lot of this firsthand. He is in his fifties now, but as a child his father was captured and tortured. When he escaped, they went to Mexico to stay safe for awhile. Now Amaro and his father are back in Guatemala and Amaro stays very busy working as an activist. He sells shirts for the activist organization so that they can raise money. So I went to the school today to get one.

Then I returned to the restaurant for breakfast and a few games of Connectivo Cuatro. Pablo is still understanding the game, Daniela is a decent opponent for me, and Danilo is a tough competitor. I asked if he plays chess, which he does, because he is very good at seeing many moves into the future. He asked if I play too, but I said no because I can't think ahead.

Today is also a special day because there were two women at the restaurant making fresh tortillas. I asked Daniela, " Hacen las tortillas cado sabado?" "No," she said. " Hoy la primera vez!" So it was neat to watch them get set up and go through the process of making tortillas to sell.

Ahora, Chris is at the libreria, but I opted for sitting on the couch with the cat and Pablo as he watches Looney Toons in Espanol. The reason being: I am so sore! On Thursday, we had a nice trip to Zunil, which is where they have a special saint that likes to drink and smoke, so you pray to him by pouring rum in his throat and lighting a cigarette.

Church in Zunil

We saw one of the more popular churches and then went to a popular market. This is the place to go for fresh fruits and vegetables. I decided to ignore my mild allergies to avocados and buy a couple because they are a lot different here (don't worry, I made sure to only eat a little and share the rest, so I am still alive and well).

Market

River with a random sheep

I had a nice amount of energy on Thursday, so Spanish instruction went well. I simply cannot believe how much Spanish I have learned in a week and I MUST continue to improve in the states! My instructor is quite tough on me and I still know there is much to learn. But I like how I am at the point where I can go on tangents with her and discuss politics, schools, and of course my cats (all in Espanol).

After instruction I experienced one of the top highlights of my week: getting to play futbol! The school hosts a weekly game with students from the school and a few Guatemalans connected to the school. Chris only had leather, tough-soled boots, but I convinced her to join. We divided into three teams and cycled in and out. It was fun to play with the gringos and a few people who are really, really good at soccer. Chris held her own and she finally got to get me back for all the years I beat on her in childhood. We went head-to-head a couple time and she got me in the leg with her shoes. The bruises I have now don't do justice to how much it hurt that night! I also got to score a couple goals. Woo! Long story short, it was a blast, but my body is still not happy about it.

Yesterday went quickly. I wandered around the city, had my last day of Spanish, and participated in making dinner for that evening's community meal. I only did the first hour, where I helped prepare string beans and other veggies. That night's meal was chicken with rice and a special sauce, which apparently contained all the veggies: string beans, onions, garlic, cilantro, tomatoes, carrots, and probably more that I am forgetting. Kind of makes me realize that I am not taking advantage of my food processor enough. That night was the community meal and the graduation for those of us who are leaving.

It is bittersweet for me. I am excited to be back home with my Craig and my cats, but it will be hard to stay goodbye to the people I grew to know well in this short busy week. I am glad that I got to experience this with Chris because we will have these shared memories for the future. She pointed out that this was the first time we EVER went to the same school!

I hope to find time to talk more about the little things I have observed during this week. But for now, I am totally watching Back to the Future in Spanish. Adios!

Guatemala: Day 5

Everyone, I'm sure, has put themselves into situations that could have become much worse. Most of the time, everything turns out okay, but sometimes it doesn't. This ran through my mind on Wednesday when I realized I was lost in Xela.

Earlier in the week, my host mother Glendi asked if I wanted to run up the nearby mountain, so we decided to do this on Wednesday morning. Danilo joined us and we left at 6:30, mas o menos. The run was all uphill and it turned out that Danilo and Glendi were not as into running as I was hoping. They told me to just run ahead, so I did. I hadn't a clue what road I was on or if there was a well-marked end, and if so, how far it was. So I ran and ran and walked and ran some more. I was in a time crunch to go on a trip at 8:15, but I was determined to make it.

I crossed paths with many hardcore-looking runners, which was pretty neat. I made it to the top, eventually. Woo! I didn't have time to relax though, so I snapped some photos and was off back down the hill.

I rejoined with Danilo and Glendi. We ran and walked on and off for a little while, but since they knew I was in a bit of a rush, they sent me off to get home.

I immediately thought that this was probably not the smartest decision, but I knew that where the road up the mountain begins was not far from the house. So I flew down the mountain, or felt that way until I passed a man running faster up the road than I was running down. I got back into the city and was immediately on alert for landmarks to help me get home. At first everything was familiar and then suddenly it wasn't. So I backtracked, but that wasn't helping. I was lost.

I continued to run around the area in hopes of seeing something familiar, but it was a fruitless endeavor. I was now in a slight state of panic and telling myself that I'm not THAT lost and there are plenty of people around and it won't be the end of the world if I miss the trip.

But the other half of my brain screamed at me about how any of these people could be dangerous and I could be way farther than I think and the family will get home before me and think I was abducted and Chris won't know where I am and she might miss the trip too and it will be all my fault.

Breath, Laura, breath.

So I started asking people, "Donde esta dos Calle?" "Where is street 2?" This didn't help, because Chris informed me later that we live on segunda Calle... 2nd St. But all was not lost. I live close to a big supercado called La Torre. So I asked an adorable older woman "Donde esta La Torre?" And she explained the turns I needed to make.

The supermercado was in view within 5 minutes. I really wasn't THAT lost after all. I made it to our street, without a clue what time it was, and then saw Chris walking towards the house. It turned out the trip wasn't until 8:30 so when Chris saw no one was there yet she first headed to the restaurant, which was still closed, and then back home. So I had all of 5 minutes to get myself ready and head back to school for the trip.

The rest of the day was rough; after the run that turned out to be 6-7 miles, we went for a hike up to a sauna. My breakfast was a fun sized Milky Way and a granola bar. By lunch, tengo mucho hambre. I can't remember what I had (I think it was pollo quiche or Chile relleno), but I know it was delicious.

After desayuno, I went home to try to nap. Chris actually got to fall asleep, but I opted for cuddling with the kitten, which made sleeping impossible. Then we were rushing off to class at 2. Being exhausted BEFORE five hours of intensive 1:1 Spanish instruction is not a good sign. So I invited her to walk with me to get some treats. We visited the church and the government building nearby. Then I found a place to buy coca cola, m&ms and sour gummy worms. I also treated my maestra, Mariella, to a drink. We have an infinite supply of coffee at the school, but I drank so much of it on Tuesday that I desired an alternate source of caffeine.

With help for soda, dulces, and a walk, I made it through Spanish and forced myself to get a good night's sleep.

It is already Friday as I write this and there is much more to share. But for now I must go. Tengo hacer mi tirea!