Hola hola hola...
Okay, so first of all sorry I haven't blogged for two weeks. I barely have time to get the stuff done that I HAVE to get done. Plus my computadora doesn't connect to the internet in my house (no idea why), so I can only get online when I am at school, in clase (which I do occasionally, but whatevs...) Sometimes (like now) I borrow someone's computer that does work, but I feel bad doing that. Anyway, lots to tell, so I better get to it.
School is easy (or I am just really inteligente). lol. I am pretty sure it's just easy. My typical dia goes like this: wake up around 7:15-7:30, eat desayuno, go to my Magical Realism class from 9-11, then from 11-1 I have Contrastive Grammatical Structures in Ingles and Espanol, then we come home to eat lunch. After lunch I usually hang out for a lil while, take a siesta, read, or do homework. Then, I have my Cultura class from 5-7. Dinner is at 7:30. Then we usually chat, study, read, or lo que sea until I go to bed at anywhere between 10:30-12 depending on how much homework I have.
My magical realism class is getting better, but holy shit...some days I just can't stand it. My amigo Pedro is in it with me and we just look at each other and take off our watches. The first half of the class, everyday, is what we like to call "el discurso de Blanc" or Blanc's discourse, which could consist of anything from talking about the road conditions here in Guate to ranting about the economic problems facing the university and the state of California. After he's done with that, we make a round about to the literature we are studying--which is fantastic. I can't wait until the day I get to teach literature (not that I don't love teach grammar and vocab, but...).
The grammar class is a joke for me. I got a perfect score on the midterm. It's during this class that I get online. The professor is bien chistoso, so he makes it tolerable. He is retired but still manages to do this programa because he likes it so much. He makes all kinds of funny (and weird) examples accompanied by some very strange groans. :) My friend Miguel is in that class with me so we joke about it all the time.
Finally, I go to my Guatemalan Culture class, which is okay. I do actually learn a lot in that class, although his presentation skills could use some work. It's a lot of informacion presented in a pure, stand-up lecture. BORING! The best part of the class are jueves and viernes when we either watch a peli or have a guest author come talk to us. So far, I have met Enrique Noriega, Ana Maria Rodas, and Rigoberta Menchu. The first two are poets, and Menchu is an activist/writer who will probably be the first woman president of Guatemala and the first indigenous one, as well. My favorito is Ana Maria Rodas. I looooved her. My friends were making fun of me because I loved her so much. They said I was like a kid in a candy store because if you don't know already, I am a giant nerd when it comes to poesia espanola and a sort of feminist. :) Well...put those two things together and you get Ana Maria Rodas. She was inspiracional. Menchu was a little bit bigger deal though because she won THE Nobel Peace Prize for literature (although I was not impressed with her people skills...after her talk we were all lined to get autographs and she barely looked up and just kept saying "mas libros, mas libros").
The food is good. These last few days have been the first days since my arrival that I haven't had problems with my stomach. Stomach aches and other digestive issues ;) were pretty common among us all. We usually have something light for breakfast: yogurt, fruta, granola, etc. Lunch tends to be a little heavier with lots of soups and arroz and tortillas. Dinner is normal and ranges from eggs to chiles rellenos to pasta.
The weekend/night life is the best part. :) We go to a karoke bar every Tuesday, which is a lot of fun. We sing canciones in english and in spanish. Then we go out Friday and Saturday--usually a bailar (I need to take lessons, fo sho!!).
The first Saturday in Antigua, my friend and I went to a couple of small surrounding villiages. That was cool because there were NO tourists (well...apart from us), we watched the 3rd place game for the world cup, and just hung out. The following Sunday was the World Cup championship game (Espana won!), so we hung out all day watching the game.
This last Friday, we were going to go out after dinner, but plans changed. I went to take a little siesta before going out and the guys mistook that for me not wanting to go out anymore, so when I got to their room to get them, they were all in their camas. I was pissed!! I looked really guapa and had told my other amigas (with whom I do not live) that we would meet up with them. Well, I decided that I would go sola because two of my other girlfriends live like 3 houses down the street. No big deal. I can walk three houses by myself. So I left, but when I got there, they didn't want to walk at night without a man, so I turned back to go home. When I got back home, the guys asked me what was up, and I convinced one of them to come with me to get a bottle of Ron. He did, and so we just sat around, us four, playing poker (at which I kicked their culos!!)
Then Saturday we left for the playa. It was just okay. There wasn't a lot of sun, so I didn't get a tan or anything. The pacific coast is SUPER strong, and I was walking along the waves on the shore when a really strong one came and knocked me over...purse and all, so I was freaking out about my camera. Well...it stills works, but later that evening I went to use my iPod, which I had forgotten all about, but it doesn't work anymore. :( So I don't know what I am going to do when we have a 4-6 hour bus ride in a couple of weeks. I was not happy. Saturday night we just hung out and got eaten alive by mosquitoes. Sunday is rained all day so we couldn't really enjoy the beach. Oh well. It was still cool--the sand was negra because of all the surrounding volcanoes.
And that pretty much brings y'all up to speed. Tonight we are going to a hookah bar for my friend, Alex's, birthday. Tomorrow will be karoke night and the rest of the week is study time...til the weekend. :)
Hope all is well and let me tell you...I am NOT missing the hot, humid Midwestern summers. Its like spring time here (I am sitting here in jeans and a zip-up hoodie). awesome!
Monday, July 19, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
Just another day in paradise...
We made it to Antigua, Guatemala, which is my favorite city de centroamerica. It is so old has a european feel to it. It's nestled between three volcanes. I was a little nervous to meet our family because I just had no idea what to expect plus I was sad that the party would be over. :) I had made good friends with a few people and I thought that we wouldn't be able to see each other or hang out as much, but when we got to the escuela where we met our families, my amigo, Lalo, told me, "Kerri, you won't believe this! We are in the same casa!!" So not only am I with my roommate, but three other friends I made are in the same house!! I couldn't believe it. To give you an idea, we (and other people, too) call us "the four" because we were usually together. Then to find out we were in the same casa. I was SOO excited because it takes the pressure off a little and it fun to be around them.
Our house in incredible. It's called the "Casa Bonita." And it is. We have two floors with open air patios on both floors. There's an observation deck of sorts where we have a view of the volcanoes. Our familia isn't what I thought it would be. I was expecting something similar to Costa Rica but it's not--in fact, I am not even sure the woman actually lives here. Her nombre is Ana Lucia and she has a daughter, Paula, that is about 2 years old. We all have to share a bedroom and bathroom with at least one person, but it's not a big deal because they are very nice. MUCHO nicer than when I was in Costa Rica.
Yesterday was the 4 de julio. We started the day by taking a tour of the ciudad going in and out of the churches and some museums. We went to a Jade musuem that was very impressive. I LOVE it! The cool thing is is that jade is my color (for my eyes) and they had SOO much nice and beautiful jewelry. I wanted to buy it all. The only thing I ended up with (but no worries, I am going to go back before I go) was a neckalce with my Mayan symbol, which is I'X (or the jaguar). They have a calendario that you can look up your birthday and year to find your symbol and I was so impressed after I read my description, I had to buy something with it. I couldn't believe how much of it was me to the T.
It says about a I'X that "It is the day of feminine energy, of astuteness, daring, intelligence, and strong natural forces. It is a good day to seek protection for domestic and wild animals, and to ask for an abundant harvest, and for forgiveness for the explotation of Mother Nature. It is the day to give thanks for our home. Those born in I'X are careful, responsible, strong and vigorous. They are called to be AJQ'IJAB or spiritual guides and defenders of Mother Nature. They can be strategists, staticicians, and directors."
I also learned about the REAL Mayan 2012 idea. Basically, everything you've heard is wrong. The Mayas believed that the earth and its people live in cycles. The third ciclo ends in 2012, but another one begins. So no worries. :)
Anyway...I thought that was interesante. After that we went to a restaurants to have some drinks in honor of the 4th. Then, I came home and read and went to bed.
Today was our first day of clases and I still have one to go to from 5-7, but I had two of them already. The first one, and the one I was most excited for is probablemente going to be my least favorite. I love the idea but the professor seems like a piece of work, which I kind of already knew since we had spent the previous semana with him. He literally talked for 45 minutes about nothing--actually he talked about how everything he says connected some how to the ideas and that everything he says is importante to know. HA! Anyway...the other class is going to be VERY easy and fun, I think. :) Tonight I have my Guatemalan Culture class, for which I am excited but I didn't buy any of the libros for it because it said on the syllabus that we could find them easier in Antigua. Well...some of my friends went looking today when I was in class and they went to like 5 bookstores, including the one reccommened on the syllabus and they couldn't find them. So, I guess I will just have to wait and see what happens with that.
That's pretty much all I have. Hope everyone had a great dia de independencia. Hasta luego
Our house in incredible. It's called the "Casa Bonita." And it is. We have two floors with open air patios on both floors. There's an observation deck of sorts where we have a view of the volcanoes. Our familia isn't what I thought it would be. I was expecting something similar to Costa Rica but it's not--in fact, I am not even sure the woman actually lives here. Her nombre is Ana Lucia and she has a daughter, Paula, that is about 2 years old. We all have to share a bedroom and bathroom with at least one person, but it's not a big deal because they are very nice. MUCHO nicer than when I was in Costa Rica.
Yesterday was the 4 de julio. We started the day by taking a tour of the ciudad going in and out of the churches and some museums. We went to a Jade musuem that was very impressive. I LOVE it! The cool thing is is that jade is my color (for my eyes) and they had SOO much nice and beautiful jewelry. I wanted to buy it all. The only thing I ended up with (but no worries, I am going to go back before I go) was a neckalce with my Mayan symbol, which is I'X (or the jaguar). They have a calendario that you can look up your birthday and year to find your symbol and I was so impressed after I read my description, I had to buy something with it. I couldn't believe how much of it was me to the T.
It says about a I'X that "It is the day of feminine energy, of astuteness, daring, intelligence, and strong natural forces. It is a good day to seek protection for domestic and wild animals, and to ask for an abundant harvest, and for forgiveness for the explotation of Mother Nature. It is the day to give thanks for our home. Those born in I'X are careful, responsible, strong and vigorous. They are called to be AJQ'IJAB or spiritual guides and defenders of Mother Nature. They can be strategists, staticicians, and directors."
I also learned about the REAL Mayan 2012 idea. Basically, everything you've heard is wrong. The Mayas believed that the earth and its people live in cycles. The third ciclo ends in 2012, but another one begins. So no worries. :)
Anyway...I thought that was interesante. After that we went to a restaurants to have some drinks in honor of the 4th. Then, I came home and read and went to bed.
Today was our first day of clases and I still have one to go to from 5-7, but I had two of them already. The first one, and the one I was most excited for is probablemente going to be my least favorite. I love the idea but the professor seems like a piece of work, which I kind of already knew since we had spent the previous semana with him. He literally talked for 45 minutes about nothing--actually he talked about how everything he says connected some how to the ideas and that everything he says is importante to know. HA! Anyway...the other class is going to be VERY easy and fun, I think. :) Tonight I have my Guatemalan Culture class, for which I am excited but I didn't buy any of the libros for it because it said on the syllabus that we could find them easier in Antigua. Well...some of my friends went looking today when I was in class and they went to like 5 bookstores, including the one reccommened on the syllabus and they couldn't find them. So, I guess I will just have to wait and see what happens with that.
That's pretty much all I have. Hope everyone had a great dia de independencia. Hasta luego
Friday, July 2, 2010
Otra, otra noche otra
Since it´s been a couple of days since I had enough tiempo (and a good enough internet connection) to blog, I have a few things to tell you all--and it´s been such a busy/tiring few days, it all sort of runs together and I have no idea what the actual days were. HA! All I know is that today is viernes.
After Atitlan we had a 3 hour bus ride to Chichicastenango--but we only traveled about 40 kilometros. My point is that we are going up and down and around montañas, so the driving isn´t so great but I have good conversations on the bus so it makes the time go by more quickly. Something that is different than when I studied in Costa Rica is that when we were not in classes or out with other spanish speakers, we didn´t normally speak spanish--here, I only speak spanish (the truth is that, now, I have to think about what I am going to say in ingles).
Chichicastenango
After our arrival, we had a nice cena and then we had a littel fiesta with my group of friends--there´s about 10 or so that I hang with...and of those 10, maybe 3-4 that I am usually always with. It was a very fun noche. I stayed up too late and had a little too much ron but I figure that, after this week when we start clases, I am going to have to be a hermit, so I am going to make this week count.
The next day we went to visit a church where we saw paganism of the mayas and the catholicism of the españoles all in one lugar. It was a catholic church that during their masses, the mayas conducted their pagan rituals at the same time in the middle isle. It was interesting. After the church, we went to this cementary/ceremonial spot where along side the burials sites we ceremonial sites that were used to give offerings to their gods/spirits. It basically a fire that they tend to as they are putting stuff in it as a sacrafice. The bigger the need, the bigger the sacrafice. They don´t sacrafice people, but they do sacrafice animales, which I am happy to say that I did NOT see. But, that, too, was interesante. Finally, we got to go SHOPPING!! :) Chichicastenango has the biggest mercado in Guatemala. It was HUGE! I bought a lot of cute stuff for very little dinero. The most interesting thing I bought (and that I can tell you because most of the things I bought were gifts) was a traditional get-up: a huipil, which is basically a shirt, a corte, a skirt, and a faja, a belt. One of my amigas got one with me...we figured it would be a good idea to get them so we could actually show our students the culture instead of just talking about it. After the market, we drove another two hours (mas o menos) to arrive to Quetzaltenango. Again, good conversation, bad driving.
Quetzaltenango
For dinner in Quetzaltenango we thought that it would be divertido if we wore our traditional dress to dinner to surprise people, so...we did. It was very gracioso, and I think we actually looked pretty darn guapas. After dinner, we had another fun-filled night with most of my possi. We went dancing with our guide, Oscar, who is something like 50 years old but SO SO asombrante. We went to a discoteca and we bailamos mucho until about 1 or 2 in the morning. It was typical latino music and we danced the cumbia, merenque, etc. Oscar, taught us all how to mooove--well mainly just me because the rest of them are nativos and already know how. :)
Finally, today we had to drive 4 kilometros to the pueblito we visited. That drive turned into a 2 hour viaje...for 4 km. We have a charter bus, but the streets in these towns are not made for them!! We got stuck. They had to call the centro de transportacion to help us. After about 45 min or so waiting on the bus, we shuffled off and loaded into 4 minivans. There was 16 people in mine, and when I say minivan, that is what I mean. That was fun! After we got there, the vistas were breathtaking and it was like going back to pre-colombian days, but with carros and some electricidad. It was a little village that cultivated everything for themselves and we saw the hills full of people working. You´ve all seen the fotos...feilds scattered with indios covered from head to toe to protect from the sol with hoe in hand working away. That´s exactly what I saw today. It was a little surreal because it was so similar to what I had imagined.
After our morning trip, we came back to the hotel to for lunch and some descanso. I was tired so I didn´t go to our afternoon outing. I stayed behind with some people to read (boring, right??? but we have SOO much to read). And now...I am about to go to dinner and despues, a bailar again. :)
Tomorrow we are going to Antigua to meet our familias, but I think we have something like 6 or 9 horas on the bus, so..ugh. I am ready to start the real deal, but am sad because I have been having so much fun and now it has to be limited to the weekends. Oh well. Asi es.
That´s all for now. Next time, I will be talking about my classes, and hopefully what a relief it is to know that they aren´t going to be that hard.
Adios. (And for those of you that know spanish, please excuse my lack of accentos. This keyboard is driving me loca and I have no idea how to get them.) :)
After Atitlan we had a 3 hour bus ride to Chichicastenango--but we only traveled about 40 kilometros. My point is that we are going up and down and around montañas, so the driving isn´t so great but I have good conversations on the bus so it makes the time go by more quickly. Something that is different than when I studied in Costa Rica is that when we were not in classes or out with other spanish speakers, we didn´t normally speak spanish--here, I only speak spanish (the truth is that, now, I have to think about what I am going to say in ingles).
Chichicastenango
After our arrival, we had a nice cena and then we had a littel fiesta with my group of friends--there´s about 10 or so that I hang with...and of those 10, maybe 3-4 that I am usually always with. It was a very fun noche. I stayed up too late and had a little too much ron but I figure that, after this week when we start clases, I am going to have to be a hermit, so I am going to make this week count.
The next day we went to visit a church where we saw paganism of the mayas and the catholicism of the españoles all in one lugar. It was a catholic church that during their masses, the mayas conducted their pagan rituals at the same time in the middle isle. It was interesting. After the church, we went to this cementary/ceremonial spot where along side the burials sites we ceremonial sites that were used to give offerings to their gods/spirits. It basically a fire that they tend to as they are putting stuff in it as a sacrafice. The bigger the need, the bigger the sacrafice. They don´t sacrafice people, but they do sacrafice animales, which I am happy to say that I did NOT see. But, that, too, was interesante. Finally, we got to go SHOPPING!! :) Chichicastenango has the biggest mercado in Guatemala. It was HUGE! I bought a lot of cute stuff for very little dinero. The most interesting thing I bought (and that I can tell you because most of the things I bought were gifts) was a traditional get-up: a huipil, which is basically a shirt, a corte, a skirt, and a faja, a belt. One of my amigas got one with me...we figured it would be a good idea to get them so we could actually show our students the culture instead of just talking about it. After the market, we drove another two hours (mas o menos) to arrive to Quetzaltenango. Again, good conversation, bad driving.
Quetzaltenango
For dinner in Quetzaltenango we thought that it would be divertido if we wore our traditional dress to dinner to surprise people, so...we did. It was very gracioso, and I think we actually looked pretty darn guapas. After dinner, we had another fun-filled night with most of my possi. We went dancing with our guide, Oscar, who is something like 50 years old but SO SO asombrante. We went to a discoteca and we bailamos mucho until about 1 or 2 in the morning. It was typical latino music and we danced the cumbia, merenque, etc. Oscar, taught us all how to mooove--well mainly just me because the rest of them are nativos and already know how. :)
Finally, today we had to drive 4 kilometros to the pueblito we visited. That drive turned into a 2 hour viaje...for 4 km. We have a charter bus, but the streets in these towns are not made for them!! We got stuck. They had to call the centro de transportacion to help us. After about 45 min or so waiting on the bus, we shuffled off and loaded into 4 minivans. There was 16 people in mine, and when I say minivan, that is what I mean. That was fun! After we got there, the vistas were breathtaking and it was like going back to pre-colombian days, but with carros and some electricidad. It was a little village that cultivated everything for themselves and we saw the hills full of people working. You´ve all seen the fotos...feilds scattered with indios covered from head to toe to protect from the sol with hoe in hand working away. That´s exactly what I saw today. It was a little surreal because it was so similar to what I had imagined.
After our morning trip, we came back to the hotel to for lunch and some descanso. I was tired so I didn´t go to our afternoon outing. I stayed behind with some people to read (boring, right??? but we have SOO much to read). And now...I am about to go to dinner and despues, a bailar again. :)
Tomorrow we are going to Antigua to meet our familias, but I think we have something like 6 or 9 horas on the bus, so..ugh. I am ready to start the real deal, but am sad because I have been having so much fun and now it has to be limited to the weekends. Oh well. Asi es.
That´s all for now. Next time, I will be talking about my classes, and hopefully what a relief it is to know that they aren´t going to be that hard.
Adios. (And for those of you that know spanish, please excuse my lack of accentos. This keyboard is driving me loca and I have no idea how to get them.) :)
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