speak up! i'm in the caldera!

 

 

 

 

so i did it. i conquered paçaya. it probably wouldn't have been such a taxing ordeal except i unfortunately encountered some very unpleasant symptoms on the way to the volcano. we were packed into a travel van and i was the one guy that had to ride sideways on a raised partition in the van and not in a seat. so that coupled with some sudden head and stomach malaise had me tasting that saltiness in my mouth and looking real pale. but good ol zanman couldn't be beat and i trekked those 3km straight up and found myself motivating those who weren't as quite steadfast in hiking strength as yours truly. i started whistling europe's final countdown during a particularly steep climb and one by one, about 12 people started humming, beatboxing, and singing along. a british woman behing me asked "who started that round of the final countdown?" i said "i didn't know but wasn't it sweet?" anyway, we had a real good group of young folks that traveled pretty well save these two nurses from philly who kinda flipped the switch once we were traversing through loose dried magma and minor cuts and bruises were starting to amplify. but the cool thing was, we had this guide josé who selectively spoke english and i think he just ignored the complaints; he just plainly said "it's ok, ven, ven arriba, ok?" also, all the folks that couldn't hang with the hiking could pay 50Q, like 6 bucks, to ride a horse...which in my weakened condition would have been nice, but i wasn't about to be the only guy on a horse. it was fairly lame that fog and and low cloud cover hindered the view a bit but there definitely was lava seeping out here and there. one guy's shoes starting melting. what a wuss! the other crazy thing was, since we headed back around 7:30, it was basically pitch dark as we went down this steep mountain. so if you plan on taking a trip to an active volcano, i could probably give you some pointers....it was kinda great because the guide would just nonchalantly point to all the places we could easily die if we stepped wrong or went too close to this or strayed from the group in anyway. but for $10 i wouldn't be holding hands and giving back rubs either. today i haven't eaten much but i am feeling better. i'd hate to think because a teaspoon of tap water got in my mouth in the shower i could be reduced to this fragile wimp, but so goes being american. saludos.

me afeité

 

not much to report, yes i shaved...and i postponed my afternoon classes today for a trek to the volcano paçaya. check this out: for about $10 you get transportation, armed security, a tour and historical account of the volcano and i think a jello snack pack. i´m kidding about the jello, but i can't even look at armed security in the states without dropping a benji! welcome to bargain living, i'll be your host...and i'm giving out coup's.

la escuela sevilla

 

alright, from the top left you have the school's courtyard, i included a picture with a vantage to the entry from the street (don´t ask me why) a sign for the school (that seemed fitting) a fountain that they sometimes have running, a pingpong table they just had to dowse with baking soda because i was on fire! (and incidentally, it was a grease fire), a picture with me and Flor my morning instructor, a statue that is the centerpiece of the courtyard, my afternoon instructor juán josé, and a picture of a lightpost just in case you thought classic architecture and nightime illumination was the stuff dreams were made of.

what has gotten into me? i study, i take good notes, i ask for more homework and i try to extrapolate on what i've already learned...now that is the stuff that a good student is made of and i haven't felt this way since probably.... getting promoted at work. it's the kind of kick in the pantalones that i need from time to time to let me know what i'm capable of...which as of right now isn't all that much, but patience....i'm coming along.

hope all is well with everyone, i've only told people that are important in my life about this site, so if you're reading this, then that's you! feel free to post comments or ask questions, because i only get so much enjoyment from my own creations. for example, i cut up all the fruit the other day at lunch (mango, papaya, pineapple, watermelon) and it was only when another student kept getting more that i knew those chunks i chopped were fueling that young go-getter's appetite like a scab to a leach. in other words, let's get some bloody feedback. ¡hasta luego!

la semana santa

 

The Holy Week has been bringing folks in droves. Most of the tourists look to be from other latin american countries, primarily mexico. I heard somewhere that guatemala is to mexico what mexico is to the u.s. i suppose it's the cheap vacation destination to the south. but antigua is more like a mini-mecca for latinos and processions and catholic traditions are blowing up everywhere. in these photos you can kinda see una alfombra que esta construyendo. Literally meaning "carpet," people spend hours upon hours building these ornate banners on the streets of antigua. They start with forms and fill them with sawdust. Next, they fill in the background colors (also sawdust) which have been predyed and use stencils to create patterns and beautiful designs. they spray the alfombra with water to keep the wind from blowing one color onto another. the finished product is awesome but often only lasts a few fleeting hours before a procession with religious scenery, incense and a marching band destroys it and a clean up crew follows and scoops the remaining mess into a bulldozer or truck. Some of these artforms are made with grass, flowers, fruit and wooden shapes, but the sawdust ones seem to be the most popular and most labor intensive. i included this picture of jesus (post-lashing) because it kind of freaked me out...not the blood so much as the real hair on the messiah. Anyway, i´ve been trying to get used to the looks i've been getting. i don't think they're so much centered around me being foreign, but being tall and foreign. So i've been just doing what i do, except i haven't exactly perfected sarcasm in spanish quite yet. hay un reto nuevo.

this is antigua

 

i know what you´re thinking. you´re thinking, hey! there are parts of my town that look like that. well, do the people in your town live with a spider monkey and buy cocaine in big straws like pixie stix at the nearest tienda? well, we don´t either, but i do live with a cocker spaniel named tifani and you can buy actual pixie stix-like things with unrefined sugar.

i think all this cobblestone walking is gonna have me as surefooted as a three legged mountain goat when i return. speaking of walking, there are 2 volcanos close by. un volcan de agua y un volcan de fuego. the first volcano is smaller and kinda like the kiddie pool of volcanos. the second, is an active volcano that is much taller and a much more ambitious trek. i think i´ll start with the mini volcan one of these weekends. those pics will drop here first folks! (forgive the repeated pics in the collage, i didn´t realize it could assemble 9 pics in one)

where i stay at

 
 
 
 

i live in a house with a family of 5 and 3 other students (2 are dutch, 1 is german, the family is guatemalan). i have my own room and share the bathroom with the other students. Like clockwork, meals are served at 7am, 1pm and 7pm. all the food is fantastic and hasn´t ruptured any gaskets if you know what i mean. one thing worth mentioning is, all liquids besides coffee and tea are room temp (including showers). this makes for less/more refreshing experiences depending on which you´re doing. The school i attend is only about 5 minutes walking away, i'll have more on that soon. God bless the US $dollar, almost 8:1 to the Queztal. Sweet economy got me livin like a G, this is less than $100 in this pic. With Easter this week, Antigua is erupting with tourists and other visitors checking out the daily processions and other traditions. I´ll be taking more pics soon as well.

the departed part 1

 

farewell america,

it was an anticlimactic departure with the pops, but deep down we both were feeling real emotional, i'm sure.

on a sidedish, what is it about flying that makes you watch people as if the plane has already crash landed and you have to immediately survey the passengers aboard for the most preferable to repopulate that deserted island, frosty glacier, or even gravely parking lot? It's always a sad day when that well kept 60 year old flight attendant is your number one option and you start actually hoping the flight reaches its destination. For some reason, i also look at my calf down to my ankle and think about it being one hell of a drumstick!