So, you want a guy...o?

I am really digging this travelling alone thing. At first it seemed daunting and frightening but now I am thriving. I can now easily strike up conversation with strangers especially with other foreigners. It's usually breaking the ice that's the hardest part and then after that it's quite easy to chit chat away.

Week 2: I went to this grand feria in Chiquimulla, the closest bigger town. And playing there was my favorite bochata band, Aventura, who I was introduced to in the Dominican Republic last year! I had a great time dancing the bochata in this wide open soccer stadium set against a beautiful mountain range. It was a great show and if you want to sample their music, let me know!

The weekend after Antigua, I decided to stay closer to where I am. And so I ventured to Copan Ruinas. My little village isn't too far away from the border and neither is Copan Ruinas in Honduras. Instead of planes, traines, and automobiles to get to my destination, I took vans, vans, and more vans switching 3 or 4 times. Can't keep track! The town Copan is a cute town, extremely small compared to Antigua. After being well rested the night before, I ventured off to Copan Ruinas, an important Mayan site. It's impeccable. The Hondurans do a great job maintaining their grounds. I also had an English tour guide that pointed out all the points of interest - the Mayan numbers, the famous king is 13 Rabbits, their reverance for Ying and Yang (life and death themes) and a stadium in which a game was played. The loser gets sacrificed! Ouch!

After this intriguing visit, I went on to Macaw Mountain. Beautiful macaws, parrots, and other birds. Again beautiful grounds and an interesting tour. At this visit, I meet Nathan, an American who is working in Honduras at a food bank. He is in charge of delivering food from USAid to poor families.

I was waiting for a tuk tuk to come by and bring me back into town. But I kept waiting, waiting...finally, Nathan and his parents come out and they offer me a ride into town. And then they happen to be staying in the exact same hotel! We make plans to meet at the pool. What a nice pool it is! He also takes pity on me and invites me to go out for drinks with his friends. It was a pretty chill evening as was the rest of my stay in Honduras. How I can appreciate not having to travel too far!!

Week 3: I got to attend a 3 day conference in Guatemala City about an initiative to create a basica level of sustainability in the areas of economic, social, and environment for everyone in the supply chain of coffee. It's a path for the producers to get certified in the future because certifications demand more. It was interesting at first but then just painful. I was really exhausted from trying to understand all the Spanish. I did discover that most of the extranjeros who live in Guatemala are German. I found out that a lot Germans came here during WWII but were sent back afterwards. I suppose there were some stragglers! That makes sense because from time to time I'll spot the Star of David randomly.

Thankfully because the conference was in the capital I had the fortune to go to Lago or Lake Atitlan, one of the most beautiful lakes of the world. After visiting the area, I can attest that it is! Surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, the water is mezmerizingly clear. I took this boat tour around the lake and visited 3 villages: San Pedro, Santiago, and San Antoni. Life in these villages appear not to have changed in what seems like years! The people maintain their Mayan traditions very consciously. They continue to wear their traditional colorful Mayan garb. The best part was paying a kid $3 to see this Mayan god named Maximo. So he leads me through a maze of streets and arrive at this house with a rooster chained to a post. OK, a bit strange. Then as I walk into the room, on my left I see a life-sized statue of Jesus in a glass coffin. OK, that's strange. Then I see 3 people kneeling in front of a 4 foot size being. The man in the middle is swinging a lanturn of smoking incense and chanting. The 4 foot size being is turned away from me and is covered in clothing from head to toe. I fearfully glimpse at its face and it's a wooden "Indian"-like face. Apparently he is the great Maximo! Then there is a guy next to him, sort of like his attendant. He puts a cigarrette into this statue's mouth and lights it! What's really strange is that he also ashes Maximo's cigarette.

I chat with an English couple who witnessed the same spectacle only they didn't pay a kid to lead them to it. I wish I had taken a picture of Maximo but they had wanted money to snap a picture and I just didn't feel like paying. They are a lovely couple and I genuinely enjoyed chatting with them. I find out later that they are staying at the same hotel! I also have conversations with a nice French lady. She and her husband are 60+ years old and learning Spanish in Antigua. I thought that was admirable. You really aren't too old to learn something new or travel to foreign places!

During the boat ride, I also meet 2 American girls from the GR (Grand Rapids, Michigan). They are really cool and we end up grabbing a bite to eat together at a restaurant in Panajachel where we are all staying with a great view of the lake. We decide to meet up later to hit the town's nightlife. It was great fun! We went to this cheesey place called Socrates with all local people. We were clearly the only gringas in the place. A group of 3 men were extremely forward and insisted that we come to our table. When that didn't work, they bought us beers. They seemed a little too persistent and just couldn't chill. Sad, they even tried to dance with us later but didn't want to dance altogether in a circle. It was either their way or the highway!

An American guy approaches us. He is a junior at some college in Southern Cal. He is in Antigua to learn Spanish. He is a sweet kid. The funny part is that when he's at the bar ordering a drink, an older Guate man asks him what he's ordering. The American kid respondes "Gallo" which is the Guate beer, pronouned "Guy-yo". The Guate man responds, "Oh you want a guy...(pause)...o". Hah! He was being picked up!!!

The next day I again wake up early to trek on over to Chichicastenango where they have this huge market and a church that is both Catholic and Mayan. I chat with this older woman from Georgia during the trip there. She and her husband (surprise, surprise) are taking Spanish classes in Antigua. She was in Guatemala 25 years ago, right before the Civil War. She told me how different it was because it wasn't so touristy before. She drove through the winding roads going uphill, downhill, and sideways! Wow!

The lovely English couple are on the same van so we hang out in the market together. The church wasn't all that interesting as I thought. The church had a loooooong corridor with plenty of pews and the Mayans were using none of it! Instead there was a crowd of them in the corner where they were singing and holding their services. Odd and interesting!

After that, I say bye to my English friends and head the long way back to my village. 3 hours to Guate and 4.5 hours to the village. In Guate, I get stuck in the pouring rain but luckily I find a taxi easily to switch buses. It is seriously monsoon season here! Ugh!

Even though I've really enjoyed travelling on my own, I'm really excited because not just ONE but THREE friends are coming to Guatemala this weekend!! It'll be nice to see familiar faces. Missy Mia will battle Huracan Ernesto (I'm praying to the rain gods to stay clear of her travel path and in Guatemala); Ryan a friend from IESE will venture from San Fran here for a few days en route to Peru; and Ceylan another IESE friend who is German-Turkish who will also be one of my flatmates this year. Should be good times!!!

P.S. I uploaded more pictures. I've added my pictures to Copan Ruinas, a training session we had with the farmers, and the adorable town of Bath that I mentioned in a previous blog. I'll upload my Lago Atitlan pictures soon!
http://picasaweb.google.com/caroliciouschan

The Explorer to Self: Get Lost!!

A man that they refer to as "The Cowboy" picked me up at my hotel and we were off in his pickup truck. His name is Don Vicente, an older man, and he certainly wore a cowboy hat. We had a bit of a delay because a truck carrying massive amounts of bottled beverages - beer, water, soda, etc had swerved and spilled tons of it on the highway. People in droves were collecting them...it was like winning the lottery! We had lunch in a town called Zacapa - Chinese food of all things! It wasn't bad at all! Gualtemalpecs apparently really like their Chinese food. Finally we reached the office and it was really nice. I'll explain who works there and everything another day. The best parts are that there is wireless internet and a laboratory to classify the coffee into different aromas and flavors. Lucky me! I get to try out the best Guatemalan coffees!

During the week I really had to concentrate hard to understand the constant barage of Spanish. It's so tiring being immersed in the language but I was really eager to improve and expand the vocabulary. I put a lot of pressure on myself to understand the coffee industry and learn about the organization. I also realized that week how much they appreciated me. They bent over backwards (well besides not picking me up at the airport) to ensure I have everything I need and seemed anxious for me to help their organization become sustainable and profitable. Gulp! I felt a lot of pressure to perform well! More about that later too.

Since there's nothing to do in my little village out in the boonies, I've really looked forward to escaping on the weekends and explore the country and region. It's great to travel with friends of course but it's cool to go off and explore on your own once in awhile. You set your own timetable and you can be as lazy or ambitious as you want! There is also the thrill of the unknown. You need to figure out how to get there, arrange where to stay, and figure out how to get back. It takes a lot of energy!

So I decided to visit Antigua because I heard amazing things about the town. It's a beautiful colonial town with many ruins of delapitated churches that were destroyed by earthquakes and volcanoes. It was at some point the capital of Guatemala before they had to move it. Guatemala has 30 volcanoes and 3 active ones. When I heard that you can climb one of these active volcanoes, I knew I had to make it my first destination.

Boy, was it an exhausting trip! Woke up at 5ish in the morning on Saturday, hopped on a bus and rode 4 1/2 hours to the capital, then took a taxi to another station, hopped on a 'chicken bus' for 2 hours, and finally arrived in Antigua and it was HOT. I settled into a really nice hotel , walked around the town snapping pictures, buying really nice jewelry and other stuff, and then I saw 'Brokeback Mountain' at this special cinema-dinner deal. What a great movie! Fabulous acting! Then the next morning I woke up at 5ish yet again and met up with the tour group to go to Volcan Picaya. I met a very nice Welsh girl on the street and a group of gringos came up and joined us. There was a Guatemaltec in the midst of the group and he told us that there were 2 guys on the corner who he knows are theives and he said 'don't worry...I have a gun.' Whaaaat?!? You have a whaaaat?! Well thank goodness there was no need for a confrontation as the 2 guys walked away. Finally, on another bus as we were approaching the launching area for the hike, one of the tires blew out....but we keep right on truckin! We make it thankfully and on the hike I meet Mark and his son, Will. They're both in Antigua for the week taking Spanish classes. The kid is 14 and taking Spanish and the dad told him to study during the summer and the reward is to go to Guatemala. That's cool! I'm SO going to do that one day if I have kids!

We get back around 1PM and I dread the long journey back so I walk around a little bit more and go shopping for a bit. Relunctantly I head back and I arrive in my little village safe and sound but exhausted at 8:30PM. I resolve I need to take trips that are closer to me cuz my ass just can't take it no more!!!

Check out the pics from my weekend to Antigua and Volcan Picaya below:
http://picasaweb.google.com/caroliciouschan/AntiguaAndVolcanPicaya

A Tale of Two Worlds, Part 2

The trip from Merry Ole England to Guat was pretty torturous. With hanging out til 1AM, frantic last minute packing, and a heated discussion with 2 boys at the reception desk of the dorm in which I was close to having a physical altercation with (grrrrrrrr), I finally embarked on my journey with an hour and half of sleep. I am shipping 2 suitcases back to Barcelona and took a large backpack with me. Advice to anyone who is transversing across the world: buy as little as possible. Every book, jacket, pair of awesome shoes, any other crap you pick up needs a place and home. It's such a nightmare. Especially for a pack rat and collector of books and fine things like me! I have crap in Skokie, 2 flats in Barcelona, in No Man's Land btw London and Barcelona, and in my backpack. I'm also paying for a covered parking space for my moto. Did I mention that I bought a second hand moto (a.k.a. scooter)!?! I went ahead and took the plunge and bought one. It just became such a burden to take public transportation or get rides as I diversified my interests: school, Chinese class, futbol practice, rugby practice, and....best of all, the beach. I was scared to death in traffic and there is a lot of it in Barca!!!!! Check out a picture of the model here. I had a minor accident in which I nearly killed someone (of course I'm being a bit dramatic). I would write more if it wasn't so traumatic and led to a falling out with this person (another grrrrrrrrrrrr). Kudos to Lisa Kim for being brave enough to ride with me the first and only week I drove it!!! You brave, girl!

Alas, I digress. I board my flight to NYC and on my way, I thought "How strange! I'm going back to the states". It was exciting and strange at the same time to be back in the homeland. I was only passing through. Handling U.S. bills again, they felt small and like play money. I jumped on a flight to Miami. When I got there, my flight was delayed for a couple of hours and had to wait in this hot, smelly, yucky terminal. I talked on the phone with my dad and brother and that was really nice to talk them while in the U.S. And finally I boarded a flight to Guat City.

Needless to say, when I landed I was sweaty and dirty...not to mention EXHAUSTED! However, someone from EDE Consulting would pick me up and bring me to a hotel momentarily. Only when I went through the exit, uhmmmm I didn't see ANYONE with a sign with my name or anything! It was 10PM local time by then. So I tried to make some phone calls with the few numbers I had but no luck. I didn't even have the number of the guy who was suppose to pick me up!! I felt a bit frantic and was unsure what to do. Luckily, I had last minute scribbled down the name of the hotel that the company arranged for me (which if I hadn't emailed them that week, I wouldn't even have had that!), but of course I didn't have the address. I calmed myself down. I asked a tour guide how much a taxi normally costs and started asking the pesky taxi drivers if they knew where my hotel was. Yes! One of them did know and I negotiated a better fare.

When we arrived at my hotel at 11PM, my jaw dropped. This is my hotel?! It was like a version of the W Hotel - it was awesome! Thanks, EDE Consulting! It's called the Otelito (Mia take note. You might want to stay here when you visit! Let me know and I can get the company rate for you). After a beautifully delicious meal and a FANASTIC shower, I finally got to sleep. And sleep I did! I finally woke up at 12PM. Surely I would hear from EDE Consulting today! Uhm, only I didn't receive any emails or messages! The hotel was kicking me out so I needed to figure out something fast!

I wandered to 2 shopping malls that the hotel staff directed me to. I got a phone card and started making some calls. I was unsuccessful at reaching anyone who knew I was coming. It was a Sunday so it was impossible. Crap! What do I do? It was 4PM by then. I didn't have the address of the office or the home I was staying at in Quetzeltepeque and it's not the safest to travel at night. I was told this village is about 3 hours away. I even tried to find some hotels in this village but it was barely even mentioned on the web. The really kind receptionist convinced me that I should stay one more night and he booked a taxi and a bus for me to get to my village for the next day. He even got in touch with a friend of his there. This woman who I didn't know would call the office for me and find out the details. And she said if there was no one available, she would meet me at the bus station herself and I could stay at her place. Wow! It blew my mind!

Back in the hotel room, I phoned an incoming student to IESE who lives in Guat City. It was a stroke of good luck. I noticed on the school forum the last week in London that there was a student coming from Guatemala! I emailed him and he responded with his number and great recommendations for what to see and do. He answered the phone and said he would pick me up in a couple hours to have dinner. Great! We went out for a Guatemalan meal at a nice restaurant. He's very kind - an Indian who studied in the U.S. So how did he manage to get to Guatemala? Well, he came to Guatemala for a wedding of a fellow student, met her sister, and there you go! He's been living here for 4 years! Then, he paid for my dinner and he hadn't even met me before! The 2nd incredibly generous act that I experienced!

When I returned to the hotel, THANK GOD! HALLELUJAH! I got a message saying that someone would pick me up at 8AM the next morning and take me to the village. I was so relieved. Thanks for everything, Otelito! What an adventure to get to Guatemala and to finally get in touch with someone from the company. It's an unreal experience...landing in a foreign country and not knowing a soul. However, I knew it would be another adventure to find out what I would do, the people I would work with, and to discover what this little village is all about...I really feel that it was only through the grace of God that I managed to make my journey safely...To Be Continued...

A Tale of Two Worlds, Part 1

I've left the hustle and bustle of the extraordinary and cosmopolitan London for the glorious mountains that are a part of the natural beauty of Guatemala. As much as I enjoyed London, it just doesn't compare!

First, a wrap up on London is in order before I write about Guatemala:

• The food is fantastic! The variety is amazing to what is in Spain. The food is really fresh. It's surprising how much prepared food there is. Supermarkets/convenience stores/freshly prepared joints are all over the place. People usually go to these places to grab lunch on the go.
• Like other big cities, it can be a lonely place. Thank goodness I had Chris, my friend Ali's ex, and my IESE friends. It made me realize just how tough it is to make new friends in a new place.
• I HATE/LOATHE/DESPISE commuting in the city especially when it is dreadfully hot. The tube does not have AC and it's so crowded. It's a torture chamber really. When I had to go to Tonbridge where the Charity Bank offices are, I had to travel 1.5 hours one way. When I was in the city, it was a 45 minute commute to the office and it was IN the city.
• Everyone knows it's so expensive here but you're still shocked by it! In time, you just have to forget it or else you wouldn't do anything!
• London is surprisingly clean and very posh. All the rich neighborhoods (most of London) have these adorable and very white Victorian houses.
• I had to soake in ALL the culture while I could. How I missed it so! I was lucky enough to see:
• 'Billy Eliot' - It is FANTASTIC! You can only see it in London and it's even better than the movie. It doesn't follow the storyline of the movie exactly. So heartwarming and the dancing is incredible. The Billy Eliot performer is SO talented - ballet, tap dancing...I loved it! 10 stars!
• Bolshoi Ballet at the Royal Opera House. I saw 'The Pharaoh's Daughter' and it was really good! The set, costumes, dancing were incredible!!! I've seen the Bolshoi Ballet a couple of times and it never fails to disappoint! By far, my favorite ballet company.
• 'Fuerzabruta' - Jayne had highly recommended De La Guardia in NYC and it is the same company that produced this show. It's very interesting - performance art. Very visually stimulating.
• The Tate Modern - I really liked the exhibits on furniture...fascinating contemporary art.
• Cardiff, the capital of Wales - skip it.
• Bath - great little town. Beautiful churches, landscape, and Roman baths! Once I free up space on my hard drive I will post pictures.
• I will miss my Pimm's and Lemonade - it's the Sangria of England. It's light and refreshing; a great summer drink. I had it all the time when I was out. Very peculiar - when you ask for Lemonade, you get lemon carbonated water; not real lemonade and not 7-Up or Sprite.
• Primrose Hill - great place to grab a drink and relax with friends. Incredible view of the city.
• The markets! Every neighborhood has one. A HUGE one in Notting Hill called Portabello Market. Lots of everything! What I liked the most is Camden Market in Camden - at first you think it's for punk rockers which it used to be but further up is where the cool stuff is. I bought some really cool stuff there. The food court is a sight for the senses! There are HUGE woks or pans of food that they keep on a slow burn. Yummy!
• Finally, what the hell with live animals on stage?? In Cardiff I saw this terrible flamenco show with 2 white Andulcian horses that spit all over the stage and the dancers danced through it. Ew! Then in the Bolshoi Ballet show, a horse was on stage for 2 minutes and it shit all over the stage. Luckily, it was right before intermission so they could clean up.