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
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
posted by Chica Chan @ 3:40 PM
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