Un dia en Xela

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Hola!  It is hard to believe I have been here over a week already.  A week ago today I was on that scary bus ride.  Xela is really growing on me right before I need to leave.  I have recently found several little places that make the town seem less intimidating.

The night before last I had a dinner of a barely cooked fried egg (with runny yolk and white) and some rice that really was not very good.  Since then my stomach has been a little off, so things have been a little slow the last couple of days.  At the moment I´m feeling fine, which is great.

these two nice men with whom I have laughed and eaten with are the same men that hold the big guns

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I skipped Yolly´s food altogether yesterday except for the mush in the morning.  Found  out at breakfast that the two guys who have eaten breakfast at my house every day this week are actually security guards in Xela.  These are the guys that stand in front of banks and throughout the city with big guns and in uniforms that look like they´re in the military and are really quite intimidating (obviously).  It was quite an experience in cognitive dissonance to know that these two nice men with whom I have laughed and eaten with are the same men that hold the big guns.

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Yesterday I had what seemed like a gourmet lunch at Cafe Bavaria - a ham sandwhich and potato chips.  I don´t know when the last time was that I had a ham sandwhich in the states, but still it seemed familiar and therefore fabulous.  Last night went out with some amigas here to Casa Babylon and  had a wonderful spinach salad (the menu said they disinfect their veggies very well) and some "sol" beer which is similar to corona.  Then for a hot chocolate at La Luna where they have 7 different varieties of hot chocolate.  It was a very kitschy little place similar to Agnes and Muriels but with just a lot more stuff.  Then went home and spent a good chunk of the night in the bathroom.  You never know what will make you sick around here.  But I think it was worth it.

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There are some really wonderful people here - one woman who lives in Atlanta and is an attorney with Atlanta Legal Aid, so that is a nice connection to make.  All of the students here are very progressive and work for justice and human rights in various ways, so it has been fun to hear about their work and to share some of mine.  It is both exciting and a little sad to think about packing up and leaving on Sunday.  The experience of getting to know and care about people and then leaving is not one I like at all and would prefer to avoid, but have experienced a lot lately between terminating with clients and all of the people related to my internship and all of the Holy Trinity folks.  At the same time I am very excited about San Pedro and Lago de Atitlan and all the adventure that place will bring.  I keep imagining coming back here some day - I would highly recommend the school and Xela to anyone who wants to learn Spanish!

Hard to believe it is my last day to study here at Proyecto Linguistico Quetzaltenango.  Went with a friend to the bakeshop this morning and got some more chocolate chip cookies - this  time as my American contribution to the graduation dinner tonight.  Decided the fried green tomatoes sounded like a lot of work so opted for chocolate chip cookies instead.  This time I will not be offering ANY to Yolly.  Then went to the Mercado Democracia and bought some FABULOUS gifts for some of you very lucky people!  It was a nice leisurely morning, which I very much appreciated.  We stopped by Cafe Consciencia, which is the store where they sell the coffee from Finca Santa Anita, the organic fair trade coffee farm here that Sergio visited from a couple of days ago.  I need to spend the afternoon finding a caja so I can mail some stuff home today.  My teacher offered  to go with me to the Post Office during my class time, so that will be very helpful I am sure.

Yesterday in the morning we had a little field trip to Olintepeque, a nearby town.  The main draw in Olintepeque is una estatua de San Pascual in a little temple next to the Catholic Church.  San Pascual is the saint of the dead and his statue is a tiny little skeleton dressed in very regal clothing.  Many people go there and light candles and make petition to San Pascual to intercede on their behalf.  It was a very interesting mixture of the sacred and mundane (if there really is a difference) when two little puppies came in the temple and were wrestling around on the floor.  No one seemed to mind.  I thought it was quite beautiful.  Reminded me of the other day when I was coming out of the Catholic Church here in Xela and saw a couple of men ride by on their motorcycles and do their best to cross themselves and genuflect on their bikes as they were driving in front of the church.

Tonight is the graduation and international dinner for those of us who are leaving the school.  For this we have to do some sort of performance and I will be reading my spanish translation of the poem "Guest House" by Rumi.  My teacher helped me translate it yesterday and we laughed and laughed as we tried to make the poem make sense in Spanish.  I will miss my teacher here - she has been a lot of fun.

Today we have a salsa lesson at 4 and then the graduation and then possibly some salsa dancing at a discoteca tonight.  As we have to meet at six thirty in the morning for the excampamento, I do not imagine it will be too wild of a night!

Okay, at THIS moment I will attempt to upload some photos from my camera, so if it does not work I apologize!