Photo Update

Este es mi maestro Vinico.

Tigre- a really sweet stray dog who hangs around the school a lot and walks students home in the evening and protects us at all costs!

Los niños vs. los maestros in futbol.

Happy Guatemalan children from El Nahual.

Inside of El Nahual....so much more than a language school for Americans or Europeans....it offers many social programs to adults and children in the surrounding areas.

Cooking class. On the menu: Platonos en mole y chuchitos.

The finished product (chuchitos)

Mayan ruins at Takalik Abaj about 1 hour 30 mins from Xela....this is a temple that has yet to be fully excavated.

A Mayan statue of an alligator.

Quetzaltenango aka Xelaju aka Xela

Hola a todos!
We are now in Quetzaltenango aka Xela (Shay-la). The ride here from Antigua was about 4 hours, but the scenery was beautiful. The Guatemalan countryside is covered with farms, mountains, small villages, and many indigineous people in colorful clothing. Many people here still live a very simple agrarian lifestyle....gathering wood, herding animals, etc. On our way in , we drove past the beautiful Lago Atitlan which we hope to return to towards the end of our trip. By the looks of it, it really is the most beautiful lake in the world!Xela is wonderful so far.

Our host family is great, especially Doña Angela, the mother. She is very short, very sweet, and has a wonderful smile. Her husband Miguel and their daughter Aña Maria are also very nice. They also have a perro named Guardiam who is very similar to my dog Funny Boy. Ay ay ay! We´ve had some typical Guatemalan food but today we had spagetthi for lunch. There is definately a convergence of cultures here....young girls dressed in traditional Mayan garb texting on their cell phones...teenagers with Guns and Roses t-shirts...Domino´s Pizza and Mc Donalds.

Our classes began today...4 hours of one-on-one class in the morning followed by an hour of cultural activity. Today the boss of the school, Jaime, spoke about the Guatemalan civil war of the 1950´s-1980´s. Becca and I both are excited to hear the history of this country. All in all, this promises to be an intense experience! Hope everyone is well back in Chicago! GO CUBS GO...TOO BAD I LEFT MY BROOM IN CHICAGO!!! ¡Adios!



The Guatemalan countryside as seen from the van.

The view from our rooftop patio...Volcan Santa Maria in the distance.

A typical "calle" en Xela.

El Volcan at sunset.

Our room from the outside.

Antigua y El Volcan Pacaya

We made it to our first destination, Antigua, almost without a hitch....Becca's bag was lost but we got it a couple days later so all is well. Antigua is a beautiful Spanish colonial town with many churches....some functional some in ruins. We got a good tour of the city from a local...it was a good behind the scenes view of Antigua. We also went to the local vegetable market which was a cultural experience...only wish I had a kitchen to cook up some of the wonderful things we saw. Things here are fairly cheap and we expect things to be much cheaper in Quetzaltenango, which we depart for tomorrow. Today, we woke up extra early and climbed the active Volcan Pacaya...quite a thrilling and potentially dangerous experience.

The view from our bedroom door...our hostel was quaint, quiet, and conveniently located.

A church on the Parque Central.

The "calle" outside of our hostel...Volcan Agua in the background.

A lava flow at Volcan Pacaya...this was a hell of a hike up but we got really close to the lava...we could feel the heat through our shoes!

We made it out ok!

Adios!

Tomorrow

Tomorrow, my girlfriend Becca and I will leave behind the comforts of Los Estados Unidos, the city of Chicago, the Cubbies, our families and friends for six weeks to journey to Guatemala. I'll use this blog to keep everyone up to date with stories and photographs from the trip. This will also serve as a way for me to stay in touch with those of you that care to do so. Feel free to live vicariously through me, as I will probably do the same someday through you. Enjoy!