The final Guatemala entry.
I kind of forgot to update positive things about Guatemala so everyone still thinks I hated it :( Rest assured I do not! It's a little late for me to remember well enough for a narrative. So instead I'm going to list either things I liked or just fun stories.
1) This is probably my favorite Guatemala story. I was walking up this giant hill to the weaving school and it was just me and a guy walking his bike on the street. He was really lurking me so I assumed he was going to try to steal my bag. I looped it over my head to make it more difficult but still heard him come up behind me. Before I could even turn around he squeezes my ass, yells BUENOS NOCHES, then.. climbs on his bike and pedals furiously away. This sounds like he should be 12-15 but no, he was like 40. And playing grab ass on a bicycle.
2) One evening Kate, Lili, and I met up to go Salsa dancing and when we got to Parque Central there was a giant hardcore & metal show going on. Kate and I were the only gringas in a sea of Guatemalteco ~*rebeldes*~ with their lip piercings and Slipknot shirts. They also still do floor punches and spin kicks it's so cute. We were standing right on the outskirts watching them then this gang fight breaks out. A bunch of hard teenage dudes in matching shirts start kicking this other kid to the ground. Matching shirts, though. It was like West Side Story without the snapping. Kate has a video of the event which I will post whenever she gets it off her camera.
3) I weaved my own scarf at Trama Weaving School. It is beautiful I'm basically a weaving master. There are two teachers who are very rad. One is older and sweet like a grandma and the other is younger and fierce. She wasn't mean but definitely intense which made me love her. Whenever I would fuck up she would just look at me sighing and shake her head no while simultaneously fixing my mistake, breastfeeding, and working her own threading. She also taught us that in her Mayan language bitch is a type of bird and she also likes to say "shit" a lot. On the last day she came up to me all sweet giving me a kiss on the cheek and asking if I was leaving that weekend. I told her yes and she said she would miss me and I was starting to get creeped out, you know. Then to prove she was still the weaving instructor of my heart she busts out a $20 and asks if I can exchange quetzales with her.
4) Chicken buses are actually kind of nice idk. I always read about how they are an ~adventure~ and scary. You are crammed in like sardines but you get to bounce around listening to reggaeton while people's crotches rub against your face. I don't know I call that a good Saturday night.
5) Chocobananos. These are simply chocolate covered bananas sold unwrapped at the bottom of freezers and you know what, they are the tastiest chocolate covered bananas you will ever eat. They are just way different than anything you could make yourself. And only Q3!!
6) Guatemalan teenagers. Ok that makes me sound kind of sketchy but they are just so qt. My favorite hobby was saying buenos tardes to the high schoolers staring at me and watching them respond then fall all over themselves giggling. At night since they're not allowed to bring friends of the opposite sex home they all go to Parque Central, grab some McDonalds, and start mackin in public. Or sometimes just on Kate's street they were almost straight up sexing.
7) My second teacher Milton instantly became my BFF. We played a lot of memory, talked about music, and through email right now I'm teaching him the art of music piracy. He introduced me to Guatemalan ska as well I really like them tbh.
8) idk there are more stories but this is getting kind of long. Antigua sucks horribly though never go there. It's not even that pretty and everyone speaks English and no one wants to chit chat like in Xela.
I had a parasite when I got home which sucked but it wasn't that bad. If it was from chocobananos then it was damn well worth it. I want to go back again now that I have a little traveling under my belt so if you would like to come w/ me holla.
Also everyone speak Spanish with me so I can keep practicing, please.
1) This is probably my favorite Guatemala story. I was walking up this giant hill to the weaving school and it was just me and a guy walking his bike on the street. He was really lurking me so I assumed he was going to try to steal my bag. I looped it over my head to make it more difficult but still heard him come up behind me. Before I could even turn around he squeezes my ass, yells BUENOS NOCHES, then.. climbs on his bike and pedals furiously away. This sounds like he should be 12-15 but no, he was like 40. And playing grab ass on a bicycle.
2) One evening Kate, Lili, and I met up to go Salsa dancing and when we got to Parque Central there was a giant hardcore & metal show going on. Kate and I were the only gringas in a sea of Guatemalteco ~*rebeldes*~ with their lip piercings and Slipknot shirts. They also still do floor punches and spin kicks it's so cute. We were standing right on the outskirts watching them then this gang fight breaks out. A bunch of hard teenage dudes in matching shirts start kicking this other kid to the ground. Matching shirts, though. It was like West Side Story without the snapping. Kate has a video of the event which I will post whenever she gets it off her camera.
3) I weaved my own scarf at Trama Weaving School. It is beautiful I'm basically a weaving master. There are two teachers who are very rad. One is older and sweet like a grandma and the other is younger and fierce. She wasn't mean but definitely intense which made me love her. Whenever I would fuck up she would just look at me sighing and shake her head no while simultaneously fixing my mistake, breastfeeding, and working her own threading. She also taught us that in her Mayan language bitch is a type of bird and she also likes to say "shit" a lot. On the last day she came up to me all sweet giving me a kiss on the cheek and asking if I was leaving that weekend. I told her yes and she said she would miss me and I was starting to get creeped out, you know. Then to prove she was still the weaving instructor of my heart she busts out a $20 and asks if I can exchange quetzales with her.
4) Chicken buses are actually kind of nice idk. I always read about how they are an ~adventure~ and scary. You are crammed in like sardines but you get to bounce around listening to reggaeton while people's crotches rub against your face. I don't know I call that a good Saturday night.
5) Chocobananos. These are simply chocolate covered bananas sold unwrapped at the bottom of freezers and you know what, they are the tastiest chocolate covered bananas you will ever eat. They are just way different than anything you could make yourself. And only Q3!!
6) Guatemalan teenagers. Ok that makes me sound kind of sketchy but they are just so qt. My favorite hobby was saying buenos tardes to the high schoolers staring at me and watching them respond then fall all over themselves giggling. At night since they're not allowed to bring friends of the opposite sex home they all go to Parque Central, grab some McDonalds, and start mackin in public. Or sometimes just on Kate's street they were almost straight up sexing.
7) My second teacher Milton instantly became my BFF. We played a lot of memory, talked about music, and through email right now I'm teaching him the art of music piracy. He introduced me to Guatemalan ska as well I really like them tbh.
Click to view8) idk there are more stories but this is getting kind of long. Antigua sucks horribly though never go there. It's not even that pretty and everyone speaks English and no one wants to chit chat like in Xela.
I had a parasite when I got home which sucked but it wasn't that bad. If it was from chocobananos then it was damn well worth it. I want to go back again now that I have a little traveling under my belt so if you would like to come w/ me holla.
Also everyone speak Spanish with me so I can keep practicing, please.