miami, antigua y san marcos la laguna
i finally have a chance to update my journal! i have wanted to on numerous occasions, but haven't seemed to find the time. i will start at the beginning, and then when i get to the end, i'll stop. that's a rough alice in wonderland quote.
miami was great. sally and i had never been to the states before, and although it was odd seeing a country that i've only previously seen on the big and small screens, it was a decidedly pleasant play to be. miami beach, where we stayed, is clearly a place for extravagance and flaunting one's wealth, but there are notable overtones of poverty. the elaborate hotels and neon-lit bars, fancy muscle cars and palm-lined boulevards are contradicted by the occasional drab old man rummaging through a... 'trash can', i guess. but i liked it here. i think i heard more spanish than english, which means it fits into the central and south american leg of our trip quite neatly.
our flight to guatemala city was somewhat nerve-wracking, given the scaremongering we'd been exposed to by the US and british embassies. but once we arrived there, it was ok. being greeted by a man holding a card with my name on not only put my mind at ease, but also ticked one of my '100 other things to do before you die' list.
we didn't hang around in guatemala city, partly due to the aforementioned scaremongering, but also because we were aiming to be at san marcos la laguna by the 18th, with one day in antigua beforehand for good measure. our shuttle journey out of guatemala city was a little uneasy, but became more comfortable the further we went. i got the impression that no one wanted to be at a complete standstill, for perhaps obvious reasons, and so all of the cars and trucks were crawling along at a snail's pace, weaving in and out of one another to avoid stopping completely. virtually every vehicle we saw, bar the chicken buses, had tinted windows.
antigua was charming. it has possibly the most bumpy cobbled streets i have ever witnessed, but this only adds to the charm. the security guards wielding shotguns in the entrances of the banks and coffee shops perhaps detracted from this charm, but the general hubbub of tuktuks and enthusiastic street vendors did counter these somewhat shocking (at first) sights.
we stayed in a lovely hostel with colourful beanbags and a very friendly but permanently fed-up-looking golden retriever named tiara. the food here was excellent, and the hammocks out the back were always good for taking a load off. our bus to panajachel was booked up on tuesday morning, so we happily stayed another day and made our journey to san marcos on wednesday morning in stead.
we're now at la cambalacha, where we'll be spending the next 5 weeks. it took us 4 hours to get here from antigua, with a journey that included 2 hours in a 'shuttle' (read: minibus) to panajachel (on the opposite side of lago atitlan to san marcos), a brief walk through the town, and then a small boat across the lake.
the shuttle ride to panajachel was an experience. we were picked up from our hostel at 7am, and whizzed through the winding, often unpaved roads. our driver was a friendly but quiet man, and i'm convinced that he was speeding up for the tight corners and slowing down for the straights. i pitied sally initially for feeling travel sick, but ended up feeling a little dizzy myself, as i surveyed the scenery to the soundtrack of the squealing tyres and the creaks of the increasingly strained minibus chassis.
the lake is incredibly beautiful. the picture that sold guatemala to us nearly 12 months ago simply doesn't do it justice. atitlan is a truly vast body of water, framed by 3 of the largest volcanoes in guatemala, which, i'm told, are around 3400m in height. our little boat sped across the lake surprisingly smoothly, stopping to pick up locals - who bore impossibly large personal effects either balanced skillfully on their heads or wedged rather un-skillfully under their arms - from lake-side towns and villages along the way.
san marcos is a small village of approximately 3000 people. i feel as though we've met most of them, for this is a very sociable place. our laboured hike up the rocky path from the lake to the school allowed us to encounter a few friendly locals who pointed us in the right direction of our destination. as far as we've seen thus far, the village centre comprises a small grocery shop, an even smaller pharmacy, and a basketball court - where the end-of-year performance is set to take place.
the school itself is probably best described as the hideout of the lost boys in steven spielberg's peter pan adaptation, 'Hook' - replete with the lost boys themselves (in this case, the students). our living quarters for the next few weeks is not much more than a hut, with several complimentary 'art deco' spiders and, as we've found on both of our 2 days here, scorpions. i was told this evening that the spiders eat the scorpions, so i may think twice before next embarking on my routine 'chasing of the spiders', which occurs every hour or so. unsurprisingly, on my first night here, i dreamt of spiders and scorpions.
it's warm here - about 25 celsius most days. it's not as hot as miami was (around 30c), but a very pleasant and comfortable temperature nonetheless. we were told today to be careful in the sun, because it is easier to burn at this altitude (we're currently at 1600m). somehow that doesn't seem very significant in comparison to the altitude we'll be experiencing in 2 months time.
we are being fed very well. there are a couple of cooks who make lunch for us each weekday and, as the only vegetarian, i get to enjoy my own egg, cheese or tofu-based meal made just for me each day. i'd heard that i would struggle with my vegetarianism in central and south america, but i seem to be disproving this claim so far. as long as they do quorn steaks in argentina, i'll be fine.
gabriela, the school's director, is great. i found out today that she grew up in urbana champagne, where brother will did his third uni year at the university of illinois. small world. her partner, charlie, is the nicest man in the world, and it's comforting to hear another english accent after spending 90% of my day around spanish speakers - although i am enjoying my spanish-immersion too. their son, lukas, is very sweet. he was showing sally and i the fruits in the gardens here. he is clearly well-practised in retrieving the fruit from the trees with his bamboo stick, and he was keen to share the fruit of his fruit-picking labours with us. the fruit stained my t-shirt. its name escapes me.
our first day with la cambalacha took us to neighbouring san pedro, via 2 crammed pick up trucks. as we trundled along the potholed roads, hanging from the backs of the trucks, i chanced another glimpse of the mighty volcano peaks beyond atitlan. i would like to climb one if i can. we arrived in san pedro, and the la cambalacha students began their carnival throughout the town's streets. it was great to see the locals emmerging from their corrugated iron homes, the streets lined with reservedly curious elders and much more confident children. gabi asked sally and i to follow the parade and take some photos. i don't think there was a single person who didn't return my smile that day.
sally and i gave our first lessons today. i gave a snare drum lesson to a group of 7 this morning, and then sally, leire and i gave a joint tap-dance and african drumming lesson in the dance studio this afternoon. it was a tiring but fairly enjoyable experience. the kids range from extremely enthusiastic to so disenchanted that you wonder why they bother turning up. the most difficult part is keeping everyone interested, and not leaving anyone out. but doing anything with them is fairly taxing, as my spanish is so limited, and spanish isn't their first language either. but considering it was my first teaching experience, i think it went ok. my main concern is that they tire of me too quickly!
having said that, there are a number of students who seem to have warmed to me quite quickly - and i them. they are incredibly patient given the appalling level of my broken spanish, and i do appreciate that. one of the ex-students, victor, is particularly friendly. he was explaining to sally this afternoon that although he doesn't speak english and i don't speak spanish, we seem to have a sort of chemistry that means we get along well anyway.
we went to victor and another chap's house last night for dinner, which turned out to be more a mid-scale gathering in which everyone gradually produced a different musical instrument throughout the night and began to play. it was rather surreal. i would have brought something too if i had known.
there isn't much relaxing to be done around here until at the very end of the day - but we're heading back across the lake this weekend to stay in panajachel, where we can hopefully buy some drumsticks, meet with brittany (a lovely canadian girl whom we met in antigua, and who is staying in san marcos for the next couple of weeks) and sleep in a bed without fear of being bitten, stung, pinched or eaten.
miami was great. sally and i had never been to the states before, and although it was odd seeing a country that i've only previously seen on the big and small screens, it was a decidedly pleasant play to be. miami beach, where we stayed, is clearly a place for extravagance and flaunting one's wealth, but there are notable overtones of poverty. the elaborate hotels and neon-lit bars, fancy muscle cars and palm-lined boulevards are contradicted by the occasional drab old man rummaging through a... 'trash can', i guess. but i liked it here. i think i heard more spanish than english, which means it fits into the central and south american leg of our trip quite neatly.
our flight to guatemala city was somewhat nerve-wracking, given the scaremongering we'd been exposed to by the US and british embassies. but once we arrived there, it was ok. being greeted by a man holding a card with my name on not only put my mind at ease, but also ticked one of my '100 other things to do before you die' list.
we didn't hang around in guatemala city, partly due to the aforementioned scaremongering, but also because we were aiming to be at san marcos la laguna by the 18th, with one day in antigua beforehand for good measure. our shuttle journey out of guatemala city was a little uneasy, but became more comfortable the further we went. i got the impression that no one wanted to be at a complete standstill, for perhaps obvious reasons, and so all of the cars and trucks were crawling along at a snail's pace, weaving in and out of one another to avoid stopping completely. virtually every vehicle we saw, bar the chicken buses, had tinted windows.
antigua was charming. it has possibly the most bumpy cobbled streets i have ever witnessed, but this only adds to the charm. the security guards wielding shotguns in the entrances of the banks and coffee shops perhaps detracted from this charm, but the general hubbub of tuktuks and enthusiastic street vendors did counter these somewhat shocking (at first) sights.
we stayed in a lovely hostel with colourful beanbags and a very friendly but permanently fed-up-looking golden retriever named tiara. the food here was excellent, and the hammocks out the back were always good for taking a load off. our bus to panajachel was booked up on tuesday morning, so we happily stayed another day and made our journey to san marcos on wednesday morning in stead.
we're now at la cambalacha, where we'll be spending the next 5 weeks. it took us 4 hours to get here from antigua, with a journey that included 2 hours in a 'shuttle' (read: minibus) to panajachel (on the opposite side of lago atitlan to san marcos), a brief walk through the town, and then a small boat across the lake.
the shuttle ride to panajachel was an experience. we were picked up from our hostel at 7am, and whizzed through the winding, often unpaved roads. our driver was a friendly but quiet man, and i'm convinced that he was speeding up for the tight corners and slowing down for the straights. i pitied sally initially for feeling travel sick, but ended up feeling a little dizzy myself, as i surveyed the scenery to the soundtrack of the squealing tyres and the creaks of the increasingly strained minibus chassis.
the lake is incredibly beautiful. the picture that sold guatemala to us nearly 12 months ago simply doesn't do it justice. atitlan is a truly vast body of water, framed by 3 of the largest volcanoes in guatemala, which, i'm told, are around 3400m in height. our little boat sped across the lake surprisingly smoothly, stopping to pick up locals - who bore impossibly large personal effects either balanced skillfully on their heads or wedged rather un-skillfully under their arms - from lake-side towns and villages along the way.
san marcos is a small village of approximately 3000 people. i feel as though we've met most of them, for this is a very sociable place. our laboured hike up the rocky path from the lake to the school allowed us to encounter a few friendly locals who pointed us in the right direction of our destination. as far as we've seen thus far, the village centre comprises a small grocery shop, an even smaller pharmacy, and a basketball court - where the end-of-year performance is set to take place.
the school itself is probably best described as the hideout of the lost boys in steven spielberg's peter pan adaptation, 'Hook' - replete with the lost boys themselves (in this case, the students). our living quarters for the next few weeks is not much more than a hut, with several complimentary 'art deco' spiders and, as we've found on both of our 2 days here, scorpions. i was told this evening that the spiders eat the scorpions, so i may think twice before next embarking on my routine 'chasing of the spiders', which occurs every hour or so. unsurprisingly, on my first night here, i dreamt of spiders and scorpions.
it's warm here - about 25 celsius most days. it's not as hot as miami was (around 30c), but a very pleasant and comfortable temperature nonetheless. we were told today to be careful in the sun, because it is easier to burn at this altitude (we're currently at 1600m). somehow that doesn't seem very significant in comparison to the altitude we'll be experiencing in 2 months time.
we are being fed very well. there are a couple of cooks who make lunch for us each weekday and, as the only vegetarian, i get to enjoy my own egg, cheese or tofu-based meal made just for me each day. i'd heard that i would struggle with my vegetarianism in central and south america, but i seem to be disproving this claim so far. as long as they do quorn steaks in argentina, i'll be fine.
gabriela, the school's director, is great. i found out today that she grew up in urbana champagne, where brother will did his third uni year at the university of illinois. small world. her partner, charlie, is the nicest man in the world, and it's comforting to hear another english accent after spending 90% of my day around spanish speakers - although i am enjoying my spanish-immersion too. their son, lukas, is very sweet. he was showing sally and i the fruits in the gardens here. he is clearly well-practised in retrieving the fruit from the trees with his bamboo stick, and he was keen to share the fruit of his fruit-picking labours with us. the fruit stained my t-shirt. its name escapes me.
our first day with la cambalacha took us to neighbouring san pedro, via 2 crammed pick up trucks. as we trundled along the potholed roads, hanging from the backs of the trucks, i chanced another glimpse of the mighty volcano peaks beyond atitlan. i would like to climb one if i can. we arrived in san pedro, and the la cambalacha students began their carnival throughout the town's streets. it was great to see the locals emmerging from their corrugated iron homes, the streets lined with reservedly curious elders and much more confident children. gabi asked sally and i to follow the parade and take some photos. i don't think there was a single person who didn't return my smile that day.
sally and i gave our first lessons today. i gave a snare drum lesson to a group of 7 this morning, and then sally, leire and i gave a joint tap-dance and african drumming lesson in the dance studio this afternoon. it was a tiring but fairly enjoyable experience. the kids range from extremely enthusiastic to so disenchanted that you wonder why they bother turning up. the most difficult part is keeping everyone interested, and not leaving anyone out. but doing anything with them is fairly taxing, as my spanish is so limited, and spanish isn't their first language either. but considering it was my first teaching experience, i think it went ok. my main concern is that they tire of me too quickly!
having said that, there are a number of students who seem to have warmed to me quite quickly - and i them. they are incredibly patient given the appalling level of my broken spanish, and i do appreciate that. one of the ex-students, victor, is particularly friendly. he was explaining to sally this afternoon that although he doesn't speak english and i don't speak spanish, we seem to have a sort of chemistry that means we get along well anyway.
we went to victor and another chap's house last night for dinner, which turned out to be more a mid-scale gathering in which everyone gradually produced a different musical instrument throughout the night and began to play. it was rather surreal. i would have brought something too if i had known.
there isn't much relaxing to be done around here until at the very end of the day - but we're heading back across the lake this weekend to stay in panajachel, where we can hopefully buy some drumsticks, meet with brittany (a lovely canadian girl whom we met in antigua, and who is staying in san marcos for the next couple of weeks) and sleep in a bed without fear of being bitten, stung, pinched or eaten.