(no subject)
Hello all from Guatemala.
Antigua is beautiful. It lies in a valley surrounded by at least three volcanoes. One that erupts regularly, it puffs out smoke, which moves as if in slow motion and gradually disperses. There were also two "temblores" yesterday which are little mini-quakes. Nothing to be too serious but none the less the ground trembled a bit. One happened during lunch, and it felt no more powerful than a large truck rumbling by but my host mom was up lickety-split pushing me and the other students into the courtyard.
Overall an exciting day. I went out last night which was kind-of stupid because I was exhausted from a late arrival after a day of traveling and a bit of insomnia the night before. But I think it was good, all of the people in program are at the awkward stage of trying to get to know each other, and all a bit scared and overly friendly so the sooner we get past all that the better.
Classes will start monday, the building is beautiful. There is the archive, a library with books on shelves piled towards the high ceilings of an old colonial house, "breaking every fire-safety regulation ever made" as one of my instructors put it.
Its nice to be in a place thats so simple, the bustle here is very different from that of a big city. Traffic is minimal, some scooters, a few trucks, but in the main part of town it is much more likely to see people milling around, some working, others taking a break, heading somewhere. Older women do wash outdoors in the city. They clean beautiful fabrics and tunics, in a plaza that has huge water basins, there are very modern laundry facilities so I half wonder if thy aren't paid to do so, so us tourists can admire how "quaint" and "traditional" their town is. However the less cynical part of me thinks that maybe yuo can't send you special huipiles to the laundromat, or maybe its just much cheaper to do the labor and not pay. So much work and commerce here is all informal, which I like, its not all about creating a GDP that looks good on paper. I'm probably idealizing the lifestyle a bit though, if someone could do their laundry they could pursue other interests. There is a very traditional mentality here. My host mom when her husband was alive woke up an hour earlier than he did every day to prepare a meal for him, even when he had to be at work by 4AM. She also considered herself old at the age of 44. Although there is serious poverty I have yet to be really confronted by it, the beauty of the city underwhelms it.
Im excited to know the city well, and to feel more at home here. I'm scared but I know that theres so little to be scared of and I don't want to hold myself back from meeting Guatemalas because I'm nervous or embarrassed about my lack of proper Spanish. I am going to learn a lot here, that I can tell already.
Antigua is beautiful. It lies in a valley surrounded by at least three volcanoes. One that erupts regularly, it puffs out smoke, which moves as if in slow motion and gradually disperses. There were also two "temblores" yesterday which are little mini-quakes. Nothing to be too serious but none the less the ground trembled a bit. One happened during lunch, and it felt no more powerful than a large truck rumbling by but my host mom was up lickety-split pushing me and the other students into the courtyard.
Overall an exciting day. I went out last night which was kind-of stupid because I was exhausted from a late arrival after a day of traveling and a bit of insomnia the night before. But I think it was good, all of the people in program are at the awkward stage of trying to get to know each other, and all a bit scared and overly friendly so the sooner we get past all that the better.
Classes will start monday, the building is beautiful. There is the archive, a library with books on shelves piled towards the high ceilings of an old colonial house, "breaking every fire-safety regulation ever made" as one of my instructors put it.
Its nice to be in a place thats so simple, the bustle here is very different from that of a big city. Traffic is minimal, some scooters, a few trucks, but in the main part of town it is much more likely to see people milling around, some working, others taking a break, heading somewhere. Older women do wash outdoors in the city. They clean beautiful fabrics and tunics, in a plaza that has huge water basins, there are very modern laundry facilities so I half wonder if thy aren't paid to do so, so us tourists can admire how "quaint" and "traditional" their town is. However the less cynical part of me thinks that maybe yuo can't send you special huipiles to the laundromat, or maybe its just much cheaper to do the labor and not pay. So much work and commerce here is all informal, which I like, its not all about creating a GDP that looks good on paper. I'm probably idealizing the lifestyle a bit though, if someone could do their laundry they could pursue other interests. There is a very traditional mentality here. My host mom when her husband was alive woke up an hour earlier than he did every day to prepare a meal for him, even when he had to be at work by 4AM. She also considered herself old at the age of 44. Although there is serious poverty I have yet to be really confronted by it, the beauty of the city underwhelms it.
Im excited to know the city well, and to feel more at home here. I'm scared but I know that theres so little to be scared of and I don't want to hold myself back from meeting Guatemalas because I'm nervous or embarrassed about my lack of proper Spanish. I am going to learn a lot here, that I can tell already.