Chicabal: "El Mundo es un Jardín"

Oregon isn't the only place with a crater lake.

Today I got up at 7:00am (so rough when on an extended vacation), to hike up Chicabal (pronounced CHEE-cah-bal), a little bit outside of Xela. Chicabal is a mostly dormant volcano, the top of which fell into itself years and years ago, and filled with water, forming a lake at the top. If you need a visual...


We took a small bus ride there, more like one of those old-school Toyota minivans that are shaped like an egg. But in Guatemala, that means you can fit about 15 people in them! Among the people who sat down were a group of American students. When I asked if they were part of a program, they said it was called One Revolution. I said, "oh, yeah, I know that program" - which surprised the hell out of them. I went on to tell the leaders that I know two people who have worked for the parent organization of this program, Carpe Diem Education, and have known tons of people from Warren Wilson College who were once participants. Truth is, I actually applied to be a leader myself, but have yet to be offered a job there... he he.

"El mundo es un jardín" (basically meaning "it's a small world" but literally "the world is a garden"), because one of the leaders on this trip had met my friend and world travller, Azikiwe Chandler. Who if anybody knows anything about travelling, knows that one hasn't even come close to seeing the world until you have seen as much as Zik. Yep, small world.


Once out of the bus, it was a long and steep walk up the Volcano. Our guide was one of the younger male Spanish teachers at El Mundo, Mauricio. It was a great opportunity to keep practicing my Spanish, espcecially my use of the subjunctive, which as any advanced Spanish language student knows, can be the bane of your existence until you finally overcome it.

Anyways... Chicabal is a volcano sacred to los Mayas, as well as the indigenous who have converted to Christianity. When we got to the lake, there were actually know indigenous ceremonies going on, they were all Christian cermonies.

Again, I kept thinking about the types of people and relgious ceremonies I saw in Tibet, because this form of Christianity is very different from the Catholocism I grew up with. (These ceremonies weren't Catholic, though, even though Catholocism is one of the most common Christian religions in Guatemala). The small town on the way up to the volcano had the feel of the small towns or monasteries of Tibet - built on the steep slopes of the mountainside, with field of different crops covering the hillsides on angles we wouldn't dream of farming in the United States. But in Guatemala, that is what it is.


Tomorrow is off the Las Fuentes Georginas. The natural hot springs just outside of the city for a little more rest and relaxation. I will leave you with the last photo I took before the afternoon fog rolled in (the reason we started hiking so early).

Like Riding A Bicycle

After only three days of language school with mi maestra Rosa, it is comforting to know that while things start out often a bit frustrating, re-learning Spanish es mucho mejor than I thought. Of course, I am getting a big challenge right off the bat because somehow Rosa and I are always talking about things that are complicated enough in English, like when she asked me to discuss la diferencia entre las dos casas del Congreso, y los ideologías de los Republicanos y los Demócratas. We also talk about such things as seguro médico (health insurance) and el calentamiento del mundo/cambio del clima (that global warming/climate change).

Needless to say, these are topics not easily discussed in one's native tounge, but I am working on it. I am finally getting to the point where every now and then I can also say things like: "If I had known that word, I would have been able to describe this better!" (which is actually quite difficult to say!)

On the homefront, I love my host family! I have become quite good friends with little Sofía, and we have lots of playdates together. It is hard enough to understand babies already, let alone in Spanish, but we do just fine. This is a photo of Sofía with her mother and great-grandmother!

On of our latest excursiones was to a cemetary in the center of Xela. I had only ever seen a cemetary like this before in New Orleans, where most of the tombs are all raised tombs. The last photo below is of one of the many volcanoes that you simply come across in the horizon when you are walking about Guatemala.

Xela - Day 1

As soon as I got off the bus in downtown Xela, I strapped on mi mochila and started walking. I didn't know where, but I wanted to get lost for a bit before making it to my destination:
8a Avenida Calle BA-61, Zona 1
(translating that address means building number 61 on Street B off of Avenue 8 in the block after Street A... easy, right?)
So I only got lost for a couple of blocks before I got my barrings. I knew that Xela, like Guatemala City, is arranged in a grid system, so it is easy to find your way with Avenues (Avenidas) and Streets (Calles). Thank gooddness for New York City-like grid layouts!
Upon entering El Mundo en Español, the Spanish language school I would be studying at for the next three weeks, I saw one student and a teacher talking one-on-one in the livng room. Then Gladis, who lives and works at the school, took my back into her coutryard where there were another dozen or so students each with their own teacher at little tables soaking in the sun, with the expansive view of the mountains behind them. I learned that every six months a group of health professionals come to learn spanish at El Mundo, and this group was just starting. They don't live at the school, but we all study together in the morning with our teachers. Seen below:


I live only with Anders, a 6 1/2 (or more) foot tall Norweigan college student here for study. We take excursions in the evening together, I towering above the Guatemalans, and he towering above everyone.
In my first afternoon, I enjoyed a large alumerza (lunch) with the extended family of Gladis. IMPORTANT NOTE: Anders and I live in separate rooms upstairs, and one of Gladis' daughters also has a room upstairs. Gladis' tio (uncle) lives downstairs, along with Gladis, her mother, another daughter, and two grandchildren. For lunch and dinner, even more people come over (the spouses and boyfriends), and a dozen of us crowd around the table for our meals. I. love. it.
My first day in Xela also brought a game of six-person soccer played at elevation and in the smog on a concrete court. My skills aren't so bad that they didn't pass the ball to me, (I only scored 2 of the 16 goals my three-person team made, you do the math) but we can see what happens when more people show up!

I also enjoyed my first good night of sleep in many, many days. Between holiday travels, major jetlag that never wore off in Hawai'i, and simply getting to Guatemala, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to a podcast of A Prairie Home Companion and falling asleep by ten o'clock. Alright. Homework time.

The exterior of the house I will be staying in for my first three weeks in Xela.

The Road to Xela

For the next two months or so I will be travelling throughout Quetzaltenango, the second largest city in Guatemala, known as Xela (that's SHAY-la).
I got up early in the morning to catch the bus from Guatemala City to Xela. There were all these signs in the office to be aware of the "ladrones" (theives), who are watching you closer than you think... Eek! Okay, so I got really paranoid that the guy who WORKS there who kept smiling and nodding at me was going to steal my backpack from the luggage compartment once I got on. Needless to say, this didn't happen. Guatemalans are quite nice (sorry Sr. Luggage Man).
The bus. Okay, so this wasn't one of the "chicken buses" (highly decorated old school buses), but it was still a fun ride. In order to boost business, there is a driver's assistant who stands by the open front door yelling "Xela! Xela! Xela!" and dismounts while the bus is in motion, finds people who want on, get there luggage, and reboard all while the bus continues to slowly move forward. And here I thought Guatemalans just take there time doing everything...
I had two friendly passengers sit next to me, an anciano (old man) and a woman with her adorale child. The traditional dress worn by the people of the rural areas, combined with their leathery sun-beaten skin, small stature, and smell of candle wax (from religious ceremonies) was all very reminiscent of Tibet.
Needless to say, the countryside was quite beautiful, with towering volcanoes and lush, steep mountains everywhere. Then arrival in Xela...

Guatemala City - Day 1

The flight to Guatemala was less than noteworthy. I was hoping to have a fun Spirit Airlines story a la Patty Hoffmann Babb, but alas, I got here, and spent a night at Dos Lunas hotel (photos to come soon). It was a great little place co-owned by a Guatemalan and her husband from Amsterdam. I laid out in the coutryard hammock, listened to some podcasts, and read up on my destinations for the trip.
My little respite in the bustling city of Guatemala - Hotel Dos Lunas


(Thanks for the recommendation, Lev and Amber!)