The key to surviving Xela is fulfilling volunteer projects and good weekend trips. (I’ve been continuing with the stove building project in the rural Mayan village and volunteering at a day care enter for low-income kids, I’ll write more about those soon!)

Last weekend I headed with a few other students to Lake Atitlan - it suppose to be one of the most beautiful lakes in the entire world and it really is quite spectacular Its at 5,000 feet, which is low compared to Xela at 8,000. The main town of Panajachel is a little touristy but has tons of local crafts, a chocolate shop (yum!) and even a bakery with warm bread (super yum!). Its also known for their outdoor activities. This is a picture of San Pedro Volcano, like SF it was very foggy...This is what its suppose to look like and what it looks like on the cover of my guidebook...

My friend Sarah and I started off the morning paddle-boating (like the ones we did in the Baltimore harbor when I was little) once we figured out the steering it was great! We saw a baptism happening on the beach. Winds pick up quickly on the lake and we were happy to have gone the paddle boat route (despite the laughs we incurred) because some of the kayakers incurred a personal baptism in the lake.

















Next on to a Natural reserve where I saw real monkeys!!!














It was absolutely gorgeous, super lush, waterfalls, and tons of flowers in every color you could imagine! The plants were really spectacular, we hiked up to waterfalls over suspension bridges and eventually zipped lined down, which was a lot of fun! Besides the views we also got to go through the trees which was a really neat perspective - I felt like the monkey now! There was even a little obstacle course over the waterfalls, walking over suspension bridges with no railings or having to get yourself over the waterfalls over a set of rope swings - don’t worry Mom and Dad I was harnessed into another rope! Although it still was pretty scary and I got a little stuck when I realize my short legs and sort arms physically could not reach the next swing. So eventually I had to swing myself over to the next one. But it was not graceful as evidenced by the crowd of people gathered below me to laugh. I had a good laugh at myself too though!


To get around these towns most people ride in Tuk Tuks, little red three wheeled vehicles with a bench in the back...we piled 4 people in although the driver said he had piled in 7 before. I was sitting in the front, but then we saw a policeman and the driver told me to quickly jump in the back, so while the tuk tuk was moving I pulled a Tom Cruise move (at 2mph) and hoped in the back while it was moving, quite the invigorating experience!

Saturday evening we took a boat to another town on the lake (its 8km by 18km the lake), which was another seemingly death-defying experience, as there was no room left on the boat, so they crowded Sarah and myself into the helm and took off at what felt like 100 mph (it usually takes 1 hour to cross the lake - it took us 20!)




View from our hotel Santiago













Santiago is situated in an inlet between 2 volcanoes - its gorgeous and completely un-touristy! The men still wear traditional dress there, bright white woven shorts, embroidered with flowers, animals and other designs. Sarah and I ended up stumbling upon a mini luxurious vacation. We rented a little cabin in a gorgeous garden full of sweet smelling, colorful flowers and a hammock. In addition we were able to use the hot tub (that sat on cliffs overlooking the lake) and the swimming pool and sauna, which was built into the mountain accessible by a hobbit door. And the best part at night out came the fireflies, which I haven’t seen since I was a kid visiting my grandparents in Jersey in the summers!















It was really spectacular to see the tress and volcanoes sparkling with the sweet smell of flowers (if only Brian was here to enjoy this with me too!). And it turned out to be just what I needed and I returned to Xela, refreshed and ready to take on another week.

Jennifer Anniston in Guatemala?

So I'm not sure if they are instituting a new program here in Guatemala for Driver Licenses, but so many places are advertising that they can help you take the test, get photos, and the government office that issues them seems always to have 100 people standing outside it...but the best has got to be that the advertisement to get a drivers license, is a huge blown up photo of a Guatemalan driver's license and the picture is none other than Jennifer Anniston!!! For some reason I can't see her having a driver's license from here (and it seems like no one knows how to driver here, but that's a different story)...

Comida Tipica - not everything is better fried

As all of you know I love food, talk about it often, and may be wondering what food in Guatemala is like. It's interesting. Breakfast usually consists of ‘mush’ and I was very excited to have mush, because I like hot cereal and the mornings here are cold - but its not mushy - its extremely liquidy. Honestly its warm milk with 2 or 3 pieces of oatmeal in it, I’m not a huge fan of milk or warm milk, so I start the day with the breakfast of champions and cookie and a cup of coffee.

Lunch usually is stewed chicken, potatoes or rice (which is good), and then dinner is always an egg, scrambled, fried or omlette-ish and black beans, refried, fried, or just regular. Despite there being amazing fruits in Central America and this being a super agricultural area, my host mom doesn’t serve fruits or vegetables, so a few times a week I skip the egg and bean meal (I’m concerned about my kidneys having to process too much protein) and head to a restaurant for a salad. During the day I buy fresh mangoes and other peel-able fruits off of the street for a mid-morning snack.

I hate to sound like a spoiled American but its definitely been a bit of adjustment to the food. But the other day had to be the crux of my culinary dilemma, I came home for lunch and was so excited to have something other than chicken, I didn’t know what it was but it was fried and covered in salsa served with rice - everything is better fried, right? No. It turned out to be fried baloney!! I covered it in salsa and chilies but it still tasted like baloney. And after 2 bites I just couldn’t force myself to eat more…sadly the everything tastes better fried is not a universal axiom.

Volcan Tajumulco

I’ve always wanted to climb a mountain by the light of a full moon and this weekend I did! - and it was Central America’s highest mountain just shy of 14,000 feet.

It was incredible, we (my teacher - our guide and some other students) started off at 10:30pm Saturday night, with what can best be described as s nauseating ride to the Mexican border. We started hiking at 1:30 in the morning (at 2,800 meters), and the moon was full. It was absolutely fascinating the moon gave the trees a haunted look, while huge rocks looked menacing. At points I knew we were walking on a narrow pass, but I couldn’t see the cliffs on either side.

For the first 3 hours we climbed, but the last hour was getting difficult. Between the altitude, high winds and at this point it the only way up was to climb hand over hand over rocks. After about 45 minutes of bouldering and pulling myself up in the dark, I honestly picked a rock and thought that rock will be the summit for me. But then I remembered my Dad giving me advice on this trip and life, saying to make sure I climb to the top of the mountain and that I don’t look back or go back down, but to go over to the other side. I realized there was no way to get to the ‘other side’ if I didn’t get to the top. I took a deep breath and honestly found anything I had left and climbed for 10 minutes more and finally reached the summit 5:40 am (approx 1500 meter elevation gain) - just in time to see the sunrise!


Words cannot even describe the view. On one side I saw the moon lighting up the sky pink and blue, on the other the sun changing the sky to brilliant red and orange. We could see the peaks of other volcanoes and were well above the clouds, eventually as the sun came up the shadow from the volcano I was standing on could be seen on the clouds. It was really breathtaking and the pictures (courtesy of Sarah) do not do the experience justice. I must point out that it was cold and by cold I mean that when I spilled some Gatorade on my backpack it immediately froze - and stayed frozen for awhile.

Here are pictures, and a video from the top - that noise is the wind. While I considered it a once in a lifetime experience, it was my teachers 111th time climbing the mountain, that’s right 111.



The top in the background at 9am.

Almolonga to Zunil

I was able to check out a few Mayan towns the previous weekend, Almolonga is situated in a deep valley famous for their produce and ability to grow fresh veggies. The guide book said it would be the biggest carrots you have ever seen, and I couldn’t quite believe it.

The valley is very fertile and because of underground waters and steam they have rich soil and water all year long, but the farmers here refuse to install irrigation lines and instead still make ditches that fill with water and then scoop up the water with a shovel and toss it on the veggies.















Next onto Zunil, here it is evident the mixing of Catholicism and Mayan traditions. When the
Spanish came and imposed Catholicism on the Mayans, they had to find a way to keep their traditions and rituals alive, so they integrated them into their version of Catholicism. Some can be interesting, particularly San Simon. He was originally an idol/god from the Mayan tradition, but they called him Saint Simon and all was ok. Sam Simon is rotated on a yearly basis to different peoples houses, he has suits, including tuxedos a variety of cowboy boots and honestly looked to me like a female mannequin dressed up to look like Michael Jackson. He has some Elvis glasses and painted on sideburns, and you can pour liquor down hi throat (they later collect the ‘bodies water’ and sell it as holy water) In addition he smokes and has a tray that collect his ashes which are also sold. Every night he is put into his own bed, in his own room where he has a closet full of clothes. Oh and he has a man purse that you put money into. I try and be very respectful of different cultures and religions, but I had to restrain myself from laughing, seeing grown men light cigarettes for this mannequin and the tarot card player hanging out in the corner. Very interesting...I think this picture of Sarah and shows my skepticism (and lack of a poker face)

Semana Santa

They definitely take Holy Week to the next level here, processions, incense, floats, rugs out of saw dust, you name it. There are 29 churches in Xela and each one has 2 processions with different floats. These floats can weigh up to 2,000 kilos (4,400 pounds!) All the guys where long purple robes and march down, then the float with Jesus, a band, than all the women in white (virginal), than the Virgin Mary float, another band and more incense. The music is good and its interesting but a little intense.

El Ninos in the children procession

El Ninas... The floats














The men marching The women's float
Some videos of the procession, I liked the music...


They also make beautiful, intricate rugs out of sawdust on the ground, people start working Thursday evening and continue through to Friday morning. These are absolutely gorgeous and apparently require a lot of time and money to make. They represent sacrifice (a mix of Mayan and Catholicism) and then eventually the procession comes and walks over them and they are destroyed. Its kind of sad because they


This one is out of leaves, flowers and pine needles


The longest rug in Xela (200 meters, up a mountain)

My First Day of School

I had a first day unlike any other first day of school…it was absolutely amazing. My teacher said he had to go finish a project and if I wanted to come along, so we took a chicken bus (old school buses from the U.S. that seat 3 people to a seat even though they are made for 2 child butts) for an hour, hiked up a mountain and ended up in an incredibly rural Mayan village.

He has been organizing a project to build stoves in this community, because many of the families do not have stoves and instead they cook over open fire inside their shacks, the result being that many of the children have a lot of respiratory infections, its dangerous (I saw a little boy with both feet so badly burned, it was heartbreaking) and its bad for the environment. We met up with a couple of medical students and I spent the morning mixing cement and building a base for this oven. The children were so absolutely sweet and the mom was so incredibly thankful that she insisted on making us fresh tortillas, stewed tomatoes and an egg omelet. It was an incredible experience and I was so thankful to be apart of it as it ws a good reminder for me of why I am going back to school and how lucky I have things.

I didn't have my camera on me, but some others took pictures, so I will post soon.

Life in Xela

Xela is about 8,000 feet above sea level and a bigger city situated up on a plateau of mountains. To be honest it is taking some time to adjust , its definitely a little smoggy and safety for women unfortunately seems to be a concern, so I just have to be home by dark (unless accompanied by a chaperone, but please don‘t worry I have very concerned host parents and a brother here), So I will just have do some exploring and find some fulfilling activities for the day.

My family in Guatemala is very sweet, we live in a very tiny (1 tiny bathroom for all of us!), nice house a few blocks from school. My host parents are both retired teachers, she was a first grade teacher and he was Phys Ed teacher, and they have one son left at home who is finishing up his university degree in architecture. My host father was so excited that I had done a marathon, he too did one back in the 80s and was excited to point out he beat me by 2 minutes. My host mother was absolutely appalled when I drank a glass of cool water - she thinks it causes coughs and of course I have one (pollution and altitude?) so when I ask for water she hands me a glass of hot water…hmmm