Xela

July 21st - 24th

Catching a chicken bus goes as follows....walk to bus terminal; ask people staring at you where to catch the bus to Chimaltenango; try and find the bright green and red one named "Alemana"; find it; ask the driver to signal you when it is your stop; ask a fellow passenger how much it normally costs to get to Chimaltenango so your gringa self doesn't get ripped off; ask money-collector dude for change when you hand him Q5 for a Q3 fare; roll your eyes when he says, "no, es Q5"; sit back and enjoy the evil eye money-collector man gives fellow passenger when you tell him "ello me dijo es solo Q3"; smile politely money-collector man reluctantly hands back Q2; ask a different passenger when to get off to change buses for Xela; freak out slightly and awkwardly attempt to dislodge your bag from between the seats while simultaneously bumping into others when the person you ask semi-screams "AHORITA!!"; hop off and look around in a very confused manner;  smile as the man who screamed pokes his head out of the window yelling "mas arriba, al otro lado!"; cross a highway, quickly and with bags slapping us about; ask man standing with others which bus to catch for Xela; try and find humor in the situation as he points to one passing us and says, "como asi?";  thank the heavens above when a bus with ACTUAL SEATS with belts and air and everything shows up with a man yelling out the window "a Xela, a Xela"; feign sleeping to prevent nausea; laugh hysterically while watching Hannah attempt to journal as the bus sped over pothole-ridden and around sharp mountainside switchbacks, throwing her body against the window and into the other seat; get dropped off on the side of Pan-American Highway 1; play dodgecars, get distracted by a child selling plantain chips; load onto another chicken bus that played some stellarly awful musica; be minimally surprised but extremely amused when the driver came to an abrupt stop and the entire seat next to Hannah flew onto the floor; ask fellow passenger when to get off; discover that drivers' honking sometimes has a pattern and other times not - good-looking girl = honk, passing another vehicle = honk, warning to a man on a bike = honk, nice day = honk, restaurant they went to once = honk; exit too soon; catch a microbus to parque central; arrive in Xela proper having saved Q203.50 than the proposed price for direct transport! Booya!

Side note #1: If, before leaving for a very long trip, you are debating whether to buy a skirt that's slightly snug or one that's a bit loose, go with the former. I purchased the latter for "comfort," but was running across a crowded intersection before catching our last transfer bus when it just shimmied it's way all the way down to my ankles. Free shows are not ok, but losing your skirt I learned is yet one more reason people honk. Just saying, go with the slightly snug one.

First impression of Xela...much more of a Guatemalans' ciudad. Gothic architecture, less gringos, underground quirky and artsy vibe, great chill out cafes, excellent street food, pseudo-progressive with many community-oriented volunteering opportunities with eco/green organizations, and stronger sense of community and family. We sought refuge in El Cuartito, a great intimate cafe with great music and hot chocolate that was recommended to us via email by Michelle (who I knew of thanks to the one and only Ashley Curl)! While conjugating verbs, I heard "Audrey?" and looked up to see (and meet for the first time) Michelle. It is always nice to meet someone who has been where you are for a while and can steer you in the right direction (aka to sweet hangouts and community events and away from sketchy areas).

Side note #2: If you are in Xela, you should stay at The Black Cat as you can pick off the menu and choose any desayuno quieres!!! The panqueques are possibly the best I´ve ever had (obviously second to yours, if you have ever made me pancakes). Also, maybe don't get the French toast since is literally a piece of bread that is deep fried like KFC...just saying.

The general routine we have developed in Xela is stuff our faces with yummy free breakfast in the morning, explore through the early afternoon, and end in parque central to people-watch until sundown. Somewhere in there is the consumption of some platanos fritos from the ladies in the street. Given that as a template for our activities, I'll touch on some highlights...

Friday: Spoke with Mom and Dad on the phone! Visited a funky bookstore called Vrisa and purchased my first two books in Spanish, one being "El Principito" and the other a collection of short stories for children...yes, that is the level of my Spanish and I'm not ashamed. Hannah and I played the Spanish version of "I Spy" or "Yo Espio" in the park to help build our vocabulary. Good dinner with Michelle, we have a very similar sense of humor which always makes for good times.  I can't quite identify what it is, but their "pizza" sauce tastes a little off...could be ketchup. Mini dance party with Hannah in between our bunks to "Sweet Disposition" before bed.

Saturday: Went to Mercado Democracia with Michelle to take part in the craziness that markets bring. Markets are like the watering holes of the human race. The senses are overwhelmed from the moment you get near it...crazy smells, more colors than you knew existed, textures never felt before, interesting and fresh flavors, and Spanish words/phrases we sure aren't taught in school! Since she lives here, Michelle did some serious shopping and bartering for a flat of 30 eggs, a head of broccoli, a crap ton of bananitas, a bolsita of limes, some tomatoes, and a pair of sweet Converse-style shoes. The greatest decision we made for the day was to have Michelle show us the ropes of everything while she was hauling all of those groceries...yeaaaahhhh. She was very gracious about it...our bad Mi! Amazingly delicious chocolate pancakes with raspberry sauce at El Cuartito... that's right, all we do is eat, so I have no doubt I'll be growing into that skirt of mine. The people-watching in the park wasn't much different than the previous days, except there were festivities happening in the park for the celebration of XelaPan´s (a dangerously addictive bakery on the corner) 25th Anniversary. What better way to commemorate the event than by making a 30-meter long cake while a marching band plays all the popular songs from American and Guatemalan radio. Plus, we met a whole bunch of characters while making a pseudo short film....a couple of older drunks, a shoeshiner, a couple, a cowboy, and a group of boys who will no doubt be the next generation of Menudo. Our first Guatemalan futbol game!! We learned many things....if you bring a drink with you, they'll empty it into a plastic bag, stick a straw in it and then you are kinda stuck holding it for the remainder; the Xela team is pretty awful; although they have the designated "super fans" that bring their own marching band and fireworks, the support that the majority of fans provide is pretty transient - a good play = "vamanos!! Pueden hacerlo!", a bad play 19 seconds later = "Beso mi culo, pinche puta! El burro sabe mas que tu!"; we missed both goals scored by Xela because we were distracted by more entertaining things like a bat that landed on the field and the boy selling candy and cigarrettes (so sad); there was a team wide fight on the field minutes before the end of the game that caused the ejections of two players and subsequently distracted Xela long enough for the other team to score in the last few seconds to tie the game; the borracho in front of us tried to throw a bolsita of gatorade at members of of the officiating staff - no only did he spill half of it on himself, but the bag got caught in the barbed wire; the verbal assault from the "fans" isn't only directed towards the players, but also the coaches, trainers, assistants, and benched players...they're impartial.

Sunday: Found a school by pure luck and chance...saw a sign above the locked door that said "For more information, go to this address up the street." We did and met Nora, el jefe, who was charismatic and seemed very passionate about what she was doing with her school. The school itself had a rock wall in the middle of it (I was in at that moment), a rooftop terrace and weekly events/outings in the community and surrounding pueblitos - Hannah and I felt really good about it and decided within about 3 minutes that Guatemalensis was the school for us. I Skyped with my family and saw my puppy! While journaling, the same group of Menudo boys passed by and distracted me enough by shouting "Andrey, Andrey!" to look up and give a little wave. That's right, Hannah and I have fans in Xela...just sayin'. Channeled my inner EBAL in the park while I was entertained by a ukelele player and a little girl who was dancing with reckless abandon...had a good chat with the mother who said, "estar una mama es bonita." It was a very honest moment and I thought immediately of my friend Claudia (hola mamita!). Hit up all the fun tiendas we had been wanting to check out including Artesenas Panaderia and Al-Natural. Met up with Michelle immediately after checking our mail, which was about 1 hour after the proposed time she sent us...yeah, email only is a difficult way to communicate sometimes. An older gentleman sitting near us responded to his friend that was approaching with a "hey, just hanging out with the gringos" (en Espanol). Hannah, mouth agape with disbelief, turns and looks at him...and his friend says, "I think maybe they understand us (en Espanol)." "Yep, we sure do." Oh Hannah - so classic. Tried some "atol de elote," a warm, thick corn beverage with a sprinkle of cinnamon and cooked corn kernels atop...one of those things that you just keep tasting because you can really never decide whether you like it or not. Then, Bananagrams!! Failed attempt to make their version of hot chocolate...our version was more a chunk of chocolate in the bottom of a cup full of somewhat brownish, lukewarm water. Don't be jealous. 

Tomorrow we start language school otra vez. Though to a much lesser degree, I still get a little nervous before "the first day of school." Dork to the core and proud of it! Miss and love you all sooooooo much!!