Capitalina

Happy end of April everyone! Time is flying, I have already reached the end of my first 90 days here in Guate which meant it was time to stamp my passport again to renew my tourist visa for another 90 days. So I headed to the capital and from there the week turned into a crazy adventure with many stories to share with you all!

Friends visit!

So to start my adventures I was honored with a visit from one of the coolest couple I know! my childhood best friend and her boyfriend flew into Guate and we met in the Central Park then explored around a bit until we headed to an airbnb. It was really nice to see someone from home and especailly these friends. I felt like I could really share some of my experience of being an American in Guatemala. We went to eat in Cayala a very fancy part of the city and then went to sleep in zone 4. It was good to see the different Guatemalas that exist within the city too. From zona to zone and even from street to street you can find very different spaces.

My longtime bestie and her boyfriend in Guate!

The next morning I went for a run in Las Americas with a good friend living in the city, it was beautiful and a great place to run if you ever find yourself in Guatemala City. It is full of monuments and statues along the way and has a really great path for runners and bikers.

Las americas mirador

In the afternoon, we got to check out the Museum of Mayan Archeology. It was very cool to wander through and observe the different artefacts and see a bit of the story left behind.

          

 

                           Also I forgot to mention we saw a performance at the theater!! And here is an artefact from Altaverapaz

Santo Tomas y Fuentes giorginas

The following day we joined with other teachers and ex becarios from the English language Programs to drive to Xela where our next volcano awaited us. Everyone was very welcoming to my plus two guests and it was fun have the group grow a bit more. In Xela we stayed at a hotel near the Central Park, enjoyed some late night xecas upon our arrival and then went to sleep for a few hours before our 3am wake up call...

Morning journey

We journeyed from the center to Zunil until we reached the start of the hike at around 5am. After a quick bathroom break we started going up to Santo Tomás or Pecul volcano. It was a really nice hike. We could eruptions of Santiago nearby. It was the highest hike I have ever been on at about 11000 ft or 3000 m. It felt magical to be above the clouds and eat delicious mangos at the top!

 

Summit views

The trek

We retraced most of our path down but then near the end we turned left onto a crazy 1+ hour decline full of chichicaste (poison ivy type plant) that led to the fuentes. Morale was low at this point. Our legs were tired and the ground was a bit slippery so we had some near falls and treacherous walking. But we were motivated by the promise of hot springs heated by the volcano awaiting below us. When we finally reached the steamy attraction it felt magical. We emerged from the woods tired and dirty into this spa like tourist destination. It was therapy for our bodies and our souls soaking in the hot sulfur.

Finally that night we feasted on pizza, one of the most delicious. (perhaps because I was so hungry) And after showering we went for some atolitos of ponche de leche con piquete in the park where we heard a lovely little performance and attempted to sing along.

Iximche

The next day, we began the journey back to Guatemala City with a few stops along the way. First we headed to a church in Xela for atol de elote to hold us over a bit. Then we went to the second oldest church in Guate. It was huge! Then after a delicious breakfast feast, we moved to Iximche, the first capital of Guatemala before Antigua and Guatemala City. Ixim in many Mayan lanuages means corn and che can translate to tree. It is now known as a pre Colombian Mesoamerican architectural site with many pyramid structures. It is interesting to walk around there and imagine all that took place before, but also you can still observe the continuation of Mayan culture there in ritual practices that are held in areas reserved for this use. It was a great way to learn more about Guatemalan history and a nice final stop for my friends before they returned back to the states.

Here you can see some of the synchronization between Mayan religion and Catholicism in the symbols of the church

Iximche

Antigua

Upon returning to the capital, I had planned on going to renew my visa that Monday (in case anything crazy happened I wanted to do it early). However, apart from that myself and the other English Teaching Assistant had the day free so I took a risk and we decided that I could do it on Wednesday and instead we would go explore Antigua! 

ETAs in Antigua!

I had been told to go visit many times so it was great to finally see it three months later... This too was a very different Guatemala than I had seen so far. We spent the day sight seeing at the park, museums, gardens, the cathedral, and ended with a chocolate making class. It was a great day in terms of the location and a quality bonding experience to connect more with the other person living my parallel life here in Guatemala.

The beautiful views near the museum

Chocolate making! Now I have tasted all the beans!!

The final product! Can you guess who made which one?

Embajada

The next day was back to business. That afternoon we had a visit to the embassy to share about our experiences so far in these programs. And to our surprise there were two more Fulbrighters there! The two research grantees have been living in the capital doing their research and I hadn't even thought of who they were and what they were doing so it was very cool to meet them! After the other ETA and I had finally gotten to catch up and reflect on our similar lives, we could now see another set of people living like us so it was very interesting.

Visa y policia

By Wednesday, it was time to face my visa. And let me share for those who ever need to do this... I thought I was prepared but I was not. I went to Migracion early in the morning with a picture I thought I needed, copies of my passport, grant documents, and a copy of my credit card. First I waited in the wrong line because there is also a bank on the first floor. Then the man at the front asked if I had the form, I said no and he told me to go up anyways so I went. Next I waited in the line for visas as there were many different lines and no one directing... once I finally reached the front, I was told I needed a ticket. So I waited in the ticket line. There I was told I had to go out and buy this form next door. So I left the place and bought the form. Then it turned out I needed a pen which I foolishly didn't pack so I asked a nice man and he lent me one. Then I filled out the form (I accidentally put estado civil as New Hampshire because I had no idea what it said.. but it wasn't a problem). Next I went back up, waited in line again and had my forms approved and received my ticket. I sat and waited watching a screen that said Turno with a number and the window, then below it were more numbers and windows. I assumed they were in the queue. Turns out this was not the case and I missed my turn. So I got a new number, waited my turn with eyes glued to the scree this time and made it to my turn. Then they told me I needed a new copy of my credit with both sides printed (even though the front only said discover...) so I left again, bought a copy and finally went to go get it reviewed. This time everything was ok but now the lady was going on lunch break so I waited more until a guy came to do it. The last step was to pay so I went downstairs waited in another line, took out my card and then they told me it was 200Q in cash... and guess who had no cash... So I left again got cash finally, by this time my friend kindly came to join me on his lunch break so I had some company he asked me if he could pay with his card because it was for the same bank but I said no it must be cash and we left. Finally I came back to pay and we overheard another guy paying with his bank card... So now my visa is renewed but long story short I should've asked many more questions along the way.

So if you are ever renewing your tourist visa, just make sure you have cash, copy of your passport, a copy of both sides of your credit card, and a form and a pen. And ask lots of questions if you don't want to waste time like me! Or just leave the country lol

The afternoon was better though as we had workshops with police in Guatemala. We got to observe their class, share about ourselves and take part in a few activities with them. It was fun getting to share with them and give an interactive opportunity for real life English. They were very friendly and welcoming too.

Answering lots of preguntas!

Guate sites

On our second to last day we had the opportunity to deliver more workshops to English Language Program students at the Guatemala City site. This was a great chance to meet more students. I delivered workshops on pronunciation and college life in the United States per request. I always feel a bit complicated on topics of pronunciation that enforce these ethnocentric ideas of a proper pronunciation when there are soo many different English accents out there, but I do also see the value in language learning of becoming acquainted with the different sounds and nuances in a new language so from this perspective I was happy to share with the condition that they understand my English is not the one and only and their accents aren't wrong. The college workshop was cool too because it gave the students a chance to reflect on the differences of Universities and think more deeply about their options after graduating. Plus they got to act out scenarios which was fun for me to watch!

Finishing up with the Guate sites and they presented me with a certifiacate!

Hun nal ye

And for the last excitement of the week, some friends and I drove back to Cobán together and headed to a beautiful destination called Hun nal ye. It has a gorgeous lagoon in the jungle and a cenote you can observe. We spent the day swimming, jumping, laughing, cooking ramen over a camp stove, doing yoga while getting pinched by crabs, and ending with a trip down a lazy river. It was great way to end the week and yet another reminder of just how beautiful Guatemala and our world in general are. So here's to more adventures and stories to share as I explore more!

 

Huuuun al yeeee

                   

Admiring cenotes and running from peacocks!