Lake Atitlan "the place where the rainbow gets its color"

Ok the hype is that Lake Atitlan is the most beautiful lake in the world. Who wouldn´t want to see it? Once again I risked life and limb to climb aboard a shuttle to embark on a 2 1/2 hour trip of terror. Sharp turns, passing on curves when it is foggy, rainy and such. What was the hurry? I guess he was late for lunch.
Anyway, the lake was beautiful. The hotel was worth the trip. A nice bed, fab shower and great views. The next day we went to a town everyone calls Chi Chi because the name is too long. It was interesting and I would´ve much rather been at where I should have been on Sunday. They were selling their wares on the steps of the church, on the Sabath! It was surreal. Check out the pics below. Enjoy.
r

Pictures

I finally figured out how to put pictures on my blog but couldn´t make them any smaller. Sorry if it took forever to load. Those are just a few of the many. As you can see this is a poor country but Antigua is one of the most affluent. There is a huge divide between haves and have nots. It truely breaks your heart. Once again I have to express my gratitude for this experience. It changes your perspective on a lot of things.
Spanish was difficult today. I had to put sentences together. It took me forever to think about how to put it all together to make sense. By the time I was finished who could remember what we were talking about? I know it will take a long time to master this language. I will say though, I'm definitely up for the challenge. Already planning another trip here in Feb. 09. Thanks for all your love,
r
scroll to the bottom for pics

The Chicken Bus

Today finally my first ride on a Chicken Bus. We went to another town for a Catholic religious celebration. A Holy Day that happens once a year.(I say once a year loosely because they really celebrate everyday) But this celebration includes blocks and blocks of colored sawdust decorations. They are made to look like carpet and they lay them down in the middle of the street. They stencil them, paint them and put flowers all over them. It really was an incredible sight. Of course I took plenty of pictures. The bus ride was another hold onto your seat because perhaps we will hit something or someone and fly off a cliff. If you ever see a Chicken Bus coming, jump out of the way!
Spanish is coming along. Yesterday my teacher was upset because she thinks I don´t study enough. She had given me about 30 verbs on Tuesday and she wanted me to know them by the next day. I think I´m doing really well. Today is Thursday and I know them now. (wow I sound like a kid) Thank goodness I don´t get a grade or have to answer to my mother. Sorry if my spelling is off, but I can´t spell check on this computer. I miss everyone so much and can´t wait to get back to the States.
Love much,
r

Go Ask Alice

There is a girl that lives in our Casa. Her name is Alice and she is from London. She graduated in Fashion Design and worked in the fashion industry for about 2 years, but felt it too pretentious for her. So she decided to start traveling the world. She has spent time in South America working with children, then came to Guatemala to work at the Spanish School I attend. She does their marketing, and works at a bar in the evening. Once a week she goes out to the children who have to work in the fields with their parents and cannot attend school to teach them. Alice is 24 years old and will be leaving for Nicaragua in 2 weeks. She is amazing. When ever we have a question about school, spanish or Antigua we go ask her. She knows everything! I´m glad she will be here until I leave. Alice has made things much easier than they would´ve been.
r

Ladies of the Morning

Saturday was a treat to sleep in until 7:30. I studied a little after breakfast then decided to walk downtown. There is a small park where all the young kids hang out and kiss. Also at the park is a watering hole where the women who don´t have a watering hole in their backyard come to wash their clothes. It´s like nothing any of us will ever experience for ourselves unless we one day have no electricity for our wonderful washers and dryers. They stack the clothes in a bundle inside of a blanket that they tie together and put it on thier head and walk to this watering hole. I have pictures of the clothing stacked 3 to 4 feet high and just as wide. Then they scrub them by hand. It´s quite a sight and makes me so grateful for all of the "appliances" I have. I take so much for granted. Smack me upside the head if you ever hear me complain about doing laundry again.
r

Mr Toads Wild Ride

Kim and I decided to go to the main market downtown. It was amazing. Just like a swapmeet in L.A. We found this incredible bakery and we bought a loaf of banana bread to share with the rest of the group. It was a hit. We picked up a few trinkets, but not a lot of ¨stuff¨. I want to buy a nativity and that will be about it. It was getting late and we were pretty far from our Casa so when a Taxi driver asked us if we wanted a ride we said yes. The taxi´s are small two seaters with a motorcycle engine. Taxi drivers in Guatemala make the taxi drivers in New York look safe. When we got into the taxi I told the man to be careful. He laughed. That should have been my first clue. It was a wild ride. He never really stopped at a stop sign, just looked to see if someone was coming. He was going straight for a concrete post then swerved at the last minute. When the streets get narrow, whoever is there first goes in front. He got close to hitting cars and people. But I laughed like a little girl the whole way. Thought I would get the hic-ups. It was fun but a one time trip.
When we go into the Central Park which is a gathering place for the city, there is a little girl that always comes up to us and tries to sell us a blanket. She first says 1 dollar and when you say ok, she changes it to 25 dollars. Then she follows you around the park trying to get you to change your mind. She is really cute with a traditional Guatemalan dress on. Wish I could show you a picture. I´m still working on that.
Much love,
r

Feeling Like a Kid at Camp

Yesterday was a difficult day for me. I was homesick. I missed my family, my dog, my bed. But luckily today is a much better day. I found an internet cafe´but I can´t use my own computer so unfortunetly I probably won´t be able to post pictures. I take my camera everywhere so I have taken a lot of pictures. We shall see. We found a Bagel Barn yesterday and we were in Heaven. Toasted tuna and cheese.
Real food! There are people that sell food on the street. They cook it right there with a grill. It smells divine but we have been warned under no circumstances to ever eat it or we will be very sorry. For about a week.
We were woken up today at 5:30a.m. with fireworks a parade with a band. No kidding.
They shoot off firecrackers everyday here. For birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, good news. At all times of the day. The people here have so little yet they seem so happy.
School is good. Things seemed to click today. My teacher is Julia(whoolia) and about 4´9". She is very patient. We laugh a lot. Mainly at me. I miss everyone so much. Thank you for your support and love. Can´t believe it is already Thursday.
Much love, r

Both eyes blind

I´ve arrived in Guatemala! Our driver was at the airport as expected and took us on a wild ride to Antigua. Thank goodness my friend Kim distracted me with a story so that I didn´t dwell on the fact that I thought we might die before we got there. We reached our casa and we were both staying at the same place. It was a small comfort. We all know I don´t like to camp but hey what´s an adventure without a few bugs? It is after all in Central America and the living conditions are very poor. I know that I take so much for granted. Little things like TP that can actually go into the toilet and not in the trash. Eeww much? No spiders, no church bells going off at 6a.m. and definitely no rooster´s cocka doodle doin all night long.(I thought they only did that when the sun came up) I was so happy that I bought a small pillow at the airport because seriously I would´ve never used the pillow they provided. So I´m just going at this with my eyes shut and my shower shoes on.
With the gory details out of the way I will tell you that this is a blast! The family I am staying with is great. The mother is an excellent cook. All of the casa´s have large doors so that they can park their cars inside. There is a courtyard in the middle with all of the rooms surrounding it. The father is an artist and he paints all day. Fun stuff like naked women and the usual fruits. This really is going to be an experience I will never forget.

República de Guatemala

The beautiful country of Guatemala is now on my horizon. Click here to learn more about the place I soon will refer to as "home" for three weeks.

I will be located in: