Home Again...four weeks and counting

I'm back in Antigua again after a fun weekend in Honduras! I got to visit my fifth Maya archaeological site (Chichen Itza, Tullum, Kaminaljuyu, Tikal, Copan) and once more see so many of those temples and artifacts we talked about in class. Copan is known for its sculpture, which is very intricate and well-preserved. Most famous is the heiroglyphic staircase, which is the longest of it's kind in the Americas. When it was constructed, every step was carved with glyphs. Intense!!

At Copan's famous Heiroglyphic Staircase

My roomie and I took an exceptionally early shuttle (4am) on Friday to Copan Ruinas, which incidentally is the city a kilometer outside of the ruins. I guess people like to be confusing when naming things. The city is very beautiful, with cobblestone streets like Antigua, and plenty of restaurants, hotels, and souvenir shops. Neither of us had slept much, so we just explored the city and went to the Archaeology museum for the afternoon, then got pizza and drinks and crashed early. A note on Honduran beer: very similar to Guatemalan beer. I tried four kinds - Port Royal, Imperial, Barena, and 'Salvavida', which struck me as kind of funny, as the purified water in Guatemala is 'Salvavidas'. 'Salvavida' means 'lifesaver' or 'saves lives', by the way.

From left to right: K'ak Chan (Smoke Serpent), K'ak' Nab-Kauil (Smoke Jaguar), U'ba K'auil (18 Rabbit), and K'ak Yip Yahchan K'auil (Smoke Shell) - the eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, and fifteeth rulers of Copan.

On Saturday we made an early start - got breakfast and took a tuk-tuk (it's like a taxi, but more like a motor bike with room for passengers in the back) to the ruins. We spent about five hours exploring just the main area of the ruins, which was pretty awesome. Highlights: Seeing tons of awesome Stelae and Altars (especially the unfinished Altar L), the second largest Maya ball court, the heiroglyphic staircase, and the view from the top of the temple of the inscriptions. We got to explore some of the excavation tunnels as well.

Do you remember the tiger of sand from Aladdin? This reminded me of that so I had to have a picture. I'm supposed to be considering sneaking in. The museum at the ruins had a really awesome layout - I was impressed.

We got lunch and then headed to the sculpture museum in the afternoon. A lot of the sculpture from the site is now housed in the musum so that it will be preserved. We finally got to see the real Altar Q (showing all the rulers 1-16). The museum was set up in a way that really goes in like with Maya worldview and conception of life and the underworld. You enter through the mouth of the earth monster and go through a tunnel (which is supposed to resemble the excavation tunnels) to the lower floor - exhibits on the underworld. There is also a lifesize version of the Rosalila Temple in the center of the museum. The upstairs exhibit deals with non-underworld material. A lot of the stelae were set up as they would have been in relation to the temple. Kudos to whomever designed that museum.

I snuck a kiss with Yax K'uk' Mo', the founder of Copan's dynasty. (Don't worry, he's been dead for 1600 years).

We headed back to the city in the evening and got dinner and drinks with our classmate Sarah and her friend Noel. Caught the 6am shuttle back this morning - I've gotten used to traveling in the wee hours of the morning. Mom and Dad come to visit this Thursday and I'm really excited - it should be so much fun :)

Early morning sun from the van on the way back to Antigua.

Happy Easter!

Well, it's another Monday and I'm beginning to realize that I have a lot of work to get done before the semester is over. We have four more weeks of normal classes, then one of finals. It's hard to believe things are starting to wind down.


The second half of Semana Santa was pretty incredible. I got a chance to help make an alfombra (the key: patience, water, and a good sense of humor) on Holy Thursday, and then watched the procession destroy it. It's quite a sacrifice when you think of how much time pepople put into these works of art...hours and hours. I took advantage of the abundance of vendors to eat plenty of tostadas mixtas (see previous entry) and empanadas - sort of like apple turnovers, just not as gooey and buttery. A note on Guatemalan food: after a while it seems like everything is sweet, from coffee and tea to fruit (they eat a lot of fruit here) to bread to sodas. I can go days without having actual dessert and still feel like I have OD'd on sugar. So I guess that's why I drink beer, to balance things out ;)


I really enjoyed going to Masses and Laudes (Morning Prayer) this week. When you spend a couple hours at church every day, you begin to feel like you know everyone there, even if you never talk. It makes me feel a little at home. While Mass on Holy Thursday and the Good Friday service were packed, the Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday Masses were not nearly as full. It's like our professors tell us - in Latin America, there's much more emphasis on the sorrow of Christ's suffering and death than the joy of His resurrection. However, there was plenty of celebration in the carnival atmosphere of the processions throughout the week.


The Easter Vigil Mass was beautiful - as everywhere, it begins in the darkness (tinieblas), and then they light a small fire outside the church, light the Easter candle, and then we all light our candles from it. There was a cantor accompanied by guitar at the beginning of the Mass, as we stood, our candles illuminating the dark church. I have no words to express how...incredible this was. The weekend was fully of so many joyful moments. I could tell you about them but somehow it would not be the same. I miss home but am learning and growing so much here, it's worth it.


Yes, we went out for a "special" easter dinner - two of the other students and I - to an Italian restaurant. I indulged in tortellini in a cream sauce with bacon, and a glass of the house wine. Yes, it was amazing. Can't eat like that every day but it's a nice treat.

Midweek Update

Hello All! Somehow time passes all too quickly, and I find myself wondering, where did it all go? Life is difficult, but beautiful (as usual). Thank you to everyone who has sent me e-mails, messages, or who I've been able to talk/skype with lately. It really does help me so much.

I think I missed the "two thirds" mark, but now I'm into the last third of the program. It is strange to think of everything wrapping up. Mom and Dad are coming to visit in just over two weeks - I'm so excited!! Perhaps you all know the feeling of being excited to show other people the places you have come to know and love. Coming to Guatemala has completely removed me from life in the States and the familiar people, places, culture, and language. It will be fun for them to see my life here for themselves rather than through my eyes. How strange it will be to go home!

We are in the midst of Holy Week, and all of Antigua is going crazy making alfombras (carpets of colored sawdust or pine needles and flowers) over which the processions cross. Each church has its own processions, so I can hear the solemn music about every night from my house. Tomorrow begins the Easter Triduum, the three days of Holy Thursday (Jueves Santo), Good Friday (Viernes Santo) and Holy Saturday (Sabado Santo). The Mass of the Lord's Supper is on Thursday night and the Easter Vigil on Saturday night. This is a very special time of prayer and I'm excited to see all the celebrations in the city. From what I hear, there will be plenty of drinking going on in the city as people make the alfombras. I think some of the students and I are going to Easter dinner at a place called the Earth Lodge outside of Antigua. There's supposed to be ham, pumpkin pie, and so much more - American style :)


Yesterday we made an expedition to the City to get our tourist visas renewed, and somehow I got everyone to come with me to the Museo Nacional de Arqueologia y Etnologia (National Archaeology and Ethnology Museum). It was pretty much a dream come true (I'm not even joking!). Got to see so many artifacts, stelae and altars that we studied in Mesoamerican Archaeology last semester. I was told I was acting like a kid on Christmas morning (that's pretty much how I felt). So cool. The above picture is me with Stela 10 from Kaminaljuyu, dating from around 50 BC - AD 50 (though some archaeologists will give it a later date). I wrote a paper about this last semester, and the long hours paid off, just being able to see it. Other cool pieces: the ball court marcador from Tikal (to commemorate Spearthrower Owl!), jade inlaid or otherwise modified teeth, jade masks, incensarios, stelae and altars from Piedras Negras...you name it. Incredible. (End nerd rant).

I'm off for now - hope you all have a beautiful Easter. I miss you all so much! I'll let you know about the Easter celebrations next week.

Peace

Hello all! It's been a nice, lazy Saturday for me here in Antigua. We have the entirety of Holy Week (Semana Santa) off from classes, so after catching up on internship hours yesterday, I decided to relax today. I went out walking before breakfast (about 6:30am) and enjoyed the peace and quiet. Watched a bit of a movie, caught up on e-mails, and started to browse through some of the shops. I think we're going to go out dancing tonight, which should be fun. I don't intend on being this much of a bum all week!


I owe you all a bit more information on last weekend's excurisons. We headed out of Antigua around 4am Friday morning and arrived in Sayaxche in Peten around mid afternoon. Peten is the northernmost department in Guatemala (the big pink one), and Antigua is due west of Guatemala City. It was a long trip. We had an incredibly refreshing lancha (speedboat) ride to Aguateca, a terminal classic Maya site in the jungle, known for its defensive crack - which we got to hike through! We took the boat to our hotel (by this time it was dark and the stars were out, so we tried to pick out constellations since it was so clear), which seemed pretty luxurious to those of us used to paying for $5 beds in hostels when we travel.

The next morning we had another lancha trip back to Sayache, then took the van to Tikal. After lunch we spent about five hours exploring the site, and saw a bunch, though not nearly everything. It was so cool to pick out architectural details and understand a bit of their significance as it was to climb the pyramids and enjoy the view. We were pretty wiped and dehydrated for the trip to our lodging for the night. We stayed at a cooperative set up after the Peace Accords were signed, but I can't tell you much more than that, because I was sick and missed the presentation. I'm still alive, though, and mostly just relaxed during the long van ride home Sunday. I was even feeling well enough to eat Wendy's when we stopped for dinner that evening.

Looks like I'm out of time. Take care all, I miss you very much. I'll keep you updated with my religious revels this week :)