De todo un poco

As we learned this Monday, there are two seasons in Guatemala. The rainy season goes from May to November, the dry season from November to April. Since it is the end of January, it is naturally pouring outside. I am using this as an excuse to write a little bit about some of the fun things we’ve done over the past week.

Classes have been going on for a week and a half now. Already I’ve done about as much work as I do in a single day at William and Mary. I am only taking three classes, and a lot of my extra time will be spent doing internships. Spanish class meets four days a week for about an hour in the morning, and I need to start spending more time studying grammar and vocabulary. The class is focused on conversation, so we have been listening to and discussing music. In addition, we are reading the Popol Vuh, the Q’iche Maya origin story. It is an interesting selection, since oral tradition is written in such a different style (think Homer). We’ll also be reading it in English for our Latin American Studies class.

Friday, our whole group took a field trip to Guatemala City. Our program director, Javier, showed us the national palace and cathedral along the Plaza Central. The cathedral was beautiful. The statues of saints and Jesus (they care called imágenes) don’t make me feel like I’m in a waxworks as do many here in Antigua. I much prefer the realism of Renaissance art, it’s not so creepy. Javier showed us the mercado (market) , which is pretty gigantic. My favorite part was the raw meat section and the fruit piled high everywhere. We went to a nice restaurant for a traditional Maya lunch. Ka’kik is a turkey and rice soup flavored with chiles, served with tamales (a sort of bread made of cornmeal, cooked inside corn husks or leaves). Instead of salt and pepper in packets on the table, there was chile pepper and salt. Since being down here I have discovered the wonders of fresh-made limeade, with plenty of sugar, and sometimes some soda water. My host mom flavors a lot of food with lime – especially soup and broccoli. I think I will follow suit when I head home.

For the afternoon, we went to the Popol Vuh museum on the campus of Francisco Marroquín University. We worked our way through Preclassic to Postclassic artifacts, recovered from construction sites and private collections. There was some pretty cool stuff, and I especially enjoyed being able to pick out stylistic differences in the pottery. Javier is a student at the university so he took us on a mini-tour and we all got coffee (though I don’t think anyone actually got coffee) before heading back to Antigua. The drive there and back was fun as well – our driver Josué had a varied of dated music that got us singing everything from Spice Girls to Queen.

After our excursion to the macadamia nut finca, we went with Josué to the nearby town of Dueñas for a local fútbol (soccer) match. We all wore green and white, Antigua’s colors, and had a great time cheering and expanding our vocabularies with the kind of good, wholesome words that you can only learn at sports games. Antigua won, 3-0. There are plans in the works to go again, and this time get jerseys for Antigua, drink some Gallo, and continue to benefit from the language immersion.

Monday was our first history class of the semester. Our professor is one of a kind: an ex-guerrilla from El Salvador with a PhD in international relations. He’s a blunt man with a great sense of humor. One of the students in our group is a military analyst studying international narcotics. When he explained this to our professor, the prof asked, “Do you smoke weed?” Jordan responded no, to which José Antonio asked, “How can you study drugs if you don’t do them?”

The class took a tour of Antigua, to get an idea of the city’s past. Starting at the Parque Central, we visited and discussed the municipal building, the Catedral de Santiago (Saint James is the patron of Antigua, and his feast on July 25 is a huge celebration), the Palacio, and the fountain. A few cool notes: most of the old churches in Antigua face west, which relates to sunlight entering the church. Cardinal directions are really important to the native worldview as well. The fountain in the Plaza Central has associations with fertility tied to a myth of Spanish women who would not breast feed their children (you'll understand after seeing the fountain).

We visited the Posada de Don Rodrigo, a snazzy hotel in the design of a traditional Spanish house with a beautiful view from the roof. We walked through the Merced, the yellow church pictured in an earlier entry, with a lot of the most celebrated imágenes used in the Semana Santa (Holy Week) processions. I learned a new thing about St. Anthony of Padua: he is not only the patron saint of lost things, but also of single women. It is a tradition for girls at age 13 and over to gather 13 coins from their friends and light a candle in front of St. Anthony's image as an offering so that they might find a man. One of the students from our group, Taylor, then responded, “So this is where I come to find single girls!”

Our tour guide took us into a nice restaurant, where there is a room (almost like a cave) with a table for two and lots of candles, ¡que romántico! It is used for engagements – we mused that if a guy wanted to play a good joke oh his girlfriend, he could take her there and not propose. I can imagine several of you guys doing this as a practical joke on a girl with a good sense of humor (you could always propose at the very end). Our final stop was El Convento de las Capuchinas, a neat, beautiful old convent. There was an “eighteenth century recording studio” (as one of my compañeras put it) in the basement – the resonance was awesome.

That’s all for now. I started my internship with CIRMA today – reading social science books in French (yes, you read that right) and writing catalog entries in Spanish. My first book is on the Yaqui du Mexique. I’ll keep you updated on how this goes. Tomorrow we’re set to climb an active volcano – I’ll eat a s’more for you all.

Desiderata

Some of the other students from CIRMA really wanted to visit a Macadamia nut farm just outside the Ciudad Viejo. I thought, ok, this is better than doing homework, I’ll go. We took a taxi from the catedral – I think we were all a little afraid that we wouldn’t survive the ride in such a beat-up car, in a city with no clear (at least to us) right of way. We made it there – at the entrance to the driveway there was a sign – “Valhalla” with a little Viking hat. You know, the kind the ‘fat lady’ wears when she sings.

Our driver dropped us off and then led us into the main area, by a sign which read, “Welcome to Valhalla – Where every day is Earth day/Aquí cada día es día de la tierra.” I thought to myself, wow, these are real hippies. We met the wife of the ex-pat who owns the finca. She told us all about the farm – three hundred unique (not grafted) trees, completely organic with no pesticides – and showed us around, offering us samples of nuts and the products they make with them. They use every part of the nut and shell for products, mulch, and fertilizer. They also donate new trees to indigenous communities to help them to be sustainable eat healthily. It was an eye-opener to see real sustainable agriculture in progress, by such good-hearted people.

We met her husband inside – an older man with a fire company hat from the states, wearing a striped sweater and khakis. He introduced himself with a “you are home,” accompanied by a barrage of the most lewd jokes I have ever heard, one after the other. We finally went out (i.e. to me, escaped) to the “restaurant” – a couple tables under the trees – to eat some Macadamia nut pancakes and drink some rosa de jamaica (a popular drink made with hibiscus flowers). The ex-pat joined us with his breakfast (it was noon) and jokes (that I’m sure made me blush beet red), and sat with us for about two hours. Over these two hours, we heard much of his life’s story – how a seventy-year old man from Frisco ended up growing macadamia nuts in Guatemala.

You know Jack Kerouac? Lorenzo’s narrative reminded me of reading On the Road, with stories about “Susan” (don’t ask), growing weed (don’t ask), lots of sex (please don’t ask), working as a firefighter, living in nature, God and farting, the future, and love. While I fully intend to forget quite a few – many of this man’s stories will follow me wherever I go. He faced death so many times. Lorenzo figured the “Old Man” wanted him to be alive to do something. As his wife told us, “Some people, in their old age, sit around and watch TV. We wanted to give back.” They are quite a couple. They fit, they complete each other. Lorenzo described himself as mal creado, “badly raised”, but said his wife still thinks he’s a good guy. I think I can understand, more now than ever.

Despite Lorenzo’s advice that we should all just buy land in Cobán and grow blueberries, accompanied by his predictions of apocalypse and survival that freaked me out as badly as history channel shows on Nostradamus when I was ten, I still look forward to going home when my semester is over. He left the US because it is so messed up. I will go back and remain there, because it is so messed up. And, you know, if the end of the world comes – that’s cool. There’s this guy and his dad I’d really like to meet.

On the wall of one of the buildings was a plaque with the Desiderata, one of my favorite prayers. Seeing it there somehow made things click for me. I respect and admire Lorenzo and his wife for all they are doing. They are good people.

We left with a hug goodbye, and an invitation to return anytime to Valhalla. Valhalla: the heaven of the Vikings – not just St. Peter, the pearly gates, and people with harps – but one full of girls, drinking, and partying. You know, I think he’s got it half right.

“Las grandes decisiones te siguen a donde vayas”

As the plane landed in La Aurora Airport in Guatemala City last Friday, I was incredibly excited to be somewhere new and have the opportunity to stretch my legs (metaphorically and physically). It became immediately apparent as I saw the city from the air and from the streets that this is a different world. By Fairfax County (or Williamsburg) standards, everything seems dirty – and it was a shock to see men with very large guns on the street (and by this I do not mean they have enormous muscles). They stand at the entrance to many shops and restaurants – one must remember that it is good that security measures are taken so that we might be safe. All the same, I was enchanted by everything so new, and beautiful in its own way.

Five of the seven students studying in our group met up at the airport and we bonded on the drive to Antigua. We were all pretty beat down from lack of sleep but it was a fun drive all the same. Antigua is gorgeous, with cobblestone streets, adobe buildings painted in bright blues, reds, yellows, and whites, among the ruins of the old colonial city and a few dozen churches. The city is nestled between three volcanoes – Agua (Water) or Hunapú (the Maya maize god), Fuego (Fire), and Acatenango (I’ll get back to you on this one). The latter two are active, and I hear you can often see smoke coming from Fuego.

Another student (Tamara) and I are staying with the Rodríguez family, who live in the southern part of the city, the whole of which is only about a square kilometer. Our host family is wonderful and nuestra (our) mamá is an amazing cook – we have had everything from sopa de asparragos (asparagus soup) to Chinese noodle dishes to frijoles (beans) and guacamole on tacos (fried tortillas) to plátanos fritos (fried plantains) as well as fresh fruit with just about every meal. The house is very small, with an open courtyard (el jardín) inside – you can feel the fresh, cool air throughout the house. It’s the dry season and we’re in the middle of the coldest months here, meaning it has only been in the 70s. Horrible, I know.

Saturday morning, Tamara and I wandered around the city. I am very glad she has a good sense of

direction to counterbalance my dismal ability. We visited various sites – I think my favorite was the mercado (market), especially crowded and bustling since it was Saturday. You can buy just about anything there – fresh fruit, raw meat, clothing, toys, towels, school supplies, power drills, you name it. Many of you will be proud to hear that I bargained down the price of a bath towel. Over the past few days I have visited some of the bigger churches – they are very different from the American/European variety, and I look forward to devoting more time to discussing them in a further entry.

Saturday night our whole study abroad group met up for the first time. We are quite a bunch! The director of CIRMA (the Center for Mesoamerican Research), Ricardo, and the program director, Javier, are a blast. Ricardo treated us to pizza and beer and then Javier showed us the good bars in Antigua. I think it’s going to be a good semester.

That’s all for now. I’ll try and update you this weekend again with stories of our upcoming adventure to Guatemala City, and then tell you about classes, my internships, churches, and all the other fun things we do. I know you will, but please don’t worry too much about me. Ricardo, Javier, and our host families make sure that we are all very safe. I miss you and am keeping everyone at home in my prayers. ¡Hasta luego!

Je suis arrivée...wait...

Hey all! I wanted to let all of you who are checking this know that I arrived safely on Friday (around 4pm our time) and have settled in quite well to life in La Antigua Guatemala. I absolutely love it here - from my host family, to the food, to the people (especially my study abroad group and the people at CIRMA), the buildings, the weather, the plants, the volcanoes...I think I could go on forever. Antigua is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. It is hard to be away from everyone and running on an entirely different schedule, but I am adjusting.

I will try and update later this week with more details about Antigua, classes, CIRMA, people and fun stories. I already have a few. Take care and I miss you all so much. Hasta luego!

Wings

It hit me, as we were singing the Gloria during Mass this morning - a week from today, I will be attending Mass in Guatemala. It is a beautiful and frightening thought: I am finally about to embark on the next leg of life's journey. I am striving to be ready, with an open heart and mind.

Thank you all for your efforts to keep in touch and get together over break - I can't tell you how much it means to me. The past three weeks have been some of the happiest and hardest I can remember.

For those of you not familiar with the blog title, comes from (the film) Little Women. I have thought often of Jo's character over the past month. While she had so much love for her family and home, she felt the need to leave everything comfortable and familiar; if you will, she answered God's call, and went to New York as a governess. As she explained it to Marmee (the book):

"I want something new; I feel restless, and anxious to be seeing, doing, and learning more than I am. I brood too much over my own small affairs, and need stirring up, so, as I can be spared this winter, I'd like to hop a little way, and try my wings."