This is a week after the fact but I wanted to write a little bit about the experience I had climbing a freaking huge volcano. Guatemala is covered in volcanos and they make the highlands where we are right now, high. By high I'm talking about the city where I am right now, Quetzaltenango, is at about 6000 feet. The summit of the volcano we climbed last Saturday is at about 9000 feet. Does that even make sense? We're talking serious altitude for the unaccostomed.
The idea behind the climb was to see an eruption which happen on a 24 hour schedule at about 10am everyday. The climb was about 4 hours long so we started at 6am after a half hour bus ride from the school. This was an early morning. There a walk of about an hour to the base and it was at the base that we met up with a big group of Kiche (this isn't spelled corrently) speaking Mayan people. As we climbed we were continually passed by people in traditional Mayan clothing. There were a TON of people going to the top. Finally in broken Spanish from both parties we figured out that they were going to the top to attend religious services. Wow. I asked one women if they did the climb every week and she kind of laughed and said no, only once every three months (!) A four hour climb every three weeks for religious services, I don't know if I have seen such dedication before.
The climb wasn't easy for any of us; straight up with very few switchbacks for three solid hours, and we were high! But we were contiually passed by the devotional and they came in all forms, kids, eldery, women in high heeled sandals! I was blown away porbably also because I was struggling for my breath.
We finally got to the top and of coursae there were already a ton of people up there waiting around for the services to begin.
Holy Cow!!! What a view! My main motive for going to the top was for the view and to get out of the smog of the city. Mission accomplished! For the tp we could see almost the entire district of Quetzaltenango and some people said that we were looking at Mexico. Had there been fewer clouds we would have been able to see the Pacific Ocean. We could also see two other volcanos, one to the north and on to the south and both were erupting! That was totally crazy. And of course there was the other mountains that are part of the range. I was a little surprised because whe we got to the summit it was clear that we weren't going to fall in to a nearby crate. In fact we kind of had to look for it; it was to the west and actually a couple hundred feet below us. It was quite obviously a crater covered in ash with no vegetation anywhere near it, I'm bad with sizes so until I get photos up I'll just say that it was big. We walked over to the edge of the summit and looked down in anticipation, it was 9:45 and there hadn't been any erupting yet. Then we heard and felt a rumble. It wasn't Earth shattering, the drama was a bit more subdued than the imagination had envisioned but it was awesome none the less. Huge plumes of smoke came up from the crater and soon we couldn't see it anymore. The smoke didn't envelop us or anything and after the first eruption it was quiet.
I think ther was more excitement on within the groups of worshipers. There was one group of Catholics and one of Evangelicals and there were prayers and shouting and crying and candles and insense and no food. I heard prayers in Kiche, Spanish and Latin. The groups were in hearing distance of each other which I thought made for an interesting dyanmic. Apparently the Evangelical thing is relatively new to Guatemala. Evangelical groups from the States were let in to the country by the most evil and genocidal leader, Rios Mont in the eighties. Learning about the influence of religion here makes me want to say bad words, I will save that for another blog topic.
After about an hour and a half of relaxing on the top, we began our descent which of course took about half the time ofthe climb up. On the way down our guide and his dad told us about fighting in the war, their time a refugees in Mexico, the plants that were along the trail, about the Maya and their situation in the area now, they were amazing and so patient with our lack of Spanish skills.
If you are impatient like me and would like to see photos of what we climbed chesk the tourist site:
http://www.visitguatemala.com/nuevo/ver_destino.asp?id=488
Much love, until the next episode....
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Learning to Speak
Slowly, slowly the language is coming. For any of you have dealt with not being able to communicate fully and to the fullest extent of your expectations for whatever reason you know how it is to not be able to express your thoughts and feelings and reactions to life. Right now I am feeling between two languages, in a place where speaking at all has become a challenge. During the past week I have been able to see how much Spanish I don't know. In a way I was given a glimpse of the top of the mountain I have to climb to fluency and apparently it is freaking tall. As I climb the mountain during my classes and the time I spend doing homework, I find myself letting go a little of my grasp of my native language. When I talk to the other students here in English I find that some words don´t come and sometimes they come in an unusual semi-english form. What I find particularly interesting is that what I express is shaped by how well I can speak. If I don't have the words to express something I don't say it. It has gotten to the point where I question most things I say before I say them and if I feel too insecure about what I am about to say I just don't say anything. Yikes. It's not that bad because I am pretty aware of it and have found ways to balance myself. But it does make me wonder, how does our capacity to speak outloud shape how we present ourselves to others? And how does our capacity to present ourselves to others determine how we think about ourselves? This is the kind of shit that is going through my head as I go around trying to interact with people. Having to work within the limits of a second language has in a way removed me from the paradigms of language that I use to feel comfortable with myself. To a degree I have to ask myself on a regular basis who I am and where I am within these new confines.
This relates to something else I've been thinking about lately which has to do with the familiar. Months even before I left Vancouver I was noticing, and of course worrying about, how much I love the comfort of the familier. Here I find that even the familiar is unfamiliar and that in this new place I have to somehow identify myself. I know this much about myself and that is that I have to be able to navigate to the source of myself in order to do anything constructive. And now, without the signs of the familiar to guide me, I have had to find a new way to myself. Holy cow, I tell ya.
The other day we hiked a volcano which is the subject of another post, but when I got home I was tired and all I felt like doing was watching a movie that was familiar and comfortable. So I went to a cafe where they show a different movie every night. We watched Meet the Fockers which is a movie I do like and appreciate for being familiar and comfortable (chessy, yes I know). But the experience of watching the movie did very little to comfort me because of the context in which we watched. An entire Guatemalan family served a restaurant FULL of gringos who were all after the same thing, finding the comfort of the familiar. That's what we were all doing and of course I was fretting over the situation the whole time as I watched the family, from kids to Granmas, serving these loud obnoxious gringos. I couldn't find the familiar in the gringos because even they were weirdos.
Can you imagine? Jesus. I bet I am making you all question how much you would actually want to travel with me. I think too much. I have come to terms with that and actually I've found solace and companionship in Orhan Pamuk, the Turkish author, and his book that I'm reading 'Other Colors'. Wow. He thinks too much too but he finds value in that tendancy so I'm trying too toooooo...
Until the next overanalysed post....
much love
This relates to something else I've been thinking about lately which has to do with the familiar. Months even before I left Vancouver I was noticing, and of course worrying about, how much I love the comfort of the familier. Here I find that even the familiar is unfamiliar and that in this new place I have to somehow identify myself. I know this much about myself and that is that I have to be able to navigate to the source of myself in order to do anything constructive. And now, without the signs of the familiar to guide me, I have had to find a new way to myself. Holy cow, I tell ya.
The other day we hiked a volcano which is the subject of another post, but when I got home I was tired and all I felt like doing was watching a movie that was familiar and comfortable. So I went to a cafe where they show a different movie every night. We watched Meet the Fockers which is a movie I do like and appreciate for being familiar and comfortable (chessy, yes I know). But the experience of watching the movie did very little to comfort me because of the context in which we watched. An entire Guatemalan family served a restaurant FULL of gringos who were all after the same thing, finding the comfort of the familiar. That's what we were all doing and of course I was fretting over the situation the whole time as I watched the family, from kids to Granmas, serving these loud obnoxious gringos. I couldn't find the familiar in the gringos because even they were weirdos.
Can you imagine? Jesus. I bet I am making you all question how much you would actually want to travel with me. I think too much. I have come to terms with that and actually I've found solace and companionship in Orhan Pamuk, the Turkish author, and his book that I'm reading 'Other Colors'. Wow. He thinks too much too but he finds value in that tendancy so I'm trying too toooooo...
Until the next overanalysed post....
much love
Friday, January 23, 2009
Antes del almuerzo...
Very fast. Many things to say and do. Exhaust: all up in my nose and eyes. Concrete: absorbing and releasing the cold of night and the heat of day. Mangy muts: looking, lingering, scrounging, barking. Volcanoes: above, omni, misty. Dust: all up in the eyes nose of everyone, short stingy breaths. Oppression: underneath, on the surface, in the eyes, in the conjugation of verbs. History: unknown, sinister, possibly traumatizing. People: everywhere, babies, families, gentle, humble, dangerous.
Time for lunch.
Time for lunch.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Wandering
Well I made it to Xela in one piece. In the past four days I feel like I´ve gone through two weeks worth of learning and emotion. Overall it has been super interesting.
I landed into Guatemala City at 11PM last Thursday (Jan 15th) and it was unbelievable to me how fast my heart was beating as we touched down on the runway. The woman who was sitting in my same row of seats was coming back from visiting her grandchildren in Ontario and told me all about them and I told her about my plans. She was shocked that I didn´t have a place confirmed to stay for the night so she made me call a hostel from the plane and ask them to pick me up. She watched me as I did it. After I gave her back her phone her she couldn´t stop telling me how much better she felt because "this city is so dangerous and I have a grandaughter your age". It was great that she forced me to do that because when I got off the plane I had nothing to think about, there was my shuttle thing ready to take me to the hostel. When I got to the hostel I didn´t have to do anything, the guy showed me my huge room, gave the key and that was it. When I sat down on the bed all I could think was Omygod! Omygod! Omygod! Iswear there was like tons of adrenaline in my blood at that point: immediately post-cliff jump.
In the morning I was pretty disoriented. I missed breakfast and thus the chance to talk to other gringos about the city and what I should do and all of that. Then ye ol´caffeine addiction kicked in and I realized I needed a cuppa pronto or things would get very bleak very quick. It was also a good mission to put myself on where there would otherwise be none for this extranjera with no context in the big city. So I left the hostel on foot with only my little Lonely Planet map of the city that I decided to rip out for quick refrence without looking like a theivery target. After an hour and a half I found an espresso before things got too desparate. Two hours later a found a place to eat that I thought might not give me the eternal runs. I am soooo scared of the runs, an unhealthy fear I think you might say. Another three hourse of wandering the city and I was ready to never go back to Guate City again. Woah, if you don´t have a reason to be there just pass through it and go somewhere smaller.
The next day was the day to get to the highland town of Quetzaltenango, refered to as Xela which is a shortened version of the Maya Xelajú. The hostel guys took me to a bus station downtown where, according to the preparation packet provided by the school, there should have been a bus leaving for Xela in half an hour. I went up to the ticket agent, asked her for a ticket and looked at me surprise,¨"At 7:30 tonight?" Um, no. Woah. For twenty minutes I was screwed. It was a sketchy part of town, not a tourist to be seen and people kept talk to me and asking me stuff and at one point two guys came up to me and holy buckets. I was calm though, you know? It was interesting because I can be near panic while I´m packing but in this situation I was breathing normally and I decided to call the school in Xela and see if they knew what bus had a bus leaving soon. In Guat City there is one bus terminal but there are also several other terminals owned by individual bus companies so you really need to know what bus you want to take and what time if leaves. Apparently, I was given a different impression. The guy at the school told be of a bus that was leaving in an hour and a half and told me the name. Thank you, sir! I hung up got in a cab told the taxista the name of the bus and he promptly took to THE OTHER SIDE OF THE CITY to a first class bus station for the mostly wealthy. It was so comfortable after that sketchy part to be on a big nice bus that was going where I needed to go. I got to sit in the front and had tons of space, the driver was on top of his game, the lady next to me was super sweet and wow, midway through a guy got on and sold us a three cousre lunch for 4 bucks while we kept driving! I felt really pampered.
The country we passed was incredible. Lots of pine forest, lots of deforestation, lots of small farms, lots of smaller towns full of things going on, lots of pick-up trucks filled with huge Mayan families, lots of curves in the road. I have never seen anything like this before.
We got Xela and I got swindled in the cab to the hostel. Wow, that sucked. He just charged me too much and exorbantly and I paid it. I really hope that´s the last time that happens. Anyway I had a great night in the hostel across the street from the school. I slept like a log, a log that knew it was where it was supposed to be and didn´t have to trek anymore for a while. The next day I met some cool people who go to the school and was assigned my family. My family is nice, just a mom and her son, Sandra and Jovani. Jovani is studying to be a lawyer here. There are a tone of lawyers´offices around, I have yet to figure out why. My room is a concrete cube painted green, a lovely green. I have a desk and chairs and a light. The house is made of various rooms that stand as themselves through a stretch of courtyard, I will do my photojournaling project pretty soon here and you can see what I mean. My `mom´ is mostly vegetarian and health conscious which is sweet and we eat together three times a day.
Hey! I had my first class today. This was after hearing an introduction to the history of Guatemala in an hour. Amazing. I´m excited to get a routine started and to actually start improving my spanish. As I get more settled I hope these blogs become less about what I do in the day-to-day and more about things I´m learning. Keep your fingers crossed!
Ok good people, if you stuck it through, awesome. If not maybe I´ll become more engaing. All my love, more later.
Lizxoxoxox
I landed into Guatemala City at 11PM last Thursday (Jan 15th) and it was unbelievable to me how fast my heart was beating as we touched down on the runway. The woman who was sitting in my same row of seats was coming back from visiting her grandchildren in Ontario and told me all about them and I told her about my plans. She was shocked that I didn´t have a place confirmed to stay for the night so she made me call a hostel from the plane and ask them to pick me up. She watched me as I did it. After I gave her back her phone her she couldn´t stop telling me how much better she felt because "this city is so dangerous and I have a grandaughter your age". It was great that she forced me to do that because when I got off the plane I had nothing to think about, there was my shuttle thing ready to take me to the hostel. When I got to the hostel I didn´t have to do anything, the guy showed me my huge room, gave the key and that was it. When I sat down on the bed all I could think was Omygod! Omygod! Omygod! Iswear there was like tons of adrenaline in my blood at that point: immediately post-cliff jump.
In the morning I was pretty disoriented. I missed breakfast and thus the chance to talk to other gringos about the city and what I should do and all of that. Then ye ol´caffeine addiction kicked in and I realized I needed a cuppa pronto or things would get very bleak very quick. It was also a good mission to put myself on where there would otherwise be none for this extranjera with no context in the big city. So I left the hostel on foot with only my little Lonely Planet map of the city that I decided to rip out for quick refrence without looking like a theivery target. After an hour and a half I found an espresso before things got too desparate. Two hours later a found a place to eat that I thought might not give me the eternal runs. I am soooo scared of the runs, an unhealthy fear I think you might say. Another three hourse of wandering the city and I was ready to never go back to Guate City again. Woah, if you don´t have a reason to be there just pass through it and go somewhere smaller.
The next day was the day to get to the highland town of Quetzaltenango, refered to as Xela which is a shortened version of the Maya Xelajú. The hostel guys took me to a bus station downtown where, according to the preparation packet provided by the school, there should have been a bus leaving for Xela in half an hour. I went up to the ticket agent, asked her for a ticket and looked at me surprise,¨"At 7:30 tonight?" Um, no. Woah. For twenty minutes I was screwed. It was a sketchy part of town, not a tourist to be seen and people kept talk to me and asking me stuff and at one point two guys came up to me and holy buckets. I was calm though, you know? It was interesting because I can be near panic while I´m packing but in this situation I was breathing normally and I decided to call the school in Xela and see if they knew what bus had a bus leaving soon. In Guat City there is one bus terminal but there are also several other terminals owned by individual bus companies so you really need to know what bus you want to take and what time if leaves. Apparently, I was given a different impression. The guy at the school told be of a bus that was leaving in an hour and a half and told me the name. Thank you, sir! I hung up got in a cab told the taxista the name of the bus and he promptly took to THE OTHER SIDE OF THE CITY to a first class bus station for the mostly wealthy. It was so comfortable after that sketchy part to be on a big nice bus that was going where I needed to go. I got to sit in the front and had tons of space, the driver was on top of his game, the lady next to me was super sweet and wow, midway through a guy got on and sold us a three cousre lunch for 4 bucks while we kept driving! I felt really pampered.
The country we passed was incredible. Lots of pine forest, lots of deforestation, lots of small farms, lots of smaller towns full of things going on, lots of pick-up trucks filled with huge Mayan families, lots of curves in the road. I have never seen anything like this before.
We got Xela and I got swindled in the cab to the hostel. Wow, that sucked. He just charged me too much and exorbantly and I paid it. I really hope that´s the last time that happens. Anyway I had a great night in the hostel across the street from the school. I slept like a log, a log that knew it was where it was supposed to be and didn´t have to trek anymore for a while. The next day I met some cool people who go to the school and was assigned my family. My family is nice, just a mom and her son, Sandra and Jovani. Jovani is studying to be a lawyer here. There are a tone of lawyers´offices around, I have yet to figure out why. My room is a concrete cube painted green, a lovely green. I have a desk and chairs and a light. The house is made of various rooms that stand as themselves through a stretch of courtyard, I will do my photojournaling project pretty soon here and you can see what I mean. My `mom´ is mostly vegetarian and health conscious which is sweet and we eat together three times a day.
Hey! I had my first class today. This was after hearing an introduction to the history of Guatemala in an hour. Amazing. I´m excited to get a routine started and to actually start improving my spanish. As I get more settled I hope these blogs become less about what I do in the day-to-day and more about things I´m learning. Keep your fingers crossed!
Ok good people, if you stuck it through, awesome. If not maybe I´ll become more engaing. All my love, more later.
Lizxoxoxox
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
The Beginning
I sort of love and sort of don't love beginnings. I mostly love them.
They are transitional. Positioned between one comfort zone and the soon-to-be-known, they tend to be nerve wracking and a bit spastic for me. What can I say? Most of you know me well enough to know that I am a little bit of a control freak and when I can't predict the future to a comforting degree, I hyperventilate. If anything, this is one of the biggest beginnings I have ever had: Tomorrow evening at this hour I will be finding my way to a hostel in Guatemala City, alone. (Holy crap. Where is that even?) Right now, having packed and released my tension over that whole ordeal, I guess I don't really have a whole lot of beef with this beginning. Somehow I have been able to numb myself to the nagging questions of 'is this the right thing to do?' 'will I survive?' 'will I be able to really contribute instead of just being another rich American/Canadian tourist?' and I think I'm ready to just do.
I consider myself really lucky because apparently there are people waiting for me at the other end; I move in with a courageous family, bravely willing to host me, on Sunday evening and then start my Spanish courses on Monday morning (Jan 19). I have very little to worry about because I will have a home-base full of people who are used to weirdo travelers like me and who can hopefully lead me generally in the right directions. The home base is La Hermandad Educativa in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala (I'll see what I can do about posting a link to the school on this blog). I can't wait to get my Spanish on! Oh, great people of Guatemala, you have never known another who could so eloquently butcher your native tongue (hehe) as I!
So, people, I've started this blog precisely because this is such a big beginning for me and because I would like you all to be involved (and also so that you can't say I didn't involve you enough). It is a place where I hope I can provide updates on what I'm up to and what I'm seeing and feeling, and where you can come and go as you please. It's a neutral info platform that I can use to publicly express myself as I journey, evading the need to bombard you with stories of all the AMAZING! things! I'm! experiencing!
Please come with me. Maybe I'll convince a few of you to meet me down in the jungle soon enough.
All my love and gratitude for your invaluable support,
Liz aka Lisa (en español)
I greatly prefer beginnings to endings.
They are transitional. Positioned between one comfort zone and the soon-to-be-known, they tend to be nerve wracking and a bit spastic for me. What can I say? Most of you know me well enough to know that I am a little bit of a control freak and when I can't predict the future to a comforting degree, I hyperventilate. If anything, this is one of the biggest beginnings I have ever had: Tomorrow evening at this hour I will be finding my way to a hostel in Guatemala City, alone. (Holy crap. Where is that even?) Right now, having packed and released my tension over that whole ordeal, I guess I don't really have a whole lot of beef with this beginning. Somehow I have been able to numb myself to the nagging questions of 'is this the right thing to do?' 'will I survive?' 'will I be able to really contribute instead of just being another rich American/Canadian tourist?' and I think I'm ready to just do.
I consider myself really lucky because apparently there are people waiting for me at the other end; I move in with a courageous family, bravely willing to host me, on Sunday evening and then start my Spanish courses on Monday morning (Jan 19). I have very little to worry about because I will have a home-base full of people who are used to weirdo travelers like me and who can hopefully lead me generally in the right directions. The home base is La Hermandad Educativa in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala (I'll see what I can do about posting a link to the school on this blog). I can't wait to get my Spanish on! Oh, great people of Guatemala, you have never known another who could so eloquently butcher your native tongue (hehe) as I!
So, people, I've started this blog precisely because this is such a big beginning for me and because I would like you all to be involved (and also so that you can't say I didn't involve you enough). It is a place where I hope I can provide updates on what I'm up to and what I'm seeing and feeling, and where you can come and go as you please. It's a neutral info platform that I can use to publicly express myself as I journey, evading the need to bombard you with stories of all the AMAZING! things! I'm! experiencing!
Please come with me. Maybe I'll convince a few of you to meet me down in the jungle soon enough.
All my love and gratitude for your invaluable support,
Liz aka Lisa (en español)
I greatly prefer beginnings to endings.
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