Project Steev

Xela

Wow, it has been so long since I've blogged. Disculpa. But if you know what I've been up to it will come as no surprise that i've been busy, and have not been able to get much internet access.

Also, I have for the last week or so always been envisioning this grand blog entry in which I completely describe in great and eloquent detail my experiences here in Guatemala for the last 2 weeks, or since I last blogged. But this very idea has daunted me from being able to do it, because it seems like such a big task that will take a lot of time that I don´t have.

So, I´ve decided to reject that idea and take the opposite tack, blog often, blog fast, and blog short. IF possible.

So, to just quickly get you up to date - I am in Xela, which is Guatemala´s second largest, or second most important city after the capital. Don't try to find that on a map, because the name that the spanish conquorors called it was Quetzaltenango. Lots of towns here are something-tenango, which i havent quite figured out but it must mean something like 'ville' or 'town' or whatever. Anyway, Xela is the old Mayan name of the original town.

Xela is pretty nice - like almost all latin american cities, a little too much air pollution, but otherwise, wonderful. Its in the middle of a valley surrounded by green mountains and a few volcanoes, the narrow streets are paved with cobblestones. It´s pretty oldish, except for frequent gringoesque advertisements for things like puppy chow and aspirin and stuff. The climate is sort of san franciscan, tho more extreme: pretty hot in the day, rather cold at night, fog coming in in the evenings.

I´m going to a spanish school called Proyecto Linguistico Quetzalteco Espanol. This is my second week here and it's really great. I'm learning a lot, it seems not as fast I hoped, but maybe that's an illusion. also I´ve been sick, first last week with a weird reaction to my malaria pills, which has gone away, but now this week the cold that I brought with me from Iowa has worsened into this really annoying lungflemfest. I went to a doctor again, and he said i have a little bronchitis and gave me antibiotics. So hopefully i will get better soon.

Anyway, the spanish studies are great, the school is great. It's one-on-one, and many of the teachers are very political, and some in fact used to be guerillas in the civil war, for decades. So there is a lot to learn here besides just grammar and vocabulary. And there is plenty of chance to practice, around the city and with my host family.

My host family is really nice. The other day they drove me to their family doctor. The husband is an accountant and also a student, the wife is studying law, and the grandmother is like an elementary school teacher. I especially get lots of practice talking to her, she's very talkative, but very patient and used to repeating herself. They've been very good to me and the food has been good, if sometimes strange. I'll write more about that next. Guatemalan food.