1.22.09- Woke up, and had to get my 2nd rabies shot... I hate dogs now.
We got on a chicken bus, and rode it around the lake. More spectacular views. About 4 hours of uncomfortable busses, finally we´re way way up in the mountains. We drove through a couple layers of clouds, saw distant volcanos with peaks poking out of the fluff. The outskirts of xela are really grimey. I started to worry about where I was taking myself, but as soon as we got downtown, my fears were calmed. Xela´s an awesome city, with super cool architecture and an awesome central park. (Not to mention: McDonalds! Where aren´t you, ronald??)
Checked into our hostel, its super cool. A real old building with the highest ceilings ive ever seen. Its also a spanish school, so during the day the courtyard has other students in it. I met a cool dude named max from upstate NY. My rooms at the top of the stairs, just a little nook with a bed and a shelf. I dont really know anyone else yet, so I just sat in my perch and played some music.
1.23.09- Today I got to meet my host family. I got really lucky. They have a super nice house! Even better than mine in the states, with a rooftop patio that has an awesome view of the city and surrounding mountains. They seemed nice, but theres kind of a language gap, so we didnt have a whole lot to say to each other. The husband runs a bakery, and there were a bunch of super tasty looking loaves of bread on the table. Im really excited to move in. This afternoon, I went to meet the editor of the paper I´m doing some work for. Apparently, its like a one man show. Cynthia is the head, a really friendly and fun lady. We went to a coffee shop on the corner, and I ate falafel for the first time. 1st assignment (and the only one until the end of Feb.) was to go around to all the local bars and ask about upcoming concerts and special events. Luckily I´d met another language school kid earlier yesterday. We roamed the night streets together, and I let him do most the talking when we were in the bars. Without him, i wouldve made an ass of myself and Xelawho. ( www.xelawho.com ) It was a lot of fun, even though a couple clubs totally blew us off, or couldnt understand what the hell we wanted to know. The last club we went to was by far the coolest. Ojala, ran by an australian and spanish couple, is pretty much the gringo/trendy guatemalan bar. They had a live band playing covers of american tunes. (velvet underground, whitestripes, ghostbusters theme, that sex&candy song...) We sat down and ordered the house special beer. When the owner served us, he explained that its a homebrew, technically illegal for him to sell, hah! Delicious brew, though. I sat around and chatted with the bartender, a cool lady from colorado, here for a few months between schools. Max and I left around 11, cus the streets arent too safe for tourists after then. SLEEP!
1.24.09- Not much to say about today, more roaming and photo taking. Good times. Hit up Guatemalan McDonalds. Its better here, the fries are real potatoes, but the mcnuggs were a little... something. cant quite put my finger on it. My aunt goes home tomorrow. Shes really not too excited to leave me here. I went to this club for a jazz show that was supposed to happen, but the band didnt show. I guess thats not super uncommon because the staff didnt seem surprised or apologetic. Tomorrow I move in with my host family!! EXCITING!
Notice: Anyone who wants to visit, can definitely come. Im in spanish school for the next month, so anytime after that, youll have a guide with some skillzzz. Email me.
soyeldustin@hotmail, yo.
