The Language School 2

Most of my lessons are held in an arch in the garden of the school (see photo in previous post) but at times we also go on trips with our teachers. Last week I visited Chichicastanangua and Panahachel which is a town on Atitlan Lake about two hours from here.

Chichicastanangua, or "Chichi", is a market town where the indigenous people sell their highly embroidered fabrics, masks, food and electrical goods. In the centre of the town is the only church in which the Mayan rituals and Christian faith have been combined. The local people light a series of candles and stick them to the floor of the church, they scatter petals and burn alcohol while saying prayers for dead loved ones. The original Mayan ritual involves slitting the throat of a chicken and sprinkling the blood but thankfully that part has been omitted in the church.

On the steps of the church Mayans eat, talk and sell flowers to shoppers in the market.

People told me that Atitlan Lake is famous for its beautiful views but as it rained very hard when I was there I'll have to take their word for it.

My Weekend: Missing Buses, Live Volcano and Ruins

This weekend I had arranged to go to Copan in Honduras to see the famous Mayan ruins. The only method of transport in this country is the bus which can easily be arranged in the many travel agencies in town. Since many of the long journeys leave very early in the morning they come to your house or hotel. That is how I found myself learning my first lesson in Guatemalan efficiency while standing in the street from 3.40am on Saturday morning until 5.10 waiting for a bus. The bus never came and I went back to bed.

With a weekend in Antigua ahead of me I decide to explore one of the nearby volcanoes, Pacaya. The hike up takes about an hour and a half and takes you past a lake in a colapsed cone and views of the surrounding volcanoes, including Agua which is beside Antigua.

Pacaya is still live and has a "Lava river" flowing from a fissure below the volcano cone. Treading carefully, we were able to walk on the lava which had solidified although I found that my feet got very warm even through the thick soles of my walking boots.

The lava is viscous and makes a wonderful crackling noise as it makes its way down the mountain. I have some incredible video footage of this but don't think I am able to post it here.

The air was incredibly hot, although I was at 2,600 metres with quite a strong wind, due to the constant stream of lava which is at 1300 degrees. Even the solidified parts are warmed by the lava beneath so that when I put down my pack for a moment to take this photo it was very warm when I retrieved it. The local wild dogs have found that the heat can provide a comfortably warm bed.

Later in the day I visited a local monastery which is now in ruins due to a huge earthquake in 1771 in which the city had to be abandoned. The ruins are open to all and grass and trees grow in the areas which used to be paved. Visitors are free to clamber over the walls and through the windows and local children like to write their names on what is left of the 18th century plaster. It is a wonderfully tranquil place to read a book or dig around for pieces of old pottery. One of the students from my language school found items from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries which he dated from the exhibits in their museum.

The Language School 1

El Proyecto Linguistico Francisco Marroquin is my Spanish language school in Antigua. Most students come here to learn Spanish although a few are studying the language of the various Mayan tribes which exist in the country such as Q'eqchi' and Pocomchi'. In fact the objective of the school is to preserve these languages by producing dictionaries and grammar reference books.

Classes are from 8am until 5pm with a two hour break at lunch time. This allows me enough time to eat with my family and practice my new vocabulary.

My teacher, Rosa, lives in Antigua and grew up here. She speaks very little English and therefore all of our communication is in Spanish. It was very difficult at first, partly because I had to forget the Spanish "th" sound for "z" and change some of my vocabulary, but I have found that it has enabled me to learn very quickly. I still rely heavily on my dictionary not least because she asks questions like "Why does Britain have a queen?".

In the lessons I learn not only the language but about the culture and history of Guatemala. We talk about the pagan rituals which exist among the Mayan people and the reasons for the civil war which ended only 10 years ago.

Why oh why...

.. didn´t I get my hair cut while I was in Chicago? I though about it, talked about it and friends with beautiful hair recommended places... but I just never got round to it. How bad can a Guatemalan haircut be I asked myself? Well, frankly terrible. The first was pretty awful. "Shorter?" asks the hairdresser surprised "Yes, I want you to actually cut my hair.". Now that seems a slightly rash thing to have said. Apparently the only shorter she could do was the Guatemalan version of a "bowl cut". I didn´t dare ask her to change it again, on past record things would only get worse. Tomorrow is a Guatemalan national holiday and a designated hat shopping day for me.

My Family in Antigua

I had arranged a homestay for the time I would spend studying at the language school in Antigua. The school arranges everything and I knew nothing about them when I arrived here.

The entrance to the house looks like a garage but is in fact an old school in a small cobbled street off one of the main roads. The large wooden doors of the building have a smaller door cut into them which is used as the entrance. Inside is a courtyard where the children play with their friends and is the centre of the home. My room faces onto it and is simply furnished.

Patricia and Julio, the proprietors, have two children, Julio (6) and Patricia-Maria (10 months). The family are charming, patient with my attempts at expression and tolerant of my dislike of bananas. I could not ask for more. Here is a photo of them with Patricia's mother who lives nearby.

Chicago Photos

To see all the photos from my trip to Chicago follow this link:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=8hqq27c.6tlcixv8&x=0&y=-gla719

Guatemala city to Antigua

I arrived in Guatemala City a day later than I had expected due to storms that had lasted all day in Illinois. I had spent the night in Houston, Texas but was now finally making my way in a bus to Antigua where I would find my school and my host family. I was tired and dozed against the window enjoying the breeze.

I was woken by rain on my face: big drops of heavy rain that would not be ignored. The thuderstorm that had delayed me seemed to have followed me here. In moments the streets flooded and as we braked torrents poured down the windscreen. The streets were rivers dotted with rain and the pavements were suddenly empty. Cars edged slowly through the water spraying fans of brown water on one another. Suddenly the big 4x4s didn't seem so ridiculous in this urban setting. A few people were trapped under awnings or huddled under bus stops, their days suddenly interrupted by the storm.

As we left the Guatemala city for Antigua the rain slowed and the road was visible once more. Volcanoes surrouned us. My driver was happy and shouted excitedly on the phone. He sped up. I was glad, I was tired and wanted to arrive. The road became winding as we descended into a valley. The speed limit said 40kph and large signs urged drivers to slow down "Frene con motor". I glanced at our speedometer... over 80kph. I was not so glad. I had heard that South American drivers could be reckless and this was really dangerous. The winding road was slippery and wet and we were careering down hill at over twice the speed limit while he talked on the phone. There was only one solution: I shut my eyes.

With my eyes closed I soon forgot what was happening and fell asleep once more. I was woken some time later by the driver who announced proudly "This is Antigua!".

The Not-so-windy City

It was the first time I would see Chicago since leaving there in 2000. I was visiting friends I had met in my year studying in Illinois - that was six years ago. At that time I had spent some time in the city but among my friends' families and now I would be a tourist. A few of my friends had visited me in London and Paris but most I had last seen as beer-obsessed Freshmen. Now we would meet again and these young professionals would be my hosts in the big city. I mulled over how they might have changed on the plane. Would the boys still wear gigantic baggy trousers? Would we all pick up where we had left off or would it be awkward? Would I even recognise them?

I had arranged to stay with Kristin, a friend from my halls of residence, in North Chicago. She is outside her house in this photo (right) with her flatmate, Heather (left).

When I finally made it to the city after delays in New York my first impression was that it was incredibly hot. And humid. Where was the famous breeze? Luckily this is America so almost everywhere is air-conditioned of course.

The heat wave decreed much of what we did - we chose which film to see on the basis that it was the longest out (Pirates...) and I spent so many hours in the Art Institute that my eyes hurt. I can recommend the air conditioning in that museum but the art is not bad either. They have the iconic "American Gothic" by Grant Wood (left) and a beautiful collection of Homers as well as an interesting exhibit about early American decorative arts.

When we were tired of museums we visited the stunning Millennium Gardens and listened to a concert given in honour of the "Gay Olympic Games" which were being hosted in the city at the time. Ruth, my old room mate, had just won a three-year scholarship for law school so it was time for celebration too. Before leaving the gardens we went to see "The Bean", an enormous metal sculpture which is highly polished. The cityscape reflects at strange angles in the curved surfaces and the effect is powerful because it is such an angular city.

China town held a festival during my visit. There was traditional dancing in full costume and many Chinese artifacts on sale such as fans, parasols and carved jade items. I bought a bamboo flute and hope to learn to play it on my travels.

Kristin and Heather threw a party on Saturday night in a temperature of 103 degrees. The Pimm's I had brought was a huge hit "It's sooo good but what is it?". Good question. Again the weather dominated the evening - the sweaty look was compulsory and it was almost to hot to talk. Here I saw many people I had not seen since college and was relieved to recognise them easily. We chatted about our current lives and reminisced about our days in Champaign-Urbana. One friend is moving to London in a few months with his girlfriend. The huge trouser trend is over also, so perhaps boys will soon stop flashing their boxers in London too.

The guidebook said that the best way to see the Chicago skyline is from the lake. I was lucky enough to be invited out to race on a J133 on Lake Michigan by Ryan, Ruth's boyfriend. The racing was normally fairly relaxed but it was clear that the crew was tense about the Mackinac race in which they would participate that weekend. "The Mac" is the longest fresh-water race in the world at 330 nautical miles and would be the first big event of this new boat. Our race the "Round the beer cans" race was a prelude to the big even and a magical way to spend my last evening.