Highlights of the first week

really, this first week has been a blur but i´ll attempt to extract the most memorable experiences thus far...



25 hours of spanish class, one on one, is intense! My spanish teacher, Doris, however, was just the most amazing person ever with seemingly endless energy and patience. exciting new words for me this week include: tratar (to try), el mismo (the same), volver (to return), hacer juego (to match clothes), la cuenta (the bill), encontrar (to meet), and ayer (yesterday). The bane of my spanish class existence has been: cuadra (streetblock), cuadro (picture), cuatro (four), cuatro (quarter time AND room), cuenta (he/she/you formal count OR tell), and cuestas (it costs). grrr...



my first experiences with the colors of guatemala. the buildings, the landscapes, the clothing... they are never dull and radiate with such emotion and intensity. it´s one example of how guatemala is a country of extreme opposites: vibrant happiness within extreme poverty and pain, radiant beauty next to literal trash, super hot in the sun and super cold in the shade. as everyone told me, the textiles here are unbelieveably beautiful with gorgeous details and colors. all i´ve bought so far is a friendship bracelet with my first guate friend, but the bags, tableclothes, belts, etc are definitely calling my name.



The people. Locals who are friendly but understandably still cautious of foreigners. attending mass at the local catherdral and being one of the tallest and definitely the lightest-skinned/haired person there. witnessing the juxtaposition of ¨old¨ and ¨modern¨ cultures with mayan and ladino people (although I did see an interesting sight of a young woman in low-rise jeans and talking on a cellphone while carrying her huge bag on her head as typical of mayan women). also, making ¨summercamp-style¨friends with fellow students (intense, quick friendships that end since people are leaving all the time) and starting to run into people you know one the streets (like that guy who is always on the mat next to you in yoga class who you run into on a street and who helps you find the infamously delicious empanada stand).



the food. of course. i´ve started a food photo album so i can visually relive all the wonderful taste sensations i´ve been having thus far. my first food pic is the above mentioned empanada. mmm...