"Guate Guate Guate"

Every weekday here is spent at La Union from 8am-12pm studying Spanish. During the twenty(ish) minute walk there, me and my fellow Americans will almost inevitably hear the daily cry: "Guate Guate Guate!", which is an indication by the workers of Chicken Buses (see picture below) that they're headed to Guatemala City, the capital city of the country. This past weekend our group headed to the infamous city to check out some of the sights.

We checked into the Barcelo Hotel after the 30 minute drive to the city and were pleasantly surprised by the grandeur of the place (view from our room below). After working my way out of the glorious bed that I had settled into, our group spent the afternoon at the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. On display were all sorts of ancient Mayan artifacts that are estimated to be more than 3,000 years old. That in itself was a bit hard to comprehend. When I consider what the world was like in the early 1900s, it is difficult to picture even with history books, artifacts, and other visual aids. To touch and see stone artwork from 1,500 BC was really something. Many of the artifacts were taken from the ancient city of Tikal, a place in the northern part of the country that I'm extremely excited to visit later in the semester. 

Another cool stop we made while in the city was at the National Palace. It was constructed by a Guatemalan dictator in the early 1940s and now operates primarily as a museum. Below is a picture of our group inside the a courtyard in the palace (with  Libby, Paul's assistant, and without Sydney). During the tour of the museum, and throughout discussions in our classes, it has been interesting to learn of Guatemala's conflict-filled history. I could probably write quite a bit reflecting on the topic as I'm continuing to learn about this country's history, but I'll spare you for now. (Next week we're going to a place in Guatemala City that is still uncovering the remains of victims of the civil war, and I'll probably have some ramblings on the topic then.)

Another cool experience was attending Casa De Dios on Sunday morning. It was my first time attending a Latino mega-church. The entire service was in Spanish, although there were headsets for the Spanish rookies like me. If the beautiful building doesn't make you interested in visiting, the pastor's name will (Cash Luna). 

As for now, Spanish classes are continuing to challenge me. Although I'm beginning to comprehend much more than I was originally, it turns out that Guatemalans like to speak incredibly rapidly. I mean, probably no more so than Americans when speaking English. But I'm just now realizing that my teacher has been talking to me as I might speak with a 3-year-old. Ha, it's a process. I'm still enjoying it and starting to talk with some of the people at the school more. There really are some awesome people working there, and each week brings new students from all over the world. 

Thanks for reading and stay classy. 

One of the quaintly decorated Chicken Buses

 Some important Japanese people were in town for the weekend, so we had lots of soldiers hanging around the outside of our hotel. 

Grabbed this picture as we walked into church (Casa de Dio)

Inside the museum; you can see several of the stone tablets on display

Inside the National Palace

 Inside a courtyard in the National Palace

Good looking Spring Arborians

 Austin is a regular Guatemalan patriot.

This was taken directly following a bad spill Austin's camera took. RIP,

By the way, one of the ways that I was able to pay for this semester was through something called the Gilman Scholarship. It's available to hundreds of students every year who are studying abroad. If you know someone studying abroad in the future, make sure they check it out.  http://www.iie.org/programs/gilman-scholarship-program

Hola mi amigos! We have been here in Guatemala for about a week now, although it seems as though it's been much much longer. (In a good way.)

Volcano be smoking

We arrived in Guatemala City last Friday (September 5) and drove the 17 miles up and down mountains to the city of Antigua. People from the Spanish school greeted us with all sorts of love and have been incredibly welcoming and hospitable. The first weekend was spent settling into our host family's home here, attending an Episcopalian service with our professor, Paul Nemecek, and trying out a few local restaurants.

It was then that we also discovered the joy down here known as the local market, where there are literally hundreds of vendors for about 4 square blocks selling everything from pirated DVDs, imitation Beats by Dr. Dre., fresh produce, clothing, animals, and just about anything else you can possibly imagine. Although bartering is the norm in the market, I'm probably going to hold off until my Spanish abilities increase.

Speaking of which, Spanish lessons here have been going great. I go each day from 8-12 to La Union, one of the many language schools in the city. My instructor, Veronica, is a wonderful lady with much more patience than I. I'm loving the 1-on-1 learning environment and cannot imagine trying to learn a new language in a conventional classroom. 'Tis the way to do it. It has also been  really interesting to meet other students at the school, as people come from all over the world to study here. So, I'm looking forward to the 5 more weeks I have at La Union.

This past Sunday (September 14) we went to a bilingual church in town called Inglesia Del Camino. It was a really cool experience and we met a few really cool people there, so I'm looking forward to getting to know the people there better. 

I could probably write several more paragraphs, but I'll spare ya'll for now. It still doesn't quite feel like we'll be here for another 3 months, but I'm excited that's the case.

Below are a few pictures over the last several days. Thanks for reading!

La Union, Spanish school

View inside the courtyard of our house

Inside our house

Ditto

  A view of Volcán de Agua from outside of our house.

Inglesia Del Camino

Me and Veronica at school. She's wasn't all about getting her picture taken.

Inside La Union Spanish school

Me and Manuel, one of the most jolly Guatemalan men there is.

This is Anderson. We live with him and his mom, Cindy. This guy's quite a baller.

Today (September 15) is Guatemala's day of independence, so we enjoyed a sort of neighborhood cookout with the community. On the menu was cornbread, corn, and a corn-based beverage called Atole (I think).

  

Hola!

Hey there, friends. It's been a long time coming, but tomorrow I'm heading south to study in Guatemala for the fall semester. I'm going with 4 other students to live in Antigua until Christmas break. We're going to be living with a family there, taking classes with a professor from my school (Spring Arbor University) as well as a Spanish school called La Union.

Considering I've never taken any Spanish classes before, this should be quite an interesting experience. The good news is that starting Monday, I'll be spending 4 hours a day with a Spanish tutor. Bless their soul... 

Today I actually started feeling a bit nervous for the semester, but that's probably a good indicator that I might be trespassing beyond the land known as  Thomas' Comfort Zone. I'm really excited for all that is in store over the next few months, whatever that is. Ha, I really have no idea what to expect. Regardless of whatever "culture shock" awaits me, I'm more concerned at the moment on preparing myself for the reality of hanging out with elementary children who will, no doubt, be far more advanced in their soccer skills than I. 

Stay posted for weekly(ish) updates!