Friday

Friday was another great day in Xela. This time of the year is very beautiful. Everything is still green from rainy season and the mornings and evenings are chilly and the afternoons warm up quickly because of the intense sun.

I was supposed to meet Liz at a restaurant on the balcony of a

 building in central park, but I decided to take a walking tour of

 the city instead. I guess I wanted to see everywhere else I had been in the city except for central park. So, about one hour and a phone call later, I had a great breakfast overlooking tons of activity in central park. 

It was my "camera" day and apparently the rest of Xela's too because there were more than 10 nativity scene booths set up in central park and lots of families with their kids dressed up in traditional outfits to take their pictures in the scenes. It's a lot like taking your picture with Santa, except in a country with a very rich Catholic culture.

After breakfast Liz and I went through the markets taking pictures and doing a little last minute Christmas shopping. Later that afternoon, we ate at Wendy's (which was even better than in the states) and met up with everyone at the school to help set up for their finals week.

That night I packed and we all went to the school's Christmas Program, which was a highlight of the trip. Afterwards, I helped break down and had a great time hanging out with some new friends and we all watched some camp videos and shared some funny camp stories. 

Catching up

So, I'm in the airport in Guatemala City (Guate) trying to catch up from my great week in Xela. Hopefully, I won't leave too much out. 

On Thursday, Liz and I took our time hanging out at McNabb and Mau's house and Mau took us to the art museum and then a great italian resturante. The museum was really neat and had some great views of central park. Mau's dad is a pilot and Mau wants to be, so we had a great conversation, and we actually set up a ride with Papa Mau to fly us to Guate on Saturday in his four seater Maule. (more on this later)

That afternoon was shopping day. Liz and I navigated the democratia (the market) and found some really neat stuff....(do not open until Christmas)

That night was a lot of fun as we got our internet fix at Liz's favorite coffee shop. We grabbed some tacos on the way home and I hung out with the guys as Liz went to catch up with some of the girls. 

Wednesday

On Wednesday, I got all dressed up and left with the teachers on the bus that picks them up every morning. I got to the school (www.ias-xela.org) and spent half a day there taking pictures of the kids, meeting teachers and I even got to meet most of the school board! They are all great people with huge hearts and a deep passion for the ministry of the school. I felt very privileged to meet everyone! I really enjoyed meeting the kids, and I stepped into a few classes and had some fun with taking pictures.

In the afternoon Liz and I caught a ride back into town (the school is on the outskirts), ate some great avocados and bought everyone tickets for the Super Chivos Futball game that night. 

That night we all went to the stadium for a game I will never forget! Photos wouldn't do it justice, so I took some videos:

Things started off well, a few sparklers, a firework here or there...no big deal right?

More pictures from Tuesday

Tuesday

So...to continue my story, on Tuesday morning, my friend Liz and I met up in the morning and took the chicken bus to the hot springs about 20 minutes away. By the way, the chicken busses are not what I expected. It's like everyone of them came from some tv show called "Pimp My Bus." 

Before we got to the bus, we came across the president of Guatemala giving a speech for the police graduating from the academy. Liz and I laughed at the big glob of police and there was basically no perimeter set up in the park. It was neat to see.

When we arrived in the town at the base of the mountain where the hot springs were, we chartered a truck to take us the rest of the 8 kilometers up the mountain. One of my favorite parts was getting there. The views from riding in the bed of the truck...that's right...were awesome! 

When we arrived at the hot springs, there were only 4 or five other people there and it was so great! It was very pretty and the water was extremely hot. The pools are heated by volcanic vents in the mountain. The whole experience was awesome.

Later that day, after we returned to Xela, Liz took me to a small little restaurant where we ate ceviche, a bowl of pico, shrimp and lime juice. It was incredible! 

The rest of the evening we hung out with all our friends that had been teaching all day. It was the perfect first day in Xela!

A few days in Guate

Wow, a lot has happened before I made it to the Internet Cafe to upload the details of my trip. I hope that I can remember them all. Never-the-less, I'll give it a go:

Monday:

I got to the airport with just enough time to not wait long for the pla

ne...or so I

 thought. Once we got on the plane we waited an hour at the gate while they sorted through the bags because someone gave up their seat for a travel voucher. So, we left an hour late...and I thought to myself, "Self, this could be the 

beginning of an interesting trip!" and it was.

When I arrived in Guate (Guatemala City), 

Patricia and Edwardo were waiting for me with a sign. My friends had set me up with a welcoming party to take me to the bus station and help me buy my ticket to Xela (a 6 hr charter bus ride on partially paved

 roads).  I arrived at the station with 15 minutos to spare for the last bus leaving for the afternoon. "Whew" I thought...well. In great guatemalan fashion, the bus broke down 30 minutes into the trip...and I thought I would get bored on this leg of the journey! Well, as we waited for the mechanico, I met a guy that spoke ingles and had lived in Michigan for a few years. 

We chatted and laughed about the situation and SCREETCH...there was a wreck on the other side of the street! A chicken bus had taken out the entire back end of a honda. everyone was ok...and I was glad to be broken down instead of that alternative! 

Needless to say, I made it to Xela, about an hour late. Macy and McNabb were waiting for me. I waived and was so ready to "be there" that I went to get my bag. I got some razzing from my friends for not saying hi first. I laughed at this, but I was really ready to get away from that bus!

That night will always be one of my favorite memories! My old camp buddies and I went and ate at a little restaurant that night and we had a great time. We went to the house, and it was awesome! McNabb really has a great setup here. We hung out for a bit and went to bed, since it was a school night and all.

More to come...for now I'm going to the Futball game!