My first week here in Xela at the Proyecto Linguistico Quetzalteco de Espanol..
http://plqe.org/
Some things I did last week:
-Woke up at quarter to 7 AM every day and actually wanted to get out of bed to start the day!
-Attend class for five hours, one one one with a Spanish teacher...I am reviewing irregular verbs and ironing out spelling mistakes I´ve made for years...Oh, oui, ten years of studying French down the drain...well, at least I´ll always have Paris...Seriously, the classes are great. We talk, read, take field trips to local parks, museums, markets...gossip...drink cafe..review grammar, read stories...i am loving it
-Hear an ex guerilla member share his story of being tortured for 8 days in a torture camp...horrible, sad, and yes folks...funded by the USA. Much more on that...
-Watched a documentary called ¨De Nadie¨ which shared stories of people riding the train up through Mexico and getting their limbs caught under the train...and in some cases, stories were shared of la migra actually throwing people under the train...but then there are kind hearted people who throw food at the people, so they can survive...You should all watch this documentary if you can!
-Visited Zunil, a nearby town...Visited San Simon and watched as others who had traveled kilometers to get there, poured rum down his throat and lit a cigarette and a colored candle for him...for their prayers...AND For only 10 quetzales you could take a picture with him too! yeah...
Zunil also has a women´s textile cooperative and I bought a hand woven bookmark.
-I have tried to resist the pan dulce all week...No more Baked Lays and whole wheat pita bread and Trader Joe´s organic frozen meals...try, tortillas, corn tamalitos, white rice, bread, bread, bread...bread. Today I visited a bake shop called ¨The Bake Shop¨ and bought fresh pan integral (whole wheat sliced bread!) and flaxseed. Those of you who know, know why I bought flaxseed...lol...And for all of you rolling your eyes for other reasons, the place was full of guatemaltecos! This brings me to my topic of new love...
-On Sunday I was reunited with a long lost love...YOGA. This is no Healthworks 90 dollars a month women´s gym yoga. Although, I did love that yoga too...This tiny and flamboyantly gay Guatemalan guy led the two hour class and he was seriously doing cirque du soleil flips while I tried to remember what namastay meant...Abby--necesitamos hablar! I signed up for a month of unlimited classes at Yoga House for 100 quetzales...about 13 bucks. Soon I hope to add Wednesday night salsa dancing to my schedule. Take that, Mike´s Gym!
-Writing. I am working on some non-fiction stuff mostly, lately, for some reason-y...but tonight I am going to meet with the Writing Circle, a group of local creative writers--Guatemalan and foreign...I met a Guatemalan guy from Chicago who writes social justice rhymes/rap in a local indigenous language. Am I in the Mission in San Francisco or something?? lol...I am really pumped about the writing circle...we will see how it works out but I am just excited to have a community again...I swear my host family thinks I am a little weird for passing up nights out on the town here for reading in my little cuarto (room). On another note, it is not the safest activity..to walk alone after 9 PM...what better excuse to curl up with my pen and paper.
-I have had my moments too...where I miss my mom and my computer and the simple but not to be overlooked action of opening the refrigerator door at whatever hour I please and standing there, thinking, choosing...Not so much here! I am finding a balance though...after much convincing, my host mom agrees to load up my plate with veggies and fruit...she shakes her head sometimes, but she does it...I guess in that way, I will always be more gringa than chapina. Oh well!
-Lastly, I did miss all of you! I love hearing from you. I hope you are living and loving well.
Hasta pronto,
Jenn
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