Casa Sweet Casa

“Iced vanilla latte no sugar added with soy, please” It was amazing how easily the words flowed from my mouth after a month long hiatus. It’s good to be back. I never thought I would be so happy to be back in LA. Some of the things I’ve enjoyed over the past few days I have been back are:
Seeing my friends and family
Driving in my car listening to KOST
Eating FRESH vegetables
The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf
My cell phone
TV and movies
MY BED!
My first night back in my apartment was probably the best sleep I have had in the last month. It was amazing! Better than I had remembered. My transition back into my everyday LA lifestyle is going well. I am still have a week and a half before I meet my new students, but I have to spend the last week in OCR training. After my time away, I feel well-rested, relaxed, and ready to take on the next school year.

Coming Soon: Adventures in First Grade

Quiero mi cama

Ok I have loved the adventure and I have offically caught the travel bug. I am already thinking about where I want to go next. With that said. I am SO ready to come home tomorrow.

Yesterday was probably the worst day I have had since I've been here. (Not really that bad one in what 28 days- odds are good) Anyhow, Rebecca and I thought we should save ourselves $100US and take the overnight bus (10 hours) from Flores to Guatemala City instead of taking the one hour flight. Well I can't even say it was a mistake. The bus ride was ok. And considering there was a landslide earlier in the day and people were having to walk 15km to get to their buses, we were doing fabulous.

So we had it all planned sleep on the bus as much as possible (earpluggs and benedryl helped) and tranfer to a bus in Guatemala City to Panajanel. We get to Guatemala City and take a taxi to the other bus station. We thought we were getting a pullman service (fancy bus) for the 3 hour drive, but oh how mistaken we were. The only way to get to Panajanel, was via a Chicken Bus.

To understand transportation in Guatemala, is to understand the Chicken Bus. Chicken buses, do not acutally contain chickens, so please calm down. They are however usually packed so full with people that they feel as if they are chickens. A chicken bus in an American school bus that has some extra hardware: handle bars from the ceiling and luggage racks on the roof and a new coat of paint (usually lots of loud colors). These are the main source of long distance transportation for people in Guatemala. Luckily for us it was not that crowded, but we did stop every 5 minutes to pick someone up or drop someone off literally on the side of the road. If I wasn't in such a bad mood that day, I might have taken a picture. So after about 4 hours we arrive in Panajanel.

At this point, Rebecca and I are done. We have not eaten breakfast, we have been on busses for 15 hours straight, we are dirty, and we don't really care how pretty the lake is. We think the best solution would be to shower and eat lunch. The shower at our new hotel, not fun. Its hot, but there is zero pressure. The water is so hot that I think I might have developed burns had I not switched the electric off. Not really helpful in making me feel clean. Ok next step. EAT. Lunch it good. It helps make the stomach feel better, our moods however not improved. I am happy I am going home in 2 days, Rebecca is reconsidering her 6 month stay in Latin America.

It is now 3 o'clock. We don't know what else to do so we take a lancha to San Pedro, on of the towns along Lake Atitlan. We wait for about 30 minute for the boat to fill up before we leave. The lake is nice, but we can't really see anything on the boat because there are curtain like things around the edge. We get there, have disgustingly sweet cup of hot chocolate and get back on a boat to Panajanel. Oh but this time it was a local boat, PACKED with people. I was squished the entire time and my but wasn't even on the bench for most of it. Talk about uncomfortable.

We decide to book a luxury shuttle back to Antigua for the next morning so we don't have to go through the Chicken bus again, have dinner and go to bed. We decide to call this day a wash.

Luckily today we both feel a lot better. We woke up took some pictures of the lake and had some breakfast before catching our shuttle.

So I am now back in Antigua for one night before I leave to come home. I am glad to be back in a hotel with clean beds and hot, good pressure showers. I have completely enjoyed my experience here, but I am so ready to come back home. I may have some final reflective thoughts when I return, but for now I just ready to leave. Most imporantally: Quiero MI cama!

Tikal

NOTE: Pictures are coming. I am at a loss for modern technology right now (phone and USB port). So please read and visualize until I get the pictures up. Gracias.

So after a day of sitting by the waterside outside our lovely hotel (pictured previously) Rebecca and I were ready to travel along. We got picked up at our hotel´s dock and took another boat ride up the Rio Dulce. This time is was a little better because it was sunny and not raining, but still difficult to capture in a picture. (Insert picture of Rio Dulce that doesn´t do it justice HERE)


We arrive in the town of Rio Dulce 2 hours before our bus leaves, but hang out for 3 hours (buses in Guatemala are never on time). We eat lunch at Bruno´s, food and drinks are ok, really at this point I am happy if its not beans and tortillas. There is a strange group of people who hang out at Bruno´s. Its a lot of white, leathery skinned men, who own boats and stop there for some reason (I never wanted to talk to any of them so I never found out. There was a ´Crusing Club´ there from Ohio though, it that helps paint a picture). Anyhow 40 minutes after our bus was supposed to come, we board. Thankfully there is air conditioning. After about 3 hours, two stops to check for fruit and other illegal material, by armed guards, and one local stop on the side of the road to drop off a man, we arrive in Santa Eleana. This is actually surprising, because we thought the trip would take 4 hours. We think the guide books take into account the fact that buses are never on time.

We arrive in Flores, well actually Santa Eleana, and are shoved on a minibus that will take us to our hotels. The men are trying to sell us everything we need. I am pretty sure it is not a good idea to buy anything from them, but 500Q later (about $70 US) I am standing in my hotel feeling like a whirlwind has just taken me. Luckily they were legit. We got to Tikal and back, admission into the park, with a guide, and breakfast. Later tonight we also have a bus to Guate (Guatemala City) also included in this sum. Worked out ok, but to say I was nervous is an understatement.

Anyhow, our hotel, Hotel Villa de Lago, is by far the best hotel I have stayed at here. We not only each had our own double beds, we had AC AND a ceiling fan, hot and cold water knobs in the shower and sink (that worked), and cable TV - luxury redefined. We even managed to find Will and Grace in English with spanish subtitles -our own little piece of heaven.

This morning we woke up at 5:30 to get to the Tikal National Park before it got too hot. I was prepared for this trip. I was convinced I was going to be hot, sticky, hungry, tired, dehydrated, eaten alive by mosquitos, and cranky before we got off the bus. None of this turned out to be true, except the hot and sticky part, but not nearly as much as anticipated. The park was beautiful. Our guide, Ishmel, who goes by Chino, ¨like the language, but don´t ask him to speak it because he can´t¨ was great.

Tikal has the right amount of Jungle, nature, and wildlife combined with Mayan ruins. It´s really cool to see the site because not all of it is uncovered. Actually only about 20 percent. So you don´t get that theme park feel that some other placees have. It also was not nearly as crowded as I expected, maybe because it was Wednesday. Anyway its was cool because you get a little peak at what some of the sites looked like before they were restored. We climbed 3 of the temples, one which was the tallest one in Tikal. What a work out! Too bad there aren´t any ancient Mayan temples in LA, otherwise I would have thighs of steel. (Insert picture of cute girl with beautiful Mayan Temples in the background HERE)


My favorite was the temple called ¨Mundo Perdido¨ (i think that´s the right spelling) because we didn´t use wooden ladder-stairs to climb it. I was pretty sure I was going to fall on the way down, luckily I survived. Too bad I can´t say the same about the giant beetle bug I saw on my way down. Apparently these bugs find their ways onto their backs and can´t flip back over. I think its an unfortunate evolutionary flaw. Lucky for me, I was on my feet the whole time, except when I sat on my butt for safety purposes.


By 1pm were were done with our tour and it was time for lunch. Luckily, Rebecca and I are basically on the same eating schedule (She needs to eat every 3 hours too), and always seem to get hungry around the same time. So after a jamon y queso sandwich and a limondada con auga, it was time to reboard our bus and head back to Flores.

So at 4:30 pm, we are hanging out in Flores, killing time before our evening bus to Guatemala City. Our friend, Eric is also in town, and since he has not checked out of his hotel, like we have, we are hoping to find him so we can shower before boarding our bus. I will let you know how that goes.

Adios Casa de Lenguas

Sorry for the lapse in blogs, addicts. I was temporarily away from all sorts of modern technology. Now that I find myself in front of a computer I feel better.

Updates:

Thursday was my last day at Casa de Lengas. The good thing about leaving for a weekend trip on Friday morning, at 4AM is you get out of your Friday graduation speech on your last week. Score! I got my ´diploma´ without having to give a speech in espanol. I was happy to leave, because my last teacher of the day, was really starting to urk me. I mean she is entitled to be bitter, but not on my dime, on my vacation, and for 2 straight hours. Thank goodness I got to fill out an evaluation and for Diego and Isabel, my favorite maestros. Aren´t they just the cutest teachers you have ever seen. Yes, for them I was thankful and would perhaps return to Casa de Lenguas, but for now, one week of traveling and no school here I come.

Friday 4AM
I worned the front desk night shift, that I would be leaving at 4am, and if he did not see me in the front he should wake me. Luckily the alarm did in fact go off at 3:30, I did not get much sleep the night before (not because of reasons you all might be thinking - ;)get your minds out of the gutter) because I was so nervous I would sleep through the alarm, or my clock would just stop working. Anyhow, the van is waiting as I walk to the front door. I am greated, by the chipper Juan Carlos, our fearless guide for the second weekend. NO ONE should be that chipper at that hour. I go into the van, and I am relieve to see a familar face, Eric, and not so excited to see a new ADDITIONAL chipper face, Katia. We make our round around Antigua picking up the remaining people. I spend the rest of Friday sleeping in the van, no seriously everytime we drove, I would fall asleep, mouth open and all. Beats last weeks nautious discomfort. We stopped off in Copan, Honduraus to visit some Mayan ruins. I am not sure if it was the bugs, the heat, or the strange way our guide spoke, but I was over it like 35 minutes into the 90 minute tour. Except for tours of the Berkeley Campus, tours should not be more than 60 minutes. The ruins were nice, I hear Tikal is better, I will see on Wednesday. Still nice to go, plus I get another stamp in my passport. Back in the van and back to my napping, I become the girl who can sleep anywhere for the rest of the trip. (See Dad, I do take after you)

Friday night we arrive in Livingston, and then take Juan Carlos´s boat to a remote island about 10 minutes off the coast of Livingston. While nice and remote, I was not looking forward to staying in these huts, although since Rebecca and I are his favorite, he gave us the deluxe hut. Still not that impressed. I am sure I will get bit. Rebecca and I decide to share the queen bed, because it is the only bed with a decent mosquito net. Luckily we are only here two nights, and luckily I have OFF, I used up all that natural repelent in Antigua, and after last weekend - bring on the DEET. I am sure my skin will heal.

Saturday
We take a walking tour of Livingston. It is hot here. I feel like summer in NY, dripping sweat, lots of humidity, never enough water. The walk is nice. Asside from the heat, I am not that bothered. I am pretty sure my lack of being in shape has to do with the altitude, since we are basically at sea level here. We walk through cementaries, people´s backyards, over streams (which I cross gracefully, 3 in the group not so lucky - that´s ok they were being rude all weekend anyway), and up hills. Finally we get the the view point: Juan Carlos likes to take pictures of people, sometimes he forgets to get the scenery - its ok we still love him.

We rest on the ´beach´ before making our way to the Seven Altars. For the Carribean, the beaches are not that nice. The water was too warm to be refreshing, but the Seven Altars make up for it. The water was cool and freshing. Eric and Matt, dove off one of the waterfalls. I was too nervous, not being able to dive and all. I was convinced I would be the one girl to hit her head. Swimming under the water fall was good enough.

Saturday
Tour of the Rio Dulce River.(pictures to follow - running out of internet time) It was quite refreshing and cool to be speading through the river on a speed boat. The driver takes Rebecca and I back, because we are staying 2 more nights (more than enough for Livingston). Our hotel is way better. Casa Rosada is like the Ritz compared to our previous home.
And this morning I woke up to this:
And really that is how I spent the rest of the day. Reading trashing fiction, thanks Christine and looking at that, getting some color.

Miss you all.

cerra de la cruz

I am know the hiking master and defender of rain.

Yesterday's activity was a 'hike' to the cerrro de la cruz, one the the main tourist attractions in Antigua. So since it is know to have robbers and thieves along the way, we pick up a police officer de tourismo to escort us up. As we walk to the bureau, it begins to drizzle, I wonder if I should go back. Honestly, 3 days (bike ride, todos santos, and walking through the river that was the street to get home) of being completely drenched is out of control, not to mention hiking in this country has proved to be difficult for me. But I see this mother and daughter from North Carolina, no coat, not umbrella, if they can do it so can I.

We walk. As we approach the path, which is paved the entire way, so much easier than mud, the rain ceases. I am relaxed. We get up there and I am shocked, I am not entirely out of breath. I can actually breathe. I am a bit winded, but not exhausted, don't think I broke a sweat. Could this mean I am back in shape? Afraid not, I think its more like adjusted to the altitude, and the fact that it might have been a 20 minute walk. But whatever, I climbed a hill in Guatemala and did not feel like I was approaching death. (Guatemala 3 Kiyomi 1)
The view wasn't as clear as is usually is since it was actually raining on Antigua, we were just above it. So as you look at the picture, visualize (use those comprehension strategies teachers) a beautiful volcano in the background.


So anyway it was a nice walk and I even made it to meet Rebecca to plan our next week without getting wet. But just when I thought it was safe, the downpour began on my walk home. Luckily there was an Internet/phone place where I could hide out and make a few calls and send a few emails. So I managed to out smart the rain for the afternoon. No flooding, no downpours, made it back to Posada La Merced with only the lowest part of my capri pants wet. Score! (Guatemala 3, Kiyomi 2)

By the way, I have a new teacher this week. Isabel is still one of my teachers, no more Diego (tear), but now I have a woman who's name I forgot. I don't really like her. She speaks too much in English, likes to lecture (en ingles) about depressing issues, and doesn't take enough time writing things and yells at me to pay attention when I am writing things down so I can try to remember. Does she not know I am a visual learner? One more day. (No class on Friday - I am off to Coban and Rio Dulce.) Lesson learned this week: Diego and Isabel son buenos maestros y otra chica es no.

Necesito hacer mi tarea. Soy una buena estudiante.

The importance of a vowel

This weekend I took a 3 day 2 night trip to the Highlands. It was a very interesting experience to see remote towns that I would have never experienced on my own. With that said I would like to say that most of the weekend was spent in some sort of discomfort, whether it be car sickness, hunger, being bloated from overeating, or itchy. However I am still glad I did it. I am not going to let a little discomfort get me down. (To date: No need of stomach medication, other than a few tums. SCORE!)

So we left Friday morning at 6:00 AM - yes a whole hour before I usually wake up, but I made it somehow. Our guide, Juan Carlos, was funny. He was totally a Dad to all of us. He was always concerned that we were happy and enjoying our trip. We stopped to pick up another woman and then continued on to San Francisco El Alto to visit a local Animal Market. This was definitely a new experience for me. While I have decided that many of the markets in Guatemala are similar, this one I don't think I would ever see again. I am pretty sure we were the only tourist there. I seriously thought about becoming a vegetarian. It was really sad to hear the pigs squeal and be put into bags for easy carrying.


After a short stop we got back into the bus. Driving was always an adventure. Basically I was either sure we were going to hit an on coming vehicle as we tried to pass a car, or I was going to fall off the seat as Jose, or driver took mountain curves at what felt like 90. Next stop was at the top of the hill for lunch, and just at the right time. I was about to be carsick and I was hungry - not a good combination. Next challenge: using the "bano" which was a toilet like structure over a hole, no door. Yes I now think I can pee anywhere, not sure, but I might be more proud of that than my college/masters degrees. Lunch was lamb, rice, beans, and tortillas.

Yep you guessed it back in the car, I am getting better at bracing myself against my seat and the seat in front of me. We arrive in Todos Santos. Juan Carlos thinks it would be nice to walk to the house we are staying at. After hours in the car, we all agree. 3 minutes later - down pour. Oh yes now the new shoes are also getting wet, luckily our driver comes back to get us, so the aren't too bad, but they are muddy:

FYI: This picture was taken the next morning after our 6 am hike. I will come back to the hike. Standby. Notice the hot orange details - nothing beats the Antigua market for shoes

So we finally get to our house. Next challenge of the day, sleeping in a room that is not the cleanest, has a foam mattress only covered with blanket, no sheets, and a pillow case that's last wash date is unknown, but it does tell me "Dios te ama" I feel better.

Note the dirty walls. I think this picture could be and add for Berkeley dorms: "Come to Berkeley, at least your dorm will look better than this. Surprisingly I did not get any bites at this hotel, I am pretty sure it was too freezing cold for them.

So back to the hike that happened BEFORE breakfast. Necicito comer ANTES hiking. So we are hiking up this hill to the equivalent of the Hollywood sign of Todos Santos, except its made out of white rocks. Poor Rebecca has gotten altitude sickness and is finding it really hard to make it up the hill, I am hungry, two of the girls did not bring tennis shoes and are hiking up in these flat slipper like shoes, Juan Carlos does not know what he signed up for. We finally make it up the hill:
HAPPY! Not quite. So after enjoying the rest and the view for a few moments I in my great effort to leave the silent period of my language development exclaim, "Tengo mucho hombre" (translation: I have a lot of man) Yes this of course puts everyone in stitches, because its funny. I realize my mistake and say, "Tengo mucho hambre" (literal translation: I have a lot of hunger) Lesson learned: and 'o' is never the same as an 'a' - especially in Spanish when it can be the difference between having lots of men or lots of hunger. Last shot of Todos Santos:

So after breakfast I feel better. Again we drive for hours. When I ask Juan Carols, "A que hora vamos a almorzar?" He responds that we are not going to have lunch because we are having a big dinner. Has he learned nothing from this morning? Like Mary, the key to keeping me happy is food, regularly. Skipping a meal is not ok, ever. So I make it through with some lime flavored fritos and water. We check into our hotel, way better than our first night n the Highlands, or so I thought. We finally get dinner at Nebaj. Good food. I am so hungry I take no pictures, an eat so much I think I am going to burst. We go back to our hotel and watch "The Green Mile." Its on TV in English with Spanish subtitles. I forgot how much I loved/missed TV.

The next morning, Rebecca and I oversleep and get ready in 8 minutes - go team. It is not until we get to breakfast that I discover bites on my arm, then on my lower back, then on my legs. They are multiplying and turning red. They are not yet itchy, but I put on some cream anyway. Dr. Eric thinks I will be ok (no really he is a doctor.) I was going to take a picture and post it, but I fear that my mother will have a heart attack if she saw it so take my word for it is not pretty. (but again still not stomach problems so I am A-ok) At this point in the trip I am ready to go back to Antigua.

Luckily we just have two more stops: Chicicastenago and Lake Atitlan. We shop a bit in Chichi as it is called sometimes here in Guatemala. I bought another one of my new favorite accessory: the headband bandanna, you might recognize it in all the pictures of me. That's what happens when you have no hair product or straightener. Chici is a this huge market and there are so many beautiful things to buy, I am overwhelmed. Rebecca gets her shoes shined, something you can always have done in most towns in Guatemala for 5Q:
We leave and stop at Lake Atitlan for for lunch. I have a chicken sandwich, after all the comida tipca this weekend, my stomach is happy. We stop by a farmacia to by some anti-itch cream, by far the best 60Q i have spent thus far. Final group shot before we leave:

We get back to Antigua, I bag up all my clothes for the laundry, as per the request of Gail, the owner of my posada. She shreeks in horror when she sees my arm. She is sure they are bed bugs and does not want them at Posada la Merced, neither to I. Its good to go away for weekends, but it is also good to have anti-itch cream and a great, long, hot shower when you get back. Not to mention a clean bed to get into.

Update on Casa de Lenguas: Today was big day. I have moved from the Nivel Basico (libro azul)to the Nivel Elemental (libro rojo). What does this mean? Well to use the words of my fellow classmate, Grey, "Yes! Now I can speak, read, and write Spanish as well as a 6 year old." I think this is good news. Now I can talk to my students, good thing I am teaching first grade this year. And come July when I start my new school year I will know one thing. When 11:30am comes around and my stomach starts to rummble I will know to say 'tengo mucho hambre' and remember that and 'o' is never the same as an 'a'.

un dia a Casa de Lenguas

Most of my weekdays are spent waking up around 7, which is sleeping in compared to my usual weekdays. Then I get ready eat breakfast and go to school from 8-12. We usually have a break around 10 for 10-15 minutes. During that break we are hanging out and occasionally there is a "concert." Please take note of Patrick and Diego, mi maetro:

I think that Diego wants to be a singer. Everyday he is singing in class siempre en espanol, but its funny still. He also likes to stay funny phrases like: ?Claro? ?Claro como agua o chocolate? Usually its Claro como chocolate.
Anyway, usually in the afternoon there is an organized trip somewhere locally. I usually take advantage of these, because it gives me a chance to explore Antigua a bit more and hang out with the other students. Yesterday was a bike tour around some neighboring pueblos. Carlos, our event organiser, promised it would be muy divertido, pero you fui. Yeah so it was all good after we had to wait like 20 minutes for all the bikes to arrive. Again, these cobblestones are beautiful, but seriously hard on the body. Riding a bike, when you are out of shape is hard enough, plus the altitude, plus the cobblestones: muy dificil. Once we get out of Antigua the road is a little bit smoother so its better and we stop at the Igelsia de San Jose? I don't remember the name, but I did take a picture:

And although the tour was 3 hours this is the only picture I took. You might be thinking "Why, Kiyomi? You always take so many pictures and you have a 1G memory card." Well the answer l is because about 9/10 of the way up this killer hill, I am huffing and puffing by the way, the sky opens up and lets out all the water there is in the sky. There was nothing we could do, we were stuck at the top of a hill on bikes, no shelters to be found. So we were all soaked, and thought why not lets just keep going. Carlos said it was all downhill. What he failed to mention was that we also had to carry our bikes down most of the hill unless we were into X-treme biking. And as if that was not enough, we also had to cross over a new small stream that the rain just created. After that we all decided it was not worth it and turned back. On the way back it was really cold, and the end of the ride was topped off when a huge truck came and slashed us all with water from the street. So refreshing.

You can't really tell from this picture, but we were soaked to the core, and filthy. Because when you ride through puddles, the back tire kicks up the dirt onto your whole back. So we made it back to the school and luckily my camera wasn't too wet, just the backpack and the case, which as since dried. However today I needed to by new sneakers because mine are still wet and I don't think they will dry before tomorrow's trip. 180Q ($26US) later I have a new pair of hot orange and white sneakers. (Picture coming soon)

Ese fin de semana: The Highlands, Todos Santos
Hasta lunes!