Katie's Guatemala Visit, Part II

So I already wrote about when my friend Katie visited Guatemala last month but she finally got around to posting about the trip (she is much busier than I am, so I don't blame her for her tardiness). Here are the two different posts she put up on her blog, Part One and Part Two. Enjoy! She is much better at writing than I am so they'll be more enjoyable reads than what I normally manage to put together.

Some Guatemalan Observations

With a little over a month left in my stay here in Xela, I think it is time to do some reflecting on some of the things that make Guatemala, well, Guatemala. Here is what I've come up with:

• Guatemalans have tiny feet: Or, I have gigantic feet. Yesterday, I spent three hours looking for new shoes. I kept finding the style I wanted... only to be told the biggest size they have are 8's. I wear 11's. Not going to happen. This even happened in shoestores in the mall. Because of this, I gave up and bought them online instead.


• There is no time that isn't appropriate for dance music: Typically, loud dance music should be played afternoon. Or at least close to noon. Not 7am. Waking up to the Black Eyed Peas at 7am is not ok.


• Pink - not worn by straight men: I am very secure in my masculinity and wear pink sometimes. It happens. Or at least it happens in the States. Here, pink is only girls and gay men. So much for my favorite pink and grey sweater.


• Roosters are unable to tell time: The rooster that lives outside my apartment thinks that 2am is really 7am and time to crow. I have almost gotten up a few times in the middle of the night to climb to the roof and throw rocks at the thing. I'm sure it will make a delicious dinner one day. Soon hopefully.


• Bars don't exist: Everyone knows my beer sadness and lack of choices. But what also is lame in Guatemala is the fact that bars are different too. The typical bar that I like in Seattle or Portland, one that you go in, sit, have a good pint, watch some baseball, and chill and talk about life - not happening here. Here, you can go to a club. Dance. Which can be fun once and a while. Or, you can sit in a restuarant and have a beer. But its different. I miss Teddy's off Roosevelt in Seattle. And the EndZone in Port Orchard.


• GRINGO!!!: Pointing and yelling 'Gringo!' is completely acceptable. In Xela, its rare. But on the coast, very common. Just so you know, gringo is slang for a foreigner, usually white foreigners.


• Rainy Season: People at home in the Northwest always complain that rain in Seattle never stops. It does stop. In Guatemala, rainy season means rainy season. Like, rain every day. To be fair, at least it is on a schedule. The rain holds off until at the earliest 1pm, allowing for erronds and walking to be done in the morning. So that's nice of the rain gods.


• Guns: I don't even flinch anymore when I see men standing outside of stores holding shotguns. It seems like every store that sells anything has a shotgun toting security guard. The stat I heard was that there are 3 armed private security guards for every police officer in this country. I'd believe it.


• Guatemalans are terrible baseball players: A two examples to back this up. One, when I go to the coast for work and I attempt to toss something, be it fruit or a ball, to the children, they can't catch it. They mostly look like they've never even had to use their hands to catch anything. Ever. It's painfully awkward. The second example - I went to an athletic complex to work out a few weeks ago and stopped by the baseball field to check out the adult league that was playing. The teams, made up of mostly mid 20-somethings, were aweful. After about 10 minutes of watching, I concluded that one guy might have made my high school's Jr. Varsity team. Maybe. There is a reason there are no Guatemalans on MLB rosters right now and only 3 have ever played professional baseball.


• Guatemalan men don't clean themselves: OK, this is not true and a hugely incorrect statement. But what I'm trying to say is that there is no such thing as men's body wash here. Not even at Walmart. Only bar soap. Gross.

For now, that's all I got. I'm off to go work out, before it starts raining. Only 40 days, 13 hours, and 10 minutes until I land in SeaTac. Not that I'm counting.

Semilla Nueva - Boise Event

For those of you in or near Boise, check out theinfo on this event that Semilla Nueva is putting together in July. Should be fun times. Plus, you can buy photo books there that consist of 90% my photos. (The girls eating corn used in the advertisement... my picture).

Xela Photography Show

As some of you may know, I like to think I'm a bit of a photographer (or at least I take pictures and people seem to like them). So I'm happy to announce officially that now I'm going to be an "Internationally Shown Photographer." Starting the 15th of June, my photograhy will be shown at local Xela café El Cuartito. They have a monthly rotating art exhibit and I will be featured from June 15th until likely the end of July. On the evening on the 24th of June, is the 'official' opening event, with live music, good drinks, and fun times. For all of you who are in the Xela area, I hope to see you there. For those of you in the not Xela area, I wouldn't be upset seeing you there either. Here's a bit of a taste of what will be shown that night:

Back in the States...

Okay, first check out my friend Katie's recent article she wrote for Back Bay Patch, an online magazine. Then check out the pictures (aka I took one. Kind of published in Boston! Woot!). Finally, make her drink. She has yet to let me down drink wise.

Semuc Champey and Other Adventures

A week ago, my friend Katie visited me down here in Guatemala (hence the long, long break in blogging; blame her). As I waited for her to arrive at the airport, I was still torn between taking her to Monterrico, a place I'd already visited, or trying some place new in Semuc Champey. The only problem with Semuc Champey is that it is 12 hours by bus away from Xela. In the end, I decided we could brave it and caught a bus to Lanquin and Semuc Champey. This was a great decision.

Instead of dealing wih a bunch of 'chicken buses' and the uneasiness that comes with my terrible Spanish, we elected to pay a little bit extra for a tour. The tour provided everything - transportation, food, a guide, entrance to all the sites - plus it made for a completely mindless day aka no worrying about when the buses come and go, etc. The first stop on the tour: K'anba Caves.

I have no pictures from these caves and there is a good reason for this - in order to enter these caves, one must swim (actually swim) and about 50% of the tour consists of swimming. And when I say swimming, I mean swimming while holding a candle, your only source of light in these pitch black caves. These caves were absolutely amazing. Throughout the tour I kept thinking 'This is the coolest thing ever!' About 30 minutes into the caves, our guide stops us and tells us "Climb up this rock face. Then jump into that pool 15 feet below that you can't really see." Ok, yeah that sounds safe. Yet, despite my hatred for heights, Katie and I both managed to do it. And we lived! Our blind faith in a Guatemalan tour guide wa rewarded. We left the caves, adrenaline at a all time high ready for the next part of the day.

After a horrific 30 minute hike that neither Katie nor I enjoyed we finally made it Semuc Champey!

These naturally formed limestone pools are crystal clear, deep enough to jump into, warm enough to spend the whole day in, and full of little fish that love to nibble at your legs. As Katie swam off and practiced her synchronized swimming moves, I took the time to just relax and marvel at the beauty that surrounded me. The place was so tranquil and perfect (minus the howler monkeys off in the jungle). I can honestly say that of all the things I’ve seen in Guatemala, this was the one that will least likely be topped. Breath taking.

Our guide pulled us away after a few hours and we headed back to our amazing hostel, Zepher Hostel, in Lanquin. Happy Hour followed and with a little liquid courage, we checked out another group of caves, Las Grutas de Lanquin. These caves are famous for the bat show that it puts on during sunset every night, where thousands of bats leave the cave to go feast. The sun had set and Katie and I were just about ready to call it a batless night when the mouth of las grutas filled up with these little fliers. Insane! We stood at the entrance with a few other gringos and marveled at the bats that swarmed us as the left for the night.

One Guatemalan tour guide claimed that if you eat one hundred bats, you develop the ability to fly. I decided that I’d pass and be earth bound for the rest of my years.

This was one day of Katie’s stay in Guatemala. The rest of the trip, while fantastic, was full of things that I’ve done before – Lake Atitlan, Xela, Antigua – and there is no need to blog about the fun that was had in these places. But I know Katie had fun, as did I. Guatemala never ceases to amaze me with new things and old things alike. I’m so grateful that I got to travel with my friend and take my mind away from work for a while. However, work is back so I prepare myself for the uncomfortable sweatiness that is the Campo.