the hills are alive with the sound of español

Estoy en Guatemala!!! Yeah, baby. Got to Xela all of about 48 hours ago and it already feels like I've been here for much longer.

Xela is a lovely 4 hour bus ride from Guatemala City... I took a 'normal' coach bus instead of the ever-so-popular 'chicken buses', which are basically pimped old school buses that cram 10X more people into the bus than comfortable, drive like they can defy the laws of gravity and traffic, and blast music. The best part is the person hanging out of the door at a 45 degree angle shouting the next stop and/or final destination of the bus to pick up more people on the side of the road. Even on the coach, I had both feet planted on the side of the bus and the seat post just to keep myself from launching across the aisle. Brilliant! and entertaining, really. I even slept through a good part of it. I can't wait to try the chicken buses.

My language school is small, with only about 9 students, though it's one of about 30 hidden around the city... after only one day of class, I think I'm coming along nicely. I have also learned to take VERY quick showers. Water and electricity are expensive things here, and the electricity is forever going out. Yesterday afternoon it was out in the city center for a good 4 hours. What a great way to curb my internet addiction. Although if you're curious, even in Guatemala, wireless coffeeshops can be found (oh, the ecstasy!!).

The students around here are mostly American and Canadian with the odd Brit or two, and there are currently loads of 4th year medical students here studying medical Spanish and volunteering in the hospitals. Unlike when I was in Italy, though, the students here are genuinely interested in learning the language, and will speak Spanish amongst themselves sometimes.

Since Xela is in the mountains/highlands of Guatemala, I'm still adjusting to the altitude. I realized this on day one, when I started breathing heavily walking up a hill in the city... Another case in point, this morning I went on a three hour bike excursion up a mountain to visit a church/Mayan worship site. I nearly died- it was all I could do to keep pedaling forward. Glad I went, but I'm already nursing an incredibly sore bum and legs that are more like noodles than anything.

Christian church and Mayan site to the right.

As you can see in the picture, the early missionaries tried to build their churches on top of or in the immediate vicinity of existing Mayan worship sites, hoping that this continuity would ease the transition/conversion. Hmm, I would say that plan hasn't entirely worked out for them.

If I don't take the chicken bus to neighboring Chichicastenango tomorrow for the Sunday market, I might sleep in. I have been waking up at 6AM on my own, which is completely unheard of for me. Granted, today's awakening was spurred by the sound of firecrackers (wtf?) outside my window, and the accompanying mild heart attack, but still...

(edit: I have since learned that the firecrackers are set off in the wee hours to announce/celebrate someone's birthday. Apparently there are a lot of birthdays this time of year. No need for alarm clocks anymore!)