Sunday Snapshot

Epic weekend of lakeside activities! MPIG goes kayaking and zip-lining! Turbo fun!

Sunday Snapshot

Interns and PDs went to Tikal National Park this weekend! Tikal is one of the largest archaeological sites and urban centers of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. A necessary addition to any bucket list!

Temple 6 is overwhelmingly impressive...

Too bad we couldn't climb it!

But, they said nothing about 'no jumping!'

Toucans and Parrots and Monkeys, Oh My!

After another successful week in the schools, our group split into two to conquer different areas of Guatemala. Dana, Michelle, Karianne, Rebecca and Christina all headed for a relaxing weekend at the beach in Moneterrico where they tanned, swam in the pool and drank refreshing licuados (delicious fruit smoothies!) Lorena, Grace, Cam and I opted for an incredibly fun and exotic weekend in the jungle, visiting the ancient Mayan ruins of Tikal. 

 

The adventure started with an overnight shuttle ride at 5:30pm Thursday evening. We arrived at 8am the next morning to our bungalow in the jungle, complete with hammocks and wildlife surrounding us. We began our day with a tour of the magnificent ruins. We subir-ed (climbed) everything that was allowed to be touched...and perhaps some things that weren't. Luckily our tour guide was lenient about letting us scale the ruins and meander as we pleased. Along the tour we saw toucans, parrots, toads, and most exciting of all, howler and spider monkeys.

Tikal is a vast site with such an interesting history. The tour itself was about 4 miles long. Tikal was inhabited by about 100,000 Mayans around 400 AD. It was the largest of the Mayan cities and was very powerful at the time. Only 22% of the site has been excavated thus far with plans to dig up more in the near future. While visiting Tikal you can see temples, acropolises, bleachers, etc. After it was abandoned, shrubbery overtook the ruins. It is currently a World Heritage Site and definitely a must-see when traveling through Central America.

 

In the afternoon we enjoyed naps by the pool and a delicious dinner, complete with licuados. Then it was early to bed and early to rise for us. The next day, we awoke at 3:45am for a sunrise tour. After experiencing what our new tour guide referred to as a "lapse of calamity" after we locked our key along with our tour tickets in our bungalow, we started on our early morning tour. Our fellow companions, the howler monkeys, were wide awake at that hour, as well. We climbed to the top of the highest temple (Temple IV) to watch the sunrise. Well, the sun technically did rise, just not its true form of golden and orange rays. It was very cloudy but it was still an enjoyable experience being up high so early, hanging out on a Mayan ruin. That doesn't happen often!

 

After the tour, we packed up and headed back to Sololá via Sergio's very generous personal car service. We said our goodbyes to Cam in Guatemala City. We hope he had a safe trip back to the States yesterday and that Boston treats him well!

 

Everyone else is happy and doing very well here in Guatemala. I cannot believe it is our last week here! Time flies when you're having fun :)

 

--Juliana

Laurie and George Take on Guatemala

My parents came to visit me last week and as I awaited their arrival in the airport I silently prayed that Guatemala would be on its best behavior. I wanted my parents to love this country as much as I do. I was determined to show them the best of what Guatemala had to offer.

Flash forward to three hours into our trip and my parents, our luggage, and myself are hurling across a very choppy lake in the middle of a thunderstorm. My mother asks nervously if it’s normal for all the Guatemalans to be clutching lifejackets. “Yes,” I reply although I have never actually seen this before. My eyes wander the insides of the boat and I silently note that all of the life jackets appear to be in use. This boat ride would prove to be just one of many transportation glitches. It turns out that things that I consider to be fun and/or a luxury, such as riding in the back of  pickup trucks or taking tuk-tuks, my parents consider to be terrifying and uncomfortable…woops.

Transportation aside, one area of the trip that I managed to succeed in was the food. My dad likes to joke that trips are often planned from meal to meal. For example, at breakfast you would be planning what you are going to do for lunch and dinner. To me this is not a joke and it’s exactly what I do. Large amounts of my day would be consumed (pun intended) brainstorming our breakfast, lunch and dinner options. With my parents here, a slew of fancier restaurants that I had never experienced were now available to us. The trick was to fit them all into a week’s time and therefore much planning was required.

Neither of my parents speaks Spanish but they each developed unique approaches to dealing with the language barrier. My mother has a great aptitude for language and within an hour of being here could use her knowledge of French and Italian to figure out much of the conversation I was having with the shuttle driver. I found this immensely annoying since it had taken me a solid eight months to get to this point. She was supposed to be gaping in amazement as I talked logistics with the driver not following along with the conversation. So my childish jealousy was delighted a few days later when my mother proclaimed to our boat driver, “Mucho gusto tilapia!” She had wanted to say that she liked tilapia a lot and she was actually quite close, but her sincerity in being pleased to meet the fish was priceless. After that my mother stuck to mostly greetings and thank yous, but could still impress us with her ability to read Spanish menus and signs.

My father also speaks French, but he decided to utilize his knowledge of the language in a different way. He rationalized that since French and Spanish are closer than English and Spanish he would simply speak French to anyone and everyone for the week. While his theory was sound, it did not work very well in practice. Many Guatemalans, especially people working in the tourist industry, have some basic knowledge of the English language. This is not the case for French. However, my father would hear none of this talk and continued his French as though it were the most natural thing in the world. I do have to give him some credit, though, because he managed to get around a bit by himself.  How he managed to negotiate a cab ride alone remains a mystery to me. 

I brought my parents to school with me one afternoon so they could witness my impressive teaching skills and meet my students. My mother, wanting to document this event, began snapping away. The kids at school love getting their picture taken, but what they love even more is getting to look at the picture afterwards and then asking for fifty more pictures. The class’s attention disintegrated as all the students left their desks and huddled around my mother. Embracing his rediscovered French roots, my father, filled with ennui, whipped out his Kindle to pass the time. With the addition of a second electronic device, English class had turned into show and tell. Helpless against the pull of these strange, new people with their cool electronics, Lorena and I decided the students were probably prepared enough for their test.

Overall it was a great week with my parents. Did everything go according to plan? No. Did I remain cool and collected when it didn’t? Again, no. Cam has this impression that he does of the girls in the house when we are freaking out over something relatively unimportant. It involves him speaking in a Muppet voice and overreacting a lot. It is alarmingly accurate. Panicking aside, we still managed to have a great time. My parents were good-humored and able to roll with the punches even if I was not. It was rewarding to share just a few of my experiences in Guatemala with my parents and I believe they left reassured that I am safe and happy here.

Emily

Tortilla Nation

Many people travel the world in search of culinary excellence. Popular destinations include France, Italy, Thailand and Greece, for those who love food and want to try new things. Unfortunately, Guatemala does not make that list. Not even close. Now, this is a personal opinion, so please take it with a grain of salt, but please, read on. Guatemala is “known” for its corn tortillas. These incredibly complex culinary creations involve the delicate mixing of corn with water. Corn + water = corn tortilla. Congratulations, you are now a Guatemalan chef. No, these are not the corn tortillas that your local Mexican restaurant serves. And no, Qdoba and Chipotle do not even use corn tortillas. But I digress. Corn tortillas are the staple of the Guatemalan diet. Whether you are served eggs and beans, grilled meat and green onions or you are lucky enough to receive chopped hot dogs and mayonnaise salad; it will always be accompanied by a corn tortilla. They taste like cardboard. They’re dry enough to make a fish thirsty. They don’t fold well enough to make a nice taco shape, and they are too small to carry much of your meal into your mouth. Guatemala is a beautiful country with warm and receptive people. I have enjoyed pretty much every second of the past 10 months. Come here to explore, go on adventures, learn Spanish, and meet new people. But don’t come here for the food.  

Sunday Snapshot

Happy Semana Santa to you all! This weekend the whole MPIG family left for their respective adventures in Costa Rica and Belize! Even as we explore a little more of Central America, we are all already excited to return to Sololá and jump back into our programs. But for now, hopefully we are all on beaches somewhere thinking of you! Please pardon our week-long hiatus as we recharge. Happy Easter and see you back here next week!

Arenal, Costa Rica

Caye Caulker, Belize

The Backpackers are Coming!

When we arrived at Zephyr Lodge in Lanquin, Guatemala last Thursday for our first Manna retreat, I realized I had forgotten to pack my dreadlocks. Semuc Champey is a huge backpacking destination in Guatemala and Zephyr is one of the most fun hostels there. Consequently, the vibe was very hippie chic.  I’ll admit it, I like to fit in, but I found this difficult to accomplish in my J.Crew dress and cardigan. I hoped my perfunctory “hippie” bracelets could engender that bohemian vibe that oozed freely from everyone else. 

View of Semuc Champey

My initial intimidation with these backpackers was because everyone seemed like such seasoned veterans and, in a way, they were. However, what I came to realize was that while they had been to more places than I had, their experiences were very shallow--all tainted by the thick lenses of tourists. On the other hand, by living in one place for a year, I am developing a much richer understanding of this country and its culture. Obviously, my experiences are still that of an outsider, but after six months, my metaphorical prescription is lower.

The idea of backpacking has always been alluring. There’s something about drifting from place to place without a home (or shoes) that speaks to my rebellious side. However, that idea is quickly squashed by an overwhelming desire to make plans and save my beautiful shoe collection. As I compared my experiences to those of the friends I had met at Zephyr, I couldn’t help but feel that I was getting the better end of the deal. I’m establishing long-term relationships and developing a holistic understanding of a place. However, I realize my view point is pretty skewed. At the end of the day, traveling in a foreign country and living in one produce two very different experiences.

I'm enjoying the lack of road I'm on,

Emily

Can I haz another vacation day?

After blabbing away about how excited I was to go to the beach last weekend, my father mentioned that he had been under the impression that I was doing volunteer work in Guatemala. “Duh, I am Dad but that’s on the weekdays,” was my quick retort. For me, one of the best parts about living and working in another country for a year is the opportunity to travel around and explore this new area. We actually end up traveling on a day-to-day basis. Chaquijyá is about 40 minutes from our house in Sololá, and Panajachel, where we go to hangout, workout and use fast internet is another 20 minutes in the opposite direction. Beyond the day to day traveling, we make good use of our weekends, especially if they are long ones! I started by exploring the different lake towns, each one having its own particular feel. San Pedro, for example, is the cool hippy town and Santa Cruz is known for its great hostel and scuba diving options. 

For Halloween and Día de Los Muertos we had several days off, so we decided to pack in as many different stops as possible. First we went to Guatemala City to see Pitbull in concert and then onto Antigua to dress up and celebrate Halloween with friends. Since we had a couple more days we decided to visit San Cristobal, Mexico as well.

 After a 5 AM wake up call in Antigua and 11 hours of traveling, we made it to Mexico. Luckily we are all pretty good travelers. I go with earplugs, but Cameron has upped the ante with his earplugs/eye-mask combo. I know what I want for Christmas, hint hint. But then there's the issue of packing. Having done no research ahead of time, I was surprised to find that San Cristobal was freezing this time of year. My sundress remained crumpled in my backpack as I unsuccessfully attempted to layer a pair of jeans over my leggings. 

Our most recent excursion was a Thanksgiving trip to the beach. Having learned a lesson in Mexico, I researched this beach thoroughly and after convincing myself that this destination was in fact warm I loaded up the sundresses again. Tilapita, Guatemala is very warm. It’s also quite remote. Once we reached Tilapa we took small wooden boats over to Tilapita where our rental house was. Our beautiful house was right on the beach and besides a few local fishermen we were the only ones around. We swam and tried not to drown in the big waves (success!) and played football on the beach at sunset. Walking on the beach at night was especially beautiful. With so few lights around, the stars were brilliant and the ocean glowed with fluorescent plankton. 

It's about to be Christmas and time to travel home for three weeks, but I’m already looking forward to the Manna retreat to Semuc Champey that we will take once we return in January. And while I have not decided exactly what I’ll be teaching once we’re back in school I have been daydreaming about how many places I can visit during Semana Santa, a week-long vacation in April! 

Emily