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Mi Nueva Familia

Living with my ‘new family’ this week has been fun and helpful for my Spanish. My ‘mom’ is a year younger than me, so it’s nice to be able to learn a bit more about Guatemalan culture from someone in my age group. I have a ‘little brother’ named Javier who’s 9. He’s a really outgoing little guy who wants to play games like ‘tag’ when I get home from school. He also corrects my Spanish all the time which is both awesome and humbling! The other day I showed him some games on the iPad (Angry Birds, etc.) and I think his mind was blown!

Our house is a beautiful townhouse about a 5 minute walk from the school. It is beautiful and has an amazing garden area. I have breakfast and supper at home, where ‘mom’ serves me huge portions of great food. Sometimes it’s more typical Guatemalan food (eggs, beans, rice, tortillas, chicken, etc) and sometimes it’s very similar to what people typically eat at home (French toast, fettuccini with shrimp, etc).

I have found that Guatemaltecans are really open and honest. They talk about things that are kind of a faux-pas in Canada. For example Javier was eating Fruit Loops the other day. I told him that I don’t really like them because they’re too sweet. He grabbed onto his belly fat with both hands and started shaking it up and down. He said, “I like them but it’s probably why I’m fat”. Similarly my teacher was trying to get me to describe her. I started using words like ‘kind’ and ‘intelligent’ and she said, “No, physical description, like how I am short and fat”!

Pictures around home:
My Spanish classes are going well. At one point this week I was pretty sure my brain was going to explode, but I have progressed to the point of feeling pretty confident talking about ideas, hopes, politics, etc. I even beat my teacher in a game of Spanish Scrabble! 
I also checked out a local zumba class this week. It turned out to be even more than zumba – we also learned some salsa and meringue moves. It was even more fun that I could follow the directions in Spanish!
Here are some pics of school stuff and more of Antigua:
And for Rocky:
Stay tuned because I’m anticipating at least 1 more blog this weekend. I have some cool things lined up!

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School’s out for RobO!

Feliz Viernes! (Happy Friday!)

Our brains are pretty tired after a week of Spanish school! For a ridiculously low price we have had full days of one-on-one Spanish lessons (8:00-12:00, 1:30-4:00). We’re sleeping in a room right inside the school property that also houses a pool and tennis court. The school is nicknamed ‘the garden school’ for good reason as the grounds are beautiful.
We had quite a nice routine going for the week. After school we would play a tennis match, try out a new restaurant, do our homework, then read or watch a show before bed. We also had the chance to each plan a ‘date night’. RobO nailed it by taking me to a small village up a volcano to a ‘farm to table’ restaurant.
This morning in school we went on a field trip to a small neighbouring town called San Juan del Obispo. There we went to an artesian chocolate shop, wine maker, and colonial house/convent.
RobO is an official graduate of Spanish school, complete with a certificate! I’m continuing school for 2 more weeks and will be living with a family for the full immersion experience. 
Here are some pictures of the amazing school:
The church next door to the school
For Rocky B: amazing enchiladas and fish tacos!

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Olson versus the volcano

Hola!

Guatemala has numerous volcanoes, 3 of them active. Yesterday we took a trip to Pacaya, which erupted last in 2010. It was cool because we could see the difference in the lava rock from that eruption versus the previous one.
We hiked up near the top and could see that it’s still smoking. Our guide then pulled out a bag of marshmallows and, you got it, we roasted them over the lava. I can’t believe that 5 year old lava is still so hot underneath!
On the hike down we were rewarded with some sunset views. After some street food supper we caught some of the hockey game then tucked in. Almost every day of this trip I have been thankful for how lucky we are to get to experience all of this!
Today we checked in to our place that we’ll call home for the next week. It’s our Spanish school and it is posh: pool, tennis courts, huge garden area. Tomorrow we start our full days of one-on-one Spanish. Can’t wait!

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Antigua

  After a week of moving from casa to casa, we have finally arrived in Antigua.  This is a quaint little town with colourful buildings, artisian shops, and many great places to eat.


  We have found our favorite place for lunch already.  It’s a taqueria that has a street cart parked inside the restaurant that serves a variety of Mexican fare that a street cart is capable of making.  We have quickly become friends with the pint-sized Guatemalan chef who tolerates my Español.

  We spent day one exploring our new home and marvelled at all the buildings that have been scarred by earthquakes and age.

  That afternoon we passed out in our room trying to catch up on our sleep thanks to the nightmare night bus we took to get there.  That night we found a roof top patio and shared a pre-dinner drink before heading next door for Indian food.  Well, Guatemalan Indian food.  When I get home next week, I’m heading to the Mango Tree.  Sorry DawnO.
  Here are some more of our favorite pics:

  I heard this happens when new mothers hear a baby cry.

  Our last evening with Roxanne, she made it home safe and sound.

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Conjunto de Tres

Hello everyone!  I have arrived, and now it’s time to fill you all in on what we’ve been up to since DawnO and I have been reunited.

  First of all, I should tell you that getting to Panajachel (the meeting place) was going so well until I got on my last bus.  It took 3 hours to drive about 10km due to traffic.  Apparently it was one of the busiest days of the year next to New Years Eve.  This also meant that my hotel “reservation” didn’t exist and I was stranded.  Luckily, a nearby hotel took pity on me and created a living space for me in their  workers’ storage shed at a reduced rate.  

The next day DawnO showed up and all was well in the universe.  Later in the day our neighbour and now travel companion Foxy Roxy joined us.  You can checkout her blog at delafrijoles.blogspot.ca

Panajachel was a great little place on the lake that afforded some beautiful scenery and great food.  
 

We all eventually made our way to Tikal via night bus and spent the last 2 days in the national park exploring the Mayan ruins.  I was pretty excited because this particular park was used as Yavin in parts of Star Wars.  Dork-gasm!

Tonight we take another night bus to Antigua and say good-bye to Rox, as she is going back to the Hat.  I’m on duty for the next blog which I’m hoping will include a visit to a volcano.  Muy caliente!

                

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Semana Santa and the reunion!

Happy Easter!

The week leading up to Easter in Guatemala is called ‘Semana Santa’ and it’s one of the busiest tourist weeks of the year. Even in the tiny town of San Marcos there was a noticible influx of visitors. During my silence I wandered to the town square and church every day to check out the festivities. On Good Friday I got to see a spectacular process. On one of the streets and in the centre isle of the church young adults were making elaborate murals out of coloured sawdust. I watched the process for a long time but had to leave before the road one was fully complete. I got up early the next morning to go take a picture and discovered that they were gone! Turns out they spend all day making the murals, then destroy them that evening. (I found out later that there’s some type of process where they walk all over the sawdust carrying something heavy.)
Today I was up early to pack up and take the boat back to Panajachel to reunite with RobO. Turns out he had also figured out that this is the busiest travel time – the hotel reservation I had made for him was a bust so he ended up sleeping in the utility room of another hotel. I’m sure he’ll fill you in more on the next blog post so stay tuned! Anyway, we had an awesome day reconnecting, exploring Pana, eating street food, and handicraft shopping. Now RobO, Roxanne, and I are in a real hotel room making plans for the days ahead. It’s going to be great!
All that’s left the next morning.

Frozen bananas – yummy!

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I’m walkin’ on sunshine (alternate title: My stomach is growlin’)

My final week at Las Pyramides was the best (and at times the worst!). The week kicked off with a trip across the lake to El Arko, which is another property of Las Pyramides. This remote site is still being built, but it primarily houses people who are taking the Sun Course (a deeper, 3 month version of the Moon Course, culminating with 40 days of silence!!!). In case you’re worried, I am NOT feeling ready for that! We had a potluck lunch, then an ‘opening ceremony’ of sorts to start the retreat week. And that was when we spoke our last words.

For these 5 days, we were in silence (heavenly as I was getting tired of listening to certain members of the group) and doing a juice/soup/tea cleansing diet (again, heavenly as I was really tired of sharing the small, never clean kitchen with 19 others). We had the chance to use the sauna daily (can I say heavenly again?). The downsides included no music, no reading, significantly less food than I’m used to, and, of course, not communicating with all of you.

Each day we participated in morning yoga and an evening meditation. Throughout the rest of the day we had structured homework, plus a lot of time for sleeping and feeling bored and hungry. On day 1 we were to think about our ideal physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual selves. Day 2 we were to think about our actual physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual selves. Day 3 focused on thinking about what we need to do to make the actual more like the ideal. On day 4 we reflected on the barriers we have that have prevented us from actualizing our ideals. Is this sounding familiar to my OT friends out there?? A holistic, concrete exercise for self improvement!

Finally day 5 was centered on answering questions about a higher power, followed by the Moon Ceremony to welcome and honour the full moon. As previously mentioned this was the ONLY occasion where wearing all white was required (side note, one time on laundry day I was wearing one of my numerous all-white pairings and one of the instructors asked me what kind of ceremony I participated in that day).

All in all, it was an amazing month! I’m looking forward to a big meal, continuing with self improvement, and to starting 2 weeks of travels with RobO!

I’ll leave you with some pictures of El Arko.

The kitchen. For the record, I didn’t make the signs, though I fully supported them!

Recipe for hunger! I did pretty well with this until a frantic, ravenous attack on a banana on Friday night at 10pm made me accept that I had to supplement my diet for the last day!
The graduates!

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DawnO Unplugged

2 blogs in 2 days you ask? It’s because tomorrow we start our final 5 days at Las Pyramides, which includes pure silence and a cleansing diet of teas, soups, and juices. I am ‘unplugging’ from wifi and communication while I ‘plug-in’ to my inner self. So it feels a little like my last day to write about San Marcos!

Yesterday was Roxanne and Brian’s 10 year wedding anniversary! Roxanne and I celebrated by going to the Japanese restaurant here. There was surprisingly good sushi in a pretty cool atmosphere. Today has been a bit of a dream day. I started out with my own yoga practice in the medicinal garden, followed by an invigorating sauna. We spent the afternoon exploring a nearby nature reserve with beautiful walking trails. I’ll be rounding out the day with a kirtan session (singing/chanting – my favorite thing here), a visit to our fave little restaurant, and a documentary movie tonight. Could it get much better than that?
I’ll leave you with some pics from around town. Next post I’ll fill you in on my silent experiences!
Calgary Cowboy Burger??!

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Shining on the inside, shining more on the outside

Hello again from Guatemala!

I have finished my 3rd week of my month long course, which means only 1 week to go until RobO arrives! This week has been ok. We were focusing on the mental aspect, which includes things like Tarot cards, astrology, and numerology. Interesting stuff, but it doesn’t resonate with me like the emotional 2nd week did. I’m still feeling grounded, energetic, and glad to be here!
Roxanne and I have been going to our favorite little Guatemalan restaurant every few days. It’s called Marinos and it’s run by a brother and sister. It’s been so fun for me to practice my Spanish while eating amazing home cooked food! This week we received a special gift. The sister, who was super pregnant when we met her, had her baby and Juan (the brother) invited us to go to the neighbouring town of San Pablo to meet little Benjamin. So we went with him in a tuk tuk to their family home and spent some time holding the 6 day old baby.
We liked San Pablo so much that we walked there yesterday to be able to check it out. Below you will see pictures of the school, the arcade, and just life around the tiny village. It was really refreshing to get away for a couple of hours. There are so many hippie gringos here sometimes I forget I’m in Guatemala! 
And another interesting thing…
As many of you know I’m going to walk the Camino de Santiago in Spain, starting in the middle of May. The other day I was walking along in San Marco and I saw the well known symbol for the Camino route on the side of a building. I’m taking it as a sign!

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Chocolate Church Juice

Hola!

The past week has been really enlightening. I took an extra breath course, which was much more therapeutic than I ever imagined it could be. Beware because I’m going to be encouraging all of you to practice some very simple, yet very effective breathing tips when I get home!
Last Sunday I went to the infamous ‘chocolate shaman’ in town. The way it works is that you go, drink a cup of ‘chocolate church juice’ (raw cacao), then meditate and listen to Keith (the Shaman) as he intuitively talks to the people who are healers and the people who are empaths (take on the energy of others). The cacao is a drug that helps us to be more open and, quite frankly, who wouldn’t benefit from a cup of really good chocolate!
This week has been kind of grey and cooler (probably between 15 and 20 degrees). We had a couple of nights of rain which was very welcome as the town was running out of water! There were numerous days when I tried to shower and turned on the tap to find that there was NO water. Since the rain I find myself smiling every time I flush the toilet with success!
Yesterday Roxanne and I spent a couple of hours sitting on the dock watching the world go by. We noticed there were a couple of small dead fish floating in the lake. Then a pack of young boys spotted them, stripped down to their undies, and dove in to collect them! They would pass the fish around, each smelling it, and if it was decided to be ‘too stinky’ they would throw it back. Upon questioning they told me that the fish die because they’re too cold and that they gather them to eat them (except for the stinky ones)! From what we observed they were pretty excited about their ‘catch’.
No water!