Successful day!!

I just finished teaching my yoga class, it was a resounding success! I was nervous that either I would have no students or I would have too many students, but I had 6 and that was the perfect number. I know I messed up a lot of my verb conjugations, because I wanted to try to use the ustedes (3rd person plural) and the nosotros (first person plural) of the subjunctive and I definitely got confused. But I did a good job of remembering all the new verbs and the different parts of the body, and best of all I didnt forget the sequence of postures or the commands for the sun salutation!

I have been having a great time in Antigua over the past 2 weeks, I can't believe I have only one more day! I am really happy with my improvements in Spanish and generally I feel more confident and prepared for the rest of my travels! I have the next month pretty well planned. I am leaving Saturday to go back to Lago de Atitlan for a week-long yoga retreat. Then from there I am going to Semuc Champey, an area in the jungle with caves and rivers to go tubing on, and just to connect more with nature because I have to say Antigua is really dirty and smelly, even though its not that big. Also there is a drought going on so its not very green. Looking forward to some nature at the lake and then at Semuc Champey. From there I will make my way up the Rio Dulce to the Caribbean coast of Guatemala and from there out to Utila, one of the Bay Islands off the coast of Honduras. I am going to take a scuba diving course, and then after that I have arranged a helpX placement at a permaculture site on the island! I am very excited!

I am also feeling really good today because I found out I was accepted to the University of Toronto! I have also been accepted by NYU, Guelph, and York, and I am still waiting on Mcgill and Ryerson. So funny, last year I only applied to U of T and was rejected, this year I get to do the rejecting! 

Week 2

I am midway through my second week of Spanish school, and I feel like I am really improving! I am having conversations with my teacher, Cesar, on a variety of different subjects, from politics to culture to religion! He is very devoted to his evangelical christian faith and I have been trying to explain the basic tenets of yogic philosphy to him. In spanish, of course, so it makes even less sense! I have even more respect for my classmates in the TTC who had a different first language other than English. The concepts are so much bigger than the words used to describe them, and the translation of just the words doesn't really capture the meaning of the concepts.

I am enjoying getting to know other students in my school, although of course we are speaking English with eachother, despite my best intentions in the first few days I was here! Each afternoon there is a different activity, so today a woman demonstrated how to make buñadas, which are like a round donut that is eaten only during this time of year, lent. Yesterday the activity was a hike up to a nice lookout point over the city, but it was quite foggy. Last week, as I said, I got married one afternoon. Another afternoon I went to a macadamia farm, and another afternoon I had a tour of the city. 

Tomorrow afternoon, I am offering an activity! This week with my teacher I have been learning the imperative verb tense, which is the verb tense you use when giving instructions. So I had the bright idea that I should learn how to teach yoga in spanish and offer a free class to other students as practice! I sort of regret it now, because it sounds like a lot of people are going to come.... So I am getting nervous. Time to get back to rehearsing that. 

Busy Weekend!

I have been seeing some of the sights around Antigua. Friday I went with Juan Carlos on a hike up an active volcano, called Pacaya. It just errupted 2 weeks ago, so we were able to hike over the field of volcanic ash that was still warm, and roast marshmallows on a particularly hot spot! We were there in the evening so we got to watch the sun set and the lights of Guatemala City come on. It is pretty much cloudy all of the time here, so the sunset wasn't much, but it was still nice. You can see my pictures in the link on the right sidebar. Then I bid farewell to Juan Carlos, who is headed home and then back to the ashram. It was amazing to travel with him through Mexico but now its time to do my own thing! I am in Antigua one more week, after which I will be completely fluent in Spanish (not) and ready to continue my journey!

Early Saturday morning I got up to get a tourist shuttle to Lago de Atitlan. Rodana, who is a student at my school staying in the same home, came with me. We had been talking about taking the public "chicken" bus to get there, but in the end decided on the more boring but also more comfortable and safe tourist shuttles. There are inexpensive tourist shuttle vans to pretty much anywhere you could possibly want to go. The van to the lake was $10. We arrived in the town of Panajachel, the biggest town on the lake, and wandered down the Main Street which is the usual assortment of restaurants and handicraft shops. I don't understand how all the vendors make money selling the exact same things, but I suppose they don't need much to survive here. At the bottom of the Main Street is the dock where you can take "lanchas", little speed boats, to the other towns around the lake. We made our way to San Marcos La Laguna, known for being full of hippies, yogis, and other alternative types. Its a small town, but the vibe is evident right away. Every other shop is offering a different sort of alternative therapy and at least 1/4 of the foreigners have dreadlocks.

This morning we woke up early again to get the boat back to Panajachel and on to another shuttle. This one took us to Chichicastenango, the famous handicrafts market. It was dfinitely an experience. Both Rodana and I had the idea of just to bring a minimal amount of cash for the weekend so we wouldnt be tempted to spend anything at the market, but I must admit there were a few things I wished I could have bought...

When we got back to town we remembered that there would be a parade happening. Every sunday in the month leading up to Easter and the Holy Week there is a procession to one of the many churches in the city. It wasn't much of a parade, but I hear the celebrations and parades during Holy Week itself are unreal. Thousands of people come to town for it. I am kind of happy I won't be here. 

i'm a married woman!

Today the school had an optional field trip to a Mayan weaving cooperative in a nearby village of San Antonio so I decided to go. We learned about their weaving techniques and how they teach their 8 year old daughters how to weave and by the time they are 4 they are weaving super complex patterns. Then they said they needed a couple of volunteers, two men and two women, so I stood up. Then I learned that I would be getting married! And i didn't even know my fiancees name (I still forget)!  They dressed us up in the ceremonial clothing, and we danced for 12 hours... just kidding only like 1 minute but apparently in the real deal they dance and party for 12 hours straight. and its pretty boring dancing if you ask me. I would probably fall asleep. Anyway then I had to make an offering of a weaving to my mother-in-law and we exchanged other gifts. Apparently there is a whole year between the engagement and the wedding because the bride has to weave all these things for her husband's family. 

Then I had a baby! They strapped a doll onto my back and i had the experience of trying to balance that plus a ceramic jug on my head. It was impossible. I think the point was to make us understand how much work it is to be a mother in this tradition. It is a lot of work. And back in the day they used to have lots and lots of babies. Apparently they still have lots because I met these ob-gyn surgeons who are here to work on prolapsed uteruses (uteri?) in women who have had a lot of babies. Anyway I am very grateful that my life is very different.

Antigua, day 2 of spanish class

After an uneventful 12 hour bus ride, I am in Antigua, Guatemala! The spanish school arranged a homestay for me, and the family is quite lovely. I have a nice big room and there is another student from the school living there. She is American, from Oregon, but I agreed that we should speak Spanish with eachother because that is the reason that we are here! My only complaints about the house are that the shower water is heated with an electric heater so the tap shocks me if I touch it a certain way. Also the food is less than inspired, although i am paying $65 a week for the room and food so i cant complain too much. There are lots of restaurants and a big market where I can buy some other food if I need to.

I am taking private spanish lessons 5 hours a day with my teacher Cesar. He is an older man, and hes really funny. I have learned a lot about his life in the first 2 days. He was happy to find out that I understand Spanish really well, so we have been talking about different topics. Also working on grammar of course, I completely forget a few verb tenses. But I think I am already getting better. Or at least I am more comfortable speaking and my sentences flow out of me much better. The school has a lovely garden where classes take place. I would guess there are 30 or 40 students, each with their own personal teacher. I have met only a few people so far. This afternoon I am going to a macadamia farm with other students from the school.