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  Xela, Guatemala
Sunday, December 4, 2005

Hola desde Guatemala! We have been in Guatemala for a about 5 days, after spending 3 days in gringofied Antigua we came to Quetzaltenango yesterday. I like Guatemala and the indigenous culture is beautiful and fascinating, but I am glad that I served in Peace Corps Nicaragua. I think it would be hard to live here for 2 years. Antigua is a gorgeous colonial style town, that is OVERFLOWING with tourists!! Although all the restaurants and shops are required to keep the typical colonial exterior, inside some places look just like the usa. For example, there is a McDonalds and a Burgerking, from the out side they look like old style shops or homes, but in side you can have it your way or McBig size your Mcnifica value menu . . . I started having culture shock before I even made it home to the usa!
Today we took a day trip to nearby town called Zulin . . . the people that live there are mostly mayan. I am used to being the only gringa on the bus, but in Nicaragua the other passengers where latinos, sharing the same clothes, taste in music, religion, etc as most gringos. Not so today. We were the only gringos on the bus, and the only people wearing jeans and tshirts, and the only people speaking either english or spanish! The other passengers were wearing typical mayan dress and speaking there native language. I really felt like I was in a foreign country, some where very different from the central america that I know. It really dawned on me how much Nicaragua has lost in terms of its native peoples, the Spanish and Indians are compeletly mixed into the meztizo race, the indigenous culture is all but disappeared. From the town of Zulin we paid a man with a pick up truck to take us out to some thermal hot springs about 8 Kilometers away. Hotsprings closer to the town were still closed after suffering serious damage from hurricane Stan. The place we ended up going was called Aguas Amargas, or Bitter Water. The name was not so appealing, but the drive out in a gorgeous valley surrounded by steep mountains and misty clouds rolling by more than made up for it. Stan had damaged this area as well and there was evidence of bad land slides and parts of the road were washed away. It was so worth to go, maybe not for the aguas amargas, but for the views of the country side, the agriculture and the feeling of entering a time warp.
We were the only foreigners at the hot springs, and most of the poeple there were in traditional dress. Mayan women tie their babies onto there fronts or backs with long peices of colorful fabric. One baby was strapped onto its mothers back, looking look a scene from a hundrend years ago . . . with a modern twist! The baby was drinking a Super Big Cola out of a can . . . I can only imagine that is not the traditional beverage!!
Later on our way out we passed 3 small boys carrying bundels of sticks for fire wood, men working with hand tools out it the fields and a groups of women in the typical mayan dress . . . a scene from pre colonial times?? not quite . . . one of the women was chatting on a cell phone! Where are we??? Guatemala, like all of central america is a complicated place . . . a land of extremes and of juxtapostion . . .
ok, well i gotta sign off for now, I will send more news from Mexico!!
Adios!

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