Xela: El mejor fin de semana

30 de enero de 2012

Hola! So I just got back from an amazing weekend in Xela. For those of you who don’t know, I studied Spanish in Xela for ten weeks this past summer. It was a fantastic summer so I was excited to go back and visit. My friend Lisa is staying in Xela for now and has an apartment with her Guatemalan friend Denny. So I decided to venture to Xela for a weekend away from NPH. I was feeling really stressed out and a little aggravated about our project starting so slowly, so I figured a weekend away would do me some good. About 3 or 4 hours and three chicken buses later I was in Xela. Denny, Lisa, Denny’s cousin Gibson, and Gibson’s cousin Junior picked me up which was awesome not to have to find my way to their apartment (which also meant attempting to speak Spanish from the beginning of the trip). Their apartment had a beautiful view of Xela and was located really close to Parque Central which is a really fun place to be with all the restaurants and bars.

When we got to the apartment, Denny immediately started to cook something and Lisa said he was going to surprise us with a meal. He made me tomalitos! I was so excited. They are not very common here around Antigua, but very common in Xela, so Denny whipped some up so I could have a proper Xela meal when I arrived. That night we drove up to a restaurant on the side of the hill to see an amazing view of Xela at night. I can’t believe I never did that when I was there this summer because it was beautiful (but of course I also didn’t have a car this summer).

Lisa and me overlooking Xela

On Friday, I wanted to go to a few of my favorite places in Xela. We went to the Bake Shop which is a Mennonite bakery and loaded up with homemade peanut butter, coconut cupcakes, and cookies. Afterwards we decided to go to Denny’s cousin’s house to meet his family (but first we stopped for some chocobananos on the way). As Denny was guiding the way I kept noticing we were heading the same direction as Marina’s house (my home stay this summer). When we arrived at his cousin’s house it turned out it was 4 houses down from Marina’s house and I walked past their house at least 6 times a day. It is such a small world! I am constantly amazed by things like this. So anyways we spent some time at their house and they were all so welcoming and nice and it was great to be around a family again.

Excited about my Bake Shop goodies. (Denny approving my purchases in the background)

On Saturday, we woke up and Denny told us to get ready and we were going to go somewhere for the day. He only told us to bring our swimsuits and that we were driving somewhere. Gibson and Junior picked us up and we headed out of town. About an hour later we ended up at this place called Xocomil and Xetulul. I was still confused about what this was until we walked in and it was a water park and amusement park. I was so excited because there is nothing I love more! We spent the morning in the water park and then spent the afternoon at the amusement park. There were not a lot of people there so we never had to wait in line (actually we usually had to wait for more people to fill up the rides). I had so much fun and I don’t think I have ever laughed so much in one day. It was literally the perfect day and probably one of my favorite days ever.

Me at Xocomil going down the first water slide of the day

Xocomil

On Sunday I hung out with Lisa and Denny in their apartment and went back to NPH in the afternoon. It was a little hard to come back because it was so fun being in Xela and being with friends. I am definitely already planning my return trip in a couple weeks. I felt like this weekend I learned more about Guatemalan culture and saw a different side of Guatemala. I feel like so often people (including myself) focus on the poverty in Guatemala. Sometimes it seems like everyone must live in poverty, especially in social work this so often tends to be the focus. However, this weekend I saw some sides of Guatemala that are not often seen by the normal tourists that come through Guatemala. The water and amusement park was definitely the biggest thing that stood out to me. But we even went to a Target type place with a lot of nice stuff that would be in America. Again, so often I think everyone must buy there stuff in the markets and second-hand, but that is not the case.  Even visiting Denny’s family I saw a different side of Guatemala. They are not a poor family and they have a very nice house with nice things. They are definitely not the 1% that controls the whole country, but they are definitely a middle-upper class family. I think this is more common than a lot of people think, including myself. I feel like this weekend gave me another side of Guatemala that is not very different than America. It was a great experience for many reasons and I am excited to go back to enjoy some different Guatemalan experiences in Xela to learn more about this amazing culture.

But, for now it is back to work and there are definitely some changes happening. I will let you know with my next blog once those changes are complete. That is all for now. Adiós!