November 11th, Remembrance Day

Well, I believe this is my first Remembrance Day that I didn’t see a poppy. Nor did I hear the poem Flanders Fields, no cadets in uniform and no moment of silence. No, this day was spent in Xela, Guatemala, a country with it’s own history of wars; from ancient wars in which the K’iche met Spanish Conquistadors with a spirited resistance to their empirical aspirations to the more recent civil wars of the 60’s and ’70’s. It’s been a rocky road for Guatemala and I’m sure that more of the people we’re living amongst now have been directly (or continue to be) directly affected by war. It doesn’t stop the toothy grins as I stroll down the street with Eir in the sling and Freja holding my free hand. I would hazard a guess I may be the only man they’ve ever seen wearing a bastardized version of their beautiful, hand woven baby wraps. The Mayan culture is definitely making a hasty comeback in Guatemala; markets are filled with women in traditional dress selling traditional food and clothes. It’s nice to see. We’re definitely outsiders here and the looks and stares the girls get are quite amusing. It’s difficult to get by anyone without them touching the girls on the head or squeezing their cheeks. It’s flattering I must admit, and definitely serves as a good icebreaker for sometimes-difficult conversation. The markets on the streets are filled with all sorts of vendors, from knock-off shoes to roasted corn and fruit salad in plastic bags. Speaking of plastic bags, most of the shops where you get pop or juice here will empty your drink into a tiny plastic bag with a straw, to ensure they get their bottle return money. I must admit I felt a little strange walking down the street with a plastic bag full of pop. You get used to it though. School is going great, albeit difficult. After 5 hours of Spanish your brain kind of turns to mush and I have trouble speaking to anyone after school for at least an hour. The first weekend in Xela was good, we had dinner with all the students and teachers on Friday at a restaurant downtown and a few of us went out to have some beers after. I came home, helped Shona put the girls to bed and went to meet up with them. On Saturday night I had the pleasure of attending a Xela football (soccer) match at the town stadium. There was bunch of students, along with the director Flory that went to the game. It was great. We got there really early and 3 of us decided to go and have a bite to eat and a beer. We ended up at a restaurant called “Super Chivos” which was in fact the clubhouse for the Xela team, “The Super Chivos”. Anthony (Another Student) and I had bought some cheap jerseys and we were greeted with applause as the “Gringos” came in with jerseys on. One of the other fans actually bought us beer and we happily ate and chatted away until realizing that the game was starting in 5 minutes. We booked it back to the stadium and made it just in time for the fanfare of fireworks, cheering and music from the many impromptu bands around the stadium seats. It was a great game, not only for the play but also for the enthusiasm of the fans, even after the 2 - 2 tie. Most of us went out for a beer after the game and I actually ended up playing at a little bar not that far from the stadium. It was fun, and after finally getting off stage it was pretty much time to go home.

I’ve got two more gigs this week, one at a Bar/Restaurant called Royal Paris and the other at a really cool bar called Ojala. The woman that we’re staying with Barbara knows a lot of people around Xela and within 2 phone calls -both with me speaking broken English- I had 2 gigs. Not bad for only a week I guess.

Anyways, Me Gusta Xela and though school is difficult, it’s very interesting learning a new language and culture. My Spanish is getting better day by day and Freja has been speaking a little here and there, even without our encouragement. Pretty neat.

Now that we have Internet it should be a little easier to write in the blog and upload some pictures, so stay tuned. Adios, mi amigos.