Kathleen: We are about to start our fourth week in Xela, our fourth week of language school, and our last week here. I am feeling sad about leaving our family, who really feel like family, and a nittle nervous to leave our comfort zone and take to the open road!! We´ve had a great time here so far... last weekend Tait and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary by going to some volcanic hotsprings about an hour away. We stayed overnight in a little bungalow, which was wonderful primarily because we could use the hotsprings after all of the tourists had gone home (there are only so many strangers you want to share a hottub with :-) Here are some pictures from the weekend. Tait built an awesome roaring fire in the room (it was freezing) but it took about 2.5 hours to do it because the wood was so wet.
Heading up to the hotsprings, we took our first "chicken bus". It was surprisingly easy and definitely entertaining. The chicken buses are actually old american schoolbuses, and at times there are three adults to a seat. Evesdropping in a foreign language is always a bit dodgy, but Tait swears that he saw/heard the man next to us proposition the woman next to him for sex by shoving some sweaty money into her hand. It could have happened, because she spent the rest of the ride with a blanket over her head. Brings me back to the NY subway!!
So, since I´ve been getting a bit nostalgic about my time here in Xela, I´ve come up with a short list of the top five best and worst things to date. Just in case you think its all just fun and games... I´ll start with the worst...
1. DEFINITELY the FLEAS. I am now officially a flea-infested, flea-ridden, flea-bitten wench of a woman. I don´t know where they come from, since I can´t see them, but this morning I counted 48 huge hot pink flea bites all over my body... on the bottom of my feet, in my armpits, and primarily centered around my hips and tush. I´d post some pictures, but internet decency standards (and Tait) suggest that I just leave it to your imagination. I am an ichy cranky mess. And its such a stunning reversal of fortune... in Africa, Asia, Alaska, the sweltering swamp of Brooklyn in July.... nowhere have I ever been bitten. Mosquitos and other insects don´t like me. They love Tait, though, and I have spent my fair share of time slathering him in itch-cream. Here though, they don´t want him at all, but they are just having a daily Thanksgiving dinner with me.
2. FLEA CORROLARY: the stray dogs. They are everywhere. Mangey (literally... they have the mange), with big patches of hair missing, they prowl the streets or just collapse for a nap in the middle of the sidewalk. They aren´t really scary... most of them are too lazy/tired/hungry to even lift their heads as we pass. But I´m putting them on the list because I suspect that they are somewhat responsible for my flea problem. I can just feel the little suckers jumping on me as we walk past.
3. STRAY DOG CORROLARY: Roosters ringing in the morning light is, I´ve decided, an urban myth. Here, they cock-a-doodle-doo ALL NIGHT LONG. Then the dogs start barking at them, and at each other (many dogs live on roofs, for some reason), and it is a symphony and cacaphony of sound, let me repeat ALL NIGHT LONG.
4. The shower in our house. On the first day we were here, our host mom, Monica, explained the shower catch-22... we could either shower with a somewhat steady flow of cold/lukewarm water, or we could shower with a trickle of hot water. Since its effing freezing here in the morning and evening, and the bathroom is the coldest room of the house anyway, I usually choose the trickle of hot water option. It´s freezing anyway, because the water only covers about 8% of my body at any given time, and its even more freezing once I turn the trickle off, but its better than a cold shower.
5. Random animal parts strewn about the city. Now, this in no way compares to the first four on this list, but for some reason, there are bones and animal parts randomly strewn about the sidewalk. I´m talking leg bones of cows (enormous), fish skeletons, chicken heads, and, as you can see below, other chicken parts. Its most assuredly gross. Luckily its not hot in Xela (see #4 on the list) so there aren´t flies and maggots and other things, they mainly just amuse the stray dogs (see #s 1, 2, 3). Tait said that he heard that the butcher shops toss out all the bones at the end of the day, and it must just be a free-for all after that.
Heading up to the hotsprings, we took our first "chicken bus". It was surprisingly easy and definitely entertaining. The chicken buses are actually old american schoolbuses, and at times there are three adults to a seat. Evesdropping in a foreign language is always a bit dodgy, but Tait swears that he saw/heard the man next to us proposition the woman next to him for sex by shoving some sweaty money into her hand. It could have happened, because she spent the rest of the ride with a blanket over her head. Brings me back to the NY subway!!So, since I´ve been getting a bit nostalgic about my time here in Xela, I´ve come up with a short list of the top five best and worst things to date. Just in case you think its all just fun and games... I´ll start with the worst...
1. DEFINITELY the FLEAS. I am now officially a flea-infested, flea-ridden, flea-bitten wench of a woman. I don´t know where they come from, since I can´t see them, but this morning I counted 48 huge hot pink flea bites all over my body... on the bottom of my feet, in my armpits, and primarily centered around my hips and tush. I´d post some pictures, but internet decency standards (and Tait) suggest that I just leave it to your imagination. I am an ichy cranky mess. And its such a stunning reversal of fortune... in Africa, Asia, Alaska, the sweltering swamp of Brooklyn in July.... nowhere have I ever been bitten. Mosquitos and other insects don´t like me. They love Tait, though, and I have spent my fair share of time slathering him in itch-cream. Here though, they don´t want him at all, but they are just having a daily Thanksgiving dinner with me.
2. FLEA CORROLARY: the stray dogs. They are everywhere. Mangey (literally... they have the mange), with big patches of hair missing, they prowl the streets or just collapse for a nap in the middle of the sidewalk. They aren´t really scary... most of them are too lazy/tired/hungry to even lift their heads as we pass. But I´m putting them on the list because I suspect that they are somewhat responsible for my flea problem. I can just feel the little suckers jumping on me as we walk past.
3. STRAY DOG CORROLARY: Roosters ringing in the morning light is, I´ve decided, an urban myth. Here, they cock-a-doodle-doo ALL NIGHT LONG. Then the dogs start barking at them, and at each other (many dogs live on roofs, for some reason), and it is a symphony and cacaphony of sound, let me repeat ALL NIGHT LONG.
4. The shower in our house. On the first day we were here, our host mom, Monica, explained the shower catch-22... we could either shower with a somewhat steady flow of cold/lukewarm water, or we could shower with a trickle of hot water. Since its effing freezing here in the morning and evening, and the bathroom is the coldest room of the house anyway, I usually choose the trickle of hot water option. It´s freezing anyway, because the water only covers about 8% of my body at any given time, and its even more freezing once I turn the trickle off, but its better than a cold shower.
5. Random animal parts strewn about the city. Now, this in no way compares to the first four on this list, but for some reason, there are bones and animal parts randomly strewn about the sidewalk. I´m talking leg bones of cows (enormous), fish skeletons, chicken heads, and, as you can see below, other chicken parts. Its most assuredly gross. Luckily its not hot in Xela (see #4 on the list) so there aren´t flies and maggots and other things, they mainly just amuse the stray dogs (see #s 1, 2, 3). Tait said that he heard that the butcher shops toss out all the bones at the end of the day, and it must just be a free-for all after that.
1. Our Family. Monica, Mario, and the kids are amazing. They are funny and warm and generous and silly and really wonderful to be around. The food is great (generally) and we eat together almost every meal. I will miss them so much when we leave. Here are some pics of Javier heading out to a dance, and Daniel and Alejandra being silly (that´s tinfoil on Danny´s teeth).
3. Enchiladas. In Guatemala, the enchiladas aren´t like the enchiladas I´ve ever had (e.g. casseroley type thing with tortillas, beans, cheese, veggies, covered in sauce and cheese and baked). Here they are more like tostadas ... think crispy fried corn tortilla topped with a variety of wonders.... I´ve had bean enchiladas (refried beans and cheese), tomato enchiladas (tomato salsa-y stuff spooned on, then covered in cheese), soy scramble enchiladas (tomato salsa, sauteed soy and veggies, cheese), and carrot enchiladas (grated carrots, sauteed onions and garlic, salt, pepper, salsa-y stuff, and cheese). There is a lady at school who makes them for the break, and she serves them with spicy pickled jalepeños, carrots, and onions, but Monica doesn´t serve them that way. They are DELICIOUS and expect to have them whenever you visit us (here or in the states) in the future.
5. Being in school again. Spanish school has been a lot of fun... I had forgotten how much I enjoy being a student and learning new things, being challenged, making flashcards, etc... It´s also gives a nice structure and routine to the day... I have a lot more to learn, and we´ll most likely do a week of language school here and there as we travel along, but I´m also ready to let loose and start practicing.
I enjoyed this post very much!
ReplyDelete-Dave Gary.
Nice post - pictures of flea bites ..Keep Posting
ReplyDeleteRon
pictures of flea bites