Day2: January 22nd, 2013
Tuesday morning was really great! The start of it, not so much, as I awoke to no water coming out of my faucets again. I was really nervous this was going to be a routine thing, but I talked to the hotel owner, Don Lucas, who's son, Aniceto, owns my house, and he was able to get it turned back on in a second. Turns out my neighbors had turned off the key because they had a leak. And, I'm happy to report, I haven't had a problem since. That was nice and all, but the really cool part about the morning was the Mayan ceremony at the school!
The kids still had not returned to school yet so it was just the teachers all week, and to begin the school year off right, we invited a local Mayan woman to perform a cleansing ceremony for blessings and good luck in the year. It was really amazing to be a part of and I wanted so badly to take a photo of the amazing circle of colorful candles, flowers, elements to represent the earth (sugar, flour, water, etc.), but didn't, out of respect for the ceremony. She told me I could “take a photo with my heart” : ) Love it!
I did, however, find these online. It looked similar to this...but way prettier!
The Mayans have something called a “Nahual” which is similar to a Chinese or Horoscope sign (as far as I can tell so far) and I learned that my symbol is 7, Kawoq. You can calculate your Nahual and read about it here. Not sure what all that means yet, but anxious to learn more about it! After the ceremony, I met Manuel, a Chilean guy who worked in my position the year before. He was able to train me some which was quite helpful. He had his 2 adorable children with him and we all ate lunch in town at a local comedor and saw his house. It had a GIANT and GORGEOUS patio, and if I shared the house with a roommate would cost me less than I'm paying now…later that day I ran into Andrea, a colleague, and went back to her house to have cookies and lemonade while her son, Antu and 2 friends played. Her house and patio were also ginormous and beautiful and she pays the same amount I do…I may have to rethink my living situation here!
As we were opening her gate, we saw Lassa, Josh' dog, so we brought her inside and called him to come get her as she had escaped. So, when he got there, I walked with him and Lassa to see the lake, finally! I hadn't even seen it yet! It's SO beautiful and amazing (see photos below) and I'm really happy to live in such a peaceful place. Even the spiders and scorpions are peaceful here and don't sting :) The ants do, but I can deal with that.
Lake Atitlan and some of the surrounding volcanoes. I'm told they are dormant (thank goodness) and make for good hiking. See the stone wall and submerged trees below? About 50 years ago, it rained so much that the lake rose by over 4 meters (quick, google it to convert it to feet, I don't have internet). Anyway, it's a lot and you can still see houses and other structures overcome by the water and in complete ruins. There's a stone oven just beyond the stone wall in the photo that makes for a cool under-water cave now.
My weekend hangout spot for some sandy shade while looking at the images above.
Woke up to this poor little guy smooshed in my mac in the morning : (
I had a minor panic attack during December when the year was supposed to end. It wasn't because I thought the world was going to end, but the fact that I might not be able to say goodbye to my loved ones. However, I am happy to be alive and around my loved ones. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear that you experienced that...it's not fun! But glad to know that you are enjoying time with family and friends and able to share your experiences with others---thanks for sharing!
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