I'm here!

Hello everyone! I arrived safely in Guatemala City on Thursday night and in Xela late yesterday afternoon. I was surprised to see that Guate City still had a significant amount of volcanic sand in the streets from the eruption of Volcano Pacaya over two weeks ago. I had assumed that after a tropical storm, plus the usual daily afternoon rains, it would have all washed away. Here is a photo of the street in front of my bed & breakfast in Guate City.
And these bags are all full of volcanic sand just from the roof and patio of the bed & breakfast itself! Gilda, the B &B owner, said that the government was supposed to come pick them up, but they haven't yet.
On my flight from Dallas to Guate, I sat next to a Guatemalan man and we chatted for a bit. He told me that the highway from Guate City to Xela was a mess, but I was hoping he was wrong. Nope. In fact, it was more than a mess, it was crazy! The tropical storm had caused numerous landslides. I had seen a couple mudslides in Guate before, but it was nothing like this! The highway goes up and down several mountains and in many parts the mountain was actually cut in to in order to build the road. That means there are tall, steep walls of dirt lining the sides of the highway. It's a divided highway, but in numerous sections a landslide had complete covered one entire side of the highway! I saw trees that had slid into the highway, and they were cleaning up the landslides with bulldozers! But, of course, I still think it's still a beautiful drive. Here are a couple photos of the countryside.
I arrived at the Muñoz home and was greeted with lots of hugs and kisses. (fyi, if you're a new follower of this blog, the traditional Guatemalan greeting is a kiss on the cheek.) There were lots of compliments on my pelo nuevo (new hair), which apparently is longer, curlier, and lighter colored than last year. I had gifts for everyone, which they loved, especially doña Mayra, my GuateMomma. Last year when Dave and I visited, she raved about some bubble bath she bought at Victoria's Secret during her visit to the US. I guess they don't have bubble bath here... Anyway, I brought her some, and she was literally beaming when she saw it. :)

For you visual folks, here's a photo of the Muñoz house that I took last year. It's actually two homes side-by-side -- the turquoise main house and the tan otra casa (other house). I'm in the otra casa right now, but I'm moving over to the main house later today. They rent out rooms in the otra casa to university students.
You can see photos of the interior of the main house in this blog entry from last year.

Again this year doña Mayra has been very accommodating of my food preferences, which seem quite bizarre to Guatemalans. (I'm a vegetarian who doesn't like the taste of eggs and beans!)

I went out walking by myself for a bit this morning and had my first view of mi amor (my love), volcano Santa Maria. I thought I'd share it with you!
After not being in Guate for over a year, I had forgotten many things that I was reminded of while walking. First, I forgot what it was like to greet everyone that you walk past -- it's so nice! The exact same thing happens almost every time. Here's a play-by-play:
1. I walk near someone
2. They are about to greet me, but then they look at me and realize I'm a gringa
3. They hesitate (I assume they wonder whether or not I speak Spanish)
4. I say "Buenos dias"
5. They get a huge smile and respond "Buenos dias. Que le vaya bien." (Good morning. Have a good day.)

Of course, being excited about the cultural acceptance of greeting everyone you pass may have led me to be a bit too zealous in my greetings. There are, in fact, some folks that I shouldn't greet. Like the man at the central park who, after I told him good morning, asked me if I wanted to "go somewhere" with him. (Yeah, you and I both know what he meant.) My response? Well, actually I started laughing (It's not every day that I'm asked that!) and then I said a very definite "no." After that I decided I would only greet other women. But the very next woman I saw and greeted tried, quite persistently, to sell me some handmade blankets! Needless to say, my zeal has been quenched.

On a similar note, I had also forgotten what it's like to be stared at. It's an uncomfortable feeling, but it's also occasionally humorous. I think it's been even more drastic this year because my hair is a much lighter color than previous years (i.e. it's quite obvious that I'm a foreigner).

And I also forgot what it's like to risk your life every time you cross the street! There is no yielding for pedestrians here! The skill of running across streets is one that is quickly relearned.

Here are a couple photos from the Parque Central (central park)

And here's a photo of a volcano called La Muela (the molar). It has three different peaks, and I'm going to climb it tomorrow. I must admit, though, that it's a little taller than I remember! That should make for an entertaining blog entry tomorrow...
And I'll leave you with a humorous photo. As you probably know, the World Cup has started. Guatemalans are crazy about their futbol (soccer) and everywhere you go, you hear people talking about it. This is a photo of an electronics store. Every TV was on the Argentina/Nigeria game. There were lots of "window shoppers" today! :)