After some last minute bakery runs we all jumped into vans and drove to Xela. And well, here we are again, back in Xela. We have all had a fantastic week studying spanish at Casa Xelaju. It was a little nerve racking at first because minutes after we arrived at Casa Xelaju on the first day we were off to meet the families we would be living with for the next week. The families we have been staying with have been amazing. Not only have they been giving us a place to sleep, but also breakfast, lunch, and dinner and a great way to practice our spanish.
We have also done a bit of exploring here in Xela. Word spread extremely fast that there were laundromats very close to Casa Xelaju. After having to wash our clothes by hand, and a lot of the times not well, having a laundromat was a relief. We also visited a mennonite bakery. I am speaking from experience when I say they have the best donuts ever and any other pastry you could ever want. The pizza here is also amazing. We found a pizza and crepe restaurant but a lot of us just go there for their legendary smoothies. And for those who didnt order, the portions are always big enough to scavenge a few delicious bites off our friends’ plates.
In between tasting everything Xela has to offer and studying our spanish, we have been hanging out with our host families. It was difficult to get everyone’s homestay stories as we arent hanging out all the time like last week. But for me, it was awesome. If you thought soap operas were the gum on the shoe of television, you are horribly mistaken. Everyone in my group would be pausing with our forks halfway from plate to mouth to see whos baby is whos and who actually isnt dead. Not going to lie, telanovelas are really intense. Then during the day there were also chances to play some pick up soccer with the kids from our host family and anyone else who might be passing by the soccer court area in the park.
Casa Xelaju offered up a lot more than just sitting in a class room. The second day of class we went and visited the mennonite bakery and the giant market downtown. There we practiced spanish and our bargaining abilities. We also staffed the celebration for Día de los Niños. We played games with some local children and cracked open a few pinatas. There were some other field trips like going to the museum on the Mayans, visiting the cemetary, and having an entire day to learn about chocolate. Some of us got the chance to read about the significance of chocolate in culture, visit a chocolatería, and even make hot chocolate the old fashion way.
Our final day here in Xela has consisted of making short speeches for our small graduation ceremony and playing some games like headbands in spanish. Today we also got the chance to go to a natural hot spring. With the day winding down, we all must go and pack up our things for the next leg of our journey: the three day trek to Lago de Atitlan for yoga and meditation. Thank you for reading through this essay of a blog and I hope this gave you at least a small peek into our lives for the past week. Thank you family and friends, see you next week.
Sorry that this didnt come with photos, I will post those very soon.