!Hola muchachos! This week the Quetzal Queens and Kevin nested in Quetzaltenango; we finally made it home! Well, maybe not, but the time is flying by.
Our homestay families here were awesome. Everyone enjoyed some thrilling nights with their fams watching classic movies dubbed into Spanish with fun new names like, “Que Paso Ayer?”, “Los x hombres”, “Alecia en el lugar de los Maravillosas”, etc. Pop those into a translator and see if you can guess the movie!
Erin felt right at home in her house behind the video game shop, Rachel and her fun, middle-aged, rich bachelorette mama enjoyed long walks down the street to view the house of her old husband, and Brynne hit the town for a night of drinks and salsa dancing. Hot chocolate is a great refresher to get amped for the next song! In fact, we all had an ongoing scavenger hunt for the best hot chocolate place in town. I think the shops knew our group by the end because one shop wanted to win so badly that they put scoops of chocolate ice cream in the hot chocolate. Turns out that just makes it luke-warm chocolate. E for effort!
Xela offers great Indian food, donuts, waffles, crepes, and tomato soup, if the hot chocolate wasn’t a big enough pull for you. I can personally vouch for my homestay grams’s “Paches de papas”; she sells them every Thursday at the store in front of our house- Tienda Argentina- so book your flight today!
Moving on, the group attended a soccer game on Wednesday, Xela vs a mysterious Guatemalan team none of us could catch the name of. The game was a tie, but we all scored because we learned fun new Spanish phrases to yell at people from Brynne’s host brother. !Eso no es falta! !Eso es! !El Amarillo! !Goooooooooaall!
Our classes at Casa XelaJu were swagtastic. We bonded with our individual teachers while conversing in class or walking to “El Cementario de Quetzaltenango”, one of the most ancient in the country, founded in 1840. After the Day of the Dead, the above ground tombs, boxes, and monuments were overflowing with flowers. The cementary is filled with people from Guatemala, Italy, Germany, and a gypsy named Vanushca that helps people resolve their problems of love. Among the notes on the grave were people asking for happy marriages, phone numbers, and a life-long loving relationship with a burrito. Relationship goals.
Tomorrow we are heading out on our trek to the hot springs- Happy Friday the 13th! It’s only unlucky in the US. J
Thanks for reading! Shoutout to the fam,
Chogan