Disfrazes, volcanes y barriletes!

Man oh man, my posts take long and longer every time, but I think that’s a sign that I am truly finding my groove and it is starting to really feel like life. It’s hard to believe that we are already half way through November….I was sure that by now I’d be totally settled, but still every day is full of so sooo many firsts and incredibly cultural and educational encounters. As always, the adventures continue.

Halloween here was far from traditional. While they don’t celebrate Halloween in these parts, our school is on the American system so our kids were easily spotted walking to school as they were the only ones in costume. I can’t say I came equipped with a Halloween costume…I planned for a lot but not that far, so some friends and I scoped out some of the second hand shops in town. We found retro track jackets, and foam toy bowling pins….so naturally we decided on being the Guatemalan Equipo de Boliche (The Guatemalan Bowing Team). The kids’ response was …. “What? We don’t have a bowling team,” to which we responded “well, you do now….” We spent Halloween at school flying homemade kites and bobbing for apples. It was a true fiesta!

Boliche Champs!

Emily, Meghan and I

AMA ready for the party!

Victor the vampire!

Pre-K bobbing for apples in some gnarly water!

Two of my students decked out

As I mentioned, we flew some homemade kites….ya I thought it would be a treat to work with Mr. Jason’s 4^th/5^th grade class to make kites in honor of the Day of the Dead. The kids brought in their own supplies, and I figured it would be easy enough to figure out….wrong….thank goodness for the few moms that came to help out, because the kids learned quickly that I was of little to no use in kite making and that if they wanted a successful kite, they were better off on their own or with the help of one of the moms. Either way, we had a blast attempting to get them off the ground, “My motto was, if you run fast enough, it’ll fly….”

on our way to fly our kites

determined to get them flying!

That weekend a few of us ventured to Sumpango for the Festival de Barriletes (Kite festival). In celebration of the Day of the Dead, kites are flown in an attempt to connect with the spirits of those who have since passed. It’s such a joyous event, The Day of the Dead, a time for the community to gather, remember, and honor those who are missed. I was ready for a lot of families flying some homemade kites…oh no, this was the real deal. I’m talking kites 50 feet long, made by the technical weave of a rope 9 inches in diameter, and hundreds of pounds worth of bamboo rods. Each kite displayed an inspirational quote, and intricately painted tissue paper murals. That being said, I never thought flying kites could be so peligroso (dangerous). An unsuccessful kite flight, resulted in a  massive kite dive bombing into the crowd. It was a far from a relaxing day, dodging kites, and families fleeing from their flight path, but a truly cultural experience.

the whole crew! 

Trying to soak up the most of our weekends, the next day, Emily, Ani (her friend visiting from home), and I climbed Pacaya, an active volcano that last erupted in 2010, which sits at about 8,500 ft. Don’t worry mom, they ensure at least 2 hours notice before the next eruption….Apparently, every time it erupts it destroys the surrounding pueblos (villages). Carlos, our trusty guide, explained that growing up, rather than fleeing, they all just learned to hide under tables at school, as if it were an earthquake….seems like a pueblo relocation would suffice, but who am I to talk?! We made the climb in pretty good time, but felt slow compared to the “taxis naturales” (as they call them), or those riding horseback instead of hiking.

Saw this written in the stone. Pretty cool. 

We knew once we reached the top, because it truly felt like we had landed on the moon: wide open space, with miles and miles of black volcanic rock pilings and formations. We found a volcanic heat vent and were able to roast mallows and make s’mores. Ya, that’s right folks, I roasted marshmallows in a heat vent on the top of an active volcano (didn’t even know to have that on my bucket list).

Pacaya is near Antigua, so we were able to stay with some girls we met randomly at a crepe place in Antigua a few weekends prior. They are both amazing people, doing great things here! I love that traveling allows you to cross paths with those you would have never had a chance to meet. One of them is planning on grad school at UW, so long term friends for sure!

Walking on the moon

roasting mallows 

Numero UNO, con Carlos!

This past weekend, I experienced my first Panajachel Lancha Fiesta (boat party). One of our guy friends here is headed to school in the states, so as a farewell, we hung out on a boat all day, dancing, swimming, exploring towns across the lake and watching the sunset. Good people, great fun!

I am at Café Moka making this entry. Café Moka sits at the end of the main street of Panajachel and is owned and run by a good friend. This is my spot: lesson planning, sunset watching, card playing, random dance choreographing, and people watching. You could say it’s our Central Perk! You know you go somewhere too much when they know your order and it’s personalized with café art! Life is good.

Thanks again everyone for following along. Tomorrow the teachers are performing a hip hop routine in the school’s talent show, choreographed by “your very own” of course. Stay tuned for some pictures of that!