Recent Changes
Since the holidays, life has changed for Bryce and I in new and challenging ways. We have been in Guatemala for 4.5 months now. We have also been together for 4.5 years as best friends and a happy, healthy couple, if I do say so myself. Over the past month, however, we've decided to pursue our own futures independent of each other. It's very difficult for us both, but we appreciate the outpouring of support from friends and family and are doing just fine, all things considered. So on Valentine's Day we toasted to new beginnings and a great friendship. From now on the blog will mostly follow my Guatemalan adventures but I will, of course, give updates on Bryce's life as well. He returns to the States in a couple weeks for an interview in NY and may be in the States for a while, visiting friends and family and waiting to hear back from other schools.
Saturday- Hiking Cerro Quemado
Saturday I went hiking with 3 girlfriends to celebrate Valentine's Day in style, as strong and independent women! I have no pictures, unfortunately, but it was a beautiful hike up an inactive volcano. At the top we encountered a couple religious ceremonies that seemed to be mostly Christian with Mayan influences. We also saw lots beautiful wildflowers being farmed for the local markets.
Sunday- Visiting Salcajá and San Andrés Xecul
Sunday I traveled with my friend Lauren to 2 different towns near Xela. The first, Salcajá, boasts the oldest church in Latin America (of those that are classified as historic landmarks), La Iglesia de San Jacinto.
We befriended a woman who lives in Salcajá and she showed us to her home and tienda where she sells indigenous mayan clothing, or traje tipico. Her husband insisted on searching high and low for a magazine about the cultural sights Salcajá to give us as a gift. The wife showed us to the church where we met a man who showed us inside and gave us a brochure about the history of the church. The man at the church took our picture but didn´t really know how to operate a camera, which is why that picture is not included here.
Then we scoped out some caldo de frutas, an alcoholic drink made only in Salcajá from rum, fermented fruit and cinnamon. The town is also known for a very yellow drink similar to eggnog called rompopo. We visited the one shop in town that sells rompopo and chatted with the family for a while. This family has been making rompopo for generations. They were lovely and told us about their travels and family in the U.S. I recently learned at a conference that somewhere close to half the population of Salcajá has immigrated to the U.S. A very friendly and proud town.
Lauren tasting caldo de frutas!
rompopo!
In the second town, San Andrés Xecul, we visited la Iglesia San Andrés Xecul, the coolest church ever! I love all the color and the fact that it doesn't take itself too seriously. It's not perfectly symmetrical and the figures look almost cartoon-like. The fat angels are my favorite detail!
It's just the facade that is so elaborate. (ahem, Kate...)
painted rotunda, Iglesia San Andrés Xecul
2 comments:
omg i hear the word facade all the time now...I can't escape! It's in my structual engineering classes, in the discussions my J-term class had about the church in Guate, and now it's in your blog. Glad to see that you appear to be having fun!
xoxo
Inspires me to redo my own facade!!
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