Sunday, June 17, 2012

Mayan Ruins, yo.

Yesterday we all got the day from our placements and spent the day being touristy. woot. We left at about 8:30 for the hour and a half trip to Iximché to see the Mayan ruins. Apparently they are really small in comparison to Tikal, but it was still really cool!

We were led around by Virginia and Juan Carlos and learned a little about Mayan culture and what happened when the Spanish took over. We ended up running into some authentic rituals, that we obvz couldn't take pictures of, but it was super interesting. I'm actually obsessed with different cultures now. Obsessed. Once you get past the idea that you can't compare cultural practices to home, it can be really cool to watch.

After the Mayan ruins we all went out to lunch at a more touristy restaurant. Given that I apparently decided to be a vegetarian here, I opted for the nachos rather than the meat dishes. No me gusta chicken  on bone, it freaks me out. I'm pretty sure the first day of placement when I had to feed an old lady a chicken wing scarred me. So nachos and homemade tortillas it is. Perf. And a delicious carbonated lemonade. Holy yum.

After lunch we proceeded to the town where Oscar Peren paints. Virginia wanted to take us the scenic route aka another death drive. Nothing like windy dirt roads filled with pot holes, literally on the sides of mountains. Guatemala has for sure toughened up my stomach in so many ways. I think I'm gonna take on a roller coaster now. Okay, maybe that's pushing it. Let's try the roads of Yellowstone or something. Better yet, I'm dragging my family to Latin America. Yeah? Time to get out of your five star comfort zone, mi familia. I'm pretty much in love with this area of the world now, so let's do this. You won't regret it. Promise.

Anyways, we arrived at Peren's little paint shop and oh myyyy god, that man's got skillzzz. The car ride back was kind of miserable for unbloggable reasons, and because we got stuck in really bad traffic for a long time. The smog here is pretty unbearable so that make traffic significantly worst. But we got back, so all is well.

p.s. I'm way to lazy to add pics so just go on facebook. lo siento no estoy lo siento.

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