There's a little Spanish for you all today...you probably can catch the gist. If not, go to Google translate.
Well, I have quite a few new pictures for you all today, which is definitely a good thing! This past Friday, I climbed up to Cerra de La Cruz, a big cross on top of a hill overlooking Antigua. I went with a girl from Spain who has been volunteering at the school, a guy from Australia who is currently a student at Probigua, and a girl from Guatemala who was our guide of sorts (we didn't know how to get there, so she offered to take us). It is quite a view:
See what I mean? We went on the perfect day too, because most afternoons in the rainy season it is pretty cloudy. It was still kind of cloudy because you can't see the volcano, but it wasn't so cloudy that we couldn't see the city. So that was an experience! Afterwards, the four of us went and had a drink at a German bar (in Guatemala, go figure, but apparently there are a lot of Germans here). My Spanish has gotten to a point where I can hold a polite conversation, more or less. The student from Australia just started learning Spanish, so I kind of had to translate some of what was being said. It was pretty funny actually, I realized halfway through our conversation: here we are, a woman from Spain who speaks only Spanish and some English, a woman from Guatemala who speaks only Spanish, a guy from Australia who speaks basically only English, and me, from the United States, speaking English and a little Spanish. And we were in a German bar. In Guatemala. It was quite the international experience.
The next morning, I went with the girl from Spain and guy from Australia to the market in Antigua. We weren't looking for anything in particular, just kind of walking around. The market on Saturdays is absolutely crazy though. There are a ton of people who do their shopping that day. Luckily for me, I was able to try something new: a fruit called a rambutan (or, as people here call them, "lyches." The name sounds about as appetizing as they look). These are a fruit that look like a cross between a hedgehog and a strawberry. However, they are surprisingly delicious. Here are some pictures:
You eat them by peeling off the skin and eating the inside (except for the pit). It has the texture of a grape and is very sweet. I enjoyed them.
Later that day, I went off and did some more exploring of Antigua. For one, I decided to tour the ruins of the old Cathedral, which was built in the 1600s and was subsequently destroyed in the earthquake of 1773 (which was so large that it destroyed most of the structures in Antigua and forced the Guatemalan government to move the capital of Guatemala from Antigua to Guatemala City, where it is today). The ruins were quite fascinating. You can view pictures of them (and other things around Antigua) here on my Facebook.
Another great thing that I saw (finally) was a marimba. For those of you who don't know (because I sure didn't before I came here), the marimba is a very big deal in Guatemala; it is their national musical instrument and a major cultural symbol. Basically, when you think Guatemala and you think music, you have to think marimba; marimba is Guatemala (though my teacher tells me that some people in Mexico try to take credit for it, but they are wrong...I sensed a bit of bitterness there, haha). The marimba is a type of xylophone that originated with indigenous people in Guatemala. At that time, it was made from wood and gourds, but now it is only made of wood. I found out as soon as I came here how important marimba is for Guatemalans. Every day at lunch, without fail, my family and I listen to marimba on the radio. However, I had never seen what one looked like until this weekend. I took a video of it so you could see and hear it. I also panned around a little bit so you could get a nice look at Parque Central and the current cathedral in Antigua:
I was also lucky to be in Antigua on this day because there were a ton of marching bands circling the block of the parque One of the really cool things about this place is that they have random bands march down the streets all the time, for no reason that I can find out. This was the third time in a month that I stumbled upon a marching band. I think that music is just a very important part of the culture. I was able to get a longer video of one of the bands, which were mostly drums. They are quite good. I was a little sad, though, because when I was done filming, another band with xylophones started to play the tune to "Bad Romance," by Lady Gaga, a song I have heard here quite often. I tried to film it but my memory card was full. Hopefully another day. Here's the other video:
There's more to say, but I think that is enough for one post. Hope you enjoy the pictures and videos!
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