just got back this afternoon from a great week in Xela, Guatemala. sharon and i signed up for a week of spanish school in the mornings and then spent the afternoons doing fun things around the little city; it was a great way to close up the school year before i head stateside for six weeks. mmmm. stateside.
anyhoo, some thotservations (thoughts + observations) from this week away:
*this week, i picked up a new chapinismo (adage specific to guatemala): "vale la pena," or, basically, it's worth the pain/effort. so true about so many things. but, when i first heard it i thought that she said, "baile la pena" which could have meant "the pain/effort dances," which is a much more poignant/whimsical saying, and i was so much more excited about it. when i found out the actual saying i was a bit disappointed, thought i guess i could start it here, it would be so "fetch." (bonus points to you for naming that movie.)
*the way to any mom's heart: compliment their cooking. my host mom was a sweet, hospitable woman whom took great care of me all week. one day she made a PHENOMENAL dish typical to guatemala: jacon is a chicken dish smothered with a cilantro/scallion/chicken broth sauce, served with rice. i inhaled that stuff and asked for the recipe. today, i received a hand-written recipe on a sheet of torn spiral notebook paper. so sweet, i will keep it forever. and hopefully make it soon. i still dream about it.
*i dubbed yesterday "boston day." we walked to the bus station to get the tickets to get back to the city, and i saw a "beat LA"/celtics shirt, a red sox hat and met like three strangers from boston. it made me miss home and really look forward to tuesday night even more. can i even wait?
*on friday, we went to "las fuentes georginas," hot springs located near Xela, Guatemala. it was the hottest water i'd touched all week, and i loved floating there. eventually a man and his elderly father came to ask me how i was floating... i tried to teach them and give them tips, but they couldn't relax enough. it was sweet.
mean girls :)
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