down from the mountain

excuse me for not posting very much over the last few weeks. i had little access to internet and inadequate time to blog when using the internet. this will be more of an informational update but i promise some good stories soon.

on friday i left the mountain school for one last week of language studies in xela. it was sad to leave that place and my teachers but i don´t think it will be the last time i will be there. i spent two weeks en la escuela de la montaña, i learned a ton and met some beautiful people. for my graduation from the mountain school i wrote my first poem in spanish and read it aloud to the group. it was the last poem i posted here on the blog. i apologize if you do not know spanish, i can translate it if requested.

this afternoon i start my first day of classes at PLQ (proyecto linguistico quetzalteco). the school here is much larger and the classes are 5 hours instead of 4. im hoping to finish covering all of the grammar in the spanish language...i know its kind of ambitious but i shall attempt to cover it all.

it has been interesting to see the changes in my language/speaking skills. i feel like i understand the language structure and grammar more but speak less fluidly. i think this is because i have noticed how poor my grammar has been and i am attempting to incorporate my new knowledge of grammar and break bad habits. this has made me speak more slowly and more thoughtfully which hopefully will carry over into my english :)

En La Montaña

Aquí en la montaña
hay piedras antiguas, sensatas y enterradas.
estan enterrada en la misma tierra
que crecen los arbóles, las hierbas
y nuestras propias piernas tambien.

Aquí en la montaña
el aire esta embarazada con la promesa
de vida y muerte
y la vida que siempre sigue cerca de la muerte.

Nos sembramos aquí
y sembramos esperanza tambien
entre mundos.

Aquí en la montaña
enseñamos y aprendamos
y cuando nuestros pechos
llenar del aire fertíl
reconocemos las raízes que compartimos.

enterramos nuestras diferencias
en la misma tierra
donde residen las piedras antiguas y sensatas.

Day Two

Today i arrived in Xela after a 4 hour bus trip through the highlands. What a ride. Guatemalan busdrivers handle an old school bus like they are in the Indy 500. The busdriver´s attendant accomplished amazing feats of human strength and fearlessness, jumping out of the back door, and climbing on the roof to retrieve someone´s bags while the bus veered around sharp corners at high velocities.
When we arrived in Xela I took a taxi to Hostel Quetzalteco. They give student discount ($3.50 per night for a private room). I went out for a walking exploration of the town and it was much larger and maze-like then I had expected. Needless to say I got myself turned around a few times and was very grateful to see an office for a tour agency where I found a map. Then I found El Parque Central and had myself an ice cream cone.
It is warm here but today Im all covered up. Yesterday I gleefully spent the whole day walking around Antigua and sitting in plazas wearing nothing more than a skirt and tank top. I wanted to soak up all the Vitamin D I´ve missed out on in the past year but instead I got real sunburned. It serves me right. I´m not sure why I thought I could spend a whole day out in Central American sun after a winter in Seattle and not get burned...
Tomorrow I will go to the mountain and start the language school. I´m looking forward to spending time out of the smog and horns of cities for a while. Thanks for tuning in. Hasta Luego.