My journey in Guatemala, like all good things, is coming to an end. Tomorrow at this time I will be flying over the continental United States. Closure has been difficult, goodbyes bittersweet, but all of them ultimately filled with the promise of continued communication.
Saturday I attended my final ASORGUA meeting, taking a brief jaunt over to la Universidad de Galileo to watch JB, a friend and ASORGUA officer, graduate with a masters degree. Back at ASORGUA, I exchanged hugs, best wishes and small gifts with my friends in the Deaf community. I was overwhelmed when they brought out 2 cakes and presented me with a plaque to bring back to the Guatemalan Deaf and Hard of Hearing Empowerment Project, to thank us all for our contributions to ASORGUA. It will be an honor to present it to the others at Graduation.
Sunday I had lunch with my friends from the Jewish Community, which was nice. I then spent the rest of the afternoon at my friend ML´s house, playing board games and watching a movie with his family. I learned they have a US landline number that gets routed to their house, so they now run a high risk of Hayley pestering them with an abundance of chatty domestic calls.
Yesterday was my last day at CECSA, which was actually fairly low-key. I worked in the office and did my best to swap email addresses and take a few photos without disturbing the students´school day. It was certainly very hard to leave.
After work I went to MWs house in Antigua where I stayed until this afternoon. We ate ceviche and guava cake and partook in some of the finest intellectual conversations I can remember having (which is saying a lot because I always find intellectual stimulation is at a peak when I am with MW and her friends).
And now I am back in the city. I am packed. I am sad. I am anxious. I am impatiently waiting to see my friends and family. I am overwhelmed. I am calm. And I am done.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Friday, May 2, 2008
Pacaya
May 1 is Labor Day in Guatemala, and I decided to take advantage of the time off of work to squeeze in some last minute tourism. Lunch in belly and camera in cargo-pocket, I rendezvoused (sp?) with a group of young backpackers from various countries to climb.
We had a guide for safety , but he spoke no English and did not really provide any tourguide information. He was more of a shepherd, mandating us to hurry up. When he did speak, I served as the translator for 2 brits, 2 aussies, 2 americans and an Israeli. At the bottom of the mountain, a plethora of little boys swarmed the tourists selling walking sticks and asking for change, candy and writing utensils. I traded a pen and a half bottle of gatorade in exchange for idle chat and the chance to pet a horse named Canelo.
The hike up was brutal, 3 km straight up. The weather was extremely overcast and it rained for most of the hike, but that actually added to the foreign-planet ambiance. The ends were well worth the means. The rainclouds cleared for 15 minutes which allowed for some photo opportunities, and we spent some time climbing over volcanic rock and hardened ash (and it was hot! there was lava just a few feet below). We were able to come within a few yards of actively flowing lava. Another group of tourists brought hot dogs to roast. Have to admit, it was a great idea.
We descended the mountain in the dark and met our tourism van at the bottom. By the time we got back to Antigua, I had befriended the 2 Americans and the Israeli, and ended up going out for a drink with them and staying in a spare bed at their hostel.
This morning I had breakfast with some other backpackers, from Costa Rica and California respectively, who were great conversationalists. The whole thing makes me want to load up my frame pack and keep romping around the world. But not just yet.
We had a guide for safety , but he spoke no English and did not really provide any tourguide information. He was more of a shepherd, mandating us to hurry up. When he did speak, I served as the translator for 2 brits, 2 aussies, 2 americans and an Israeli. At the bottom of the mountain, a plethora of little boys swarmed the tourists selling walking sticks and asking for change, candy and writing utensils. I traded a pen and a half bottle of gatorade in exchange for idle chat and the chance to pet a horse named Canelo.
The hike up was brutal, 3 km straight up. The weather was extremely overcast and it rained for most of the hike, but that actually added to the foreign-planet ambiance. The ends were well worth the means. The rainclouds cleared for 15 minutes which allowed for some photo opportunities, and we spent some time climbing over volcanic rock and hardened ash (and it was hot! there was lava just a few feet below). We were able to come within a few yards of actively flowing lava. Another group of tourists brought hot dogs to roast. Have to admit, it was a great idea.
We descended the mountain in the dark and met our tourism van at the bottom. By the time we got back to Antigua, I had befriended the 2 Americans and the Israeli, and ended up going out for a drink with them and staying in a spare bed at their hostel.
This morning I had breakfast with some other backpackers, from Costa Rica and California respectively, who were great conversationalists. The whole thing makes me want to load up my frame pack and keep romping around the world. But not just yet.
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