Decisions...

Concerning your comments:

I took the pictures around noon-time, which happens to be a really quiet time on the streets. Even more quiet than the rest of the day, which is by no means busy. Today is Sunday and the only people outside are the guys passed out on the sidewalk from a crazy Saturday night, boys and girls playing, and of course fellow travelers. The church is really beautiful, and its only one part of the church. There is a much bigger church behind it that I couldnt get to because there was a service going on.

Lemme tell you, the bed situation is definitely code red! The back wall of my room has some stuff growing on it. Im not sure what it is, but I dont think its very healthy to be breathing it in. Luckily tonight will be my last night in that room for a while.

It does feel nice to be out here. Xela is really a large city with a small town atmosphere. Im looking forward to seeing other parts of the country as well.

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Speaking of which, I PLAN on leaving tomorrow to San Pedro La Laguna, a town on the shores of Lake Atitlan. I say "plan" because nothing down here has gone to plan yet, so by the time you read this I could possibly be in Belize, Nicaragua, or even back in the States...who knows!? My expectation (valid, i must say) of starting work with QT right away has not held up. Apparently they have a full staff right now and I can only join when one of the current guides leaves, which is not until mid-december. My options then are to wait it out here in Xela, travel around and come back when they are ready, or look for another opportunity altogether to do some volunteer work.

After hours of deliberation in my hole-in-the-wall room, I decided to join a group of guys backpacking through central and south america on their trip through guatemala. They are staying at Casa Argentina as well, which is how I met them. If the QT thing pans out in a couple weeks, then I will part ways with those guys and head back to Xela.

I have also been keeping in touch with a UCLA group called Global Business Brigades (GBB) that is planning to go down to Honduras in January to work on forming a coffee coop. My plan was to meet them in january, however now I might have the opportunity to go down earlier and work with the liaison who is permanently in Honduras. Anyways, maybe Ill stick with these guys until Honduras opens up and Ill go there instead of back to Xela.

Vamos a ver...(well see)

There are a lot of foreigners here! All the coffee shops and bars are filled with gringos and their spanish tutors. If you dont try, you really dont have to speak spanish here to get by. One of the reasons I havent started Spanish classes here is because there are so many foreigners with whom I can take the easy route and converse in English. There are spanish schools throughout the country, many in places more remote and less tainted by foreigners. Perhaps Ill get a week of school in somewhere there.

Food has been kind of a rollercoaster ride so far. When I eat out at local spots, the food is good but not too varied. They dont eat too many vegetables here, even though they sell them abundantly in the market. Maybe they dont make the vegetarian dishes at restaurants as much as they do at home. The spices and food that I brought down with me havent been touched yet, but I plan on breaking em out soon. Im looking forward to some chicken biryani!

It seems as though the next few days will prove to be very interesting...and I will have more pictures and stories. Take care, hasta luego.


Keep it fresh...keep it nuevo.

- Neil