Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Adventures
Adventure1
I stayed in the worst hotel of my life last night. Some of its glorious qualities included:
-Large spaces in the floorboards, through which you could see the people staying below you (a very fat and naked Guatemalan man).
-Toilet without seats.
-Toilet without seats with large chunks of the toilet bowl missing.
-Toilet without seats, with large chunks of the toilet bowl missing, and with chunks of another breed floating in them because the water does not work.
-No Toilet paper (and the hotel manager will not give it out because he only has one, and it is his last roll and he wants to ´save´ it.)
-Loose wires hanging out of the wall.
-The manager living in a different room than his gigantic cd player, and thus being forced to pump the chest throbbing crappy spanish pop through the whole hotel so that he can hear it (or more likely be deafened by it) in his room on the other side of the hotel.
-Excllent service: I told the manager I needed a key, turned around for a second, and then when I turned around again, found he had left the building
Adventure 2
Elliot and I tried to teach poker to a guy we later concluded was schitzophrenic. He spoke good english but we thought at first that his inability to understand the game was due to an inability to understand our english....resulting in Elliot explaining the game in some every entertaining Spainglish. The man then got very suspicious and asked why Elliot spoke such poor english.
Adventure 3
Waking up: over the last 5 days we have woken up to:
-The schitzophrenic guy waking us up telling us he had found a secret message from God (it was one of Nate´s guitar printouts.)
-Howler monkeys roaring.
-Our freaking stupid hotel manager´s deafening music.
*Although I make light of the situation, I should note that Nate and I talked with the schitzophrenic guy for over an hour, and it was a really really sad thing. The poor guy is really tortured, and it is something I could not wish on anyone.
I stayed in the worst hotel of my life last night. Some of its glorious qualities included:
-Large spaces in the floorboards, through which you could see the people staying below you (a very fat and naked Guatemalan man).
-Toilet without seats.
-Toilet without seats with large chunks of the toilet bowl missing.
-Toilet without seats, with large chunks of the toilet bowl missing, and with chunks of another breed floating in them because the water does not work.
-No Toilet paper (and the hotel manager will not give it out because he only has one, and it is his last roll and he wants to ´save´ it.)
-Loose wires hanging out of the wall.
-The manager living in a different room than his gigantic cd player, and thus being forced to pump the chest throbbing crappy spanish pop through the whole hotel so that he can hear it (or more likely be deafened by it) in his room on the other side of the hotel.
-Excllent service: I told the manager I needed a key, turned around for a second, and then when I turned around again, found he had left the building
Adventure 2
Elliot and I tried to teach poker to a guy we later concluded was schitzophrenic. He spoke good english but we thought at first that his inability to understand the game was due to an inability to understand our english....resulting in Elliot explaining the game in some every entertaining Spainglish. The man then got very suspicious and asked why Elliot spoke such poor english.
Adventure 3
Waking up: over the last 5 days we have woken up to:
-The schitzophrenic guy waking us up telling us he had found a secret message from God (it was one of Nate´s guitar printouts.)
-Howler monkeys roaring.
-Our freaking stupid hotel manager´s deafening music.
*Although I make light of the situation, I should note that Nate and I talked with the schitzophrenic guy for over an hour, and it was a really really sad thing. The poor guy is really tortured, and it is something I could not wish on anyone.
Sunday, May 29, 2005
Tikal and Flores
sometimes pictures speak louder than words.
.
flores....obviously not my picture.
see the face above us? see it?!?.....no...we aren't doing ymca. it just looks that way.
.flores....obviously not my picture.
see the face above us? see it?!?.....no...we aren't doing ymca. it just looks that way.
Saturday, May 28, 2005
why guatemala is a third world country.
I came down here with an open mind. I wanted to thnk guatemalanas thought different, not better or worse. This has all changed...I really think they must change some of the ways that they think. The most crucial example of this is the ability to anticipate. They don´t see things coming untill it happens. NONE of the stores stock change. You should see the shock on their faces when you don´t have exact change. They have to go running to their neighbors asking for change...all the time. And this happens A LOT. You would think that after running out of change 3 or 4 times a day they would take some measure to fix it....
Read the following real life conversations which are excellent examples of conversations and events that happen down here:
Bjorn: Hey man, we want to play basketball, do you know anyone who has one?
Guatemalan Eric: As a matter of fact, I have one. I´ll go get it and we´ll play together.
(he leaves and returns in a few minutes with his basketball...we start walking to the basketball court)
Eric: Where are we going?
Bjorn:to the basketball court.
Eric:Well, it´s closed.
This i don´t understand...he KNEW it was closed, but did not bother to think of that untill after he had fetched the ball and brought it back....but wait...it gets worse....
After much discussion, we concluded that there was another court that was open....
Bjorn:ok. sweet, let´s go.
Eric: oh wait. I have to go home and put my shoes on before I can play.
I just cannot fathom why he did not think of doing this while he was AT his house getting the basketball.
Conversation2.
Bjorn: Hey, I would like to go to the airport and pick up my friend. How much will that cost?
Travel Agent:It is 5 bucks each way , 5 bucks for your ride there there, 5 bucks back, and 5 bucks for your friend. a total of 15.
Bjorn:hmmm...that´s a bit pricey, what if I just have him come back with you guys?
Travel Agent. 20 bucks.
I just can´t follow their pricing rules at all.
Read the following real life conversations which are excellent examples of conversations and events that happen down here:
Bjorn: Hey man, we want to play basketball, do you know anyone who has one?
Guatemalan Eric: As a matter of fact, I have one. I´ll go get it and we´ll play together.
(he leaves and returns in a few minutes with his basketball...we start walking to the basketball court)
Eric: Where are we going?
Bjorn:to the basketball court.
Eric:Well, it´s closed.
This i don´t understand...he KNEW it was closed, but did not bother to think of that untill after he had fetched the ball and brought it back....but wait...it gets worse....
After much discussion, we concluded that there was another court that was open....
Bjorn:ok. sweet, let´s go.
Eric: oh wait. I have to go home and put my shoes on before I can play.
I just cannot fathom why he did not think of doing this while he was AT his house getting the basketball.
Conversation2.
Bjorn: Hey, I would like to go to the airport and pick up my friend. How much will that cost?
Travel Agent:It is 5 bucks each way , 5 bucks for your ride there there, 5 bucks back, and 5 bucks for your friend. a total of 15.
Bjorn:hmmm...that´s a bit pricey, what if I just have him come back with you guys?
Travel Agent. 20 bucks.
I just can´t follow their pricing rules at all.
Friday, May 27, 2005
new pictures.
pictures should be updated now.
Thursday, May 26, 2005
Rio Dulce and livingston
Right now, I am at the City Rio Dulce staying at a splendid hotel right off the river (I frequently jump of the dock on which I eat breakfast to swim...it's that close) for a whopping 3 bucks a night.
Yesterday, the four of us (Me, Elliot, Wazoo and Laura) took a boat up to Livingston. Livingston is definitely an oddity. It is a city of black people surrounded by hispanics and Mayans. The first language for most people there is Garifuna (I think), which is really spainglench (a cross of french, english and spanish). Of course, most people there speak english, spanish and Garifuna.
Here is a basic history of them from Wikipedia:
The Garifuna or GarÃfuna are an ethnic group in the Caribbean area, decended from a mix of Amerindian and African people. They are also sometimes known as Garifune or Black Caribs. There are estimated to be about 200,000 of them in Central America and the United States. Properly, the term Garifuna refers to the individual and the language, while Garinagu is the (plural or collective) term for the people.
In 1635, two Spanish ships carrying slaves to the West Indies from what is now Nigeria were ship-wrecked near the island of Saint Vincent. The slaves escaped the sinking boat and reached the shores of the island, where they were welcomed by the Caribs, who offered their protection. Their intermarriage formed the Garinagu people, known as the Garifuna today. The name was derived from "Kalipuna", one of the Island Carib names for themselves. In addition to shipwrecked Africans, the Caribs also captured slaves when they raided the British and French onneighboringg islands, and many of them were adopted into the tribe.
When the British invaded Saint Vincent they were opposed by French settlers and their Carib allies. When the Caribs eventually surrendered to the British in 1796 the "Black Caribs" were considered enemies and were deported to Roatan in Central America (now Honduras). The British separated the more African looking Caribs from the more Amerindian looking ones, and decided that the former were enemies who must be deported, while the latter were merely "misled" and were allowed to remain. More than 4000 Black Caribs were deported, but only about 2000 of them survived the trip to Roatan. Because the island was too small and infertile to support their population, the Garifuna petitioned the Spanish authorities to be allowed to settle on the mainland. The Spanish employed them as soldiers, and they spread along the Caribbean coast of Central America.
Today many Garifuna are settled around the Bay of Honduras, especially in southern Belize, on the coast of Guatemala around Livingston.
All in all, we walked around the city for a few hours, and swam a bit. Wish I coulda spent more time there.
Anyways, it is a city that can only be reached by boat...so on the way out there we visited a Spanish Fortress that was built to protect trade routs from Sir Francis Drake and other pirates (he was basically a English guy whose official job was to pirate the Spanish...of course responded by conquering the castle...in all honesty I should also mention that i´m not completely sure it was him whconquereded it.Butut it would be cool if it was).
We also saw some hot springs, and went swimming in the river off the boat.
Today is a hangout day (try not to spend money day) with Flores coming tomorrow. Pictures will be uploaded when I find an acceptible internet connection.
P.S. I Love Wikipedia.
Yesterday, the four of us (Me, Elliot, Wazoo and Laura) took a boat up to Livingston. Livingston is definitely an oddity. It is a city of black people surrounded by hispanics and Mayans. The first language for most people there is Garifuna (I think), which is really spainglench (a cross of french, english and spanish). Of course, most people there speak english, spanish and Garifuna.
Here is a basic history of them from Wikipedia:
The Garifuna or GarÃfuna are an ethnic group in the Caribbean area, decended from a mix of Amerindian and African people. They are also sometimes known as Garifune or Black Caribs. There are estimated to be about 200,000 of them in Central America and the United States. Properly, the term Garifuna refers to the individual and the language, while Garinagu is the (plural or collective) term for the people.
In 1635, two Spanish ships carrying slaves to the West Indies from what is now Nigeria were ship-wrecked near the island of Saint Vincent. The slaves escaped the sinking boat and reached the shores of the island, where they were welcomed by the Caribs, who offered their protection. Their intermarriage formed the Garinagu people, known as the Garifuna today. The name was derived from "Kalipuna", one of the Island Carib names for themselves. In addition to shipwrecked Africans, the Caribs also captured slaves when they raided the British and French onneighboringg islands, and many of them were adopted into the tribe.
When the British invaded Saint Vincent they were opposed by French settlers and their Carib allies. When the Caribs eventually surrendered to the British in 1796 the "Black Caribs" were considered enemies and were deported to Roatan in Central America (now Honduras). The British separated the more African looking Caribs from the more Amerindian looking ones, and decided that the former were enemies who must be deported, while the latter were merely "misled" and were allowed to remain. More than 4000 Black Caribs were deported, but only about 2000 of them survived the trip to Roatan. Because the island was too small and infertile to support their population, the Garifuna petitioned the Spanish authorities to be allowed to settle on the mainland. The Spanish employed them as soldiers, and they spread along the Caribbean coast of Central America.
Today many Garifuna are settled around the Bay of Honduras, especially in southern Belize, on the coast of Guatemala around Livingston.
All in all, we walked around the city for a few hours, and swam a bit. Wish I coulda spent more time there.
Anyways, it is a city that can only be reached by boat...so on the way out there we visited a Spanish Fortress that was built to protect trade routs from Sir Francis Drake and other pirates (he was basically a English guy whose official job was to pirate the Spanish...of course responded by conquering the castle...in all honesty I should also mention that i´m not completely sure it was him whconquereded it.Butut it would be cool if it was).
We also saw some hot springs, and went swimming in the river off the boat.
Today is a hangout day (try not to spend money day) with Flores coming tomorrow. Pictures will be uploaded when I find an acceptible internet connection.
P.S. I Love Wikipedia.
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
I miss my mom
ok...here you go: lots of hugs kisses and I miss you´s to my mother.
Monday, May 23, 2005
chichi and beyond
This weekend we went to Chichicastinago (holy crap.....i think i spelled that right) to see the huge market they have.....It was incredible....A complete flood of dizzying colors and people trying to sell you cool stuff....Pictures later.
We went and saw a mayan ritual place while there (some smoke stained rocks on a hill). This sounds awful, but our guide was incredible. He told us the significance of each pile of rocks, and went into some really interesting mayan customs. For example, if you are sick they will bring you up on this hill and rub eggs and lemons on you, and then throw them in the fire. If they explode, you aren´t getting better (obviously....duh).
Today we went to Guatemala City to get Elliot a legal passport. Of course he couldn´t find his expired passport this morning for a good 20 minutes...I was ready to kill him...but he bought us lunch at Pollo Campero and made it better (guatemalan fast food is REALLY good). We ended up meeting up with Betty (a stellar lady who helps out churches) who helped us find a hotel and took us to see Star Wars 3. This is totally strange for me to be in malls. I´m going to get culture shock going home. Rio Dulce tomorrow.
We went and saw a mayan ritual place while there (some smoke stained rocks on a hill). This sounds awful, but our guide was incredible. He told us the significance of each pile of rocks, and went into some really interesting mayan customs. For example, if you are sick they will bring you up on this hill and rub eggs and lemons on you, and then throw them in the fire. If they explode, you aren´t getting better (obviously....duh).
Today we went to Guatemala City to get Elliot a legal passport. Of course he couldn´t find his expired passport this morning for a good 20 minutes...I was ready to kill him...but he bought us lunch at Pollo Campero and made it better (guatemalan fast food is REALLY good). We ended up meeting up with Betty (a stellar lady who helps out churches) who helped us find a hotel and took us to see Star Wars 3. This is totally strange for me to be in malls. I´m going to get culture shock going home. Rio Dulce tomorrow.
Friday, May 20, 2005
Elliot has arrived.
Various quotes from Elliot´s first moments off the plane:
"So, I realized something was wrong when the lady in customs started talking to me very quickly and sternly in Spanish, and pointing to my passport.....who woulda guessed that passports expire.....I thought once you had a passport, you had it for life....So I was talking to these customs guys using mainly hand signals, broken Spanglish and charades...you shoulda seen how happy they were when I guessed the word "Embassy"
We will be going to the embassy on monday to negotiate Elliot remaining in the country (get him a new passport) it should work out ok.
"So, I realized something was wrong when the lady in customs started talking to me very quickly and sternly in Spanish, and pointing to my passport.....who woulda guessed that passports expire.....I thought once you had a passport, you had it for life....So I was talking to these customs guys using mainly hand signals, broken Spanglish and charades...you shoulda seen how happy they were when I guessed the word "Embassy"
We will be going to the embassy on monday to negotiate Elliot remaining in the country (get him a new passport) it should work out ok.
Monday, May 16, 2005
yeah. it's like this.
Scuba Diving
Scuba diving this week was spectacular. Incredible. One of the best things i've ever done in my life. If you don't know how to scuba dive....learn. It's cheap here. Photos coming soon.
Thursday, May 12, 2005
Day 2 on the island
Nate and I have finally deciphered what language they speak here. It's English (sort of). If any of you have seen snatch, they talk like brad pitt's character in that movie....Only with some Spanish and sort of a Jamaican accent mixed in. Seriously, the only thing I can understand is the swearing (so at least I have most of the adjectives taken care of).
first scuba diving lesson was today. Quite fun. I saw a barricuda.
Everything here is very expensive (close to American prices) except for the hotels, diving, food, alcohol, and women. heh heh. No, I was kidding about the food.
first scuba diving lesson was today. Quite fun. I saw a barricuda.
Everything here is very expensive (close to American prices) except for the hotels, diving, food, alcohol, and women. heh heh. No, I was kidding about the food.
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
I'm not a Sailor
Nate and I recently traveled to Copan and saw the wonderful ruins and my friend from high school (and junior high crush) Kathy Stauble. Spectacular time. Incredible food, ruins, cool people.
We have now traveled to the Island Utila (the island of Robinson Cruisoe I might mention) where I have enrolled in Scuba Diving School, at a school called Paradise. The thing is, to get to paradise you have to go through hell.....By which I mean the ocean. The whopping 4 or 5 foot waves were enough to get us both sea sick. I gone are my childhood dreams of being a pirate or anything having to do with boats. I love dry land. When I'm in heaven and can walk on water, I'm not doing it. I know better now.
Find my Island (somewhere off of the north side of Honduras):
We have now traveled to the Island Utila (the island of Robinson Cruisoe I might mention) where I have enrolled in Scuba Diving School, at a school called Paradise. The thing is, to get to paradise you have to go through hell.....By which I mean the ocean. The whopping 4 or 5 foot waves were enough to get us both sea sick. I gone are my childhood dreams of being a pirate or anything having to do with boats. I love dry land. When I'm in heaven and can walk on water, I'm not doing it. I know better now.
Find my Island (somewhere off of the north side of Honduras):
Saturday, May 07, 2005
Jamtigua....a narrowly averted disaster.
At Cafe No Se, the other night, I remarked to a girl, after watching one of the best guitar players i have ever seen, "you guys have got to stop attracting such incredible musicians here. It has the potential to embarrass those of us who aren't"
Her: "oh, what do you play?"
Me: "ummm.....Piano"
Nate: "HECK YEAH HE PLAYS JAZZ PIANO! HE'S FREAKING GOOD YOU GOTTA HEAR HIM PLAY!!!!"
Her: sweet, i'm one of the organizers of Jamtigua, and we just lost our jazz piano player. We will call you tomorrow and tell you who you are playing with.
Me: ummm....i'm not sure this is such a good idea...
Nate: .....Well...i don't know what he said....but more stuff that made me have to play.
I ended up practicing with a jazz group the next day (saturday). we weren't horrible. But not good.
Sunday, we go to the Jamtigua, and ....Other groups are.....Like...Professional. I suddenly realize the impending disaster of embarrassment that would happen when I got on stage. Luckily, the place had no keyboard, and I escaped without any embarrassment, while some amazing guitar player learned the songs in about 2 minutes and looked great.
Having averted the disaster, I was able to enjoy the rest of the bands. Very good concert.
Friday, May 06, 2005
antigua again
I left San juan a few days ago, and took chicken busses to antigua to meet nate. Here is what has happened
-6 hours in, nate has decided to move here.
-6.5 hours in, we decide to delay our trip to Honduras so that we can attend the first ever Jamtigua...a music festival put on by Cafe No Se.
-7 hours in, we find the greatest female vocalist i have ever heard live (i think).
-9 hours in, one of the members of the Beuna Vista Social Club walks in and starts singing his songs with one of the guitarists there...just for kicks. Everyone in the bar sings along.
-attendance at dinner: 2 japanese, 2 canadians, 2 americans, 1 korean, 1 austrian 2 guatemalans.
Not bad for one day.
nate has a better description.
-6 hours in, nate has decided to move here.
-6.5 hours in, we decide to delay our trip to Honduras so that we can attend the first ever Jamtigua...a music festival put on by Cafe No Se.
-7 hours in, we find the greatest female vocalist i have ever heard live (i think).
-9 hours in, one of the members of the Beuna Vista Social Club walks in and starts singing his songs with one of the guitarists there...just for kicks. Everyone in the bar sings along.
-attendance at dinner: 2 japanese, 2 canadians, 2 americans, 1 korean, 1 austrian 2 guatemalans.
Not bad for one day.
nate has a better description.
