Now I'm in Antigua, Guatemala, probably the most touristy town between Mexico and Costa Rica.
And, boy, is it nice here.
Antigua is another one of those nice-cultured-and-surrounded-by-volcanoes towns that seem to form the axis around which Central American tourism turns. Antigua is the most developed of these towns, and is also home to lots of expats from all over the world.
Once again, I'd heard lots of bad and good things about Antigua. The good: it was beautifully-preserved, culturally vibrant, comfortable and cosmopolitan. The bad: it was too comfortable, it had been taken over by foreigners, it was a Disneyfied Central America.
The overarching message: It's not really Guatemala.
I guess all those things are true in a way, except maybe the last (more on that later). Antigua is a beautiful and cultured town. It's very pleasant, and there are many, many foreigners here. Not just tourists, but many expats as well. It's so nice that people come here from the very un-nice capital city every weekend to eat, drink and make merry. I spent yesterday afternoon and evening, hanging out in the park, listening to street musicians and talking to many of those people from the capital, all who talked about how nice Antigua is.
Sometime yesterday, as I chatted and people-watched, it occurred to me how rididculous it is to criticize Antigua for the things that make it great.
For instance, the presence of foreigners. In the States, when a city is home to many foreigners, like New York, we call it "cosmopolitan." Here it's supposed to be a bad thing, as if the presence of all these extranjeros pollutes the pure Guatemala. Can you imagine if you were at a party and someone said to you "you know, New York is nice and all, but there are too many foreigners"? I know I'd probably look at them like they were crazy and excuse myself to the bathroom.
I think it comes down to travelers wanting to find some sort of pure cultural experience, completely exotic from their home lives. Which is understandable but probably unnattainable.

OK, rant over. That phenomenom is something that has always irked me, wherever I've traveled. Also, my parents and I spent a good bit of money on my liberal arts education, and so sometimes I need to exercise those atrophying postmodern muscles.

But anyways, I'll probably spend a few more days here, and then head over to Lake Atitlan, which is supposed to be pretty. Then maybe onto Xela, to study Spanish.