Pausing Here and There

Mas o menos, primavera ha empazado en Xelo, pues, no primavera exactamente, porque aqui tenemos solamente verano y inverano. Pero, por lo menos, el aire es fresco. Hoy, había un hombre con “a cart of tulips” caminando en la calle, y mucho gente se sentían en el parque. Los “tulips” era rojo y naranja, y fue como un escena de una pelicula.

Tambien, mi classe de español ha tomado una vuelta “turn?” Estoy aprendiendo dichos y modismos! ¡Puchica!

agarrando los ideas del aire
Picking ideas out of thin air

huevona
lit: A big egg
lazy

estar de rollo, o, andar de rollo
lit: to walk the stream, or be of the stream
to hang out, shoot the shit

fufurufo
stuck up

fresa
lit: strawberry
stuck up person

buscarle cinco pies al gato
lit: searching for the five feet of the cat
looking for trouble

el huevo de la vaca
lit: the egg of the bull
a problem

la cruda
lit: underdone, raw
hangover

estar de goma
lit: to be made of rubber
to be hungover

él tiene pege
lit: he is sticky
He has mojo, or moves

clavos
lit: nails, cloves
problems

Hello All! I’ve begun taking weaving classes at Trama, a womens weaving cooperative. I am in the process of making a “chalina” a scarf with spaces in it. Working on this project has made me realize how much time and effort goes into each piece of weaving that I have seen here. Guatemala is certainly known for its textiles, and while I have seen these gorgeous pieces of cloth, huiples (embroidered shirts), traje (the traditional cloth different for every region, and sometimes even for every aldea or village), rugs, bags, and so much more, I have felt too overwhelmed to want to buy any of it. I think that becoming a student (for a little breath of a time, at any rate) at this cooperative is such a healthier way for me in this instant to encounter, or get a better understanding of the process involved in making a piece of fabric.

First, I chose my colors and spent an hour or so making double stranded thread, by making balls out of thread I wrapped from these two circular spinny things. Then I spent another hour or two designing my scarf: wrapping the threads in a particular way around a wooden frame to create my design. Then I began to create the loom. The tension of the loom is formed by hanging the string between two wooden poles. One pole is hung from the ceiling and the other is attached to my back by a nylon belt, more or less. I then separated the strings in to bundles of twenty, turned the whole project around, and created the separation of strings that will allow me to weave it by separating every strand from each other with a nylon thread that I was wrapping around my hand. This took another 2 or so hours.

I begin to actually weave on Tuesday, wow! I suppose this does not sound exactly clear, but hopefully I will have some pictures soon to show all of you. In other news, I am learning the subjunctive tense…that other world of Spanish.

Here are some of my pictures from my travels during the holidays. Enjoy!

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=19ltfkzb.bplbtr7&x=1&y=-657ifu

Today Sharon, Michelle (housemates) and I cleaned the entire kitchen. I went through a giant bowl of mismatched baggies full of semi-identifiable spices and put them in clean jars and labeled them. It was perhaps one of the most thoroughly satisfying organizational activities I have done in a long, long time.

I am also currently wearing the most hiddeous paisley polyester shirt with pirate sleeves I have ever encountered in my life. I don´t think I will ever be able to take myself seriously again in life, ever.

Xela, darling Xela, feels like home now. I am glad to be back, and in the full swing of cooking. We started up lunch club again, and I was the chef del dia today. I went to make a very simple pasta with spinach and tomato sauce and mozzarella. As I was dumping the pasta into the almost boiling water a whole bunch of dead bugs floated to the surface. We spent a lot of time discussing whether or not we should attempt to salvage the pasta. However, when I discovered larvae, we decided it is best to forgo the pasta and we used some leftover rice to make “risotto.”

Right now I am waiting for my bread to rise and also avoiding writing a Spanish composition, the subject of which is “mujeres.” That´s right, please write an essay about women. Hmmm. Seems just a little broad.

Finally, I have acquired the nickname of gordita at Sakribal, the school I am studying at. My cheeks apparently are healthily full, although when I suggested to Dona Olga, the owner of the school, that my face looked like the moon she said, no, but I need to be careful. Thanks Olga, muchisimo gracias.

Oh, I´m teaching English to a young man here. It´s going well…no other exciting news.

According to PADI this is what I am now certified to do. Thanks to many ridiculous videos and several wonderful dives.

Diving: When you scuba dive it feels nothing at all like the delicious nakedness of swimming. Instead of letting yourself move freely through the water you are encased in a thick suit and hindered by some 50 pounds of equipment which requires that you move very slowly through the water and give over all sense of control of movement to three things: your bcd or inflatable live vest which connects to a steel tank and helps you go up and down, your flippers which give you some sense of being able to slowly, astronautically control your direction, move right or left up or down, and the ocean currents themselves, which seem to stay in your body for days afterwards making you feel like you are constantly swaying whenever you find yourself sitting still. Regardless, you do see incredible things..brilliantly colored fish, fan coral as big as your fins waving hello in the water, a spotted eagle ray majestic and giant drifting across what looks like a crater in the coral, hence the name of the dive site Moon Hole.

Sand Fleas: As a child I was occaisionally fascinated by a big green medical reference book that my mother kept in the spare room. It had pictures of all kinds of diseases, but particularly repulsive were the skin diseases. Having visited the land of sand flees (cursed jejenes) and jellyfish (wicked medusas) and other insects that Im sure have just as repulsive monikers, I think I am now a good candidate to appear in that book. My calves and hands are covered with itching red welts that drive me wild in the heat. While leaving Utila is a bit sad, (we met some really great people including a certain Britt named Giddeon who did a wicked American accent), I will not miss the evening dosage of flea bites.

Jake and I managed our way to San Pedro on Lake Atitlan and enjoyed a few days relaxing, taking hikes through the hills, and observing the vistas. It was so delightful to spend quality time with the brother boy, and hilarious to see the same little tiffs weve had since children resurface through travel. No worries, we overcame them.

I am now back in Xela and it certainly seems like a return to home! It was so nice to walk into yoga house, abuzz with activity and cooking and feel like I have a place here. I have already done my shopping and am ready to cook up a delicious veggie curry tonight. I have a month more here of Spanish study and who knows what else, before heading to Costa Rica in February. From there it is Ecuador and then who knows.