i can't believe we're leaving la cambalacha so soon. this 5 weeks has gone so quickly, and already here i am documenting the last of it after a classic last  night of pizza and beer with gabi, charlie and the spanish girls ( Read more... )

one is surrounded by so much rhythm in guatemala. whether it’s the clapping of a mayan lady flattening tortillas between her hands, the syncopated chug of an idling tuk-tuk, or the distant echo of a djembe further up the hill, there’s always an underlying beat to life around here. even counting to 8 in spanish or tz'utujil (one of the local mayan ( Read more... )

we decided not to go to chichicastenango in the end, as we felt that trying to go there and to quetzaltenango both in one long weekend would be too much of a rush. we're saving chichi for another weekend. in the mean time, last weekend was great. monday and tuesday was day of the dead (latin american festival in which deceased family and friends ( Read more... )

SUCCESS! i at last seem to have made some sort of progress with my group of four - who i shall henceforth refer to enigmatically as A, B, C and D. yesterday, gabi came in to the classroom (a series of rocks arranged in a rough circle around a burnt-out fire) with me at the beginning of the lesson and reeled off a 10-minute speech, entirely in ( Read more... )

panajachel was great. we stayed in a lovely little place called villa lupita, in the middle of town. it was refreshing not to have to worry constantly about bugs every waking moment spent in the room, and that really goes a long way to bettering my relaxation. pana, or panachocolate, as i've begun to call it, is a fairly small town, which seems to ( Read more... )

i finally have a chance to update my journal! i have wanted to on numerous occasions, but haven't seemed to find the time. i will start at the beginning, and then when i get to the end, i'll stop. that's a rough alice in wonderland quote ( Read more... )

it would appear that guatemalan children haven't encountered trains before, so so much for THAT idea. but no matter - we can work around that. on top of this, however, sals and i have been asked to perform a 15-minute duet to the masses of the san marcos locale, two weeks into our arrival. so much for THAT idea. i do think we can do it, if we're ( Read more... )

we will be on our way one week from now. and despite nearly a year's worth of planning and anticipating, there is still just enough time behind which one can hide and, if only subconsciously, pretend that i'm not actually leaving. i don't know why i would want to do this, mind, because i really can't wait to be going - but i do still find myself ( Read more... )

it's slightly alarming to think that i've spent nearly £4k on this trip before i've even started it. but i suppose it makes sense, given that many of the things we'll be doing have to be booked/sorted in advance, such as the inca trail, being stabbed repeatedly akin to a pin-cushion, and PILLS (for malaria). it's nevertheless still daunting to know ( Read more... )

we leave in 2 weeks today! eek.

pretty much sorted now. i think i've bought everything i need, apart from maybe one more t-shirt. the remaining conundrum is whether to take my large or small bag. yes... exciting.

i'm going to bed. last ever early tomorrow! AFTER WHICH I SHALL NEVER BE TIRED AGAIN.