Within a mere half hour from waking I was having vicious punches thrown at my face. Severely weakened and fatigued I was barely able to defend myself. It was definitely a more interesting way to leave the vestiges of the dream world than by sipping some fine local coffee. Not only are there Yoga classes at the Yoga house, our house, but boxing classes as well. I felt out of shape when after a few sets of squats, pull-ups, push-ups, crunches, and boxing drills, I could barely hold my arms up. The main Yoga teacher here also teaches the boxing classes. He pushes hard. If I would have let my guard down I would have gotten popped in the face. Soon I'll be stronger and have better stamina.
It's a fun little world that we've settled into here in Xela, Guatemala. The locals are friendly and there's always a changing eclectic mix of travellers. People come here from all over the world and all walks of life to learn Spanish and get involved with volunteer programs. We are living in a housing collective with about 15 people total. Our Yoga House house mates are from the U.S., India, Holland, Sweden, Mexico, and England. Most of the people we live with are volunteering, studying Spanish, and working part-time. Almost everyone here attends at least one of the daily Yoga or boxing classes. We have a nice big shared kitchen to cook in where I find myself spending much time.
Samana Santa is just passed by in all its grace. It's really crazy and I find the religious displays gaudy and tacky. An organization that helped enslave the people of the past and present is paraded passionately through the city. Maybe I'm too cynical. I've been reading about the catholic inquisition's eradication of the pacifist Cathers and the historical relegious role here. Anyways, each church has they're own processions. These consist of segregated sexes in they're finest clothes or black robes carrying huge fluorescent lit floats with plastic biblical figurines. The floats are followed promptly by a loud diesel generator in a cart and a very out of tune band attempting to play religious music.
It's interesting to note the ethnic segregation too. The wealthier churches (with latifundistas and Spanish descendants) have more elaborate and gaudy floats and uniformed garb. Poorer churches can be distinguished with women in traditional mayan clothes. Often mayan families pass by the processions with little interest and affection.
Aña and I have both been working part time here. Aña's been working at a cafe where she gets to prepare individual meals and esthetically arrange them. I've been working at a bookshop where I meet interesting travellers and have plenty of time to read. I'm also hoping to start teaching English soon. We've also been putting our culinary skills to use in our free time to generate extra revenue. I've been making fresh roasted peanut butter, whole wheat sour dough bread, and kimchi, to sell. The 3 gallons of kimchi sold out before I even had a chance to advertise it! Aña's been making sweets, like cupcakes and biscotti, to sell though the cafe. All and all, we're not working to hard and having fun. It will be easy to cover our costs of living. Since we're settled here, it's not hard to live on $5/day!
Somewhat sadly, we have made some great friends here. I say sadly, because leaving friends you love in other places in the world is perhaps one of the hardest parts of traveling. Sigh, the nomadic lifestyle. We have wonderful friends scattered from Wisconsin to Oregon, and throughout Mexico. There is only the hope of seeing them again somewhere, at some point in the future. At least reunions will be sweet and joyous with new skills and ideas to share. Also, while traveling, you eventually begin to realize there are friends everywhere.
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