Sabrosa

Los Argentinos son muy muy amables. He hablando con mucha gente...en los collectivos (autobuses), en el parque, en la calle, los clubs, todo. Porque yo puedo hablar castellano, yo tengo muchos mas opportunidades que los otros estudiantes in mi programma. Un musico en el autobus me ensano a usar el "Guia", o el Biblio de los collectivos y calles. El me invito para tocar musica con sus amigos que viven en el barrio Vicente Lopezm, solo dos cuadras de mi casa! Un otra mujer me diste adviso donde deboviajar, y un hombre en el parque que tiene 72 anos y corre maratonsle encanta jugar basquetbol, pero no hay muchos lugares para jugar en el ciudad, solo en un club gymnasio. Todos mis nuevos amigos me dieron su information. La gente quiere ayudarme, y me siento mas seguro en un nuevo ciudad.

Mi familia aqui is muy carinosa tambien. Elvira es una cocinera magnifica! Ella ha cocinado carne frito, empanadas, pasta bolengese, y postres muy ricos. Su hijo Gustavo es el dueno de un bar en Palermo y ella concina comida especial para el bar. Elroy is como un padre. El tiene una cara muy seria, pero el es muy chistoso. Sus nineta vive en la casa a veces. Se llama Abril y es bellisima! Pero, ella tiene un novio...ay dios.

Manana es un dia muy largo. Necessito quedar en la Universidad por el mayoria del dia y necessito hacer un examen para la escuela. No hay muchos chichos en mi programma, pero hay muchas chicas...bueno para mi. Pero, los estudiantes Americanos hablan en ingles. Es malo para oir mucho ingles y es malo para mi practica.

Hay un calle (Talcajuano) en el centro del ciudad con muchas tiendas de instrumentos musicos. Quiero montar el subtren y comprar una guitara borrata esta semana. Abril tiene un instrumento se llama un "charango". Es como una guitarra pero es muy pequeno con cinco cuedras, y mitad del guitarra es una concha de una mulita (armadillo) con pelo! Cool dude! Tiene oidos como un uqueleli. Estoy aprendiendo.

Ahora, necessito buscar mi collectivo para regresar a casa. Hacia mucho calor y habia mucho sol en Buenos Aires hoy, y estoy muy cansado ahora. Estoy en un cafe de internet cerca del Avenida Santa Fe en Palermo. La cena sera a las 9 y quiero descansar y ojalo dormire un poquito. Hasta luego.

David

Where I'll Be Livin'

Whoooo!

Im in my home stay right now in the Vicente Lopez district. I lucked out. This family is the bomb! Right now, the three children (well, they're in their thirties) are not living in the house. So its me Elvira and Chatta, a very very nice couple probably in their late sixties. I have my own room with a connecting bathroom.

The house is sick! It is two stories with lots of plants and red brick ont he inside inside, and an amazing backyard with white tables, grass and a pool. Tai Chi this morning was sooo tranquil. Butterflies and sun. Gotta love it. They have a big doggy named Azucar (sugar), an orange bird named Carlitos, and a turtle I have yet to see that roams the back yard.

The only rules are that I have to call if I will miss dinner at 9 o clock or I am sleeping out. And a church group gets together in the house on Mondays and I can participate if I please. Not bad at all...

I am very very happy with this situation. My University is a short busride away. I start Orientation tomorrow morning.

Keep the good times rollin, babe!

Davey J

Bunk beds

Lost in Palermo for 3 hours. Walking the city like beasts on the prowl with my super-experienced backpacking hostel friend Tony. He is loaded with wisdom, encouraging words, and good cheer. It has been nice to be back in "hostel-mode" for a couple days, meeting new people and going out with them to experience a new place.

This city is big and there's lots of concrete and very pretty parks scattered around. The women are insanely hot and all the guys have creepy mullets. Palermo is too ritzy/trendy for my liking, but it has theeeee best steak at La Cabrera....no words. (wow)

I will be scadadling this hostel within the hour to find my homestay family's house. They finally returned my emails so Im glad to know they exist. We'll see how it goes.

I hope youre happy.

Ciao

Dave

Sha-bam a lam!

WhoooO!

I am not a sitting machine anymore!

3 flights, plenty of free white wine, and 5 hours of sleep later, I am alive and rested, sitting in a Palermo hostel. This place is filled with beautiful vagabonds. I am glad to be one of 'em! Well, for now. Tomorrow, I will meet up with my home stay, which leaves this day completely open. I talked to Tony (an experienced backpacker) and we might check out the pub district nearby later on today.

I woke up at 9:55, just in time to scrummage the last of breakfast. I wasn't sure if the milk came from golden Argentinean cows, or if Frosted Flakes are just heavenly, but it was the best bowl of cereal I've eaten in a long long time.

I drank about 1/3 of an Inka Kola in Peru for kicks before giving the mysterious yellow liquid a look-over and tossed it. Had a beer in the terminal bar with an older Guatemalan woman and we chatted for a good amount of time about Guatemala and Brazil. I got her number (knudge knudge)...

Lots of funky mullets and goddesses as the flights got closer to Argentina. Now I'm here. Now I go.

PEACE!

DAVE

Hasta...

Gracias Guatemala y las familias Cabrera y Valdez! Sus almas estan en mi corazon y mente. Voy a volver en el futuro. Hasta....

Cosmic Snakes

Cosmic snakes take turns on turntables, telling fables of foxxes and opossums, pussies with dachsunds. Sandcastle paradise with a slice of coconut butterfries, tied together with eyes of an alligator and served in a waffle cone. Metric gnomes in your front yard. Credit cards on display at the Olympic games. Hercules can't count to 3 and 4 times 5 is long before clockwork. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, there's a fury of fur heading south on the 105. Alive and well we say we tell we smell smashcrack candlewax corroding like my ex-wife holding a knife in the kitchen. One red eye and one Spanish guy looking fly in a blue tuxedo with a torpedo in his pants. Ya wanna dance? Or romance in the back of my pick-up line at the Alamo, lost control of my plastic ammo, scrammed like Rambo 3 4 5. Alive and well wishing with penny lane, chewing on clams claiming the same thang as those cosmic snakes.

Welcome to the Jungle

I ate cow feet for lunch today. The tendons are like whale blubber.

We went to the jungle this past weekend.

Driving and driving and driving on bumpy rock roads through the color green, watching rays of sunlight slice the white fog, until we finally arrived at an isolated pueblo. I dont remember the name and doubt I could find the way back - it was like entering another world!

The only electricity there is used to light the Evangelical church. The fireflies aren't strong enough to get you around at night, so you must use candles. We went to the Saturday service where they spoke primarly in Ki'che, one of the 26 indigenous Mayan languages. I couldn't understand a thing they were saying so I read a song book in Spanish. After the service, I stuck around and played drums with the church band. I've never played drums in a church...with strangers...in the middle of absolute nowhere. Far out!

We took a morning boat ride on the river Icboli to some precious waterfalls. On the hike, I stuck my face in a geyser and got pounded by intense waterfalls. On the walk back to the boat, I proceeded to get stung by a bajillion mosquitos. You should see my feet! After a breakfast of corn and mush, we split town and drove to a spot where we had to walk...I'd estimate 4 kilometers through jungle to a laguna. Apparently, there are pumas and juguars in that jungle, but I only saw lines of red ants and heard monkey cries. Theres a theory that a meteor crashed in the spot millions of years ago and has been filled with water ever since. The hike there and back was extremely tiresome but the water was worth it.

We picked up two gorgeous Guatemalan hitchhikers and stopped for beer and snacks, talked a bunch and hit the road. We eventually stopped in Chisec where Carlos and I ate Tezechuan (spelling?). What we thought was a giant jungle rat was actually a wild jungle pig that eats fruit...it tasted like chicken and looked like steak.

After we dropped off the ladies in Coban, I slept in the back of the pickup truck, sang to the moon, and huddled for warmth. Today, I have been preparing my things for Argentina. My time in Guatemala is finally coming to a close...and until then, embrace the moment! When it comes, embrace the moment! This trip has been extremely eye opening, stomach filling, culturally explosive, educative and overall threaded with happy spirits. I feel much more connected to this country and I know there is a lot more to see and do here. I have made an imprint on this big family and I know I'll be back for more. What a ride!

David Julio

Una Vista de Lago Atitlan

Gasoline Breath

Santiago Atitlan is a small village facing Panajachel. Between them is a giant lake and their neighbors are gigantic volcanos. In Santiago, you will find colorful pens with your name on 'em, red tricycle taxi cabs, a busy outdoor market, and don't forget the church - the village hotspot. Greasy old men in ranchero sombreros with wrinkled skin and thin mustaches pace with canes as women wearing rainbows balance baskets on their heads. Culture is on sale today tomorrow and the next. Beggars want your flesh and kids run in circles and circles and circles. Mother nature shines bright around such a strange city.

I've seen mountains in the water. Millions upon millions upon millions of mountains. I saw elephant skin in the sand and outlines of volcanoes when the waves washed in. Deep under all this water is a ball of fire.

A slimy old man asked me if I wanted San Pedro Cactus...only to learn San Pedro the nearest volcano only a canoe ride away from Santiago.

On the ride to Shella, we stopped at natural hot springs, high up in the mountains. Sulfur explodes in your nose as your skin begins to give in to the purifying elements. A million shades of green jungle trees surround you, and hot rocks heat the pools. Cleansing and relaxing. On the ride down, I could easily see hills of garbage dumped on several mountain slopes, looking like the tongues of horrifying giants. Guatemala has a serious trash problem.

After the springs, we made it to Shella in Quezaltenango where we met up with Reyna's friends: Lorena and Nedi who were extremely nice and hospitable. What was once the battlefield of the first war between the Espanolas and the Mayans - is a concrete jungle leaking with gasoline and electric wires. A quick story:

Before the Spanish came to Guatemala, Quezaltenango was a peaceful Mayan land with a small lake, river, field of grass, and tons of different animal species. When the Spanish, lead by Pedro de Alvarado, came to Quezaltenango, they brought guns, horses, armor, and hunger for gold. The Mayans, lead by their chief Tecun Human, were no match for the Spanish. According to legend, Tecun Human aimed and killed Pedro de Alvarado's horse with a spear. He had thought that the horse and man were one being - the Mayans had never seen a horse before. After the war, the Mayans became slaves for hundreds of years, brutally assaulted, raped, and murdered by their Spanish masters who created a "river of blood". Only 30-50 years ago did such major industrial change occur in Shella. It has recently become a big business center in Guatemala. I talked to people who remember when there was nothing major except for "lots of sheep."

The center of Shella has a beautiful park, and the surrounding stone buildings are of Spanish architecture. In the heart of the city center, bursting with light, and crying for attention with American pop music is a McDonalds. Imperialism never stops.

Back in Guatemala City now, and all I feel like doing is resting and reflecting on what the hell just happened. I think we are going to Coban tomorrow, but I don't know - go with the flow- lie low in the snow and send me an angel if your out of your cage in Michigan.

La-dee-dave

El Palenque...

I could never draw a clear picture of a cockfight to someone that's never experienced one. No photos or verbal descriptions can capture all the disgust that takes place in....one place. I hope I never see another cock fight again. If you are interested, go. And get drunk. I couldn't imagine going to that event sober. I did manage to win 20 bucks...

In El Salvador, we took a beat-up boat ride to the most beautiful beach I have ever seen. Completely deserted except for a small shack where amazing ceviche is cooked and beer served cold. You can look in two directions on a sandbar. Don't go to the left - there's sharks there. The right is much more tranquil. Tai Chi and heavy listening.

I think I am at my happiest when there is nothing left to do but run. No. I mean, sprint long distance. When we got to the beach, I couldn't sit still. I had to run, fast and hard, finally plummeting in the shark infested waters, riding a few waves before screaming "todo es un sueno!" I didnt want to take photos there for nothing could capture the emotions rushing through me in that moment.

We lunched at an El Salvadorian restaurant where a trio played classic Guatemalan tunes. I danced with Paola and an older lady at the other table. The heat in El Salvador is like summer on steroids. My whole body was drenched in sweat, and I was forced to strip down to my boxers. And I kept dancing...there, in the restaurant. No one cared. I think I like El Salvador.

We're back in the Cuidad where we had a relaxing and cleansing day. Beautiful weather here. Realllllly nice, sunny skies. It feels like L.A. The weather that is...

Tomorrow we venture in the early morn to Panahatchel, a colorful village next to Lake Atitclan, with three big volcanoes rest on the other side. I plan on doing something wild with my hair...

Much love,

-El Caracol

Me encantan mojitos...

...y Nat King Cole!

Vamos a manejar al Palenque hoy (cock fight in El Salvador), y estoy listo para el sangre!

En domigo, iremos a una finca en la frontera entre Guatemala y El Salvador. Hay una playa veinte minutos de la finca y nadare mucho el mar. El tiempo es perfecto. Mucha sol y cielo azul.

Dame mas tequila!

Hasta lunes...

-Caspianita

"Gringo"

My camera is a noose around my neck.

Dark faces with wondering eyes

Gaze as I journey through this maze.

I am a stranger in this land.

Staring through my black hair

They can read my mind in Spanish

Then vanish.

Mayan minds as thick as land mines.

Rewind.

Were they laughing

Or was it just the wind?

Dirt wraps around my ankles

And pulls me in.

Quince Naranjas Por Quince Quezales!!! (15 oranges for $2)

It has been a full week, a full stomach, full indeed.

Antigua in the day is beautiful. I got to see many oooold cathedrals that I missed last year. The history there is intense. The stone streets pulsate and the wind is easy going on your tired body.

I've been taking lots of photos and I plan to post them in a better fashion than this website which is extremely slow.

Lago Amatitlan is full of life - a small village next to the lake with lots of color, nice people, rival mariachi bands, and stray dogs (there are lots of stray dogs in this country, not many stray cats). I sang with two local guitarists, talked a lot with the locals, and had my crazy face on the whole time. Who is this white boy? What planet did he come from? That seems to be the response to my appearance and personality anywhere I go in Guatemala, but I consider those that can have fun with it to be my friends.

We escaped the city and went up to the mountains yesterday where Tita's aunt lives. She's the sweetest woman I have ever met! Esther, 70 years old, still works hard, moves fast, and drinks beer. She's also under 5 feet and incredibly cute. Going to her house in the "aldea", aka smaller than a village, of Canton Las Limas was very eye and heart opening. She lives on the top of the mountain in a house she and her children built 30 years ago. The aldea is very poor, but full of lots of happy young kids that roam the main tall street. To bathe and wash clothes, you have to journey down a big hill to a water trough, then get back up. It is such a tranquil place, away from the city, and made a big impact on me. I thought I would possibly live in Antigua when I'm older, but Las Limas is so much more at peace. It doesn't have a night life, but hey, what the hell. Esther would accept me as a guest any day.

My Spanish is getting better and better, and the Guatemaltecos think I am a good speaker.

Moving beyond the basics, I have been learning what I need to scream at the cockfight this weekend. Actually, we will be going to two cockfights, also known as Palenques. The first is in the central square of a village in El Salvador. Jose and I will be leaving tonight and the rest of the gang (I think 4 or 5 cars) will head down tomorrow, with gallos and of course Gallos. The second is on a farm in Guatemala. Adventure. High hopes. Blood.

I am doing very very well and I hope you are too.

Deep breaths

-Caspianita (my new nickname)

When Water Hits Cement

Primary colors are strewn over dirty houses. Theres trash on the side of the road, and for the first time I saw a pidgeon in this small country - actually about 300 gathered in the Central Plaza in downtown Guatemala City. After a heavy beer in a saloon-type establishment, and hot chocolate in a classy old-timey cafe, I gazed at sepia photos of 'Antigua', not the actual city per se, but what used to be the capital's downtown. Peaceful dirt roads, carriages, quiet streets, and tended gardens settle in gold picture frames. On the same street, I hold my camera tight against my chest, under my jacket as pollution, car alarms, and cloudy skies rain down upon me. Things have definitely changed here over the years, and theres so much more I want to know about this place. Still, Jesus rules over the land, and theres really good churro stands to ease your troubles, but such sugary snacks can't hide the poverty, political corruption, and crowded houses here.

Advertisements are everywhere, and the water is dirty. I am extremely lucky to be living with a loving family that gets by and cooks amazing Guatemalan dishes for me everyday. It is better outside the city in nature, at Mayan ruin cites, away from man -made destruction.

In peace.

David Julius

Morning

Mesquito bites fight on my feet.

Thousands of hounds make sounds on sand.

Egg soup makes me poop pineapple tops.

Cops with big boots shoot sheets of grease at geese.

Pillows punish pancakes with armadillo punches.

Candy canes can kill crooked kangaroos.

Orange elephants eat eggplant pie.

Ice Cream and Beer

There's still some tequila sloshing around my head from last night.

Jose and I went back to Antigua to the famous "La Sala" - the place to be on Thursday nights. You would be happy to know that I got the party started, dancing salsa with the best/sexiest dancer in the club (Ay Virjinia, tu eres en mis suenos!). There was a live band that killed it and afterwards I told the guitarist he has "dedos de oro".

People from all over the world come to Antigua. I met groups from London, Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Canada, Wisconsin, a drunk old woman with a "Hooters Phoenix" shirt, Sweden, The 'real' Jersey, and 2 cuties from Argentina (got their emails).

Woke up confused and hung over, only to be cured by Tita's "Caldo de Huevos" - an AMAZING egg soup with chile. Take my advise - learn how to cook this dish and you will be saved. We walked to the "super"market where they're always blasting music of some sort. I am famouys for dancing in the super. It gets a laugh out of the employees and anyone else in the way.

Something amazing happened today...
I tend to act and think like a child, but still, I am a bit older now and have some hair on my chest. But, I actually felt like a kid again when Tita bought me and Paola ice cream, then went next door to the bank to do 'old people things'. Paola and I sat at the heladeria in the shade with our ice creams, licking away without a care in the world. When we finished, Tita returned from 'over there' and we moved on. It was too perfect, folkloric, transcendent, delicious.

I taught Paolo Tai Chi yesterday. It was more of an excersice for me, trying to explain concepts in Spanish such as balance, awareness, the four elements, than the actual Tai Chi. I think she understood and got something positive out of it.

I've been meditating and doing Tai Chi in the garden every morning. Lately, I've gotten some huge mesquito bites. You should see em. They're humongous!

I'll be in church tomorrow, so if you see me, don't hesitate to say hi.

Con amor y un Gallo frio.
(Gallo is the national beer of Guatemala - there's more Gallo than bottled water...don't worry - I'm surviving)

Daveed

Mi familia en Guatemala

Paola
Tita
Jose
Carlos

100% de Agave

Almuerza

I ate Pulique for lunch. It's chewy and has texture like a strawberry's skin. Pulique is cow stomach. And you know what? It wasn't bad. I liked it.

Sleep

"A nightmare's nightmare is a timeshare in nowhere"

(c) DJR

I wrote this amidst all the chaos occurring in my head last night...

There is a snake under my bed

With one thousand eyes.

The night was long

The morning is black

I'm sinking in my own sweat.

A puddle of fresh squeezed orange juice

With black beans on my breath

A man filled with lies

Might explode one of these days

But the night was long

The morning is black

Will everything be ok?

Stuck inside a nightmare's nightmare

A puzzle

A funnel

A hole

With teeth inside my upper-side lips

My bottom mouth is broken.

Realizing my monster make-up

A woman with big breasts attacks me.

Thinking it's over, I awake in bed

A bed suspended over my head.

Comedic bank robbers with plastic guns

Point their pistols at me.

I throw a fist of quarters and scream

On the water of a giant river

With straw houses floating

Downstream.

Paolo enters my dream.

We sit at a cafe

And I order Tai Chi

She calls me a girl

And it's real

I believe.

My nightmare

Reeks of poison

It's texture is gas on fire.

I open eyes to find

The morning

Darker

Than the night.

Con Ojos Del Tecolote

This place is awesome! The air is black - the sky is blue - and my heart is filled with rainbows!

Today, I drove with Tita to Inguat - a tourist spot where her son-and-law Chato works in the administrative office. I definitely fit the 'tourist' description, and felt extremely uncomfortable around fake indigenous clothes, bags, and artwork. I felt even worse that this was government property. A la gran puta!

We walked to the museums close-by, where, in the modern art building, we marveled at cubist, expressionist, surrealist, realist, and abstract paintings and sculptures. Have you ever heard of Eugenio Fernandez Granell or Efrain Recinos? If not, you should look up their work...now.

I've been keeping a 'libreta' - a notebook, wherever I go. I've been writing my personal journals in Spanish and keeping track of all the new words and verbs I've been learning. It feels like I've been here for weeks, but its only been two days! Wowee!

One thing about Guatemala city: no one cares about car lanes. If you stay in your lane, you are a pussy. Carlos maneuvered the tightest squeeze through three cars onto an off-ramp. With my heart running laps around my chest, I muttered, "Bienvenidos a Guatemala!"

Tonight, I'm going to Antigua (FUCK YEAH!) an old city close to Guatemala City where Jose Carlos and I will hit the disco for 'ladies night'........ADIOS!

Wait! Eat Pollo Campero! It is the best fast food chicken joint in the world, hands down. I know there are a few in downtown LA. http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=pollo+campero+los+angeles&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

That's it. Hasta luego.

Pyramids in the Clouds

The dead (end) streets marked the beginning of (new) life.

Cruising down an eight-lane highway without a single soul in LA on the road, a wave of relief swept through me.
The LACSA terminal was filled with so many Latinos, I thought I already arrived in Guatemala.
Slept the majority of the flight, only to wake up and watch the sun rise. Camera in hands, I whipped up some creamy photos to take in my arrival. Mountains stacked above oceans of clouds. Drop down through butter and discover valleys below.

Before I know it, I'm in Tita's car with Paola on the way to their house. I'm staying with my housekeeper's family here (the lovely lovely Reyna). Solo Espanol. I feel I'm improving a lot and its only been two hours. This English seems pretty hypocritical...

Despues de un gran desayuno con huevos, frijoles, crema, queso, chile picante, y jugo, nosotros desempacamos mi maleta.

Now, I dive off to a warm slumber. The sun is out and I am still in still mode. Time for rest. Hasta luego.

Daveeeed