So, my British housemate went hiking up Volcan Agua yesterday and asked me if I wanted to go. I said no because of 6,000 feet of elevation gain and a 6 hour hike (and the fact that I can't keep up with him when we are walking down the street in Antigua). I am glad that I turned down the invitation, because he got robbed by some guy with a machete on his way up. I don't think this is as serious as it sounds though - apparently the robber was pretty terrified himself. He asked for my friend's bag, and my friend told him that he needed his water for the climb and a Guatemalan would have no use for jeans that fit a man over six feet. He was able to convince the guy to just take his money and his phone. And then the guy left him enough quetzales for a bus back to the city where we live. So courteous! And my housemate still continued on up to the crater at the top!
I took myself out for breakfast this morning (about $4.50 for coffee, juice, eggs, black beans, tortillas, and a salad) and tried to get some studying done. I went over vocab from last week, which ended up filling about 8 pages of my notebook and taking three hours to recopy. Today, I don't speak any Spanish. I ran into my homestay family on the street this afternoon, and when they asked how I was doing, I stuttered until they filled in the blank for me, "Very well." Hopefully I will feel better at 8am tomorrow when I begin a full week of 30 hours of one-on-one.
This afternoon, I am going to climb up to a giant cross on a hill that overlooks Antigua with some folks that I met here. Hopefully I'll get some good photos, and after that, back to the studying!
How is everyone out there doing? I love emails :)
I took myself out for breakfast this morning (about $4.50 for coffee, juice, eggs, black beans, tortillas, and a salad) and tried to get some studying done. I went over vocab from last week, which ended up filling about 8 pages of my notebook and taking three hours to recopy. Today, I don't speak any Spanish. I ran into my homestay family on the street this afternoon, and when they asked how I was doing, I stuttered until they filled in the blank for me, "Very well." Hopefully I will feel better at 8am tomorrow when I begin a full week of 30 hours of one-on-one.
This afternoon, I am going to climb up to a giant cross on a hill that overlooks Antigua with some folks that I met here. Hopefully I'll get some good photos, and after that, back to the studying!
How is everyone out there doing? I love emails :)
Phew! I'm glad you decided not to go! In spite of the fact that he was a gentleman bandit, the guy did have a machete...
ReplyDeleteI love the picture! Great view of the city!
Crazy story!! Funny how things work out. I would have liked to have over heard the conversation; a barter between a machete wielding Guatemalan and a backpack wearing Englishman. It must have been an interesting dialogue.
ReplyDeleteThe picture you posted is amazing. Is the cross wooden and secured by a concrete base? Why is it there? Any significance? A monument of some sort?
Keep the updates flowing and I'll talk to you later K!!