Made it!

I made it! I'm alive! Quite the experience!

Here's how it went down. Stefan the Austrian and I caught a shuttle to Quetzaltenango (Xela for short) Friday afternoon. When we arrived in Xela, we went directly to QuetzalTrekkers, which is headquartered in this really skeevy hostel ... I mean this place was rough even by hostel standards.

All in all, I was feeling a bit off - I think this was due to Xela being about 2,600 feet higher than Antigua, the 4 hour shuttle ride on twisty mountain roads, and the group of guitar playing, weed smoking greasy gringos (one of whom was giving me the crazy eyes) in the hostel corridor.

One of the cool things about QuetzalTrekkers is that they provide you with all the gear you need if you don't have your own. After we geared up, we headed to Hostal Don Diego, which was waaay nicer than the one we had just come from. Unfortunately, I barely slept. I woke up almost every 45 minutes all night ... before I got up at 3:45am.

Back at QuetzalTrekkers, we loaded up with tents and food then took a 10 minute pick-up ride to catch a chicken bus to San Marcos. The restaurant we ate breakfast at in San Marcos has a pay restroom. You pay 2 Quetzales and the lady at the door hands you some toilet paper ... seems like a fair price :)

Our ride to the base of the mountain was in a shuttle, so everyone in our group got a seat. There were twenty four people in our group - an unusually large group - evidently because nobody really wants to go to Tikal right now. Some Mexican drug cartel has been wreaking havoc there - earlier this month they killed 27 farmers and I heard a rumor that they more recently stopped a chicken bus and shot everyone inside. Evidently the Guatemalan government has declared a "state of siege" (which seems to be some kind of martial law) in the province and the place is saturated with soldiers ... not an awesome situation.

Anyway, we had a great group which included three Brits, two Aussies, a French Canadian couple, one Kiwi, one Belgian guy, one Irishman, one Swiss guy, one girl from Singapore, Stephan the Austrian, and eleven Yanks. I thought that I was a seasoned traveler until I met this crew! They've been everywhere and they're still going!

Fifteen minutes into the hike, I'm wondering why I agreed to do this ... Not a good sign, right? Fortunately, I wasn't the only one who had never really done any mountain climbing before - it was also Chinyi's first mountain. We decided to keep an eye out for each other - noobs gotta stick together!

The trek up to base camp took me four and a half hours. My legs were tired by the time I got there, but honestly, the hardest part was breathing! The altitude was not doing me any favors. Neither was my giant backpack containing probably 30-40 pounds of gear.

From Stefan the Austrian, I learned that there's an art to packing and wearing these serious climbing/hiking backpacks. You want to pack most of the weight toward the bottom and make sure that it's well balanced. Then, when you put on the pack and adjust the straps, you want the weight to ride on your hips - not your shoulders. Who knew? I can attest to the truth of this as a quarter of the way up the mountain I didn't think I'd make it - my shoulders were in excruciating pain. But I adjusted the pack so that the weight was on my hips and I was golden!

The scenery on the way up was breathtaking! We literally climbed up into the clouds. Every now and again they would part and we'd have a clear view of the surrounding hills and villages. Really cool.

Lunch was served shortly after we arrived at base camp. Unfortunately, I got kinda sick and I don't think it was from the altitude. Some bean dish they served us gave me terrible indigestion. Next came nausea and a craaaazy headache. I couldn't eat dinner for fear of losing it so I got some tylenol from one of the guides and hit the sack pretty early. Surprisingly, I slept well! I say "surprisingly," cause the odds were stacked against me - it was really cold at base camp, it rained half of the night, we had a leaky tent, the zipper on my sleeping bag wouldn't zip up, and we crammed 7 people into what was probably a 5 person tent. I think this tent-overpopulation was actually a blessing in disguise. I was sandwiched in-between Chinyi and Stefan the Austrian - without all this body heat, the broken sleeping bag zipper might have let me freeze!

At 3:30 Sunday morning, we broke out the flashlights and climbed about an hour to get to the peak for the sunrise. The view was amazing! One of the Aussies brought a kite with him and broke it out :)

After breaking camp, we hiked back down the mountain. This was easier in that my breathing was less labored as we descended, but it seemed a bit more treacherous.

After lunch, we caught two chicken buses back to Xela and tramped back to QuetzalTrekkers through the rain. I'm so glad it didn't rain on us while we were climbing! That would've made it exponentially more difficult!

I slept soundly last night and now I'm back in Antigua! The only casualty of the trip was one of the rubber ear pieces from my headphones ... So frustrating to lose one of those! I thought I was saved when I found some extras in the trash of my hostel room (don't worry - I liberally doused those suckers in hand sanitizer) but they're too small for my ear :(

I'm happy to report that all my training on cerro de la cruz paid off! Taylor and Luke will be proud to hear that there was no laying on the trail gasping for breath, no crawling, no begging for the sweet release of unconsciousness! I wasn't even the slowest person in the group! Not gonna lie, though ... going up and down stairs today has been excruciating :)

This whole experience kinda makes me wish climbing the highest mountain in Central America was one of my life goals - coulda checked it off the list! Oh well ...

Also - thanks, Nealy, for the Columbia pants and the North Face shirt! I actually looked like I belonged in a group of mountain climbers!

On a sadder note, Stefan the Austrian headed back to Austria this afternoon. Gonna miss you man!

Dude, I'm doing it

Looks like Stephan and I are gonna climb this stupid mountain! We leave in 2 hours! If I survive, I'll post again on Monday :)

Rematch?

I have a few options for this weekend. One of them is a rematch with a Central American volcano. In Nicaragua, I climbed a volcano ... barely. I'm sure Taylor or Luke would be more than happy to tell you about this as I'm sure it was very entertaining for them.

Now, Stefan the Austrian wants me to climb Tajumulco ... The top of this volcano is the highest point in Central America ... The good news is you don't climb the entire way ... only like 1,220 meters - roughly 4000 feet. I've been climbing cerro de la cruz everyday, but I'm not sure that it's prepared me to climb almost a mile straight up. If I end up going, I guess I'll find out!

Check out this ladder that's been outside the school all day! Click on it to zoom in - you're gonna wanna see this. Not quite up to OSHA standards, huh? So the guy who set up this ladder thinks - "my ladder's not long enough so I'll have to put it on a table ... But this table is kinda wobbly - better half-heartedly wrap some thin rope around the base of my ladder and that lamppost. Ah - but I might scratch the table! Better put something slippery like newspapers under the ladder ... There - that should do it!" Haha! This is a disaster waiting to happen! I really hope this guy doesn't get hurt ...

Yesterday I had a McFlurry Naranja! It's a McFlurry with orange syrup and Hershey's chocolate chips! Very tasty. As I recall, the McDonalds I visited in Hong Kong had good desserts too - wonder why they never release them in the States?

So I probably shouldn't have taken this picture, but I did it anyway. I did it very, very discreetly. I believe this is a funeral procession. It's a bit difficult to see unless you zoom in, but there's a coffin being carried at the head of this crowd. This is actually really similar to the religious celebrations I witnessed in el parque central and in front of the private school. The only differences are that there's no band, and the coffin is normal sized.

Another thing I've seen that I shouldn't take a picture of, is kids making out in the streets! It's crazy! Every day I see kids making out all over the place. Now that I think about it, maybe I will take a picture - if you're making out in the street, you obviously don't care if anyone sees :)

Finally, to top it off, here's another Beetle for Peanut's Gallery of Punch Buggies. I'm bringing my a-game kid!

Immersion

So, in my attempt aprender español (to learn Spanish) I am taking the immersion route. I'm living with a Guatemalan family, I'm attempting to read the Bible and comic books in Spanish, and now I'm listening to Spanish music! I don't know if that exclamation point is warranted, cause most of it is just ok ...


But in mi maestra's defense (she's the one who's been recommending artists to me), she's choosing music that's muy lento (very slow) so that I can pick out a few words here and there. But in reality she also likes this music :) Her first recommendation was Ricardo Arjona. It's pretty generic romantic pop. Normally I wouldn't listen to this kind of music, but it's not terrible. And it's kinda cool that Ricardo is Guatemalan. Next, she steered me toward Thalia and Alejandro Fernandez. Thalia is kind of ... I don't know ... kinda like what I imagine Shakira and Christina Aguilera sound like. Alejandro is Mexican, and it shows!


My favorite Spanish music is a band I found probably five years ago. They're called Entre Rios and they're from Argentina. My favorite song of theirs is Hoy No, which means "not today" ... still working on translating the rest of the song.

The more Spanish I learn, the more bold I get - by this I mean that I'm definitely more likely to fake it if I don't know it. Let me explain ... one of the cool things about Spanish is that a decent amount of the vocabulary is similar to English. For example, "caro" means "car," "normalmente" means "normally," "posibilidad" means "posibility," and "porciento" means "percent." So now, when I'm talking and I want to say a word I just add an "o" on the end, or maybe an "ente" or "idad". The crazy thing is that about 30-40% of the time it works everytime!



Erin also taught me an invaluable lesson about Spanish here in Guatemala ... That's right, it's so valuable that it's invaluable.



As I mentioned before, Antigua is fairly touristy - lots of gringos. And where there are tourists, there are people trying to sell them things. It's a law of nature - true the world over. Before, whenever I was approached in the street by someone wanting to sell me a necklace or blanket or whatever, I would always say "no, gracias." Then el vendedor (the salesman/woman) would proceed to suggest, "a gift for your mother? a gift for your sister? very good price!"

Erin has since informed me that instead of saying "no, gracias," you just say "gracias." The crazy thing is it works! Now I say "gracias" and they leave it at that! Who knew?! So remember that for when you come down to visit me :)

Check out this fountain that's at the center of el parque central! After I saw it a few times, I finally realized what was going on ... is that ... ? Are they ... ? Out of ... ? The answer to all of these questions is "yes." Hahaha!

Hey we're back!

Yes, the title of this post both signifies that the internet is back in working order again (for now) and serves as a tribute to Jonathan Katz!

Jonathan Katz is the voice of Dr. Katz in the series by the same name, as well as Eric - Melissa's dad - in Home Movies. He's hilarious! I bought his stand-up album, and honestly didn't really care for it - sorry Jonathan. But everything else he's done is comedic gold - including his podcast series "Hey We're Back!" If you're a fan of either Dr. Katz or Home Movies, this is right up your alley. I think you can find back episodes here.

As I said earlier, the reason I didn't blog yesterday was because of internet issues - again, not poisonous snakes! I did however learn how to say "poisonous snake" en español - serpiente venenosa. I think that's right ... Hopefully I won't have to use this phrase in an emergency room ... again :)


And now for something completely different! This is what I like to call "Peanut's Gallery of Punch Buggies."

That's right kid - I'm saving them up for you! And guess what? VW Things count for two! So I know you're thinking there's no Beetle in that second to last picture - but click on it and zoom in! Hay un Beetle rojo (there is a red Beetle)! It's just in front of the guy on the scooter. I wasn't quick enough on the draw to get a picture as it went past, so I had to snap a long distance photo. Don't even try to say it isn't there, cause you know it is!

When I explained to Stefan the Austrian why I was taking pictures of VW Beetles, he informed me that they don't play this game in Austria. Seems like a shame since VWs are made next door, in Germany.

Before I came down here, I stocked up on power adapters (they were, of course, from Toshi Station), but it turns out I haven't needed them yet. They're only necessary if your power cord has three prongs and/or it has the one prong that's wider than the other. I guess maybe newer electronics have more universal power cords? Stefan the Austrian was able to use one though!

Anoche hubo poco frio entonces me pono pantalones (last night it was a little cold so I put on pants). Turns out pants were a bad choice. I was kinda looking forward to wearing my jeans for the first time since arriving in Guatemala, but it turns out they were waaaay to hot! Better to be tad bit nippy than sweat it out. Plus, the humidity instantly doubled the weight of the jeans. Ridiculous. Live and learn :)

Domingo

I really need to find out who this Domingo character is ... Sunday is named Domingo, and there's also a Santo Domingo ... He must be important.


Check out this picture of the sky last night! Crazy, right? If you're from the midwest, you know what a sky this color means - tornadoes! Like a good midwesterner, I started looking for a cellar. Fortunately, I'm pretty sure they don't have tornadoes here - just volcanoes and mudslides ... just.


Had another mammoth breakfast this morning. Frijoles para desayuno (beans for breakfast) really stick with you! I'm hoping to be hungry again at dinner time - fingers crossed!

So I'm about 75% of the way to buying a motorcycle - I'm about to talk myself into it :) After all, it's not like buying a motorcycle has ever ended poorly for me in the past - haha! I've only wrecked 2 of them ... 2 for 4 isn't too bad right?


So, I started reading the Spanish Bible Nealy got me. I started at the beginning of Matthew and was pretty pleased and surprised  to find that I was able to decipher the genealogy! However, shortly after I got through the genealogy, I hit a brick wall. I need a lot more vocabulary! So, I decided to start with something a little easier - comic books en español! There's a comic book store una cuadra norte de mi escuela (one block north of my school). What are the chances?! It's called "¡Ay Robot!" and the proprietor is a gringo with a British sounding accent.

I decided to start with an X-Men comic and a compilation of older Avengers comics. They're much easier to read than the Bible, but still not easy. Definitely putting the old Spanish-English dictionary through its paces!


Now I suppose I should learn the word for "nerd" en español, huh? Just looked it up! Looks like it's the exact same word in Spanish! Haha!


Now I'm just chilling in El Portal Cafe with Erin! Time to do some homework ...

El Mercado

Yo fui al mercado con doña Irma and don Salvador esta mañana! That's right - for those of you who don't habla español - I went to the market with Irma and Salvador this morning! It was a mad house! Sabado (Saturday) is market day and people get bussed in from all around to buy and sell at the Antigua market.

We set off around 9am. As soon as we got there, Salvador left us to go chill under an awning. Now it was Irma's time to shine. Ella tiene mas o menos setenta años (she's 70 years old more or less), but she was in there mixing it up with the best of them. She was haggling all over the place. She drives a hard bargain - she even did the walk-away several times.

Shortly after we arrived, a joven muchacho (young boy) offered his services as a bag carrier and she instantly took him up on it. Honestly, I felt a little slighted - did she not think I could carry the groceries? Una hora y media (an hour and a half) later, she filled two huge bags with verduras y frutas (vegetables and fruits). Not only was this kid loaded down under what had to be cincuenta libras (50 pounds) of produce, I had my hands full and Irma was carrying a few things too.

Very impressive - reminded me a bit of Mom in Sam's Club. She struggles to git it all in one cart sometimes ... and we're talking industrial strength Sam's-sized carts ... not your average sized Kroger or Target carts.

As I watched Irma haggle for the weeks groceries, I realized that both of my grandmothers would probably be very good at this too - each in their own way. I imagine that their haggling styles couldn't be farther apart, but I suspect that they'd both excel.

My favorite part was the journey home. We had far too many groceries, so Irma and Salvador hired one of the many pickups that wait at the back of el mercado for this very purpose. Irma rode in the cab and Slavador and I got to stand up in the bed! Good times.

I'm hoping that after this experience, I'll be able to get semi-descent prices in el mercado when I start shopping for myself next month .... We'll see.

Last night, I found myself wandering the streets of Antigua. At night they light up their churches - those in ruins  and those that are still functional - and it's quite beautiful. This is my favorite picture ... I almost felt a little artsy taking this one :) Don't worry, the feeling passed pretty quickly.

So, this video might make you a little seasick, but it's kinda interesting. Ayer en la tarde (yesterday afternoon) as I walked home, a truck full of policia stopped on the street outside my house and set up this checkpoint. For like 6 or 7 hours they pulled over random cars and ... I dunno ... searched the cars and questioned the drivers I guess. I didn't think they'd take kindly to some gringo video taping their operation, so I had to hold the camera by my side like I wasn't using it.

Here's my favorite part ... See the cop that's standing just in front of the green car? He's holding a machine gun ... and an aluminum bat!!! What?! What's the bat for?! Which weapon is the backup?! I guess if you saw the machine gun and thought this guy was joking around, then the bat let you know that he definitely meant business!

Crazy. Oh also, it's kinda interesting to see my gait in the motion of the video. I'm guessing that Elliott could probably tell you my height, stride length, and eye color just by watching this video. He's kind crazy that way. Dude builds robots that decipher how ankles work so that he can create cyborgs or something like that ... Also he thinks Kelly Clarkson is the most amazing musical artist ever ... go figure :)

I passed!

Good news - I passed the exam for Grado A! Now I'm onto Grado B, which Olga (mi maestra) assures me is more difficult. Yee-ow

In making my medical preparations for my time here in Antigua, I was assured that malaria is not a problem. I assumed this was because Antigua was at a high enough altitude that there were no mosquitoes. I felt like Feivel from An American Tail - remember how they sing that song "No Cats in America?" When I was a kid I loved that song! Besides eating mice, I think the cats in Feivel's homeland were communists or something. I think most of the symbolism and political commentary went right over my head ... cause I was 7 years old.

Just for old time's sake, here's the song:



Ah - good times!

Anyway, I headed to Antigua singing "there are no mosquitoes in Antigua!" But, just as Feivel was in An American Tail, I was distraught to learn that there are mosquitoes in Antigua! I've killed several in my room! Their blood (or actually mine) is on my hands! So disillusioned ... But, if my life continues to parallel Feivels, then soon I will befriend a big gay mosquito that will protect me from the other mosquitoes. I just realized this, but Tiger was gay, right? At the very least he was a flamboyant vegetarian ...

But, if these nutjobs are right, I won't have to worry about mosquitoes after tomorrow :)

Check out these chickens I found in a pet store next to la bodegona! I've never seen chicks kept this way! Pretty crazy. They also had full grown chickens in some cages ... for some reason, I really doubt these chickens will be pets ... But who knows? After all, Peruvians eat guinea pigs, and in the US we keep them as pets. Maybe Guatemalans keep chickens as pets? Unlikely :)

Haha! Notice that the article about Peru wanting to export guinea pigs to America for food was published in 2004 ... guess it hasn't caught on yet :)

Speaking of chicks, check out these Mennonite ladies! I hardly ever see Mennonites in the states, so you can imagine my surprise at seeing them in Guatemala. 

Crunch time!

Gonna keep this post short - gotta study for my exam tomorrow! If I pass, I move on to the next book - level B!

Stefan the Austrian and I found ourselves at Cafe Sky again last night! He loves that place! Also, I realized while calling him "Stefan the Austrian" makes sense! There was a dude at Indiana Wesleyan I called "Tim the Austrian." He wasn't really Austrian, but he was a missionary kid who grew up in Austria. I called him "Tim the Austrian" for a specific reason that ... Chris Smackintosh might remember (sorry, the rest of you will remain in the dark) ... and Stefan the Austrian shares this particular trait.

I purchased a sim card so now I have cell service in Guatemala! Yes, my phone is an international unlocked version, so all I needed was the sim card. Turns out, however that the sim card plus 100 minutes was about $20 US, and buying a phone with 100 minutes is about $25 US ... so yeah ... You're probably wondering why I have an international unlocked phone. It's a long story, but it starts with Conley and I scheming to visit India and then him getting all responsible and my dreams being dashed to pieces :) Hahaha!

I bought a Claro sim card, cause the guy working the phone counter in la bodegona said they were all about equal. After I showed off my newly functional phone to mi maestra, she informed me that Tigo is the best. So if you need a phone in Guatemala, remember - Tigo!

A few of you have asked for my mailing address, so here's the best way to get in touch with me through the post:

Brandon Dodgen

c/o Christian Spanish Academy

6 Avenida Norte #15

La Antigua, Guatemala

03001

Guatemala, Central America

(502) 7832-3922

David, the guy who helps out students with questions and arrangements, said that US Postal Service takes 2 or 3 weeks to get here. He said that FedEx, UPS, and DHL are faster and more secure. He also said that when you ship packages internationally, you're charged by the volume - not the weight ... This doesn't sound right to me ...

Some of you have been asking, and yes - I'm still climbing cerro de la cruz every morning. It's getting a little bit easier ... a very little bit. Makes me wonder if I'll ever be in volcano climbing shape!

Also, you see this?! There are so many motorcycles down here it's ridiculous! I can hardly stand it! I'm getting the moto fever again! I've been shopping around, and I fear it is only a matter of weeks before I'm tearing up the streets on my own motocicleta! Most people here ride little 120cc bikes that are styled like bikes from the 80s. It's just a thing I guess. They're still making them and selling them new!

It's nearly impossible to find a "big" motorcycle (like more than 300cc. And if you do, they're really, really expensive.

The other pictures in the post are of a friendly neighborhood  police officer walking around el parque central with a machine gun, and a photo of my school - looking down from the second story.

A mi no me gusta arañas

Memorize that phrase, Donna! It means "I don't like spiders," and it's especially pertinent to last night.

So, I've finished up my homework, and I'm getting ready for bed. On the wall, I see what looks kind of like a decent sized hole with some cracks emanating from it. I get a bit closer and I realize the hole is moving! It's a huge ... spider?!

It's got the body of a trilobite, the legs of a cleaner shrimp, the front arms of a scorpion, and the speed of a cheetah! I got a little closer than it liked once, and it shot across the wall! This thing was scary fast!

Now some of you careful readers may have noted that I used "was" to refer to this spider. You're very observant. I was taking some pictures of it, trying to get a good shot in the poor lighting (my flash kept washing it out really badly). It continued to meander across the wall as I took photos. I took the photo with my flip-flop, as always, for scale - and keep in mind, these are size 11! Look at the wingspan on that thing! Anyway, as I reached down to pick up my flip flop, it darted at almost super-sonic speed behind my bed!

I had honestly intended to try to find a way to release this monster into the wild to go eat kittens (which is probably what it eats), but once it got behind my bed, all bets were off. I shoved my bed aside, and using the very same flip-flop you see in the photo, I smacked the life out of the kitten eating brute.

Here's what worries me now ... How many more of these are there? Do they feast on kittens and human cartilage! Waking up to one of these feasting on my ear or nose would be just about the worst thing ever.

I asked mi maestra and the maestra-in-training who's been observing this week if they knew what it was, but neither had any idea. So now I'm dealing with a flesh eating monster that the locals have never seen before ... faaaaaantastic!

But I do have some good news! I found Erin! She really is in Antigua! I met her and her classmates at Rainbow Cafe where we watched some indigeno (Mayan) ninos do some traditional dances. Here's a picture of Erin dancing with one of the kids. In case it's not obvious which one is Mayan and which one is Erin, she's the blonde.

Then we had dinner and chatted and chilled for awhile! It was definitely good to see someone I know - even if it was Erin ;) Haha! Just kidding! If you're reading this, Erin, we definitely need to hang out some more!

Here are some of the ladies from the UNC (Go Duke!) speech therapy program - left to right we have Keeley, Erin, and Carley. Keeley and Carley, sorry if I butchered or completely forgot your names - I'm gonna go ahead and blame that on the concussion :) True, it was several years ago, but not sure if the memory is back up to full speed ... I just can't remember if I'm more forgetful that I used to be!

Holy frijoles!

I'm pretty proud of the title of this post! Not especially creative, but you'll see soon why it works on several levels!

The other day I was out wandering around the city and took a stroll around some old church ruins that had been partially converted into a museum/cafe/community center (I think). La iglesia (the church) is still fairly grand despite being in ruins.

In the middle, there is a grassy area with some trees and a permanent art expedition ... which is three giant frijoles! Evidently this installation celebrates black, red, and white beans. No sign of green beans ... Healthy vegetables get overlooked again!

I'm moving through the Spanish lessons pretty quickly. When I started, mi maestra said that I would probably get through Book A in my three months here, but we finished it up today! On Friday, I'm supposed to take some exam ... Hopefully they won't flunk me out :)

I snapped a picture of those strange pants that I said some of the gringo girls wear ... I showed mi maestra, and she said they're not from Guatemala. She thinks they may have originated in India. Either way ... a mi no me gusta.

The heat refuses to relent, but I think I may have accidentally stumbled upon a solution! Remember the other day when I got a massage? My boxers were soaked from doing the alternating sauna-cold shower-sauna routine. Plus, I showered after the massage. Since I didn't bring trunks or a change of boxers, I just wrung out my boxers and put them back on. Turns out this is a pretty good way to beat the heat! I think I may start hosing down my boxers every morning ...

Check out this little Honda CT70! I've wanted one of these for awhile. Pretty cool!

Another giant coffin

Had a pretty chill night last night. Stefan arrived back from Tikal around 7 or 7:30 and we headed to Cafe Sky for dinner. I ordered Gallo Pinto ... or something like that. Turned out to be a mistake. It was just a huge bowl of rice and beans (very runny - "oh I like it runny") with a fried egg in it ... and lots of cilantro. I really dislike cilantro. But lesson learned! Cafe Sky has a really nice terrace, so that helped make up for the cilantro overdose.

So here they are, the eagerly awaited McDonald's photographs! It doesn't look like much from the outside, but it's pretty fantastic inside! Check it out!

So remember the pictures I posted of the giant coffin being carried around el parque central? Last night on the way home from the cafe, I ran into a parade of kids carrying a different coffin! But this time there was a marching band following behind. A huge crowd was following this parade ... and I found myself compelled to do the same! Mostly because this band rocked. I've uploaded a video, but I don't think the poor little microphone on my bloggie can do the band justice ...

I asked mi maestra what this was all about and she said that these kids attend a private school and this parade is in celebration of Saint John the Baptist. She said they only do this once a year, so I was fortunate to catch it!

In other news, I made my first trip to the farmacia! No, this was not my yearly accident (although, I'm almost due!). I went a little crazy on my toenails. Don't scoff! We've all been there.

You finally crack the corner of one of your big toe toenails and decide you can't put it off any longer. Once your in the thick of it, you start to realize how little you enjoy cutting your toenails - it's a bit awkward, and then your hands smell like feet for the rest of the day. And washing your hands doesn't clean off that stank! Even if it did, you'd still be a little paranoid that your hands smelled like gym socks - so the whole process is kind of a big damper on your day.

Here's where the mind goes next ... Why don't I just cut these really short?! That way I won't have to do this again for at least a few weeks! It smarts a bit when you cut them, but no pain - no gain, right? Sounds good until the next day the corners of your big toes are hurting and you realize you've gone too far!

Mine ended up getting a little infected. I theorize that this is because whatever it is in the water that you're not supposed to drink was getting into my raw toes when I showered. Science may have another explanation ... but you know science - always nay-saying my theories. Science is that friend who starts every other sentence with "Well actually ..." Nobody likes that guy.

Anyway, I whipped out the old Spanish-English dictionary and was able to communicate to the pharmacist what I needed cause get this - I couldn't find any over the counter antibiotic ointment! Crazy right? She ended up giving me a tube of something that is for prescription use only and cost $14 US dollars! Where's some good old triple anti-biotic ointment when I need it?!

The good news is my toes are better ...

Andrea OC - you'll be happy to know that my hosts have given me fresh sheets every week! I think I could get used to this ... you may be onto something!