Goings on in Antigua

So while I've been writing about my excursions, I've also been up to a lot!

For example, a few weeks ago, I attended the Miss Antigua pageant with the Gilmore Girls and Nealy! It was crazy! It started at 7pm and it went till 3 or 4am! We left at 9pm, but everyone was screaming and cheering the entire time! Not only that, they all had whistles! I kid you not, my left ear was ringing for a day and half after the pageant.

We were the only gringos in the whole place! Most of the seats were filled so we were standing along the walls and a Guatemalan lady took pity on us and recruited us to cheer for her niece! She even gave us whistles.

The pageant seemed to consist solely of a never ending succession of dances. And not Guatemalan dances - there were belly dances, fan dances, salsa - pretty much everything!

Our girl won! She's the one in pink in the middle! We didn't stay long enough to see her crowned, but I ran into her in the street in Antigua a few days later and she told me she had won! Pretty cool!

I also ate shrimp ceviche that I purchased out of the back of a pickup truck! It was good - and I didn't get sick!

We've been visiting the carnival a decent amount. I finally had some elote loco, but it wasn't very good :(

My last day of classes was last Friday! I'm just relaxing and doing some travelling this week. This is a picture of me with my maestras! On the left in the green is Olga - she was my maestra for 10 weeks. Julia, on the right, was my maestra for my last week. Julia's also cheating in this picture ... she's standing on a step - she's not nearly that tall! Haha!

Let's see ... what else have I been up to ... Toured a jade factory. Took a tour of Antigua. Went to see the new Harry Potter movie in Guatemala City with Ellsworth and Ann-Marita. The Gilmores, Julianelles, and I had dinner at Kid's Restaurant. It's a charity in which kids cook and serve a meal and then all the money they earn is used to pay for their school. It was pretty cool - they were practicing their English with us and running around it little waiter outfits!

In about an hour, I'm heading to Semuc Champey. I wasn't going to go cause it's a pretty long trip, but several people told me it was their favorite place in Guatemala so I've got to do it! I'll let you know how it was!