Hasta la próxima, Antigua!

 

 

 

 Until next time, Antigua....

Antigua - January 2011

Resting on the terrace at Casa Luna

The Famous Arch--always a classic!

Sunset

 Fountain meets Christmas!

Licuado de banano con yogur (Banana smoothie made with yogurt)

 

Huevos guatemaltecos (scrambled eggs with tomatoes and onions, served with a side of black beans, toast, and fresh fruit)

 

 Lunch/Dinner at Café Condesa--always a good plan!

Beautiful, sunny day in front of Iglesia Nuestra Señora de la Merced (aka "La Merced")

 

 

Back at my old room at Casa Luna, a hostel I would highly recommend to anyone needing a place to stay in Antigua.

 
I am back in Guatemala for a week and a half to volunteer for Wuqu' Kawoq, a non-profit organization that is "committed to facilitating excellence and linguistic competence in medical care delivery in the indigenous highlands of Guatemala" (Mission Statement). To learn more about what we do, please visit: http://www.wuqukawoq.org

Specifically, I will be training to be a medical interpreter/translator in Kaqchikel, one of the 22 Mayan languages spoken in Guatemala. We will be conducting clinics in various towns across the country in the next week or so. It is going to be a very busy and rewarding time, so I took advantage of the down time just before everything gets started to spend a few nights in Antigua.

Namely, I have an obsession with books, so I came to peruse the book stores in town to see what I could find! These are some of the pictures I took along the way....

Feria de San Juan

After two hours driving through the windy roads that weave through the mountains leading to Comalapa, we arrived and were instantaneously overwhelmed with all of the stimuli. We ate lots of fair food (although we paid for it later), rode the Rueda de Chicago, a ferris wheel that is take down and reassembled from one town to the next, and topped off the evening with a man dancing around in a deer outfit with hundreds of fireworks attached to his body. Quite entertaining, to say the least!

Van to Chiq'a'l (Comalapa)

For the Feria de San Juan on June 24, 2010, a bunch of people from the Oxlajuj Aj course took a van to Comalapa to take part in the festivities.

CIRMA (Centro de Investigaciones Regionales de Mesoamérica)

 

One of the highlights to my being in Antigua is that CIRMA (Centro de Investigaciones Regionales de Mesoamérica) is located just a five-minute walk from the main plaza. My first time there, I was completely mesmerized by all of its research glory!

Oxlajuj Aj 2010

After completing the Kab'lajuj Ey Kaqchikel Mayan field school, I started Oxlajuj Aj, a Kaqchikel summer language course organized by Tulane University. Here are some of the pictures from the first few weeks of class....

Xukulem Richin Graham (Graham's Ceremony)

 Graham, Claire, and I

Wo'o' Ajmike chuqa' Ixq'anil

(They were on the other side of the fire).

Just as we were arriving to Antigua, it was time for Graham, one of the year-long interns for Wuqu' Kawoq to depart for the States. To wish him a safe journey home, we held a day-keeper's ceremony for him at the altar located inside PLFM here in Antigua. Here are some pictures of us after it was over....

Nusamaj pa ri rute' q'aq' (My work in the kitchen)

One of the benefits of having a house was that we had a kitchen and could cook our meals, instead of having to eat out all of the time. I tried my hand at a few dishes, and here are some pictures of the results....

Taq Kotz'i'j pa xeruxikin qachoch (Flowers by our house)

One of my favorite things about our house is the fact that there were so many flowers nearby, which tend to attract the butterflies!

Qachoch pa Pan Q’än (Our House in Antigua)

The backyard

Rebecca picking limes off of our lime tree

Our pila

Rute' q'aq' (Kitchen)

Dining Room

Clarice and Claire sitting in our living room

Nuch'at (My bed)

Ruxikin Jay (Bathroom)

After the Kab'lajuj Ey course, we moved to Antigua to start Oxlajuj Aj, a Kaqchikel Mayan language and culture course organized by Tulane University. To get settled in, we first found a place to live in, and we found a house just on the north end of town. Here are some of the pictures of tiqachoch (our little house)....