the nomadic road: i have arrived!

after a month of canadian pride i have finally made it back to the lovely land of guatemala! monday night i landed in guatemala city and made it safely to my hotel at around 9:30 pm (not a very safe time to be out and about) but i was in a taxi and felt pretty ok. my intention was to check-in, drop my stuff in my room and head out into the neighborhood in search of food as i had not eaten since 2ish in miami. however this was not to be the case. as i approached the hotel all the shops, eateries, everything was closed! the man at the front desk was a nice and was very adamant the there was nothing open near by and walking around trying to find one was not in my best interest (guatemala city is one of the most dangerous in the americas). i suppose it goes without saying i went to bed hungry - boo.

waking early the next morning i made it to the bus terminal that was going to take me to xela, the city i planned on staying for the better part of march studying spanish. the trip was uneventful and i arrived in xela noonish. having heard from a few friends who had arrived in xela while i was in ottawa i knew to head to a hostel called casa argentina, where they were staying. no problem. met at the door by two lovely dutch ladies who were touting a school. never one to turn my back on pretty ladies i let them lead me to sol latino, which as of one hour ago became my spanish school, to show me around. i could barely believe it when i passed through the front gates and heard my name. sitting in the classroom was phil and lauren to friends i had met in san pedro and who i had spent nearly everyday with before my trip was cut short and i was forced to return to ottawa.

hooray this was working out better than good. i was invited to join them on a trip to a nearby town that makes a fruit liquor, ok i like liquor. it turns out they make bootleg fruit liquor, of course never refusing a host or a drink i bought a bottle as did my friend phil. prepared for the night ahead we got on the 'chicken bus' and returned to our casa. it all started so innocently with 3 liters of beer and our fruit liquor but when we went out for 3 more liters and then 3 more after that we were feeling better than fine. at some point my phone rang and another friend of mine was on route looking for me. he arrived with 3 liters in tow and it went from drunk to drunker. it was truly a well deserved fun fiesta! that being said, this morning when i woke up i wasn't thinking of the fun, nope i was holding my head and wishing i had a bano in my room as i couldn't be bothered to dress!

sucking it up i made it out and had a very productive morning. i checked out a couple of schools and decided on a smaller one with much more character and charm than the others. i start tomorrow and am registered for 3 weeks and 2 days. cool. also i am moving out of my casa argentina in about 30 minutes and moving into a local family's home. also cool. not much else to say other than i really ought to pack up so that i can make it to meet my friends and move into my new home.

i am going to try and be as blog-productive as last month when i was last in guatemala, to share with you what i see through words and photos. thanks for stopping by and chat soon!