Mid November update

Solola practice on a cloudy day at Estadio Xamba

Overlooking Solola, on a stroll

Looking up at Solola from Lake Atitlan

Here an update of what I've been up to the last few weeks:

Dia del Campo:
With a group of girls we coach in Argueta, we climbed to the top of Maria Tecun mountain in the Sierra Madre range. It was a lovely hike up to the top. Along the way, the terrain reminded me of Colorado: fairly dry, strewn with pine trees but as we got higher it became moister and the top ressembed a foggy scene from a Dr. Suess book. We met up with people collecting firewood and a goat-herder. Hugo and Luis, the physical education teachers of the girls accompanied us and lit up a much needed fire at the top. There was a Mayan ritual site at the top as well, covered in particularly-placed flowers. I was very impressed that the girls wore slip on sandals for the trek.

Spanish school in Panajachel:
I lived with a wonderful host family in Pana for two weeks and studied Spanish Monday through Friday. I loved studying with Patricia at Jabel Tinamit School, and making friends on the streets, and eating homemade Guatemalan cuisine: tortillas, frijoles, huevos, pollo, carne, hot sauce, soup, and a few new and different fruits and veggies. My other co-interns are not fans but I love the abundance of fresh papaya. Not to mention Pana is on the shores of Lake Atitlan, 8 km from Solola. It's warmer than Solola with much more potential for flat running (not the sometimes death-defying hills of Solola). Unlike Solola, Pana is a huge tourist and ex-pat destination: many vendors, hotels, and English speakers. I was stopped by a man on the street seeking real-estate advice who was from South Boulder and frequently Cafe Sole, my high school cafe hangout. Having never studied Spanish in a formal setting, Patricia helped me to learn some basic grammar, verb conjugations, tenses, etc. By a special twist of fate, one of the girls on our Solola team is the niece of my host family and I've had the opportunity to keep in contact with them.

SWB Solola:
For over a month we have been hosting open practices for the girls of Solola at the main, big stadium in town, Estadio Xamba (pronounced Sham-bah). Carlos, the director of the stadium has donated the stadium for our use and we are the envy of about 20 young boys who also want to play. Unsure how to express their jealousy, some have taken to throwing rocks and running around the field like disruptive maniacs. Apparently, young boys are also in need of extracurricular activities. Almost 40 girls have come to at least one practice and a core group of 15-20 have attended consistently. I'm really enjoying the twice weekly practices and seeing the girls and their families around town, at the market or in the streets. Soon, we're hoping to host a tournament for the three girls teams the interns are currently coaching: Solola, Maria Tecun, and Argueta.

Side trip to Belize:
To avoid over-extending our 90 day tourist visas in Guatemala, we left the country and headed to Belize for one weekend. We journeyed first to Puerto Barrios, a huge banana port city, once the main port and headquarters of the United Fruit Company. We entered Belize in the southern city of Punto Gorda and were greeted by Q'eqchi' Maya, Garifuna, and other Belizeans. A short bus ride and another boat ride and we landed on the Placencia peninsula. This tropical beach paradise was quite a nice change of scenery from the Guatemalan highlands.