| Hola! This afternoon we went on a tour of downtown Guatemala. We drove in the van through extremely busy streets where motorcycles were squeezing between cars and people were hanging off of buses. We drove past several steep ravines where houses were stacked almost one on top of each other. The difference in height was not only physical but represented status as the poorer people were at the bottom, and the rich at the top. We started off our tour in the city square. On one side was the cathedral which respresents the church, on another side was the palace which represents the government, and a ¨humongo¨(quoting Ian) fountain in the centre. We learned some history of the area from a super sweet man with an even cooler goatie named Enrique. The church was enormous and commanded a sense of awe. The catholic museum was open so we spent some time looking at the various statues and paintings of Jesus and his followers. From the church it was a short walk to the biggest market in Guatemala. In the market there was ¨oodles¨ (again Ian) of stuff jammed into every possible open space and we got our first taste of negotiating prices. The market was divided into two levels, the first being touristy, and the second being more practical and more commonly visited by local Guatemalans. For the next hour we were split into groups and sent on a scavenger hunt to find out answers to different questions and to explore the winding streets. This showed us the real day to day living of ordinary local norms such as ridiculously crazy driving and very sketchy shacks. Supper was once again prepared by the cooks who made us burgers (which were delicous), wedges (which were even more delicious), and soup. We will all be in bed early tonight after practicing our songs for tomorrow´s church service. Goodnight!! Krista, Ian, and the rest of the sleepy gang. P.S The boys got a lot of machetes and other such sharp instruments. The flights home should be interesting.... |
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