San Pedro, Lake Atitlán, Guatemala
I'm loving this place! I'm in San Pedro, one of the small towns around Lake Atitlán. It's a beautiful little Mayan town surrounded by mountains and volcanos. The weather is perfect and the atmosphere is chilled. Or 'tranqui tranqui' as the locals would call it.
I feel like I'm getting a good insight in the culture here. I'm studying spanish for a week and living with a Mayan family. It's such an amazing experience! My family is huge, actually it's like two families in one plus relatives that come and go so it's a bit confusing at times. They're so friendly though and I love their little daughter Náshila, she's so cute I want to eat her. The only problem though is that they speak the native language Tzu'tujil with each other, and spanish only with me. But it's still very interesting and they've even taught me a few words. Today I tried making tortillas with my mayan mama. Apparently it's not nearly as easy as it looks.
Every morning I wake up to the sound of roosters crowing and hens cackling outside my window. And the breakfast is usually accompanied by the school choir singing a morning hymn. And by the iron stove my mayan mama is making tortillas. It's a very special and different way to start the day. It keeps your mind far away from taxes, television and obligation.
The culture here is so different from back home. Especially for women. I've been talking a lot to my teacher Elena about womens situation here. It's forbidden to have sex before marriage here and a man can tell if a woman is a virgin or not. (Obviously). Elena got married at 17 and had no idea what sex was before that. Neither did she know what menstruation was and when she got her first period she freaked out and thought she was sick. Her mom calmed her down and told her that she was now a woman and that she couldn't hug or even hold a boys hand, because if she did - she could die. (!) What are you supposed to believe when your own mother tells you that at the age of 11? Now she's 27, has two lovely kids and is still living with her husband. The problem is she's not happy with him and wants to leave him. But a divorce would be impossible here. They've promised each other to stay together "until death do us part". And that's how it has to be. She would be completely unaccepted in this town if she left him. To me that's just unreal and incredibly sad. Tomorrow is my last day at school, and I'm thinking... Maybe she could fit in my backpack...?
Just another normal lunch with the family (tap pacham)
View from my "classroom"
Elena teaching me how to use the (fucking) 'subjuntivo'
Eating a so called tostada with guacamole & chicken for less than 50 cents.
Some friends from school jumping off cliffs in San Marcos
Such a lovely day on the lake!
View from the kitchen
My Mayan mama making tortillas. She does it 2-3 times a day!
With Olga and Náshila
Gang violence starts at an early age in Guatemala.
I'm loving this place! I'm in San Pedro, one of the small towns around Lake Atitlán. It's a beautiful little Mayan town surrounded by mountains and volcanos. The weather is perfect and the atmosphere is chilled. Or 'tranqui tranqui' as the locals would call it.
I feel like I'm getting a good insight in the culture here. I'm studying spanish for a week and living with a Mayan family. It's such an amazing experience! My family is huge, actually it's like two families in one plus relatives that come and go so it's a bit confusing at times. They're so friendly though and I love their little daughter Náshila, she's so cute I want to eat her. The only problem though is that they speak the native language Tzu'tujil with each other, and spanish only with me. But it's still very interesting and they've even taught me a few words. Today I tried making tortillas with my mayan mama. Apparently it's not nearly as easy as it looks.
Every morning I wake up to the sound of roosters crowing and hens cackling outside my window. And the breakfast is usually accompanied by the school choir singing a morning hymn. And by the iron stove my mayan mama is making tortillas. It's a very special and different way to start the day. It keeps your mind far away from taxes, television and obligation.
The culture here is so different from back home. Especially for women. I've been talking a lot to my teacher Elena about womens situation here. It's forbidden to have sex before marriage here and a man can tell if a woman is a virgin or not. (Obviously). Elena got married at 17 and had no idea what sex was before that. Neither did she know what menstruation was and when she got her first period she freaked out and thought she was sick. Her mom calmed her down and told her that she was now a woman and that she couldn't hug or even hold a boys hand, because if she did - she could die. (!) What are you supposed to believe when your own mother tells you that at the age of 11? Now she's 27, has two lovely kids and is still living with her husband. The problem is she's not happy with him and wants to leave him. But a divorce would be impossible here. They've promised each other to stay together "until death do us part". And that's how it has to be. She would be completely unaccepted in this town if she left him. To me that's just unreal and incredibly sad. Tomorrow is my last day at school, and I'm thinking... Maybe she could fit in my backpack...?
Just another normal lunch with the family (tap pacham)
View from my "classroom"
Elena teaching me how to use the (fucking) 'subjuntivo'
Eating a so called tostada with guacamole & chicken for less than 50 cents.
Some friends from school jumping off cliffs in San Marcos
Such a lovely day on the lake!
View from the kitchen
My Mayan mama making tortillas. She does it 2-3 times a day!
With Olga and Náshila
Gang violence starts at an early age in Guatemala.
