Itza Mayans

I am on the other side of the lake (close to Flores in Northern Guatemala) in a little pueblo called San Jose. It is a very old town of several hundred years-- fully Itza Mayan. I´m staying with a family who is very (very) basic. I have my own little room enclosed in plastic and concrete with a tin roof. I eat carbs and carbs and more carbs for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Our toilet is a couple of holes in the ground (but fairly clean). And the mother of the house cooks on a fire-- yesterday I made tortillas! She´s got two ducks and 1 pig and I spend some time everyday watching them roam around and eat stuff (I like the ducks). I live at the top of the hill-- almost next to the Spanish school. The school is outside in a big garden overlooking the lake and we look at the wildlife that come to the garden everyday during my class. I am the only student at the school, so everything is one-on-one. The teacher is so-so, I tell her what and how I want to learn. She´s great for conversational practice but terrible with explaining grammar. I get my own private guide everyday-- and he is a really fabulous guide and speaks like he is reading out of book! Today we are going to another Mayan ruin for my own archaelogical and ecological tour. Yesterday I had a tour around this town of 3000 people. Tomorrow we are going to a cave. Some of the houses are still traditional with mud walls and thatch roof (photo).

Here´s the two main reasons why I am here: 1. The lake is stunningly blue and clear and completely beautiful. I make a point of swimming and spending time there everyday. The weather is good almost everyday-- too hot actually. 2. There is alot of use of plants here. They make soap and shampoo, weave and dye cloth, make plant based jewelry, collect and eat local plants, and use medicinal plants. I am also one of only 4 foreigners in this whole town-- I have only talked the Japanese volunteer who can only speak Spanish. I am Spanish speaking all day and it gets pretty tiring (no hablo Ingles nunca). BUT, I´ve learned tons already in 2 days. I´ll spend about a week here and then move on to Belize.

My room.