First Week, Antigua

I must say, I´ve been having a fantastical time here.

As soon as I stepped off the plane, I detected a smell. It smelled similar to a combination of the north river, cigarette smoke, and diesel exhaust. I experienced a similar odor yesterday at the People´s Market when i witnessed several large pieces of rotten meat hanging from the cieling covered in flies and unrefrigerated.

It rains every day here.at first I thought it was nice, but today it didn´t even rain. It was just gray. The whole city seemed gray. Like some sort of fog had cast a spell over the people, and everyone, including me, was lost in translation.
I wish I had brought and umbrella. I had to buy one in the market on the first day (when it began to pour) for the equivalent of 2 dollars.
I also wish I had brought hiking boots. All I have are flimsy sneakers that fill wih rain immediately.

The shopping is great! Everything here is super cheap because the currency, Quitsales, is worth a lot less. You can buy dinner for two for ten dollars. They also sell second hand American clothes, like American Eagle and Abercrombie, for muuchhh cheaper than in the US.

I love my teachers here in Antigua, who are both coincidentally named Sylvia. The morning Sylvia is really great with Spanish and likes Lady Gaga(!), and the afternoon Sylvia is really interesting and exciting and likes Madonna and has a dog named Jordan. I feel like I´m learning a lot here and it´s great practice with Spanish. If only I had my Spanish Summer Packet...

The culture is sooo interesting! Here in Guate, everybody dresses differently. There are no styles, and some people dress in the traditional Mayan way, with huipils (Mayan embroidered blouses, different in every city), faltas (traditional skirts with hand embroidery), and fajas (belts to suck in the gut and hold up the skirt).

I love it here in Antigua, and hope to return someday soon. The city is blossoming and growing into a melting pot of all different walks of life.