Another Day

What a day today (although I feel as though I say this most days). Awake at 4:30 in order to arrive in Antigua by 6. After waiting at the bus change stop for nearly an hour, with plenty of buses passing, but none headed to Antigua, we arrive at 6:30. We load on a minibus and drive an hour and a half with our destination looming on the horizon the whole time: Volcan Pacaya. We hiked for only about an hour and a half before reaching a hole in the side of the mountain where lava oozed out slowly but steadily. We were literally walking on ground formed no more than a month ago, if not sooner. I was able to poke the lava with a stick, which very rapidly caught fire. A friend brought up a bag of strawberry flavored marshmallows and chocolate coated cookies. We made s’mores from the lava at nearly 8k feet. The ride home, in which I was fortunate enough to ride shotgun, provided for a contemplative view of the Guatemalan countryside. We passed through towns at the base of the volcano and milpas fields on the slopes of hills angled at 70 degrees. In Antigua we were welcomed with rain so heavy and steady it flooded the old cobblestone street to the sidewalks 8 inches above. Once on the bus home, I sat next to a young man who looked American, but one can never assume. He turned and asked me if I was with PC. Turns out, he’s finishing his service this Friday and headed back to South Carolina. This guy, like nearly every other returned volunteer I’ve talked to, got this look in his eye while talking about his experience. More than once he said, “Man, part of me really wishes I was in y’alls shoes”. All the while this guy was talking, a portly middle aged Guatemalan man was clinging to wet scraps of newspaper and magazine and eagerly listening in on our conversation. After our PC friend exited the bus, this Guatemalan man took his place next to me. He told me, in very broken English, that he attended college in Michigan and that he knew what were talking about. He began to speak, very passionately, at times almost yelling, about what each of us is going to do to change the world. What is the US going to do? What am I going to do? What is he going to do? What is my buddy Nic going to do? It was an intense bus ride home, and again made me wonder how the coming years will change my heart and mind.
So now, I sit in my room, the power has gone out and I am pretty pooped. This Wednesday marks three weeks here in Guate. It feels like more than that already.
Moving on to pictures. One is my Spanish teacher Isabel shopping at the market in Chimaltenango, the second largest city in Guate. We all went and then made pupusas (essentially quesadillas) at her house that afternoon. The camionetas (buses) are the traveling shrines that transport me from here to there. The adorable little girl is my host neice, Stafani. She’s pretty hilarious, we play peek a boo at the dinner table. The rest are Katie vs. Volcano. My camera is not the best so you may just have to believe that there is oozing lava just a few feet from me in these pictures. You will also have to believe how ridiculously hot it was.