9.2.13
Otra vez, what a day. We spent the
majority of the day walking about, discovering the wonders of Antigua. It is
truly an incredible city. With the volcanoes as our primary landmarks, we made
our way about, trying to figure out those directions.
We
started in el Parque Central. True to
its name, it’s the centermost part of the city. I think it would be accurate to
say, based upon my incredible experience of a week of visiting, that it’s the
heartbeat of the city. Filled with vendors, shops, hippies, tourists with high
socks, children, students, visitors from all over the world, surrounded by
shops and cafes, bordered by a beautiful church, with gardens and birds and the
mountains for a backdrop – there is a place for everyone. The vibrancy is incredible
and inspiring. Y los niños – que chullos!
Our
group was a little directionally challenged – obviously assisted by my famously
impeccable sense of direction (my father is laughing out loud right now reading
this I am sure) – but eventually we made our way to El Merced. The Merced is a beautiful church off of the park square,
also filled with people. The beautiful purple trees (my favorite) poured their
shade over the couple getting married. It was picture perfect!
After
much wandering and circling and general confusion, we found Centro Linguistico Maya – our school for
the next couple of months. We visited, solely for the purpose of pictures, the most
incredible McDonald’s I have ever seen. It was beautiful! Such a strange
phenomenon. Afterwards, we made our way to lunch, stopping at “Bagel Barn” – I
know, I know – and returning to the Central Park for a brief sit. After a
discussion at the SI office (the Student International program is that which is
hosting our stay here), we had tiempo
libre.
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| El Arco - Tan Bonita, no? |
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| Jordyn, Ronald, and I - You should see the fountain and chandeliers! |
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| Hermano Pedro - the place of my internship this last week |
My
group used our time well to purchase coffee and spend a little more time in the
park, watching and talking and questioning different things. Afterwards we
walked to the market and tried our hand at bargaining – something that’s going
to be extremely different for me, the person who doesn’t even like to ask for a
different shoe size. I did not bargain, simply asked for prices and stood in
awe of the numerous people and things available for purchase. Finally, we ended
our walk at Luna de Miel and finished
our time in Antigua with a variety of crêpes for dinner.
It
was a lot of walking, but I barely noticed between my enraptured glimpses of
the city. Antigua is definitely going to be an extremely different living
experience than Magdelena. Whereas in Magdelena it is bizarre to see any other gringos, Antigua is a city that caters
to tourists – from all parts of the world. Antigua is rich and filled with “cobblestone”
streets and nice cars. The majority of people who work there, the indigenous from
the surrounding mountains, bus in to make their living off the people the city
attracts. In Magdelena, it is rude not to greet the people you approach in the dirt
streets and everybody knows everybody’s business; this is not so in Antigua.
The new and modern stores of Antigua stand out against the small tiendas and panerias of Magdelena. It’s going to be a whole different world and
I am sad to leave my family here, but excited to experience a whole new living.
We move in tomorrow to meet our new families – I can’t wait!
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