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Guatemala: May 23

San Marcos Xecul is a little pueblo near Xela that took about 45 minutes to get to by bike, and that was with very, very slow riders. It´s nestled in the foothills of a small mountain that overlooks a beautiful expanse of farmland and scattered homes. Its most striking sight is its garishly painted church which seems to be the draw for people like me to make this trip. It was all part of a trip organized by the language school this past Saturday morning. It´s the first time I´ve really gotten out of the city to see a less developed pueblo. Needless to say, eight westerners with mountain bikes, one pant leg rolled up, and wearing bike helmets is an unusual - although not unheard of - site here. [Photos: 1 2 3 4 5 6 ]. The rest of the weekend I spent with a small group of new friends from Australia, England, and the Netherlands - plus a rotating bunch of extras from the U.S. One Aussie in particular, James, has been with me for most of my free time here. He´s a great guy - a 24 year-old soon-to-be lawyer - who has already been on the road for nearly three months on his way from Mexico City to Ecuador. We´ve been studying Spanish, watching films, eating, drinking, talking politics, and meeting people together...and having a great time doing it. Today is Monday and it´s time to get back to work. Practica, practica, practica!

“Guatemala: May 23”

  1. Anonymous Anonymous Says:

    i'm in nyc. i'm eager for you to have a job here. craig is eager to read your dissertation. ola, senor, por favor.

  2. Anonymous Anonymous Says:

    hey, go read my journal, for you have been meme-tagged. also, when do you get back from your trip?

  3. Anonymous Anonymous Says:

    What are they growing in those farmlands, food for the farmers themselves or major crops for export elsewhere?
    Is that country involved in major drug trade like Colombia?

  4. Blogger Jeff Says:

    Joanna: hope you had a great trip. I hope Craig knows that he can always read the fascinating developments of my research career on my website.

    Anomic: I´ll be back on July 8th, just in time to teach Research Methods for five grueling weeks.

    Dad: from what I can gather, the crops I´m seeing are grown for the families who produce them and for local markets. Export production (coffee, cotton, sugar, corn, cocoa, beef) seems to be concentrated on the slopes of the pacific coast, which isn´t on most travel itineraries(http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/americas/guatemala_industry_1983.jpg).