Michelle: Imagine that you could go on a 15 minute roller coaster ride for only 30 cents with 70 of your closest friends while listening to ¨Staying Alive¨and you will begin to understand what fun we had this weekend. This thrill ride is really only the drive up and down the mountain between Panajachel and Solola that we took this weekend in a local bus (aka Chicken Bus). It's not a trip for the faint of heart. There is a huge drop off of one side from which no one would survive a fall and the bus drivers take the curves with what appears to be reckless abandon. It was one of the most exciting rides of my life. I had to keep reminding myself that these drivers take this route 10 times a day and they were still alive.
Ryan: My favorite part was flying down the mountain, feeling the pull side to side as the driver raced through the curves, and then hearing him step on the gas instead of the brakes to give us even more speed for the next curve - incredible!
Michelle: We were in Panajachel this weekend with a group from school to visit Lago de Atitlan, what some consider to be the most beautiful lake/place on earth. You can decide, we maxed out our camera trying to capture the views. We took a ferry from town to town comparing the tourist traps with towns based on fishing or other resources. In Santa Catarina a woman volunteered to dress me up Mayan style- I felt like Rigoberta Menchu. We stayed in Panacachel Saturday night and the next day we seperated from the group to go to church. I'm so happy that we can go to church no matter where we are and they teach the same things. In this case the only thing that changed were the clothes the women wore. I would say that 90% of the women were in traditional Mayan clothing as opposed to the ward we went to last week in Xela where everyone wore Western clothes. 
Ryan: Earlier this week I visited a home-based chocolate factory one afternoon while Michelle was taking her spanish class. An old Mayan woman who learned chocolate making from her parents and grandparents showed us all the steps in the process from drying the cocoa beans to forming the finished chocolate bars. I felt bad that Michelle missed it, so I bought her a whole pound of the homemade chocolate. Funny thing though, she doesn't seem to like Guatemalan chocolate so much and now I'm stuck eating it all myself.Michelle: Very suspicious, Ryan. In case anyone wondered, it's still incredibly cold here. We have invested in more clothing and I have developed all sorts of coping mechanisms to deal with the cold classrooms and cold houses. I just have to accept that I am going to have frozen feet for six hours a day. You can be sure we have also lost all fashion sense and pile on all the cloths we can. You do what you have to.
3 comments:
Oh no, not the chicken bus! I think I would have had them stop the bus and gotten out to walk! I may be in India, but that doesn't mean I can handle all the craziness of all the other countries in the world! What good sports you are!
Love, Mom
It's a good thing you blog every week, otherwise I'd be wondering whether you were alive or not. Even though, after that bus ride, perhaps it could go either way. I'm going through Michelle withdrawl again. Just so you know.
Love ya.
WOW it sounds like you are having the time of your lives.
I with Amber your adventures are a little scary.
One thing - Did you know that I work for a Lady who owns and operates an Orphanage in that city you were talking about the Panj one. they where here in America for the new Year but are now back in Guatemala.
the Orphanage is Casa de Sion
PS Love your blogs and the one of your mothers. Now if we can get AMBER on board than she can join in on all the fun.
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