First just an update from my blog yesterday: I ventured out this morning and while walking around town was comforted by the sight of calmness. There were no riots going on today (at least none that I saw). I did hear from some other Americans that they were told the parade for the new mayor was canceled and that he wasn't coming to Pana anymore. There were still a lot of military guys around, but not driving around pointing their guns at the streets like they were last night. Overall it was just like any other day here which I'm incredibly grateful for. I also got a phone call from my amazing roommate after she read my blog making sure I wasn't freaking out.
So... since it was safe to play around town today I did. First off I went to the market this morning with Janet and one of Salud y Paz's board members who is in town for the week. I realized that I had only taken a couple of photos on my IPod to share, so I thought I would be that tourist girl today and take pictures. The market is open everyday, but Sunday is the day when all the farmers bring their fresh produce into town. The market is beyond packed on Sundays, but it's worth it to see all the extra vendors and the fresh fruits, veggies, and flowers. There are lots of vendors outside then when you start walking inside there are several rooms to walk through.
There is raw chicken EVERYWHERE in the market. I was buying an eggplant at one stand and looked to my left and saw this.
One of the massive rooms inside has a back wall filled with many little butcher stands with meat hanging up like this. Just one of the reasons why I don't eat red meat.
Another room inside the market.
I'm going to go on a mission this week to try to find a vase somewhere in town, so I can start buying some beautiful flowers. Everything is so cheap here. You can get a big bouquet for about 3 dollars.
There are several fruit stands in the market (and also all around town) that sell fresh fruit already cut up. It always looks delicious, but I can't buy it because I have to disinfect all my fruits and veggies before I eat them.
The streets around the market are shut down on Sundays, so people can set up in the middle of the street to sell things. Like I said it is crazy crowded on Sundays.
I realized I hadn't taken a lot of pictures of the town (mainly because I don't want to be that tourist girl), but I thought I would take some to show. It was really windy today, so this is the only one I think is good enough to post on here (I'll take more later). This is the main intersection in town. Town is about a 15/20 minute walk from my house then it would take about 20 minutes to walk from the market (the furthest point of town I have been) down to the lake where it is more touristy.
This afternoon I went on a search for a place to watch the Texans football game (I do have a tv in my apartment, but it only has about 5 channels in English and CBS isn't one of them). I found this pub/bar called The Palapa that is right on the main street that was showing the game. The guy who owns it is from Arizona and has been here for 3 years. I am constantly amazed by how friendly people are here. I sat at the bar (which is on the sidewalk so kids kept coming up to me/everyone trying to sell Guatemala souvenirs) and had good conversations with the people around me. I was the only one going for the Texans, and since I was from Houston they kept looking to me to answer their Texans questions which luckily I could (if you know me well and are impressed/confused at how I could answer any questions about football it is only because I called my dad before I went and had him give me the Texans cliffnotes). It made me laugh that I was watching the game in Guatemala in a grass roof hut pub... who else can say that?
After the game I came home and made some homemade hummus. Hummus is one of my favorite foods and I haven't been able to find it here (shocker!), so I decided to make my own. However, here was my problem. After I had bought all the other ingredients to make it I realized I hadn't bought the can of chickpeas I had seen at the store. When I went back yesterday it was already gone (most stores here only have one of each item they sell and I've been told that if you want something you have to go ahead and grab it because you may not see it again for months if ever). I then decided to go to the market and buy fresh chickpeas and attempt to cook them. I soaked them in water overnight then boiled them for a couple of hours this afternoon (so much easier to just buy a can of cooked chickpeas! or if I'm thinking of easy I miss just driving to HEB and buying a container of hummus). Anyways, it turned out delicious and I'm extremely proud/happy that I now know how to make my own hummus.
Lastly, here are some pictures I took yesterday that I didn't upload yet. After Spanish school (the first picture below was taken from the roof off Spanish school before I left to go to the lake) I walked down to the lake again. There were people sitting in my secret spot (it's like they don't know it's mine!), so I decided to walk further down the path than I had the time before and discovered that it turned into a beach. It was such a beautiful day to walk around town/down by the lake.
Right now I'm watching the Golden Globes and am about to get my stuff together for tomorrow. I am going up to the school 3 days this week (next week I'll start going 4 days which is what the other volunteers do), and going to Spanish school the other 2. I am way excited to go up to the school tomorrow and help get things ready for school to start next week!
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