El Mercado

So, I was walking through the market (El Mercado) this weekend, and I knew that photos just would not convey the experience. I handheld my camera through a long strip of the market. The video is 3 minutes long. Short of uranium and Revolutionary War muskets, everything is sold at this market--



Here are some of the items that you may see in the video.

- Toilet paper

- Goldfish swimming in plastic bags
- Watches
- Normal fruit

- strange fruits

- Underwear

- Shrimp

In Antigua for One More Week

Earlier this week, we got our first big rain. Lots of lightning and thunder. Lots of water. My waterproof kicks have paid off! As you could tell from my earlier video post, my "classroom" is outside but covered. So, we continue to have class under a tin roof with lightning. Eh, no worries.

The weird thing about the rain is you never know when it will happen. Every day, big grey clouds threaten rain, but it doesn't always happen.

In other news, I have decided to extend my stay in Antigua for one more week. I really liked my teacher and the school, and I'm learning a lot. Still will be in school for a total of 6 weeks. Only now I'll be in Quetzaltenango for only 3 weeks.

I've got some more video and images of things in and around the town forthcoming!

Capuchin Church and Convent

Capuchin Church and Convent:

This dates to the early 18th century. When I can find more history on it, I'll update the post. But for now, please enjoy the photos and video.

This is a shot from the outside some sort of structure. The grounds are very lush. Unfortunately, I can't tell you what you're looking at. There wasn't much historical information provided at the site.

This is a shot from the inside of the church. Given it's age, it's tremendously well preserved.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say these are old bathtubs. Again, no information provided. But they look deep enough and the right size for a person.

VIDEO 1: This is inside the structure you see in the first photograph. Legend has it, according to my teacher, that the rooms to which these doorways lead were used solitary prayer as well as penitence. My teacher has also relayed some rather dark history of this particular convent--torture. Nuns who became pregnant were severly punished in these and other rooms.

VIDEO 2: This is the courtyard area.

Want a Postcard?

Things are going great right now. Today marks the start of my second week in the country. It actually seems like I've been here for a while already (and I still have 6 more weeks). But with spending about 7 hours in class for 5 days, it starts to get a little tiring. I do feel like I've learned (or relearned) a great deal.

The First (real) Post

So, this is my first (real) post from Guatemala. And you got some text and some videos.

Until today I was in a house with 5 other students. But 3 have left for a different house as of this afternoon. Apparently, their school (which is a different school than the one I'm in) had to rearrange some things. I'll write more about my family here later.

At my school it's a 1:1 student-teacher ratio. Most of the people I've met are with a group. For instance, right now there's a large group of students from the University of the Pacific. Next week (I've been told), apparently another group will be coming in from a different school.

So, one thing I wanted to do with this blog is make some videos--in addition to photos--with my D90. The two videos below are my first attempts.

I shot the first video inside my classroom. It's the first video I've made since 9th grade. (My 9th grade video was probably better. Sorry about the quality, but a lot of data was lost in the transfer onto the blogger site.)


The second video is a short tour of the backyard of my school. The small red rooms you see are classrooms.

UPDATE SOON

I'm in Antigua, Guatemala. School started today. I will be updating with some photos soon. (Internet connection is not bad.)

NEWS Update

Still no additional evidence in the story of the murdered lawyer. But that has not stopped a growing movement of people against the president...

AP News:

"Thousands of Guatemalans protested Sunday to demand the president resign over accusations that he ordered a lawyer killed, a scandal threatening the rule of the country's first leftist leader more than 50 years..."