About Antigua - by Becky

So what is Guatemala like? Well, we actually haven't experienced much of real Guatemala yet. Antigua is a very unique town. We have been told that it is different than most of the rest of the country. We don't know if this is true or not....but we can tell you about Antigua.

It is a very, very old city having been founded several centuries ago. In the early 1700s it was destroyed by a massive earthquake and was abandon for a long time. Even today there are many ruins still untouched from that earthquake almost 300 years ago. Many of these are cathedrals or churches. One hotel, the Santo Domingo, is actually built from the ruins. We haven't seen it at night yet, but it is supposed to be beautifully lit with candles.

The city is all walls to the outsider. The streets are all cobblestone, with narrow sidewalks. All the properties are walled in. Behind the walls could be anything, beatiful homes, hotels, McDonalds, or a garbage heap, or a parking area. It is a very dusty town so as we walk to get everywhere we end up quite grainy. We are getting used to scrubbing our feet each night if we wear sandals.

Antigua is a launching point for tourists going to see Mayan ruins, the volcanoes, and other attractions in Guatemala. We see people from all over the world, well at least the "rich" world. Many of them are backpackers. We have learned that when doing business here it is important to state that we are LIVING in Antigua, not just visiting. Otherwise it is assumed we are tourists.

So how is the food? Pretty good so far. We ate out a lot our first week since we were in a hotel. Chicken, rice, beans, chile rellenos, and chubby corn tortillas are all popular. Frozen yogurt and fruit popcicles are cheap and we regularly stop for them. We found we can get the best values for lunches, about $8-9 for all of us, drinks included. Now that we are in a temporary apartment for the month we are cooking at home and enjoying more American type food, which is a relief to the kids. Fortunately Ben and Elena both like chicken and rice.

Because of all the travelers, there seem to be a lot of things available that we didn't expect. Peanut butter isn't as expensive or hard to find as we thought it would be. There is a DVD rental place here. The trick of shopping is finding out where to get what you want. One humorous adventure in shopping involved trying to find Ziploc bags. Firstly although I speak Spanish, I don't know how to describe a Ziploc bag other than to say "ZEEPLOK." Apparently you don't buy them at the grocery store (although they have aluminum foil and saran wrap). You go to the "plastics" store that sells office supplies and plastic stuff like garbage cans, food storage containers, etc. Who knew?

What are Guatemalans like? They seem very polite and calm. In Antigua, they are pretty used to foreigners who are trying to learn Spanish. We have gotten to know the workers here at the guest house a little and they have been very helpful in telling us where to shop. Also a convenience store owner on the next block named Carlos, has been very friendly. The society here is more formal than we experienced in Jarabacoa. "Buenos Dias, Buenas tardes etc." are used. As well, it is important to excuse yourself when passing someone on the narrow sidewalks or in the equally narrow store aisles with "con permiso."

Besides Rick learning the language during this time, we hope to become somewhat adjusted to the culture here so that our adjustment in the DR will go smoothly. Obviously things won't be exactly the same, but the more we learn to handle here, the less we have to learn there. Some major differences will be the climate (moderate here and hot in the DR) and the electricity (pretty consistent here and very intermittent in the DR). Here we are without a personal vehicle while we will purchase a truck in the DR. It is a good experience to live without personal transportation since so much of the world lives this way.