Culture in Quetzaltenango

Quetzaltenango is a great place to go if you are interested in seeing how a true Guatemalan person lives. It is the second largest city in Guatemala, but it feels like that of a charming town. It is nestled in the mountains surrounded by seven volcanoes which gave the city its original Mayan name of "shala." This name is still used to today by all the local people. Quetzaltenango is home to a huge Mayan population. It is a great city to go to experience the true culture of Guatemala. You can walk down cobbled streets and see traditional Mayan women wearing traditional "guipils" or Mayan dresses. It is also an experience to see the history and culture that this city still holds on to. The city and the surrounding towns were hit hard during the civil wars because of the huge Mayan population. In the months from May - August, it rains nearly everyday. This is usually a drizzle everyday after lunch. There are many places to shop including traditional Mayan markets. You can take a mini bus for only 1 quetzal anywhere in the city. This is a great place to visit if you are looking for a quiet, relaxing vacation mixed in with lots of culture and the true characteristics of Guatemala.

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A few friends and I went on a trip with the language school that we were studying at. It was probably the worst trip ever taken, yet the one with the most memories. First our bus does not get there on time, but it gets there an hour and a half later, which is not uncommon at all in Guatemala. Time means nothing in their culture. Second, one of our bags fell off the top of the bus somewhere. We then spent an hour driving around looking for it and accusing every Guatemalan that had a bag of stealing ours. The biggest problem was that we had no idea what our bag looked like. We also had no idea what was in it. We did not find out until later that it was the poles to one of the tents.

We stopped to get something to eat at a gas station and to use the restroom. My friend got ice cream, which ended up having wood chips in it. Yeah, it was hilarious. Also for future reference, always take toilet paper and antibacterial wipes everywhere. You never know when you might need them. Next tip, take Pepto-Bismol before you eat.

Next, our van gets stuck in the sand. None of us have eaten and are starving, but first we have to get the van unstuck. We are all exhausted. We all go play in the black sand beaches which are very beautiful. I encourage everyone to go. We ate dinner. This was weird. We had a huge pot of fish... whole fish. It was gross. The meat was green, and they put carrots in with the pineapple. Imagine this juicy ripe pineapple. They cut it, then they throw carrots in with it. Finally, it is time to go to sleep. Everyone had picked a place to sleep except about seven of us. There were no more places to sleep. Well, there would have been if our tent poles were not missing. We decided to sleep on the beach. This was good until when the middle of the night brought thunder. It started raining, so we ran to the shack we were staying at that only has one bathroom for like 20 people. We slept under a thatched roof with holes in it, then we all started laughing at probably two in the morning for about one hour. The trip will always be memorable. It was probably the funnest trip. The beach is worth going to, but make sure the person planning it is organized. Also, native Guatemalan standards are far below that of Americans, just for future reference.